My iPhone 4s is running so sluggishly now I'm preparing to get something else. I'm kind of bored with the whole smartphone thing and am looking at getting an old candybar type device. I know they still make these today and can be had for as little as £10 from supermarkets, but I'm looking for something a little better and nicer in design. Most of these came from the 2008-2011 period and I'm wondering if they would still work today. All I want is the ability to call and send texts, but I would like to use the sim from my iphone as it has all my contacts etc. This phone is gorgeous - it fact it's a work of art - but even if I could find one, I'd need to know it would still function today.
As far as I know, the only limiting factor is if the phone is in the right frequency range for the carrier and that it be "unlocked" or from the same original carrier and that it match your carrier as to GSM or non-GSM. Here in Puerto Rico, old-school Nokias are the phone of choice for drug dealers because they aren't as traceable as smartphones and they're pretty much built for combat.
I have an LG 306 and it works great for calls and text. The WiFi also works fine as does the MP3 player and Bluetooth. The price is right. I don't know about the iPhone SIM.
Oh, yeah... I forgot about that bit. If he's on a GSM network then he's go the really small sim card for an iPhone 4s. These cards weren't around for the era of phone he mentions. If he's on a non-GSM network then that won't matter, but the phone will have to be either unlocked or from the same original carrier.
I don't even know what GSM is, let alone if I'm on the network. Am I right in thinking that if I buy a modern candybar phone, none of this will be an issue?
GSM means your phone has the little sim card that holds its information. GSM phones are easier to swap between carriers because its the little card that ties into your network. Here's how to tell on your iPhone 4s:
Oh, in that case it's GSM. But it seems the iPhone 4s supports both networks - or does that just mean you can get them on either?
It means Apple makes the phone for both kinds of networks (2 different versions), but they aren't interchangeable, afaik.
Okay, thanks. I'll just play it safe and buy a modern one. Pity cos the designs were just so much nicer six years ago.
I think the iPhone 4 had both in the same device. You could unlock the GSM portion for international travel and use it on CDMA back in the States.
Battery time would be a killer too as the old batteries were tiny in performance. Unless of course you could fit a newer lithium battery into it.
How old a phone are you imagining here? I'm talking about phones from early to mid 2,000 when the batteries used to last about six months on a single charge.