Having had Nokia's 6210/6310 mobile phones for, ooh, years, I am at a loss. Mine needs replacing, but the march of progress means the phone has finally been discontinued.

Throughout its lifetime this phone has been the business standard, a no-nonsense, tri-band unit with all the functionality one could require of a hard-working phone with no fripperies such as MP3 players, cameras etc. I use my phone to, erm, make phone calls. I have a camera for pictures. I don't want a phone incorporated with a kettle, radio, torch, TV, video or washing machine. I would also really rather not to be forced into changing my car kit. Oh, and having large fingers I found the 6310's keyboard widely-spaced enough to use, unlike many smaller units.

What's a boy to do, apart from bomb Nokia HQ in revenge for creating the perfect telephone then taking it away again?

I have to agree with you, they are damn good phones. I have 2 for use alongside my somewhat unweildy XDA2, but they are great phones, and can take most of what you throw at them.

My suggestion... see if you can pick one up on ebay for cheap :)

Joel

I'm not suggesting that you are a technophobe but would this (http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/men/news/technology/s/159/159531_mobile_launch_to_target_mature_callers.html ) be the sort of phone you are after?

It was your comment about not wanting a phone/washing machine combination that made me think of an item I heard discussed on the radio about the reinvention of phones which are just phones. They're also supposed to have decent sized keys & display screen.

I've gone for the Nokia 1100.

Simple and lighter.

I pikced one of these up a couple of months ago as a 'pay as you go' unit, and it was very cheap from one of the phone shops on Fargate.

I know nothing about whether these phones are locked out to go on standard contract use, but might be worth a look.

Cheers

Joe

6230 (or i) best phone on the market at the minute.

Originally posted by Vini
6230 (or i) best phone on the market at the minute.
I'd go with that. I don't really use all the extra bits on my 6230 but it's a good phone, not had any major problems with it. The 6230i has a better screen and the nav button is better.

As for the handsfree kits, I've been using bluetooth handsfree kits for several years and have used quite a few phones with mine without having to change anything in the car\van.

Originally posted by Siân
I'm not suggesting that you are a technophobe but would this (http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/men/news/technology/s/159/159531_mobile_launch_to_target_mature_callers.html ) be the sort of phone you are after?

It was your comment about not wanting a phone/washing machine combination that made me think of an item I heard discussed on the radio about the reinvention of phones which are just phones. They're also supposed to have decent sized keys & display screen.

Nearly spot on. I was however hoping for something a little more Fisher Price in style.

I'm not a technophobe, but I am simply a pretty busy man, trying to run a business and a family. I guess I am, at the tender age of 34, turning into a grumpy old geez in that I just want an appliance to do what it says on the damn tin. I don't want to make movies on my phone any more than I expect my washing machine to mix concrete, or my stereo to advise me on whether my cuff links match my eyes.

But thanks for the advice on the 6230. A mate has one and it's an okay phone. Awfully flimsy and light however. Tragically I like a bit of weight in a phone, as it gives me the impression of solidity. I still mourn those titanium-chassised Ericsson thingies. They really were tough. Once had one fall out of my pocket on a road test, get run over by a photographer's car, and still work just fine.

And talking about cars, I'm deeply annoyed that my car kit has been rendered obsolete at a stroke.

My father has however told me of a company that has spotted a niche in the market for old sticky-muds like me. They recondition 6310s and sell them.

Originally posted by Lurch
I'd go with that. I don't really use all the extra bits on my 6230 but it's a good phone, not had any major problems with it. The 6230i has a better screen and the nav button is better.

I'd have to agree to some extent that the 6230i is the best Nokia replacement for the 6310i. However, I have just traded mine in (read, given it to my sister) so that I can have an Ericsson K750i. I generally find that the millions of extra features in the latest Nokia phones mean that the menus and selections can be very unwieldy, often requiring 3 or 4 different keypresses when my old 6210 only needed 1 or 2.

Interface-wise, the latest Ericssons are miles ahead in simple usability.

How do people who have a 6230 (or 6230i) find the navigation button? I had a play with a friend's and thought it was a little nasty, I kept pressing one of the direction keys when I was trying to press it in to select.. My SE T630 seems a much nicer controller, but SE phones have their own little quirks (eg anyone else find the mains chargers are always breaking??).

It's time for my annual upgrade and for once I really am not excited by any phones out there! (not that it's really that exciting anyway, but you know what I mean :))

The 6230 is a PITA for nudging the direction keys instead of the centre 'select' button because it's all on piece of plastic.

The 6230i has a seperate button (in the same place) for the 'select' button so you don't nudge the direction keys.

Mine is a 6230, and has nearly been slung across a room several times because of this little nightmare!

On the subject of solid Ericsson phones, I've still got my T39 as it's solid, reliable and works the best with the various bluetooth handsfree kits that I've got.

Originally posted by rich951
How do people who have a 6230 (or 6230i) find the navigation button? I had a play with a friend's and thought it was a little nasty, I kept pressing one of the direction keys when I was trying to press it in to select.. My SE T630 seems a much nicer controller, but SE phones have their own little quirks (eg anyone else find the mains chargers are always breaking??).

It's time for my annual upgrade and for once I really am not excited by any phones out there! (not that it's really that exciting anyway, but you know what I mean :))

Do you have Fat fingers?

Originally posted by Lickable
Do you have Fat fingers?
Not at all, I actually have pretty small hands. After reading Lurch's reply I'm glad I'm not the only one who had issues with the 6230 - and after reading what he said about the improvements I've just ordered myself a 6230i...

I heartily recommend the Sony Ericsson K750i :D