[Becky]

I've had my Samsung T100 for nearly 3 years now, and I feel the time has come to invest in a new phone. I am currently a pay-as-you-go customer with Orange, and don't want to switch to a contract, even for a free phone.

I use my phone predominantly for texts and calls, but I am by no means a heavy user. I prefer clam-shell style phones, and have picked two which I rather like: Samsung E720 and Motorola V3 (Razr), the latter being my favourite. Has anyone got either of these? I would really appreciate other opinions, as I don't know anyone who owns one. I am also open to suggestions if anyone can suggest another model - I don't really want to spend much more than 150GBP though.

Any advice much appreciated!

[muckshifter]

To use the Samsung E720 as a 'phone' is like using 2 tin cans a a bit o' string ... foget it, get a plastic Siemens 55, great 'phone'.

My 'gripe' with the V3 Razr ... I cannot "SEE" the key #s ... sorry but silver on a sunny day? wonder if black nail polish would help? Motorola have another disadvantage, you must get one that does not fail on you ... pot luck there!

I would, if my eyes could deal with it, pick the V3 ... but make sure insurance covers for a defective phone.


Yes, I have used both ... my Siemens works as a phone, a 'mobile phone' is ALL I need.

[psd99]

go for the nokia 6230
its done me very proud in the last 13 months

its got all the features one needs in a phone!

[Chris Pickering]

Got the Samsung E720 myself. Apart from the stupidly poor quality with actually using it as a 'phone', it's a damn good little thing. Had to return my first because I couldnt hear a thing, and even this second one can be more than a little muffled at times.

It's great for everything else though thats for sure. Not pathetically slow changing menu's like my old Sony Ericsson T630

[Becky]

Ta for the advice

I had the feeling the issue of quality might come up - that always seems to happen with 'gadgety' phones. If anyone has any other suggestions I would be more than happy to hear!

Before getting my Samsung I always liked Nokias - does anyone have any experience of clamshell Nokias?

[Reefsmoka]

I've got a nokia 6230 and a nokia 7270 , both great phones, never had any problems. The 7270 is alright, but the video only record for 15 seconds unlike the 6230's 3 minutes :/.

[gabriella]

Hi Bex

Alot of my kid's friends have Razr phones and they don't seem that reliable to be honest. Nice looking though!!!

Gabs x

[Me__2001]

avoid motorola, two of my sisters have them one has the V635 lasted 3 months and was replaced, and the other an E550 it sort of works but has a tendency not to respond to the buttons being pushed and freeze and thats about 6 months old

my other sister has the samsung E720, great phone has survived multiple drops even into a puddle (you know one of those really deep ones where you cant really see what yoy dropped) after a bit of drying it still works, highly recommend samsung

[Quadophile]

I have been using cell phones since late 80's and from my experiece and all the phones that I have used I always rated Motorola to be on top. They also happen to make the best clamshell phones in my humble opinion.

Currently I am using the Siemens CX65 which has one of the best screens that I have ever used (clearly visible in sunlight as well). In the price bracket it is in none can compete in the screen quality. Has decent features and is just the right size for me. The newer model CX75 is slightly lacking screen wise if not otherwise. Unfortunately it is not a clamshell phone. My usage is predominently calls and just 5% of the time messaging, it has excellent voice quality and a great hands free speaker phone functionality. I use the data cable and sometimes IRDA for backing up my contacts on the PC using the Siemens Mobile Phone Manager software (free download from Siemens site).

I know many who use the Razr V3 and it's one of the best out there. Those who have had problems are probably very unlucky. This phone is the best from Motorola and has sold a whopping 5 million pieces so far!

Go for the phone your heart desires

[Jaguar]

I'll chuck my 10 pence worth in....

My mate who runs an audio hire business, uses a mobile phone all the time, and I tend to use him as a good testbed as he would give any phone a trial by fire He bought a V3... its going back. To me it was always a "posers" phone (sorry an posers out there) and looked stunning, but looks are not everything!

Apart from the bad reception (compared to other phones in the same area) the V3's internal speaker went after 1 month, so he had to use a hands free kit all the time as he could not here anybody otherwise.. his previous phone was a Nokia 8910i and he is going for another one of them, as it seems to last well...

My phone?

er...

an ericsson T-20e (the tomb raider one) its a phone... No camera, MP3 player, radio, etc etc.... and it works.