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Simple phones with great call quality
Jessica Dolcourt
Senior Editor October 20, 2010 (updated on: June 3, 2011)
Beyond all the bells and whistles, there's a certain pleasure one derives from a simple cell phone that sounds great. That's the point of a cell phone, after all, but one that manufacturers manage to miss time and again. We periodically round up five fairly simple feature phones whose clear calls shine out.
T-Mobile's Samsung T259 gave us great audio during our test calls, and it has a few extras, like a music player and a camera. Then there's the Samsung Factor for Boost Mobile, which competently delivers on its modest communications promises, but gets in its own way with a low screen resolution. A clean design and all the essentials are what you'll find on U.S. Cellular's Samsung Chrono. Its large dialpad keys reinforce its dedication to being a simple cell phone, although the camera is lacking.
Over at Sprint there's the Samsung SPH-M360. Its speakerphone wasn't the greatest we've heard, but it was satisfying on other fronts and it comes with a few extra features. Lastly, there's the Pantech Laser for AT&T. It makes good calls and it offers a full keyboard for easy messaging.
| Product name | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Check Prices | $72.95 | $3.99 | $24.45 | $19.99 |
| CNET editors' rating | |||||
| Average user rating |  | ||||
| Release date | May 27, 2011 | March 09, 2011 | November 01, 2010 | ||
| The Bottom Line | A fantastic price and clear call quality make the Samsung Chrono a top pick for U.S. Cellular customers who are looking for just the essentials. | The Pantech Laser's generous features and stylish good looks make it one of the better messaging phones in AT&T's lineup. | The Samsung T259's intuitive design, excellent call quality, and affordable price make it a good choice for someone in search of a simple handset. | The Samsung Factor is an ideal budget phone for basic calling and texting communications. | The Samsung SPH-M360 is a great option for anyone who wants an easy-to-use phone for making calls. Accessibility options round out the basic feature set. |
| Features | |||||
| Specific absorption rate (SAR) | 0.9 W/Kg | Info unavailable | 0.36 W/Kg | 0.82 W/Kg | 0.82 W/Kg |
| Cellular technology | CDMA2000 1X | WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM | CDMA2000 1X | CDMA2000 1X | CDMA2000 1X |
| Weight | 3.14 oz | 4.59 oz | 3.25 oz | 3.2 oz | 3.6 oz |
| Talk time | Up to 300 min | Up to 300 min | Up to 270 min | Up to 267 min | Up to 372 min |
| Wireless Interface | Bluetooth 2.1 EDR | Bluetooth 2.0 | Bluetooth 2.1 EDR | Bluetooth | Bluetooth |
| Service Provider | U.S. Cellular | AT&T | T-Mobile | Boost Mobile | Sprint Nextel |
| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
| Buying choices | | ||||
With the title of your review, I thought perhaps you were on to something. T-Mobile & US Cellular had 'excellent call quality' while Sprint with the Sanyo Vero 'didn't get the highest call quality marks'. What does that mean? Does Sprint have a phone with 'excellent call quality'?
How far below excellent was the Sprint choice?
Sue
America ):
I don't have any complaints about the T139 at all, it works, and it has things I don't use like Bluetooth and texting (I don't text). T-Mobile was selling it for $70.00 but I told the salesman that I only had $50.00 and that was good enough. I love T-Mobile, I'm so sad and frustrated that AT&T has bought it, but I hope the merger doesn't go through.