Pantech C150 (AT&T)

Pros: Good reception, visible screen outside, durable, accurate voice quality,large font size, very low radiation, adequate talk time

Cons: Ring volume changing a nusance, Hard to recover messages, buttons too small for large fingers, keypad does not light up when phone rings at night, center toggle button defaulted to the browser

Summary: OK, the price was right..I got it for the taxes with AT&T($15). But I did not order it for that reason. I spent about four days off and on, going to the phone store,then back to CNET, checking out all the phones, trying to find a basic one that had killer reception, durability, easy message management, and a keypad that would not give my thumb carple tunnel. I was going to buy the Motorola heavy duty flip phone (V3?)until I checked out the radiation value (1.4 Watts/kg). I decided to go with the C150 bar style when the user reviews were so good, and the radiation was only 0.6 watts/kg. I use my phone 3 hours per day, and my brain is damaged enough from Miller High life! Having now used the Pantech for about a month, I rate it a 7.0. It's a pain to step it through every volume level to get to off (it will not let you hold it down to automatically toggle to off), the center toggle logs onto the browser when I cross my arms over my front pocket, and it takes almost 10 seconds to log off of that before I can make a call. I also find it cumbersome to retrieve my messages. The icon is so darn small I have to take my glasses off to see it, and you have to toggle to the message icon to see how many you have, rather than having the screen tell you. I was excited about the backlited keypad, until I discovered it did not lite up when the phone rang! So, there I am, tying to be sure I push the answer button rather than the clear! It also annoys me that the message received feature does not recognize that numbers entered with their area code are the same as the same caller who does not enter it. I also often activate the photo switch on the right side of the bar while gripping the phone with my right hand to toggle down the volume level. It also has the annoying feature of automatically calling the last number when you push the send button once to light up the phone in the dark, so you can make a call. I would also prefer that it NOT list your home area code every call made. The screen is too small to then easily read the number you are trying to recover. It would be much nicer if only area codes outside your home were listed. So, I will not bore you with any more issues I have with this "candy bar". I guess the good reception and voice recognition is sufficient for the moment for me to use it until something better comes along, even if I have to pay for it! I found the phone selection for AT&T users poor. All I want is a phone, not a toy!