Pantech C320 Curved Banana Mobile Phone

With so many cheap phones out there for sale, why bother with the Pantech C320? Well, this phone is for the people who want a cheaply priced handset that doesn’t look the same as the other million and one phones that the rest of the “I only need a cheap phone” crowd are using.

This phone has a bit more style than that. It’s literally curved! The shape is reminiscent of the old Nokia 8110 Banana that was made super famous because it was featured in the excellent, thought-provoking film, The Matrix.

Of course, this one has a completely different outer shell housing. However, this is one of its stand out features. Feels great in the hand and fits the mould of the head and face really well when putting it to your ear to make or take a call. Now, you would think with such a cheap phone that the features are terrible and the build quality is a joke. But you would be wrong.

For the price, this is actually a really good little phone, with some nice, up to date features. It even has a good quality build and a two-inch 262K TFT display. Bear in mind, this phone is literally £20 – £30 brand new. For the novelty of owning something that little bit different, it’s well worth considering. The reviews are predominantly positive.

The Pantech C320 Slide takes a “normal” size mini SIM and works on most UK Networks (Unlocked). Won’t work with 3G. In terms of features it has a 1.3 Mega pixel camera (Can also record video), MicroSD card slot, Bluetooth, Micro USB port, Speakerphone, Radio, MP3 Player, 3.5mm headphone jack, and a 770mAh battery.

Don’t get me wrong, this is no iPhone or Samsung Galaxy Edge S6, but for the money it’s well worth buying one in order to have something that stands out a little from the rest. Great as a back up or cheap primary phone. And equally good as a gift for someone who likes something a bit different.

Qmart Q1 Credit Card Sized Mini Phone

If you’re looking for something small and super thin, that’s cheap to buy, and a little bit different to what most people are using the Qmart Q1 Credit Card Sized Mini Mobile Phone is a really good choice. There are a few various models of these credit card phone for sale, such as the AEKU M5, but the Qmart Q1 is the thinnest yet at just 4 millimetres, which is incredibly thin for a mobile phone.

Fair enough, it’s not as thin as an actual credit card, it’s about 4 – 5 times as thick, but that is still very impressive. The Q1 has a retro blue and light orange TFT screen display, and the screen is super tiny at around 1 inch! Most people you show this phone to will never have seen one before so they are great if you want something quite unique.

The Qmart Q1 is very small and discreet and has many of the basic features of a standard phone. Of course, you can call and text, but other than those standard features it also has a built-in radio, Bluetooth capability, memory card slot, and an MP3 player. The radio requires headphones to work.

The phone is GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), so should have no problem working with most of the standard UK networks SIM cards other than 3G. The Qmart Q1 is also noted for it’s fairly impressive battery life, which has a standby time of around a week with minimal phone use. Talk time is approx 3 – 5 hours. It charges by USB (cable included). This could be one of the contenders for best mini novelty phone when you consider the cheap price and good buyer reviews.

The Qmart Q1 is available in lots of different colours, including Blue, Pink, Purple, Black (Pictured), and Gold. At such a cheap price the Q1 is an excellent little compact, unique mobile phone that is perfect as a backup, or even as your main phone if want a really thin phone that’s super easy to carry around, simple to use, and you’re not bothered about keeping up with the Jones’ by owning the latest and greatest cellphone that has just hit the market.

The Q1 is for people who want something not many people will have. If you’re looking for one of these phones in White then you may have to buy it’s fatter twin brother, the AEKU M5, which is slightly thicker by half a millimetre. However, this model, the AEKU M5 is available in pure White, and also with a few different colour trims such as Pink, Green and Blue. Looking for something thicker, but still tiny, take a look at the Secret Car Key Fob Phone (linked to above) or the J8 Finger Sized Phone.

Samsung GT E1080i Phone Problem Fixes

From reading through some of the bad reviews on the Samsung GT E1080i, I see that some of the same issues keep coming up time and time again. People are having problems with certain features of the phone. Before addressing some of those I should point out, that most of the reviews for this phone are excellent.

The phone is worthy of good reviews, as it is a very good phone for the price (I own one). However, there is some confusion among buyers with a few of the features. Hopefully, this post will help sort some of those common problems out.

Common problems that users are finding confusing.

Problem: Occasionally switches off overnight:  Fix: Turn off power saving mode as this can make the phone turn itself off automatically when not in use for a number of hours. Click OK to go to the main menu. Click Settings > Display > Power Saving Mode > Click Off and press save.

Problem: Can't turn off predictive text when trying to send a text: Fix: Turn off the T9 predictive text dictionary by pressing and holding down the hash key whilst on the writing a text screen. If this doesn’t work try just pressing the hash key a few separate times until it disables predictive text.

Problem: Fake call doesn’t work: How to activate a fake call. To activate a fake call just press and hold the down position on the navigation pad until you see the “fake call activated” text show up on the screen. You can also set how long you want the phone to wait before the fake call starts ringing. To do this press OK to go to the main menu > click Settings > Application > Call > Fake Call > Click Fake call timer and set the duration you want. Now all you need to do when you want to activate the fake call is press and hold down on the Navigation pad for two seconds.

The navigation pad is the four directional buttons that surround the "OK" button in the middle of the phone, in case your unsure! And that’s it, depending on how long you set the timer for the phone will ring after the timer has counted down. If you want to use the Fake call when the keypad is locked, just press down on the Navigation pad four times one after the other and that will activate the Fake call to be enabled.

What is the Samsung GT E1080i Radiation SAR Level? The maximum SAR recorded for the Samsung E1080i was 0.645 Watts Per Kilogram (0.64 W/kg). This is a very low SAR level and this phone actually falls nicely into the middle of the top ten list for the lowest SAR level mobile phones in 2011 (Still a fairly low-level in 2017 / 2018). I should also add that 0.64W/kg was the highest SAR recorded for the E1080i, and most of the time the SAR level from normal use will be considerably lower than this.

Car Key Fob Novelty Secret Mobile Phone

These days most mobile phones that have all the latest features are the size of television remote controls. Yes, we now have more features packed into a mobile phone than ever before, but in exchange for all that technology mobile phones are actually getting bigger!
 
This is one of the things that is good about the novelty mobile phones. They have nowhere near the capabilities of the latest Smartphones, like the iPhone or Sony Xperia, but they are so small, cute and easy to carry around that they do hold a lot of appeal.

And, other than the miniature size and fob disguise being the two main highlights and selling points, this BMW car key fob design phone, which is mostly made from plastic, is not without some decent features either. Rest assured, you can use it to call and text of course, just in case you were wondering.

It has a colour screen, mp3 player, memory card slot, hands free speaker, voice recorder, alarm, a phonebook capable of storing 500 numbers, and will work with any UK SIM card except 3G (Takes a Micro SIM). It’s not the best colour screen in terms of resolution but it’s good enough to use without any issues. This phone charges via USB cable, which is included.

The reviews for the BMW KEY FOB MOBILE PHONE are generally quite good. The rating is just below 4 out of a possible 5 stars. But there are a few customers that had various problems, mostly due to quality control issues by the sounds of it. Be aware of the fact that this phone is made in China, so each batch of phones are hit and miss.

You might get 10 phones that are in perfect working order and will last a long time, which in turn will generate positive reviews, and then you may get some phones that will have a few faults or might not last as long as it should. Luck of the draw I suppose.

But going on the amount of positive reviews your chances of getting a good one are considerably higher than getting a faulty one. Excellent as a back up emergency phone, using for work, or taking on a night out so you don’t risk smashing the expensive smart phone. This phone can come with or without the BMW branding. The BMW branded version is not pictured here, but it is for sale on websites such as eBay and Amazon. So the choice is yours. Makes a great gift.

The J8: One Of The Smallest Cellphones

There are quite a few mobile phones out there that claim to own the title of “The worlds smallest cellphone”. Which one is actually the smallest? With there being so many company’s and manufacturers bringing out new mobile phones almost every month, in so many different countries (predominantly Asia), and with so many of those phones never being made available in the UK or USA, who knows for sure. One things for sure, the J8 Beat The Boss mobile phone is tiny! It is around the same size as an adults index finger!

A phone this size is a great novelty item. But the J8 is more than that. If you show this phone to your friends they probably won’t believe you when you say this is a real mobile phone, but they will be shocked when you actually make a call on it in front of them. It really is a fully functional cellphone which has some good little features for such a small, lightweight phone.

Of course, the J8 can send and receive text and make / receive calls. It has a nice keypad and will apparently work with any UK phone network except 3G. It takes a micro sized SIM card. The J8 by Long-CZ is capable of storing around 500 contacts and even has a built-in radio. Who needs to spend over £200 on what is considered a "trendy dumb phone" called the Punkt MP01 when you can buy one of these, which in my opinion is much better. And a lot cheaper.

Talk time (3-5 hours) and stand by time (Around 4 days) are also pretty good. However, the best feature of this phone is that it can double up as a Bluetooth Headset and even comes with the loop so it can be attached to your ear. The phone weighs under 20 grams and is made from mostly plastic.

Customer reviews are mostly positive, although there are a few people who complain about the build quality. It says Long-CZ on the screen, which is a company located in China. One thing to be aware of with this phone is that the micro SIM card has to be inserted into the phone upside down, which makes you think that some, but not all of the reviews that said the SIM doesn’t work, or the phone display says “insert SIM card” when it’s already in the phone, were probably written because the buyers weren’t aware of the SIM having to be put into the phone upside down.

Be aware: The quality control for this item probably isn’t the best and it can be the luck of the draw as to whether you get a phone that’s fault free or has a few problems. Most customers are happy, but it’s just something you should be aware of.

There are other very small phones out there that are also cheap to buy and have a good rating like this one. The one shaped like a car key fob is well worth a look. It’s not as long as this one but is thicker and weighs a little more.

I will be posting a mini-review about it soon. The J8 is a great phone for the price. Perfect as a novelty item, backup / spare, or to be used as a secret mobile phone! It's also available in white. If you want to buy one just go to Amazon or eBay and type in either "J8 Beat The Boss" or "Long-CZ J8". You should find many on there for sale. Looking for a normal sized, cheap basic phone? Take a look at one of the budget Samsung phones.

Samsung E1120 Mobile Phone Quick Review

The Samsung E1120 was first introduced in early 2009. It is a very basic "Candy Bar" mobile phone and was made for people who prefer a basic phone with basic features that is also very durable and easy to use. It ticks all those boxes. And even today, people who are looking for a budget phone could do a lot worse than a Samsung E1120.

Sadly, Samsung no longer make the E1120 mobile phone so if you want to buy one you will have to buy one used. There is no shortage of used examples for sale online. You can find one on eBay for really cheap, like £5 – £10. Although, for a little bit extra money you can buy one of the newer budget phones like the E1080i and E1200. Those two can still be bought brand new also. These three are all comparable to each other. And it really comes down to personal preference as to which want you choose. They are similar in terms of price, features and display.

Yes, you can buy the two mentioned phone models for a little more money, but the E1120 has close to all the features that the E1080i and E1200 have. So if you have the chance to get one for cheap its well worth considering. The E1120 is smaller than the other models too.

Feature wise, It has a torch-light (Screen turned completely white), 5 alarms, timer, stopwatch, memo pad, call reject list (10), calendar, calculator, auto-lock keypad, phone book (200 numbers) and a loudspeaker. It also comes installed with the Sudoku game. And lets not forget about the battery life of the E1120 phone. Due to the low power consumption, the 3.7 V 800mAh Li-ion battery lasts a very long time.

Of course, by today's standards this really is just a basic phone that is perfect for calling and texting but not much else in the way of entertainment. However, people don’t buy the E1120 for that reason. This no frills phone is for people who don’t care about having the latest features like WiFi, GPS, picture-taking, and WhatsApp (chatting software if you’re not aware) on hand day in, day out. It’s just a normal phone!

Not so good things about the Samsung E1120. The screen resolution (65K) is rather bad, as should be expected on such a cheap phone. Buttons can be a little hard to press. And the SAR Level is slightly on the high side for such a basic phone at 0.81 W/kg. Other than that, for what it was made for, the E1120 is a serious little workhorse that will far outlast any Smartphone when it comes to battery life and durability.

Basic Samsung E1200 Cellphone Review

Samsung make some excellent phones. And as far as the cheaper budget phones go, it’s not too much of a push to say that Samsung are probably the best at delivering cheap phones that tick all the boxes. If you want something well-built, with basic features, that’s really simple to use and has an excellent battery life, Samsung is the brand you should be looking at. Yes, Nokia have some really good budget phones, and they used to rule the roost back in the day when it came to the cheap phones (And most of the expensive ones), but in 2017, the title definitely sits with Samsung.

The Samsung E1200 is testament to this. It’s super cheap to buy and has all the features needed if you just want no frills mobile phone that you can call and text on. With most of the cheaper Samsung phones, they are basic and perform the basics very well, but they do also have some other good qualities.

Both the Samsung E1080i and E1200 have the same hands free option where you can actually switch to hands free speaker mode before the other party has answered. This is not present on a lot of the slightly more expensive cellphones, including the Samsung E2600. Although not a feature that Samsung point out with the E1200, toughness is prevalent.

Samsung GT E1200 Quick Specification

• Easy to use

• Excellent battery life

• Slim & Reliable

• GSM 2G (Not 3G or 4G compatible)

• TFT LCD Screen

• 1.52 inch screen

• Sar Level 0.81 W/kg

The phone can survive some serious knocks, drops and bangs. And because it’s so cheap to buy you may not treat it with the care it deserves, but it seems to like it rough and keeps on working without fault. This model has a very clear screen, and also has all the features that come as standard with the cheap Samsung phones like Memo pad, calendar, countdown timer, keypad lock, stopwatch, hands free option, calculator, alarm, torch mode. Reviews for the E1200 are mostly excellent.

Someone asked a question to customers on Amazon about whether the E1200 can block numbers, and all people who replied said no. But it can block numbers by adding them to the reject list. Most of the cheap Samsung’s have this feature. You can do this by simply selecting the number from the call list, click options and select “Add to reject list”.

Due to its price and ease of use the Samsung E1200 is also a great alternative to the slighter more expensive phones aimed at Senior Citizens, like the Binatone M250, TTfone Mercury, TTfone Dual 2, and the TTfone Venus TT700. For those not aware of how a SIM Free phone works, it basically comes without a SIM card so you can just take your SIM card out of your old phone, pop it into the new one and that’s it.

Your new mobile phone will now be using the phone number (SIM Card) that you previously had in your old cellphone. This is the same regardless of whether your SIM card is on a phone contract or on a Pay As You Go phone plan. Don't like the black? There's also a white version available.

Samsung E1080i SIM Free Phone Review

Samsung E1080i SIM Free mobile phone quick review. If you’re one of those people who can’t live without all the features that Smartphones offer, or have an image to uphold to your mates, then this phone is most probably not for you. For the rest of us who don’t care about all that stuff this is one of the best phones out there for the price. It’s extremely reliable, has a ridiculously long battery life, and is very simple to operate. The Samsung E1080i comes with an 800mAh battery, which is excellent.

A lot of phone batteries these days, when they get to the point where the battery meter on the phone screen is flashing and the phones about to die, they don’t have much time left and will cut off and power down fairly quickly. Not the case with the 800mAh that’s in the Samsung E1080i. It can just soldier on and give you vital minutes of talk time even when it’s critically low.

Yes, there are quite a few phones which claim to have the same battery life as the E1080i, but not many have that extra power in reserves. The 800mAh battery, coupled with the low energy output of the E1080i, can really drag it’s heels against powering down. Great feature to have.

Like many of the cheaper Samsung models which are unlocked, including the E1120, the Samsung E1080i works on most UK Networks. Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile, Orange (EE), all will work fine with this phone. 3G however, won’t work. This phone is mainly for just making and receiving calls and texts but it does also have a few useful features worth mentioning. It has a mobile tracker which can help find your phone if it’s lost or in the hands of a thief. The Fake Call option can be a useful tool for the right situations.

Just press and hold down the lower button on the directional pad and a fake call will be activated. You can change the duration of how long the phone should take before a fake call will start ringing from the fake call settings. This timer has 5 different durations which vary from 5 seconds to 3 minutes. The phone is set to take 30 seconds to ring once a fake call is activated by default.

The E1080i also has a Memo pad, calendar countdown timer, keypad lock, stopwatch, hands free speaker, calculator, 5 alarms, and a torch which is the screen turned white. You can also block numbers with this phone by adding them to the reject list. Although with the amount of spam calls these days the reject list limit of just 10 numbers really could have done with being increased to at least 50.

I mean, how much extra internal memory would have needed to be added in order to have a reject list that can store 50 - 100 phone numbers.. The answer is, not much at all. We're talking a few KB here. Hopefully, with the huge increase in spam / unsolicited calls, Samsung will role with the times and address this issue by adding a much bigger block list capacity on their future cheaper models.

The display, while perfectly usable, is pretty poor when compared to today's Smartphone standards, like it is on most phones that come in at under £20. The ring tones are standard at best. Keypad could be better. It is one complete piece of rubber which would be much better to use if the buttons were separate and made of harder plastic. Saying that, it is hard-wearing, and the phone overall can take some abuse.

This phone won’t blow you away with its features or design, but it is dependable, cheap to buy (Unlike some basic phones), and well suited for the simple tasks like calling and texting. SAR level is also fairly low at 0.64 W/kg. My one is still going strong after many years of service. It's been dropped countless times but it still just keeps on working. In my opinion, this is one of the best, and cheapest workhorse phones from Samsung.