Alcatel 871a
Average Ratings
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You get what you pay for...
Pros:
Affordable; compact; lightweight; decent call quality; generous feature set for a basic phone
Cons:
Poor battery life; cramped keyboard; unremarkable camera quality; fragile (easy to scratch) screen; microSD card slot is under the battery
For $30, it really is hard to complain about what you get with this phone. It features all the standard bells and whistles you'd expect in a mid-range feature phone today, including Bluetooth, a music player, an FM radio, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a 2-megapixel camera (whose flash can also double as a flashlight). Reception (in the lower Puna district of the Big Island of HI) and call quality are very good; I never have trouble hearing callers since I always have a strong signal, and the volume is sufficiently loud.
I would have liked better battery life, a roomier keyboard, and microSD card slot that was easier to access, but overall I'm happy with this phone.
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Alcatel 871a dials 911
Update as of 8-9-13
I downloaded latest phone software. Looks like the 911 problem has been fixed. Hurrah!
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This is a great phone except for one major problem. It dials 911 in your pocket even when the keyboard is locked. There is an FCC requirement that a phone be able to dial 911 even when the keyboard is locked, and new phones have this feature. However, this model is way too trigger happy. Check reviews elsewhere. Many people also report this problem. Alcatel tech support tries to blame it on AT&T software, but I called AT&T and they bounced me right back to Alcatel. This is not a problem caused by the FCC requirement. It is a problem of the Alcatel product manager failing to oversee production of an adequate product... whether caused by hardware or software... and whether caused by Alcatel or AT&T. The FCC does not require a trigger happy response.
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$30 Cell Phone
Yes, it's a $30 cell phone. I bought a cheap $29.99 cell phone for an ATT pay-as-you-go plan. I wanted to be able to use a QWERTY keyboard, be able to take photos, and use the internet, and I can do all that.
Yes, the keyboard is small, and it works great for my small lady fingers, since I am a girl. So far so good!
I keep the phone in my bra, so it hasn't done any "butt dialing", so far.
I've been able to take great photos of my friends, family, and pets to post on facebook and to e-mail to my friends. There are settings for taking low, standard, and high quality pictures. Even without a microSD card I was able to store about 20 low quality pictures.
Yes, the microSD card goes under the battery. I put it in and never took it out. Was I supposed to?
The battery life is not terribly long. I have to charge the phone every other day for about 15 minutes. But the useful life of the battery is adequate. Standing time seems to be about 48 hours and in actual use about 4-6 hours. If I needed a Blackberry, I would have spent more money.
Overall, this $30 phone fit my need for a better cheap cell phone that is dependable and had more features than a $15 cell phone that could only talk and text.
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worst phone ever
Come with functionless QWERTY keypad keys too small for even fleas to use when they work, which is rare.
Battery life from full charge to completely dead is 45 seconds if you're lucky.
Has a decorative camera lens for some reason, perhaps to give the illusion that this phone is capable of taking photos.
