Re: Why, why, why is Verizon determined to drive me away by dropping all pretense of having any RUGGED basic phones?
GalaxyClass
Master - Level 1

I likewise agree there is a need and customers who would buy if they were sold. The Casio and Kyocera series can not beat some of the now long gone Nextel line.

Re: Why, why, why is Verizon determined to drive me away by dropping all pretense of having any RUGGED basic phones?
WesleyK
Enthusiast - Level 3

Yes, I thought it was a terrible idea as well! Other than a problem I'm having with the display I love my Kyocera Brigadier but after I upgraded my original Casio Commando C771 to the newer Commando C811 I was convinced I'd not want to switch to another phone for years.

Unfortunately, one day I dropped it at work and I had just kicked it enough while walking that it slid under a commercial buffer machine one of the cleaning guys was using and it got jammed in between the spinning pad and the frame.It jammed the pad to a stop! It took that much to physically damage it.

I called Asurion Insurance because that is what I pay for and I almost fell off my chair when they told me they couldn't get me another one. To this day I don't understand why. That was/is an awesome rugged smartphone. It was a solid improvement on the c771 Commando and it was out for less than a year, was it not?

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Re: Why, why, why is Verizon determined to drive me away by dropping all pretense of having any RUGGED basic phones?
seasoned_geek
Enthusiast - Level 3

I feel your pain!  I have bought military grade phones for the past 3 decades.  The one I'm about to ship off to "cell phones for soldiers" slid off a two story roof, hit an iron patio table and finally landed on the concrete.  Still worked.  This Convoy 3 I just got is a joke.  It is not like really good rugged phones don't exist!

http://www.sonimtech.com/products.php

I actually bought an XP-6 outright and got it unlocked only to find out it could not be made to work on Verizon network.  The only reason I switched to Verizon was my previous carrier could not turn off texting and I was SICK of getting text messages at 2:30am telling me a payment had been applied to my account.

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Re: Why, why, why is Verizon determined to drive me away by dropping all pretense of having any RUGGED basic phones?
GalaxyClass
Master - Level 1

I like your link.. they are built like a tank. That is a REAL HD phone and dare I say on the VZW site, that they have one for ATT LTE Service in the USA.

Re: Why, why, why is Verizon determined to drive me away by dropping all pretense of having any RUGGED basic phones?
seasoned_geek
Enthusiast - Level 3

I actually owned the XP-6, but could not make it work on Verizon

network. So sad. This Convoy 3 is as rugged as a soap bubble. No way

it passed military inspection unless a cash payment under the table was

involved. I honestly think Fisher Price has a competing model.

Re: Why, why, why is Verizon determined to drive me away by dropping all pretense of having any RUGGED basic phones?
Painter_123
Enthusiast - Level 1

I agree , and have one. They are forcing the market to be all smart phone. The problem is there is still a market for basic phones. These carriers have to much control.

I believe there to much govt regulation, However  , this is an area that needs the government attention.

Re: Why, why, why is Verizon determined to drive me away by dropping all pretense of having any RUGGED basic phones?
seasoned_geek
Enthusiast - Level 3

The only reason Sprint is growing their customer base right now is

because when you go to their site you can actually search for "rugged"

phones AND see more than half a dozen choices. It certainly isn't

because Sprint actually has any coverage!!! The construction industry,

delivery drivers like those who work for UPS, even big rig drivers who

get in and out of vehicle a lot need a military grade phone. Not

something as "rugged as a soap bubble" like the Convoy 3, but ACTUAL

hardened phones like Sonim makes. Phones which have buttons large enough

to operate with gloves on. Heck, even the police probably need such

phones, especially those outside all day.

Re: Why, why, why is Verizon determined to drive me away by dropping all pretense of having any RUGGED basic phones?
GalaxyClass
Master - Level 1

I have two Sprint Dura XT's in my basic lineup and this is how I rate those phones. More power to Sprint for keeping in the HD phone line and shame on VZW.

 

Sprint/ Kyocera DuraXT,  is a rugged flip phone that work on Sprint's  3G CDMA-based system.. DuraXT is made for the worksite and outdoor environments to provide just a basic communications phone. However I will start by saying the DuraXT is not of the same high quality of your out of date Motorola Nextel build. Never the less the XT is a phone that will take a lot of abuse and keep working . The flip hinge and case are all built tough and the phone seems to be tight to keep a splashed or a quick drop into into water out and still work. All ports have a sealed door and the screens, camera, and buttons are tight also. The keys of the Dura XT are a tiny bit mushy but still a nice size and easy to use even with gloves on. The large navigation ring is somewhat hard to use without hitting other soft keys or buttons and has poor feedback feel. The rear battery door is coated with rubber and has a slide lock that will slide open when moved. The display was easy to see even in daylight but the inside screen shows only in a monochrome type black/yellow that can’t be changed. The indicators at the top of the screen are very small and hard to read without squinting. The inside screen font is very small or very large and could be a problem for some people to read. Sound output from both earpiece and speaker were good and speaker was loud even outdoors or in a high noise area. Vibrate and ring tones were excellent. When using speakerphone there was some feedback and callers at times reported distorted call sounds even using earpiece mode. Battery has held up very well giving a solid 14 to 18 hours talk service under heavy use. The DuraXT had a better than average signal in a strong signal area and even in a weak area held on to calls without dropping on Sprint's CDMA 3G network.  The main menu has far to many sub-menus to track with ease and makes you go item to item to do a simple setting change. The Kyocera DuraXT is a basic voice only phone and will work well in a tough area but lacks almost all bells and whistles of other models. If you need a working phone this is as close to your old Nextel as they come but for the price leaves a lot out. Great battery life and good call quality are it’s high points. If you like plain vanilla this may be your phone.     Merry Christmas.

 



 

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Re: Why, why, why is Verizon determined to drive me away by dropping all pretense of having any RUGGED basic phones?
zellerandy
Specialist - Level 1

Spint needs a bigger selection of phones because they cant get customers based on their service.  Its not like verizon walked in the room and said wow these "rugged" phones are ugly we are ntop carrying them.   More liek hey we arent going to sell very many of these phones because thats what the market is saying so were not going to carry them even if a small market of people do want them still.  Verizon is a buisness, they have to make buisness decisions.  Not every one will be happy.  If your number one priority in yoru cell phone is the actuall phone and not service to that phone switch to sprint and go crazy with your "rugged phones

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Re: Why, why, why is Verizon determined to drive me away by dropping all pretense of having any RUGGED basic phones?
seasoned_geek
Enthusiast - Level 3

It's not a tiny segment of the market. Just look at how much Sprint has

grown customer wise without actually doing anything useful with their

network. Also look at just how massive Sonim is. No, this is a case of

upper management having head firmly planted in ass. They view the

entire market as "people like them" who go to meetings and need a PDA.

In truth that is a small portion of the market.