What matters to me is(in this order):
1. superb coverage(no dropped calls or roaming fees)
2. sound quality, reception, and antenna quality
3. battery life
4. phone durability
5. easily readable clock and screen
6. large buttons
I don’t use the internet on my phone, I don’t use any customize features. All I ever use is the alarm clock, and occasional text messaging and occasionally the calculator. I use my cell phone as my watch and my calendar.
I currently use a casio Gz one boulder on verizon with extended battery because it is durable and it has an excellent clock and verizon is supposed to be the best for coverage. criticisms are crappy little buttons, the phone locks up frequently and lags frequently, sound quality is only average, and verizon is way too expensive.
I don’t think I could ever own a smart phone because I really need to have real buttons. I need large buttons. I also find a phone that folds in half when not in use (to protect the buttons and the screen) to be a superior design from a durability perspective.
Whew! Tall order.
Starting from #1, depending on where you live, no dropped calls could be difficult to achieve. When I worked in the cell phone industry, the best that any of them would guarantee was ~98% uptime. As for roaming fees, most plans today include nationwide coverage with no roaming fees. And, some companies will even extend that coverage to Canada and/or Mexico.
#2. The best sound covereage available today would be with CDMA technology but, most carriers have dropped CDMA coverage in favor of GSM. GSM is easier and less costly for the carrier to administer and operate. Reception and antenna quality are, typically, dependent on a variety of transmission quality, frequency, environment and phone manufacturer. IMO, the best manufacturers are Nokia and Motorola and Motorola has sold off its cell phone business to someone else (I don’t recall whom).
#3. Battery life is dependent on the phone manufacturer. Battery technology has been a major issue for everyone who uses batteries for anything from cell phones to computers to handheld game systems, etc. While battery life has been increasing, it still remains an issue to be dealt with. Additionally, battery life is dependent on how much you use the phone. The more your phone sends and receives, the faster your battery life decreases. The longer your phone is on standby, the longer your battery will keep the phone operating. So far, to the best of my knowledge, battery life among current manufacturers is relatively equal.
#4. Phone durability is pretty easy, especially with the flip phones. I have used both a flip phone and one with slide screen and have dropped or thrown them (when I get ticked) several times and the phones wouldn’t die. Again, these were Motorola or Nokia phones. They are capable of taking a LOT of punishment without breaking.
#5. This is where the train starts going off the tracks. There aren’t many choices available (that I am aware of) that have easily readable screens. I am sure that SOMEONE must make one to help older people and people with vision issues such as legally blind, but I couldn’t begin to tell you whom. This is one that you would either have to discuss with a cell phone sales person or research further online.
#6. Yeah, I’d like large buttons, too. I haven’t really seen one that has buttons much larger than the head of a pin. I THINK there may be a couple of touch screen models that allow you to control the size of the “soft” buttons, but I wouldn’t swear to it.
Finally, I have used T-Mobile for years. Their coverage, particularly in metropolitan areas, is about as good as anyone’s. We have few to no dropped calls and, generally, good quality reception.
Every cell company has issues with reception and coverage, especially as you get to the edge of the cell. Depending on how they designed their cells and how much overlap they have between cells (typically, not much), you may experience call degradation as you reach the cell edge and handoff to an adjacent cell.
Another significant problem for cell designers is hilly/mountainous terrain and what is known as “urban canyons” - the “canyons” created in large metropolitan areas by lots of tall skyscrapers. All of these things can cause issues with call quality. One factor that affects pretty much all cell phone manufacturers and providers is call quality. The characteristics of RF usually consider an antenna that is either perfectly horizontal or perfectly vertical. When we look at the orientation of a cell phone antenna, it may be anywhere between perfectly horizontal and perfectly vertical. This is VERY problematic from the RF standpoint. As best as possible, most cell providers and phone Manufacturers have dealt with this issue rather well, given the physics of the technology. As of the current state of the technology, cell phones work pretty well, but bandwidth and call quality will probably always dog the industry until someone finds a breakthrough technology that allows them to overcome the currently existing physics.
Good luck. I hope this helps.