Excellent $35 backup mobile phone
 

In a search for a good old fashioned backup mobile, I came across this beauty:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009S4RW64...Z5NEH8VKGREP4&

$35, true dual sim (both in use at the same time), analog TV, FM radio, media playback and more - quad band. Awesome battery life, and charges off MicroUSB. It even has a MicroSD card slot.

Even with all the nice phones I have, this is now my primary backup device. Perfectly small enough to keep in my gear bag.

Warranty
 

For another USD$5.00 you can get Samsung GT-E1182L E1182 DUOS Unlocked Quad-Band Dual SIM GSM Phone with Dual SIM Standby Support, FM Radio and Organizer - US Warranty - Silver which has a US warranty. The downside, for some, might be that it has a proprietary charging plug.

http://www.amazon.com/T172-Unlocked-...4144201&sr=1-6

This is the same phone, except cheaper and with a warranty.

I purchased Miss Swede a Blu Deco Pro device. It's supposed to be like a Blackberry with a touchscreen. It sucks. Don't bother with it. It's being returned.

http://www.amazon.com/BLU-T172i-Jenn...144294&sr=1-12 <-- For under $30 with warranty

Question for ScottC does it have a speed dial feature? I'm trying to get a new phone for Miss Swede, and all I want her to do is to be able to long-press 6 to call "Mamma" and 7 to call "Pappa".

I bought a Dash BLU D130 last year for use overseas and have been very pleased with the device. Android 2.3, quad band, dual SIM. Cost more (about $80) but has more features than any new phone not tied to a plan I've seen. It works great for the purpose I intended, but I've even considered just switching over to this phone when my current phone dies, especially because I now have a work phone that gives me a wifi hotspot, ICS, and a quad-core processor. I don't need my personal phone to be the latest and greatest (although I do need my personal phone for truly personal stuff--phone calls and text messaging that I don't want to become the property of my employer).

I hadn't heard of Dash before, but I'm now a big fan.

Iwildernorva,

Is this Dash HSPA compatible?

FYI... Dash is the model. BLU is the manufacturer.

http://bluproducts.com/

The ones you linked too lack the TV tuner. It isn't a hugely handy feature, but for $4 more, I thought it would be kind of fun. It supports international analog TV, and I've found several stations when I'm on the road.

The last thing Miss Swede needs to be doing on her phone is watching TV. :D

The Dash D270, D170, and D150 say they have...

3G 850/1900 HSDPA 7.2 Mbps

so you have it on hand and you've tried it? How does the sim switching work?

-David

I'm looking into one of these phones for use in the UK and Spain. When in Spain last year I got a Vodafone SIM for free that would not work in my Samsung Vibrant - the free minutes and internet access for 10 euro was such a good deal but I couldn't use it. Would the Dash phones for under $30 be good for some kind of internet access?

No switching required, other than for outgoing calls. You can change the active outbound sim in the menu. Inbound, both work at the same time.

The Dash varieties start at about $85.

I guess it depends what kind of applications you need the data for. They are single-core proc phones with Gingerbread (Android 2.3).

There are also some other cheapie Gingerbread phones in the $70-$100 range; I've been pretty happy with this Pantech ($69) as a spare and prior to switching my main US phone to an unlocked GSM one, as a primary out-of-the-US travel phone.

I have a Blu VIVO 4.3 D910i and have to say Blu tech support isn't very responsive. I sent in a query two weeks and am still waiting to hear back. Also not easy to get replacement batteries.

I have an old Blueberry T7105 as my backup phone and it is still going strong. I don't have confidence the Blu VIVO will be equally durable.

Not sure I will buy another Blu product.