Mobile phone used only for calls & SMS

Question

Due to the fact that typical smartphone durability and battery life of is not not always suited to outdoor conditions, I would like to ask you about some simple mobile phone with dual sim. Second-hand items are acceptable

Requirements:

1. dual-sim
2. high quality and durable construction
3. long battery life
4. good call sound quality
5. price range up to $100

Answer 1

The Crosscall Shark V2 seems to fit almost all your requirements. Almost, because with the current exchange rate (Euros to USD) it costs 101$.

It:

• floats (water resistant)
• is IP68 certificated

There are two other phones you may want to look into. The Caterpillar B25 and the newer B30. Here's a comparison of the two.

The only real difference is the battery life. Based on the above linked comparison, the B25 has a bigger battery capacity (1300 mAh vs. 1000 mAh), but the stand-by time is almost 100 hours lower, although the talk time is 3.5 hours higher. ^{Well, on the CAT homepage they seem to have the same talk time. But the B25 has much more detailed specs there than the B30.}

Only the (factory) price is a bit high. It's about 157.90$ (140 Euros), but, as you stated in your question, since second-hand items are acceptable you'll find both phones much cheaper online (50-100$), for example on eBay.

Both CAT phones are:

• IP67 certificated
• water resistant up to 1 meter (3.3 feet) for 30 minutes
• Drop-to-concrete resistant from up to 1.8m (5.9 feet)

I can't make a statement about the call sound quality because I have never held one of those phone in my hand. If you can, check the phones out in a store and compare the sound quality.

Answer 2

The Microsoft Lumia 430 is a nice bet. It was Nokia when I bought it, but it's just the name which has changed and not the specs. I used it for around 2 years, so I can vouch for it.

1. Price: With the current dollar-rupee exchange rate, it would be around $75
2. Durability and quality: It is pretty robust, and durable (have used it for 2 years, and now, my Mom uses it). Water resistant too.
3. Battery Life: Pretty decent. Goes on for 2 straight days with around 2 and a half hours of talking everyday. (1500 mAh)
4. Sound Quality: Bot the sound and call quality are at par with the top android phones in the market.
5. price range: As mentioned, it costs around $75

Answer 3

In Asia, in particular Thailand and India, there are a lot of cheap and popular dual SIM phones. In fact most people seem to have dual SIM phones - I'm not particularly sure why, but I think multiple boyfriends/girlfriends may be partly the reason.

These are all quite similar to the good old Nokia 3310, that is to say, a physical keyboard, and a small, non-touch, screen. These are often around the $40 mark or less, so well within your price bracket. The Nokia 107, for example:

Some others are the Nokia 206, 208, 215, 220, 222, 225, 301, and 515.

This is by no means the full list, but as you can see there are plenty to choose from. Whether these models are available in your country is another question, as they are obviously targeted towards the emerging nascent mobile phone markets, where lost cost is important. In more affluent countries, these may be considered "throw-away" phones, but they do meet your criteria, and do make for great holiday phones.

Also, because there is no touch screen and a smaller screen, the battery life is longer on these phones in general, and only require a charge every other day, unlike most smart phones.