Will there be a 4G Basic phone with QWERTY keyboard?

[cmoo]

You're killing their phones in less than 45 days, They need access now and don't have time to abide by that bogus tip that won't help them!  Start looking elsewhere ladies; Verizon don't care about you!

[vzw_customer_support]

We are concerned to hear that you are having issues with your service. This is definitely not the experience that we want for you to have, and we will be glad to look into the issue to get it corrected. To confirm, what exact issues are you having with your service at home? Have yu tried to restart your device to see if the issue continues? DavidR_VZW

[Bobzwyfe]

The best feature phone I ever purchased - and still use - is the Samsung Zeal, also now named the Alias.  It flips two ways with the long side flip being useful for texting with the QWERTY keyboard.  I LOVE this phone and am very saddened to learn that it will likely not be supported much longer.  I also have no desire for a "smart"phone as I don't desire to be tracked and don't like the exposure it gives to be hacked.

Please develop a "modern" feature phone just like the Samsung Zeal.  I have a perfect name for it:  The Throwback!  Don't make it like a senior citizen phone with "simple" features and large buttons.  Use the Zeal as your prototype and just make it to be used with today's networks.  I'd buy at least one, maybe two!

[vzw_customer_support]

Bobzwyfe, I can certainly understand your sentiments about being able to use the phone of your preference, and we're here to help. Fortunately, you may continue to use the following phones upon retirement of our CDMA network: https://www.verizonwireless.com/basic-phones/ I have also included the following resource with additional information: https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/knowledge-base-218813/ Let us know if this helps.

LorenzoP_VZW

[mama23dogs]

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@Bobzwyfe wrote:

The best feature phone I ever purchased - and still use - is the Samsung Zeal, also now named the Alias.  It flips two ways with the long side flip being useful for texting with the QWERTY keyboard.  I LOVE this phone and am very saddened to learn that it will likely not be supported much longer.  I also have no desire for a "smart"phone as I don't desire to be tracked and don't like the exposure it gives to be hacked.

Please develop a "modern" feature phone just like the Samsung Zeal.  I have a perfect name for it:  The Throwback!  Don't make it like a senior citizen phone with "simple" features and large buttons.  Use the Zeal as your prototype and just make it to be used with today's networks.  I'd buy at least one, maybe two!

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Carriers don't make or 'develop' phones.   In your case Samsung made a phone it could sell.  The demand just is not there.  

[cmoo]

Bobzwyfe

Your phone is simliar to my LG 3 Comos they're refered to as slider phones and yes they want those gone really bad.  A really big beef of mine is that Verizon sold me this phone that's on their unique CDMA network so it doesn't have a SIM card. Meaning, we can't take it out, go to another provider and continue to use our phones. This is the WORST case of Customer service every witnessed and I've been around a while. Even their reply to your comment is lame. While she gives you a warm lip service, providing links to click on, they go to the page to sell you a smart phone and the other tells your your phone will stop working in 31 days from now.

Now, to us hoping they'll throw us "Loyal Customers"  that love our phones a life raft, they won't! And I'd bet money that if we don't cancel the auto-pay feature, they will continue to take our money. It's my understanding that once you make the auto prepay payment it's NONREFUNDABLE! Their aliby will be we published that we were ending CDMA 0n 12-31-19. Well, they never sent me an email or a letter. I would not have known if I hadn't started to replace my LG 3 Cosmos this past August

Verizon was on top for a long time and no telling how many folks that switcjed to them after hearing me brag about the signal coverage. That's all gone now, as you can see they've morphed into a "For Profit Only" company that lacks genuine customer support.  I get it, they can make more money on customers with smart phones, but to cut ours off in order to make us buy one is, as Hillary says, Deplorable!  

[hearmenow123]

Well, let's not get carried away with the conspiracy theories.

CDMA is (was) a very good technology and frankly is one of the reasons I picked Verizon as a carrier back in the day, almost 20 years ago now!

From what I can tell , 4G has a lot of advantages over CDMA even for regular voice and text usage. The voice quality is better, texts arrive much faster. The number of subscribers per bandwidth is much larger, which means that the carriers can offer service at a lower cost. The coverage is very good, especially on the 600/700 MHz bands. I know this because I have been using one of the new 4G Kyocera flip phones for the last 6 months. Typing is awful awful but otherwise it's a great phone with great service.

And -last but not least- as you point out the CDMA phones were locked to Verizon, thus requiring you to buy a new phone when you switch carriers, and limiting certain models of phones to certain carriers. 4G helps with that too! 

Which brings me to my point - as part of the FCC deal to get the 700 MHz spectrum, Verizon now allows BYOD devices, meaning you can bring a (compatible) device on the Verizon network even if it's not a Verizon phone. That means you have a much larger selection of phones to choose from.

Keyboard phones are still far inbetween , but a few companies are working on them. I decided to put my money where my mouth is and helped fund a phone called the Cosmo Communicator

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cosmo-communicator/

I just received mine in the mail today and yes indeed you can use it just fine for calling and texting, and you are NOT required to purchase any data service.

The keyboard and screen are much better than the old keyboard flip phones. The Cosmo is almost like a little laptop. It also has the outer screen that displays notifications just like the clamshells. I've only used it for about an hour but so far I really like it. For the longest time I carried two phones - a flip phone as an actual phone, and a smart phone without a plan just to listen to music/podcasts, get driving directions etc. Now at last it will all be integrated. What a concept!

There is a special Verizon version of the Cosmo Communicator. This is not because Verizon is "locked" but rather the Verizon version supports the additional spectrum that Verizon has , for better coverage.

The downsides , I would say, it's bigger and heavier than the LG enV , and much more expensive, about $600. I never thought I'd pay that much for a phone , but as said, sometimes you have to put your money where your mouth is. 

There is a more compact (but not cheaper) phone on the way called the FxTec Pro1. This one has a slider keyboard. I ordered one for my wife but have not received it yet. I will update this thread when I receive it. 

PS: Kudos to Verizon for extending the 2G shutdown for another year! I read that AT&T did it in 2017, so Verizon is giving us an extra 4 years of use of our legacy devices. Instead of complaining I say we should be thankful that they're being considerate.

[mama23dogs]

@hearmenow123   That's a pretty wild looking device.  It's big, which for many will be a turn off.  And I'm sure the price is going to be a bummer for many.  
But you could type on that thing with gloves on.   

When you get to that point, you might as well get the Key two.    

[hearmenow123]

@mama23dogs  yes it's pretty large, expensive , you'd be using only 1/10th the functionality for just a phone and texting. 

The FxTec pro1 should be smaller but otherwise is still expensive and over-featured for most people.

The key two (1) has microscopic raccoon keys and (2) will require you to pay for a data plan. Also it is (3) not a flip / clamshell phone so the screen and keyboard are vulnerable. 

[mama23dogs]

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@hearmenow123 wrote:

@mama23dogs  yes it's pretty large, expensive , you'd be using only 1/10th the functionality for just a phone and texting. 

The FxTec pro1 should be smaller but otherwise is still expensive and over-featured for most people.

The key two (1) has microscopic raccoon keys and (2) will require you to pay for a data plan. Also it is (3) not a flip / clamshell phone so the screen and keyboard are vulnerable. 

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You gotta know I have a phone problem.  I need a 12 step program.  I have 2 in service on Verizon, and bought 2 just this past month, so I have 4 total.   The communicator is big enough to put me off.    I'm kind of looking for something little.  I almost bought a palm.  
😂