Samsung Convoy 4 B690 Verizon CDMA Rugged Flip Phone w/ 5MP Camera - Blue Black

Very good basic phone. The speaker volume and clarity are good in noisy environments, and my voice is clear to people I talk to. Furthermore a SIM card can be installed, but a SIM card is NOT required on a CDMA network. You can also add a microSD memory card up to 64GB capacity for media and contacts storage. I don't know how or even whether it works on a GSM network, so it might not be a good flip phone for international travel-- but perhaps The mobile data is limited to 3G, so don't expect to browse the web in any meaningful way.The camera is not the selling feature, so don't expect much. The camera works fine for what it is but it'very very limited in its ability to gather light and resolution. Don't expect pictures or videos to compare well against even those taken with an entry level, inexpensive smartphone.NOTE: Be aware that emoji cannot be displayed in TXT / SMS messages. You'll receive a blank message if someone sends a text to you that contains an emoji. Also while you can send group messages, all the replies will come back as individual messages and not as replies to the original group message. The T9 keyboard mode also does not include the characters < > | { } [ ] ( ) % @ / | or |, so it's impossible to compose old school emoticons with this phone. If you're switching back to a flip phone from a smartphone and are a heavy user of text messages these details are important to know up front.

First off, I'm sick of you people falsely reviewing these products! Really folks? I bought this because of the mostly good reviews and look what I got! I now have a $153 phone that I can't return! Apparently that's how long they expect these phones to last isn't it?!!!CONS:A seriously slow processor! Come on Samsung; it's 2017! It takes 2 or 3 pushes of the "end" button to hang up a call. One push to get the display back on and another 1 or 2 to actually get the cell tower to end the call. Having to push a button to get the display back on is a problem because some calls require us to press buttons for various departments and that's tough in the dark when the keypad isn't lit up.Often I have to wait 2-3 seconds after I open the phone before I am able to be heard by the calling party. This is because of the slow, intermittent processor. Sometimes I open it up and have to press a button to be heard!Turning on the speakerphone is often not doable. I have to repeatedly push the button hard and even hold it until the speaker kicks in (if it does). Eventually I will get sick of this and look for a different flip phone. Officially sick of this cheap Jap junk September 2017!Pros:A rugged flip phone with good volume that allows the mouth piece sit closer to my mouth than other flip phones. Sadly that's the only pro!

I chose this phone because of the multiple reviews attesting to its durability. But that was only one criteria I used. Other considerations included the ability to use GPS navigation, to access the internet on a limited basis if needed, a decent camera with enough memory for a trip's pictures, an MP3 player and most importantly of all, good accessibility for the blind. At activation I was pleasantly surprised at how well the readout worked on every function I tried. Then I got the first disappointing news. The GPS service wasn't included, it had to be downloaded and then paid for in addition to my usual bill. Not entirely unexpected. Then I contacted Verizon to inquire about activating the GPS and internet services, only to be informed that Verizon, not to mention most of the other major cell carriers, stopped supporting those services for ALL basic phones as of the first of this year. To use those services you are now required to pay for a smart phone and deal with the associated headaches! That means twice the bill, constant update issues, crashing, constant attempts at hacking and cloning of your phone, not to mention the constant pop-up ads, and of course the constant need to be on guard against theft!. Exactly the reasons I don't want a so-called smart phone.Being BLIND, I thought it might be useful to be able to figure out where I am if I happen to take a wrong turn. No such luck! Another problem is, I'M NOT RICH! I don't make enough money to constantly be buying new phones when I break one of those worthless pieces of sugar glass in a plastic case they claim are supposed to be durable. I've been there when brand new $800.00 I-fone 7 Pluss screens have shattered after being knocked off a coffee table onto a normally padded shag carpeted wooden flor! Less than 18 inches, really? And you want me to buy one of these?! No, that was not an isolated incident, only one experience I've had involving the accidental death of a smart phone.As I've said twice now, I AM Blind, I do not drive, I have to walk everywhere I go unless a city bus can take me there. Not so bad, right? Well, consider that I live in the lovely liberal heart of the country, good old Washington State, near Seattle. That means nine months out of the year IT'S RAINING! Guess what else smart phones don't handle well!Anyway, enough of my rant! Sorry, well not actually. I did give this phone 4 stars though and here's why. First, I prefer flip-phones. And I really like this one because it's easy to hang on to, It's very solidly built, the screen reader is very good and allows me access to all the working functions. I tend to break fragile electronics by the very nature of my disability and often also because of my hobbies which are often active and include inclement environmental conditions (i.e. thunderstorms on the back of a motorcycle at 70 mph). All of this means I need a phone made to stand up to tough use, hence the selection of a military spec phone. I sometimes even get the opportunity to travel outside the country, and I wanted something that would be able to keep me in touch if necessary and I think this phone will do the job.For blind users there's another consideration. If you use this phone, make sure to set up your accessibility options manually. If you use the Full readout setting, it will turn on ALL the accessibility features including dialing readout and the Fllip Open and Talk functions. The problem is, even once you begin a call, say to your bank, the dialing readout will continue to announce the numbers dialed over the speaker for the whole world to hear. What that means is that if you dial in your bank account number you've just given it to everybody in hearing range. Same with PIN codes and the like. If you use the Full readout option I suggest you make sure you use an earbud or Bluetooth device to protect your privacy and security. As for the Flip Open and Speak, I find I have to simply tell the phone to cancel when I open it to stop this feature. Since I am blind and have yet to memorize the menus I haven't been able to turn off the full readout without losing the ability to access my phone. This is because turning off Full readout turns off all the accessibility features. Please note, this isn't so much a complaint as a warning to other blind users. DO NOT turn off the full readout without someone there to help you unless you know exactly where everything is on the menus and you're confident you can navigate them without sighted assistance. They are pretty extensive and complex, but that is to be expected in a device with so many functions. My advice is just be careful! If you are, this phone will work beautifully. I would recommend this phone for blind users who either can't afford or don't want to use a smart phone. If you do opt for an I-Fone be sure to get a really good case! From what I've heard, insurance won't cover the replacement cost if you drop it.Please do me, and everyone else who chooses not to use a smart phone for whatever reason, a favor folks, put pressure on your cell providers to stop removing functionality from phones affordable to disabled and/or less priveleged individuals like myself. We too have need for these services and not all of us can afford or want the headaches of owning and using a smart phone.

Thought this would be an improvement over my older Convoy. It was not. Drops calls at a slightly higher rate than the old one. Camera is better than old one but not huge difference. It is adequate in good light and no movement. Buttons do not work the best...it is usual to have to press a button more than once to get it to work. Button shape at top of keypad used for texting is not optimal.....fingers want to slide off into the other keys easily (old convoy buttons worked better). Honestly the only thing this does better than the old convoy is pictures. That is it. It is adequate but frankly I paid a lot of money for a flip phone that doesn't seem to work that great. I have tried to stay away from the high priced smart phones but I may go ahead and finally buy one because A) They are getting cheaper all the time B) They tend to have great cameras which is a big selling point for me etc. I don't recommend this phone based on price alone....if it was a 20 dollar flip phone no problem. Not for 150 dollars plus. No way. Disappointing purchase.