Hey all. I wasn’t going to write a review, but I saw all of these reviews from elderly people saying how difficult it was to use, giving it one star. The phone is about as simple as you can get, not difficult to use at all. For context, I’m 22 and got the phone to reduce my screen time and stay more connected to the world around me. I’ve seen complaints that verizon wouldn’t setup the phone. I understand that can be a varied and difficult process, but I was able to switch mine over in one phone call. All I did was switch my SIM from my old iphone to the flip phone. After that I was able to do everything but receive texts, it took my a day or two to realize my friends weren’t just ignoring me. After that I called into Verizon and they told me I was on the wrong plan for that phone and that I had to verify my new phone. The plan they made me switch to was actually cheaper, which seems like bad business to me but what do I know. I would say that it is important to keep your old iphone in your car. This way you aren’t distracted by it in your house or at work/school, but you can still play all of your downloaded music. You can also bring it inside to wifi so that you can FaceTime and Venmo. The Alcatel itself is very satisfying to pickup/hang-up calls and speed dialing is also pretty cool. The texting isn’t too bad, but is notably slower. They have a pseudo auto-correct that will figure out what you were trying to type if you just press each button once, instead of scrolling through the letters. I find it adds a fair amount of thought and conciseness to my messages, but can be a hang-up in drawn out exchanges. When in doubt, just call. The quality is great and none of my friends even noticed a difference. The camera is kinda crappy, but that isn’t a huge deal for me as I use it pretty functionally. Most photos I take are with other people and other people have smart phones. That’s a pretty key part to a flip phone lifestyle is utilizing the people around you. Other people can google stuff, other cars can use ways to see where cops are, strangers can call ubers in exchange for cash or buying drinks, etc. If I had to guess the thing you would struggle most with in getting this phone is directions when driving. I’ve been driving without directions for some time, so the transition wasn’t brutal, but definitely notable. Today, I generally have a good understanding of my surroundings, but will occassionally have to bust out the paper map of my area kept in my glove compartment. It’s not as hard as you think it is and you will likely get lost a couple times or show up late. The solution to this is easy,: leave early. You won’t have to do this many times, you’ll be surprised how fast you learn an area when you actually have to. And don’t be worried about drives taking a bit longer, there’s no need to rush to a location and save an extra 4 minutes just so you can get home and watch tv a bit faster. In general, things take a bit longer which feels more impactful and you’ll start to see your practical differences to your friends quickly. A nice way to think of it is that overall your still saving time. By getting this phone you could save hours of mindless behavior a week, all for the cost of a few extra minutes of mindful behavior a day. Another complaint that I saw was that it is cheap and only lasts 6 or so months. Which I like, I don’t have to worry about tossing it or it getting stolen because it’s cheap. I noticed the price went up recently, but I bought mine for $40. And I’ll buy my next one, although probably not this model (just for variety’s sake) for about the same price. I could buy a dozen of these and still not be at the price of a full smart phone. So the total lifespan doesn’t really bother me. Its also lightweight and small, but not too small. Overall a great phone for anyone who is trying to actualize more. It may not be the perfect phone, but trust me, its so much better than a smart phone that it’s just important to get in that ring. If there are details that annoy you about this phone a month or two in, then just get a new one. Personally, there this baller ass black and gold slider that I might get next. Or maybe I’ll get a horizontal slider with a full keyboard, or maybe a stainless steel flip. But just get one, because the practical differences in your life between smartphone and dumbphone are astronomical compared to the differences between dumbphone and dumbphone. Compare oranges to oranges and forget about Apple.
Alcatel GO FLIP V 4051S Verizon 4G LTE
$57.04 Save:$12.00(18%)
Available in stock
Description
Price: $69.88 - $57.04
(as of Jul 06, 2024 20:14:56 UTC – Details)
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon
Jake C Horowitz –
Review From Young Person
Hey all. I wasn’t going to write a review, but I saw all of these reviews from elderly people saying how difficult it was to use, giving it one star. The phone is about as simple as you can get, not difficult to use at all. For context, I’m 22 and got the phone to reduce my screen time and stay more connected to the world around me. I’ve seen complaints that verizon wouldn’t setup the phone. I understand that can be a varied and difficult process, but I was able to switch mine over in one phone call. All I did was switch my SIM from my old iphone to the flip phone. After that I was able to do everything but receive texts, it took my a day or two to realize my friends weren’t just ignoring me. After that I called into Verizon and they told me I was on the wrong plan for that phone and that I had to verify my new phone. The plan they made me switch to was actually cheaper, which seems like bad business to me but what do I know. I would say that it is important to keep your old iphone in your car. This way you aren’t distracted by it in your house or at work/school, but you can still play all of your downloaded music. You can also bring it inside to wifi so that you can FaceTime and Venmo. The Alcatel itself is very satisfying to pickup/hang-up calls and speed dialing is also pretty cool. The texting isn’t too bad, but is notably slower. They have a pseudo auto-correct that will figure out what you were trying to type if you just press each button once, instead of scrolling through the letters. I find it adds a fair amount of thought and conciseness to my messages, but can be a hang-up in drawn out exchanges. When in doubt, just call. The quality is great and none of my friends even noticed a difference. The camera is kinda crappy, but that isn’t a huge deal for me as I use it pretty functionally. Most photos I take are with other people and other people have smart phones. That’s a pretty key part to a flip phone lifestyle is utilizing the people around you. Other people can google stuff, other cars can use ways to see where cops are, strangers can call ubers in exchange for cash or buying drinks, etc. If I had to guess the thing you would struggle most with in getting this phone is directions when driving. I’ve been driving without directions for some time, so the transition wasn’t brutal, but definitely notable. Today, I generally have a good understanding of my surroundings, but will occassionally have to bust out the paper map of my area kept in my glove compartment. It’s not as hard as you think it is and you will likely get lost a couple times or show up late. The solution to this is easy,: leave early. You won’t have to do this many times, you’ll be surprised how fast you learn an area when you actually have to. And don’t be worried about drives taking a bit longer, there’s no need to rush to a location and save an extra 4 minutes just so you can get home and watch tv a bit faster. In general, things take a bit longer which feels more impactful and you’ll start to see your practical differences to your friends quickly. A nice way to think of it is that overall your still saving time. By getting this phone you could save hours of mindless behavior a week, all for the cost of a few extra minutes of mindful behavior a day. Another complaint that I saw was that it is cheap and only lasts 6 or so months. Which I like, I don’t have to worry about tossing it or it getting stolen because it’s cheap. I noticed the price went up recently, but I bought mine for $40. And I’ll buy my next one, although probably not this model (just for variety’s sake) for about the same price. I could buy a dozen of these and still not be at the price of a full smart phone. So the total lifespan doesn’t really bother me. Its also lightweight and small, but not too small. Overall a great phone for anyone who is trying to actualize more. It may not be the perfect phone, but trust me, its so much better than a smart phone that it’s just important to get in that ring. If there are details that annoy you about this phone a month or two in, then just get a new one. Personally, there this baller ass black and gold slider that I might get next. Or maybe I’ll get a horizontal slider with a full keyboard, or maybe a stainless steel flip. But just get one, because the practical differences in your life between smartphone and dumbphone are astronomical compared to the differences between dumbphone and dumbphone. Compare oranges to oranges and forget about Apple.
mabar426 –
no quality at all
stopped working after two days, turns off and wont turn back on.
MC –
Great old-school flip for anyone who wants to dodge trackers or stop mainlining the internet 24/7
A workhouse flip-phone for my husband who refuses to use a smart phone for fear of being tracked (ð¤·ð»ââï¸)The battery life on this puppy is unreal -days on a single charge. Durable & functional if all you want to do is text, call, and get lots of attention from incredulous bystanders whenever he pulls it out (& struggles with the old T9 system text system).
Richard W. Siewert –
Pretty Average
Pretty much what I expected from a budget phone. I had another one but it literally fell apart. I had to get this one because it was the only compatible flip that worked on my network (Verizon). I suspect this will follow suit with the previous one that lasted about a year before it broke in two.
Kody –
Battery life sucks along with it NOT being USB-C like most phones. Also gets extremely hot.
Other than what is stated it’s fine, it does what it needs to do. Has old microUSB charging which is dumb so prepare to switch out all your cords, flip phones before it have even come with USB-C and the battery dies fast (which is kinda expected since it’s cheap and the battery is small) so it’s on the charger a lot.Gets hot off the charger, and super hot on the charger, to the point even holding it sucks.The heat causes the keypad membrane to blow up like a balloon but the buttons still work and you just have to poke it back down. (Thought the battery was originally swelling, but nope, just the air inside the keypad membrane heating up and expanding)
Sisyphus –
Great value
Great little flip phone for those wanting a flip, but there is no flashlight, and the picture and video quality are horrid. Good flip for just making calls and texting. Outdated browser makes it difficult to check the simplest things online, but, one can get online with this phone, just don’t count on it to do more than weather checking or the basic Google search. For someone with bad fingers, this phone is exceptionally easy to push the buttons.
John Miller –
Not durable
This phone broke at the hinge after about five months. Until then, it was nice: still an Android phone that I could manage for myself, but still a flip phone so people wouldn’t try to have long text conversations with me. Still able to use it for 4G tethering; difficult to install other people’s apps. But man, it just did not hold up to everyday use.
VICTORIANHIPPY –
Great Phone But Be Aware There is No Sim Card Included
Bought this for my 72 years young Hubby. He had the same one before purchased second hand/used. He is a Farmer that seems to have bad luck with phones. When the last one started dying from being dropped too many times, he asked if I could get the same model because he liked it so much. It’s a very straight forward little phone and simple to use, has an easy to read display and many other nice features. So this time I purchase his first brand new one of the same model, only to find it does not have a Sim card included. Fortunately, being the same model the old Sim card works fine. The cost of a new Sim card is $9.99 through Verizon Wireless, which is reasonable if you don’t already have one. It just through me off a bit when discovering it didn’t already have one included.