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I used a Kyocera DuraXE for a bit while travelling. It's rugged, and supports LTE/tethering, but I abandoned that experiment due to how unpleasant I find T9 tex

I used a Kyocera DuraXE for a bit while travelling. It's rugged, and supports LTE/tethering, but I abandoned that experiment due to how unpleasant I find T9 texting. I was recently looking for a new phone for my father... he currently uses a Gingerbread-era LG slider phone with keyboard. He's never connected it to data or wifi, only uses it for calls and texting. Doesn't look like there's much available to serve his uses anymore. Maybe a (significantly more expensive than his slider) BlackBerry KeyOne or Key2 which he can also leave disconnected from data.

frosted-flakes 8y ago
Look into the BlackBerry Classic, which was released in late 2014 or early 2015 and runs BB10. It's discontinued, but you should be able to find it on ebay for much cheaper than a new KeyOne/Key2 (which are quite large compared to the Classic). It has a great keyboard and all the built-in stuff works very well and is easy to use (SMS, phone, camera, calculator, calendar, notes, music player, maps, etc.). Battery life is pretty good too, or at least it was when new. I used this phone until the end of 2017, at which point the outdated browser and dead app store (free apps only) started to seriously limit its functionality, but if you don't need those it would work just fine. I use a KeyOne now, but I miss the Classic's smaller form factor.