I can't be the only one that needs a compact robust mobile phone that
doesn't need recharging every day and does the basics very well. I have
had a Nokia 6303i for ages and that was ideal until it had a terminal
encounter with a bucket of water. I have gone back to my previous 6300
but its battery life was never much good when new and is much worse now.

I am in the market for a new mobile phone, but I have very specific
requirements for maximum standby time and talk time between charges. I
have no need of facebook, twitter or 3G on this phone. It does need to
last well and work when it accepts incoming calls on lowish battery. It
is no use if it bumbles along and then dies sounding the ringtone!

It is likely to be used a lot in regions of poor 2G signal coverage and
so when in use will be transmitting at or near maximum power.

My jaundiced view of the present mobile phone market is that touch
screen all singing all dancing web browser things are now de rigeur. Not
what I want at all. Even considering buying another 6303 secondhand
which would at least give me something I know my way around.

A quick survey of classic mobile phones gives me the following
candidates (but it is hard work finding talk/standby hours).

Ranked in order of battery life (and probable robustness)
Talk Standby / hours
Samsung XCover 19 1000
Samsung GT S5260 II 7 900
Nokia Asha201 7 890 (alpha keypad)
Nokia 206 20 680
Nokia C5 12 600
Nokia C7 5 650

All in theory with better figures than the 6303.

I have my suspicions that makers standby hours are measured inside a
hermetically sealed Faraday cage with no ambient RF signals at all. I
never get anything like the makers claimed standby life on mine.

Any other suggestions for well built classic mobiles with *really* good
battery life (or with extended life aftermarket batteries)?

Any experience of these phones and suggestions of which to avoid?
(some come in various flavours with variations in battery life)

In theory the Samsung XCover would appear to be a good candidate and
would have survived the dunking that killed its predecessor.
It is a bit on the chunky side though...

Thanks for any enlightenment.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown