If you’re thinking of picking up a simple cell phone for yourself or someone else, the relatively new AT&T F160 can be yours for free with a two-year service agreement.
The ZTE-made F160 (it sounds like a Ford truck, doesn’t it?) has some nice midrange features. It’s a 3G world phone with Bluetooth 2.0. There’s a 3-megapixel camera with camcorder, mobile e-mail, instant messaging, and AT&T’s Mobile Music service. There’s also AT&T’s stock browser and other bundled aps like Yahoo Mobile.
The 2.4-inch QVGA screen (320×240-pixel resolution) is typical, and while there is expandable memory, the phone only takes an 8GB microSD card. Also, there’s no QWERTY keyboard, so composing e-mails will be less convenient, even with predictive texting turned on.
Still, you get a decent number of services for a zero-dollar price tag. The AT&T F160 costs $149.99 without a contract.