What would be nice is a phone like this with GPS and 3G/4G (with tethering). That way I could ditch my smartphone and use my tablet for actual browsing with the feature phone serving as a router only (whilst still being usable as a phone the rest of the time).
All the feature phones I've looked at don't have 3G/4G with tethering, which means they're unsuitable for my use case.
The 208 has 3.5 g as well. I have owned both the 515 and the 208. While the 515 is better in terms of hardware (aluminum and gorilla glass throughout) it has some software issues and half the ram of the 208, which seems to me has a better software stack.
I used to have an E71 and used that for tethering. It worked well, but it really drained the battery - I think it would last maybe an hour. You might be better off looking into a 'mifi' device, or just getting a tablet with mobile data.
You could look at the low-end Nokia smartphones. My Lumia 530 has dual SIM (one for personal use, one for business) and I only have to charge it once a week (sometimes I even forget and the thing stays alive for 9-10 days). Has all the smartphone capabilities if I ever need them.
Not sure how well it would fare against constant tethering though.
+1 on the Lumia 530. They sell them for $40 AUD outright in Australia (that's $32 USD).
I bought one on a whim and after playing around with it, i'm considering moving full time to it from an iPh6. The camera and screen are the biggest down grades, but otherwise it's just as functional.
I'd buy this phone if it had GPS & 3g/4g as well. It would be a great travel phone. Pop in a local sim, get connected with basic services, have directions available to me, and forget stressing about my expensive primary smartphone being either lost or stolen in another country.
I would argue that if you add 3G/4G and tethering it's no longer a feature phone. The Nokia 215 isn't really a feature phone either, it's a low-end smart phone.
A feature phone that doubles as a 3G hotspot seems like a weird idea. You would add semi-expensive 3G chip, but not use it for the phone is self.
Fair point. What I meant was a phone that does calls and texts the majority of the time (no need for 3G) but has the ability to connect to a 3G (or better) network if needed and can share that connection via some wireless means (wifi, bluetooth).
Perhaps I just mean a mifi device.
I kind of like the option of having a multi-day battery life too.
All the feature phones I've looked at don't have 3G/4G with tethering, which means they're unsuitable for my use case.