If you are looking for a minimalist cell phone-- the most basic of the basic cell phones-- look at this phone. The phone is very reasonable, priced at about $30. Two of my roommates just bought one, so I thought I would investigate what all of the fuss was about.  It truly is the simplest of phones--great for people who want an easy to use and straight forward phone, don't want to be constantly connected or at the very least hate charging their phone.

The phone features text messaging, regular calling, has an alarm clock and some other basic functions. It also has excellent battery life, up to 12 days. It has an electronic-ink display, meaning that's it's very easy to read even in bright sunlight and also uses less energy (which is why is has such great battery life). When you aren't using the phone, the time is displayed in large print in the center of the screen.

It's compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile. It's a dual band GSM cell with 850/1900 frequencies and GPRS capabilities.