I guess phones aren't only calling devices but, just like cars, houses and clothes, say something about you (status symbol). What you mention is a cheap phone that you would be ashamed of pulling out every time you receive a call!

yep, a rugged whirst watch phone!

I read about Chinese amnufacturer that does phones like that and sell on their market, i dont remember well but i think it was about million sold.

I guess the only issue is how do you get someone to pay for less features. There is certainly a "minimum" size for a cell phone where you need to make a press-able keypad and a battery that will keep the phone alive more than a few hours. Since the RAZR is already quite small, what more would you get out of reduced functionality? If you want an old-people phone check this out: http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/05/29/jitterbug-because-cell-phones-scare-old-people/

You can just buy a cheap samsung or motorola cellphone with nice design ($50-60).

Xun Chi 138 is chinese. Its supposedly the smallest phone in the world.

I think the vendor with the lowest-cost plan for a low-end, basic user is Virgin Mobile, whose site it:http://www.virginmobileusa.com/home.do

I acquired a small $50 Nokia phone from them at Radio Shack about a year ago and pay about $15 per month. Their rate for their lowest plan is now $20, but they may give away the phone. Their site looks pretty complex. But they feature price comparisons against their competitors, and their service works OK.