F3 won't work in the US

The US uses 850MHz & 1900 MHz for GSM, most of the rest of the world uses 900 MHz & 1800 MHz. The F3 uses the latter 2 frequencies and won't work in the US. Assuming you are a Cingular/T-Mobile customer, you can just buy an unlocked GSM phone (remember to check to make sure it works with US frequencies) and stick your SIM card in it. For a cheap, dependable model, may I suggest the Sony Ericsson T637? Yes, it has some of those features you don't want. But you can get one as cheap as the aforementioned F3.