The old phones are getting a bit long in the tooth, and coverage spottiness with Sprint (& complaints from clients regarding same) have made it clear it's time to update and/or change carriers.

Couple of basics:

I have 4 phones (for myself & family members) - none of us want, use or need games, ringtones, iTunes etc. - First and foremost we all want phones that work, have a readable screen and a keypad that doesn't require a toothpick to operate.

Phone types - we currently all have Sanyo 4900's, which are the old style (candy bar shaped as one salesman put it) that are easy to use, are dual mode (digital + analog roaming - good for coverage in the sticks) but have the annoying habit of being turned on inadvertently (thanks to a non-recessed keypad). There are also questions about how clear they are, although that may be a Sprint problem or it may be a phone problem (or it could be me doing my best Don Corleone)

Battery life - this is getting to be a sore point - the Sanyos were great for awhile, running a week without charge, now they are lucky to go a day. Yes batteries wear out, but it is still annoying. Anyway, do want to get decent talk & standby time.

Accessories - this pisses me off, every time I change phones I have to get all new accessories, chargers, 12V adapters, everything. Fuckers make a killing off of this stuff and (designing products for a living) I know exactly how little this ChiCom stuff costs and what their markup is. Oh well. [/rant]

Antennas - for really out in the boonies, I have a mag mount antenna with the connector to hook up to the Sanyo's. Not sure if any of the new phones even have an aux. antenna jack. This could be an issue in the sticks.

Analog capability - are all the new phones all digital? Maybe I am stuck with the Sanyos...

What I would like: An analog/digital RAZR-type phone with antenna jack, great display, sound quality & battery life, no bullshit games/chiclet keypads/iPod compatibility - and a carrier with good coverage - not just in the cities.

Two phones that look sharp (but have not seen in person) are the new RAZR V3c & the Samsung MM-A900 (SPH-A900)

Couple of reviews & pix of each:

Samsung MM-A900 (SPH-A900)

Review 1

Review 2



Review 3

Review 4


and the Motorola RAZR V3c

Review 1

Review 2

Review 3



Review 4

Review 5

I'll post a poll, but it will be a 5 choice deal so the #'s won't seem to add up,

thanks for any input - all the choices make my head hurt

ETA: have also read (although many reviews seem to degenerate into pissing matches in teh comments sections) that Verizon restricts web sites while Sprint does not. I do not plan to use a phone for web surfing, but if I NEED to check an important thread on ARFcom, can I access it from either service?

Also, can I hook up the laptop through either if the above option does not work? Are there still extra data charges and is any one carrier better (or much worse) than all the others?

Since I don't expect to use anything beyond basic phone services, the data stuff isn't a dealbreaker, but might as well weigh all the options. thanks again...

Verizon has significant overage charges and two-year contracts. Many Verizon customers fail to see the real cost on their contracts. Verizon also does not list individual numbers called on the bill. Many married people like this one feature, btw.

So, do you need descretion from your spouse but do not mind paying more? Go with Verizon. They have good coverage, but you will pay for it. If you are interested in cost, go somewhere else.

I pay for the phones so I get all the bills (not that I read who called whom) so the final call is mine

I dislike overage charges (Sprint dinged me with a bunch last month - am supposed to have 6000 minutes or something like that, but only 1000 were good anytime, the rest are 9PM-7AM (such a deal!) and 250 minutes of overage doubled my bill. Called & customer service split the difference but still ticked. (Have been with Sprint for a good 10 years +, never went over before)

Found a site where I can compare features side by side:

Link

Looks like neither have analog roaming or real antenna jacks... also one of the phones does not have ring + vibrate available (can't remember which one - this is useful in a high-noise environment - not a dealbreaker but another bug Have noted some complaints about the Verizon UI - maybe the thing to do is just shop around a bit and see who will give me he best deal - would sign up for 2 years but want free phones and accessories in exchange (considering any decent plan with 4 phones is over $100 a month they will make it all back + more)

Guess I should look at Cingular, Tmobile etc. - and need a basic education on just where the phone system is going - is AMPS dead? CDMA? GSM? Hate to get tied into something that is gonna be obsolete.


ETA: This is the current phone - not all that flashy but does have a lot of the basics - maybe I should spring for new batteries and try to get another year or so out of them... (discontinued so will see where I can scare up cheap batteries)

I'd recommend the Motorola E815 provided with Verizon.

The phone itself has more features than the RAZR and is also less fragile. I've got 5 friends with RAZR's provided by Cingular and Verizon and they all sweat my phone. The RAZR's just have the "Cool" advantage.