From my experience, I have found that Nokia and Motorola phones are typically the best as it relates to reception. The Nokia phones typically make better use of the battery, though it varies from model to model. I would suggest looking at the specs for any phone you are considering and look at both talk time and standby time. A phone that has 12 hours of talk time is excellent, but more phones these days have less talk time because of the graphics and additional features. 7 hours of talk time, is actually pretty good these days.

Keep in mind that if you are going to use a Bluetooth headset that Bluetooth is a huge drain on the battery and you will see your battery life shorten significantly. If you are going to use Bluetooth, I would suggest one of the Motorola headsets that is only on when you open it versus one that stays on all the time. These are much more efficient.

To get the most out of a cell phone, it is always a good idea to purchase a phone from a cellular provider. The reason for this is that the cellular providers put devices through rugged testing and only choose devices that meet strict criteria, including reception, dropped calls, etc.

Many of the manufacturers make phones for both CDMA and GSM networks. There are devices that are great on the CDMA network, but not so good on the GSM netWith the major providers, you will need to have a device from that provider. You don't have to buy a new device, but you wouldn't be able to start up service unless you had a device from that provider. So, if you purchased an unlocked GSM device on-line and then went to T-Mobile, for example, and provided them with the IMEI number of that device, they would tell you that the device was not a T-Mobile device and that you would not be able to start up service without a T-Mobile device.

If, however, you started up service with T-Mobile and got a phone at little or no charge and then purchased an unlocked GSM device on-line, you could take the SIM card from your T-Mobile phone and put it into the new device and it would work.

A couple of things to keep in mind. The major carriers all test the devices they sell extensively and only sell devices that meet very specific criteria. If you were to use a device that was not supported by the carrier, you may have issues, such as dropped calls, etc.

When you purchase your device through the carriers, with your service, the device is under warranty (typically 12 months) with the provider. You are also guaranteed that the device has been tested on the specific network, etc.

So, since it appears that you already have cell service...if it is GSM service (i.e., T-Mobile or Cingular) and you purchased a GSM phone on line, all you would have to do is put your SIM card in the device.

If you have CDMA, Verizon or Sprint, you are going to have a much harder time because CDMA does not use SIM cards - your wireless number is associated with the ESN number of the device. I believe you would have a hard time getting them to put your non-carrier phone ESN into the system.

Most providers will allow you to upgrade your phone every 24 months and at that time, you can take advantage of the same types of discounts that new customers get on devices.
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