Cell Phone Recommendations?

Jay Nistetter

Jay Nistetter

New member
I am looking to buy a new cell phone.

I currently have an older Qualcom by Kyocera that typically makes connections in remote locations that many of the newer ones do not. The problem with it is that the LCD screen is getting almost impossible to read.

So… Can any of you Gadget Tekkies recommend something suitable for hunting/outdoor applications?

Any models NOT to get?
 
FWIW, Recently upgraded from my old c-phone. Bought a new U.S Cellular [Motorola, model V262 c-phone]. A couple wks ago.


Our new dog...[wife's], apparently had anger management problems with me /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/angry-smiley-055.gif. Decided to [maul] it one night.

Phone still works, dog has been adjusted /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif.
 
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Hello MOTO! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I like the Motorola phones, had several in the past and one now. My folks have the LG I think my dad is going to run it over with the truck!
 
i had a dog eat a $70 remote one time,,he got adjusted too,he was sent packing,,it WAS the wifes dog and after i explained that if she loved the dog so much that she could go with it too,she said,well i never liked the dog to well anyway,,lol
Bob
 
I used to work in the biz, once upon a time. A lot has changed since then, but then again, some things haven't.

The type of phone you can get is going to depend largely on who your career is, or who you want it to be. This varies quite a bit from region to region. Up here in the SLC, UT area we have Cingular, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, and a few others. Back when I was working for Airtouch, which became part of the merger with Bell Atlantic and a few others to form Verizon, There were three basic technologies, or bands, being used by the different carriers. TDMA, CDMA, and GSM. There are all individual frequencies within that. I think most phones nowadays are multi-frequency capable, i.e. capable of running on either a 900 mhz or 1800 mhz signal, but I don't know how many are multi-band, meaning they can handle TDMA and CDMA, etc. The long and short of it is, we could sit here and throw phone names and models at you until the cows come home, but they may or may not work with your chosen carrier. So who do you plan to use?

I guess since you had a Kyocera phone with Qualcomm technology it would be reasonable to assume you were using a CDMA carrier, as Qualcomm basically came up with that. Do you plan to stay with this carrier?
 
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Currently I have AllTel as a carrier and doubt very seriously if any other carrier could beat or even match the calling plan I have so I will most likely stay with AllTel.

My wife has a LG. The first one was a POS and Verison (her carrier) upgraded her to a newer model LG. The newer model has been replaced 3 times in 1-1/2 years. Her latest one sounded decent on the speaker phone, but one month later she sounds like Darth Vader.

LG is COMPLETELY out of the question for me as a possibility due to first-hand experience. That little problem with a cell phone kept me from even considering LG as a possibility for a big-screen TV. Funny how that happens.
 
I had very good luck with coverage in rural areas with Verizon. AllTel, and I may be wrong in this, actually operates on the same technology and frequency. SOund and call quality should be about the same with a couple of variables: The amount of traffic versus capacity on the system in your area and the individual quality of the handset your using. There's not much you can do about the first one.

As far as handsets, QA on these things is fair to poor with just about every manufacturer. There will always be some lemons with every brand and model. But having said that, and given your system requirements, I'd go with most Motorolas (quality on these have slipped compared to their phones of 6 to 7 years ago, right about the time they went with a Chinese manufacturer, but they're still pretty good. Just not practically bulletproof as they used to be.) in a heartbeat.

I like Nokia's quite a bit as well, but they don't make many phones for CDMA providers. The ones they do don't work all that well on CDMA systems. Being Finnish in origin, most of their market in in Europe and Asia, as well as TDMA/GSM systems here in the US. I've had mixed call quality with Nokia CDMA phones, but they take a beating better than most.

I never liked LG, but the new phones are much better than their previous offerings. Still, I'm kind of like you, my bad experience of a few years ago makes me shy away.

If it were me, I'd probably go with a Motorola. That's what I've got now and it's been great. My wife currently has the same phone, actually washed and dried hers, as it was left in her pants pocket, not once but twice. And after pulling out the battery and letting it dry a good 12 hours, it powered up and worked great.
 
I have not had any issues with any of my LG phones... Wife and kids will continue to use the LG and I am moving up to a blackberry. I also on the verison plan.... so call me crapshoot! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Echo, but Verizon for rural coverage. Then you have to pick the phone from there since it has to work with your carrier. If you're unfettered (by any prior service contracts with other carriers) then you can usually get an intro deal with someone like verizon. My wife and I got Motorolla camera phones, they're good, but have problems making good contact with the charger after awhile.

Verizon is best in rural areas, but somehow Sprint has better coverage in my mountains... I found out while hunting with a friend. Would have got out after cats more while my wife is expecting if I had better coverage up high! You need to get the best for where you're at.
 
I recently did the phone thing too. We switched from Cingular(sucks) to Verizon which has great coverage in our area because they have digital & analog. We have had mostly Motorola & Nokia phones in the past. The Nokia candybar style phones are the toughest with good sound & great reception. The Motorolas generally have better sound with lesser build quality. Either brand with the flimsy little antenna will get better reception in remote areas. Our store didn't have the Nokia so we got the Motorola V276. It has good sound quality & very good reception in remote areas switching from digital to analog flawlessly. Not Nokia quality & design but we are past the try out period. Last note, GSM phones & service gave us the most trouble.
 
A word about carriers... Last July I switched over to Cingular after being on Verizon, or it's predecessor, since '98. I loved the coverage and what was then, freedom to mave from plan to plan at anytime, as often as I needed, without any financial penalty or renewed obligation (extending the contract). Well, apparently this freedom from contract restrictions was done away with over time by the high muckee-mucks at Verizon. I really loved this feature, in addition to good coverage everywhere excet in the most remote spots, or where otherwise blocked by things like mountains surrounding my position. Well, as I mentioned above, I decided to give Cingular a try. ...They're not bad, especially in urban and suburban areas. But they're coverage in the areas where I like to play with guns and various critters left me wanting. I'll be going back to Verizon just as soon as I can. I had cell coverage with them in spots where I never expected it. For folks of our passtimes and intrests, this is a very important feature, if you ask me.

I'm not that familiar with Alltel, they may share networks with Verizon or some other company. I know they are more of a regionalized carrier than some others, like Cingular, Sprint and Verizon. The FCC regulates how many carriers can be in a certain market or region. Most carriers have agreements with other carriers for roaming issues. Some charge, some don't. Alltel may even be Verizon, more or less, or some other company, operating under a different, more regional accepted name to justify higher airtime rates, fees, and to escape running afowl of monopoly regulations.
 
It's funny you counldn't pay me enough to give up my LG for a Motorola. Where I'm at you can't get any signal with a Motorola. We've had three or four of them and they have always been thrown in the trash. The LG's we have had have lasted through a lot. I dropped mine 15' onto concrete and other than some screen damage it worked great. Dad had a dozer run over his and it worked but the screen was gone. It's funny how different people have different experiences with the same products.
 
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Hey Jay, change your carrier to Verizon and get the Motorola V710. It's the best I've found so far.



Thats what I have and have been happy with it along with the service. It's also Bluetooth capable. It just all depends what you wanna do with it. Like some, I have no need to text message, play games, etc. I just wanna phone that works! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I don't know much about cell phones but the service providers must make lots of money.

Last week Alltel completed the buyout of Cellular One here and they bought lunch for every person that was in every restaurant in Elko. Between the casinos and the transient traffic off the interstate there are a lot of restaurants in Elko.

Jack
 
i use my phone for work everyday. like in the duck blind and out hunting. i have GSM service. i have a Sony Ericcson with the odd antenna. it works pretty good. i had a Motorola Razr which i traded back after a couple weeks. it was bad reception. i had a Nokia before which i HATED. i had motorola V60's before that with TDMA service and they were pretty good.
My wife has a SAMSUNG which is the best phone ever! she gets reception everywhere(even in the basement and bomb shelter). she won't trade it to me for anything......
 
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I

Last week Alltel completed the buyout of Cellular One here and they bought lunch for every person that was in every restaurant in Elko. Between the casinos and the transient traffic off the interstate there are a lot of restaurants in Elko.

Jack



Hey Jack, In your area, How is the cell phone service in your area (meaning which major carrier works best there?), because we hunt area 10 all the time and a friend just bought property in Pearl Creek near Harrison Pass.
 


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