[Hidden-tech] Cell phone reception

[Jonathan Dill]

My experience has been that the phone that you have can make a big
difference.  I made the bad mistake of getting a Treo 600 on Verizon,
I would be sitting across the table from people who were talking on
other phones on Verizon with no problems, and my Treo would be getting
and dropping the signal, even after re-programming and getting
replacement phones.  I did a lot of research and found the reviews and
forums on phonescoop.com to be very helpful.  It may help to know what
analog and digital modes a particular carrier supports, and try to get
a phone that can take advantage of all of the modes that are
available.

I ended up getting a "cheap" Samsung phone that was "tri-mode"
happened to be the same exact phone that I got for my wife for free
when I signed up.  Now I often get a good signal in areas where other
people have no signal.  My wife even managed to find spots where she
could make calls from Jacagua, DR which is like the middle of nowhere.
 I live in Maryland and not Western MA, so don't know how well my
phone will actually perform in the Pioneer Valley (it's a Samsung SCH
a650) but which phone you should get is something to consider when
choosing a plan.  I wish I had spent more time researching it before I
got the Treo 600, although I've heard that later Treo models have
performed much better overall.