If anyone could be so kind as to lend their advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

I haven't owned a phone before and live in a rural area. Only two networks have acceptable service (Verizon and Unicel). Since Verizon agreed to purchase Unicel today, I guess Verizon it is. I go to school in a suburban area and will be using the phone there as well.

I'm looking for a phone that is going to get great reception in both the rural and suburban settings. Battery life and call quality are also very important. Any suggestions for me? Which phones are going to give me the best reception/battery/quality for my usage and geography?


Those requirements met, I would certainly like to a have a nice looking phone. A flip phone would probably be preferable. Luxuries like an sd card slot, camera, etc I would probably use if I had. That said, I have no plans to subscribe to any data or premium features. So I really have no need for any phone features to make use of premium Verizon stuff. I won't likely have access to the higher speed network all the time anyways.



Bottom line: great reception/battery/call quality is the key. Any cool luxury features beyond that is a perk, but not the top concern. Features that require additional subscription are useless, because I have no plans to spend more money than needed to get phone service.


Thanks for any help in advance.

wow seems like you're going all out for your "first" phone. anyways. motorola razr2 v9m will be out shortly. just get that.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/...Order=Ascending

I'd go with the LG 5300. It's only $30 and comes with a camera. If you want an SD card slot, the 8300 would be a nice upgrade. It's getting old, but it's solid. A regular RAZR V3M is $50, if you're looking for what everyone else has.

I wouldn't go with the Razr i n rural areas not as much gain on the antenna since it doesn't have an external one. I would go with the LGVX 8300 it has the best reception in rural areas that I have seen, my wife and i both had them and enjoyed them very much. Plus with LG's you can customize more than motorola's using BITPIM when you get comfortable with the phone and start learning more about utilizing its potential.

I'd say the moto has the most customizing potential. He could load firmware from alltel and get back the old moto UI with OBEX and load his own themes.

The razr gets pretty good reception in rural areas. I live in the sticks and am lucky to have service but my razr continually has better reception than my fiance's v276 with an external antenna. Can't compare the 8300, never had one.

Motorola RAZR V3m. Great reception, meets all your criteria.

Here we go again.....

Razr gets much better service then any lg i've ever seen or used. 8300s service is not good at all compared to any moto. It's decent compared to other phoens.

Lgs are not more customizeable then Motorolas. Lgs don't have seem edits, non verizon branded firmwares, and not as much confidential Lg software has been leaked as Motorolas which is very useful software for editing phones.

You're right. Here we go again.....

Another Motorola fan that can't accept that any LG could possibly be better than any Motorola.

To the original poster, check out the reviews of the LG 8300 from people that actually own the phone. You'll see its reputation as one of the best phones in all areas of performance that Verizon has ever offered, is well deserved.

i own both, and i live in a fringe area, the razr can get and hold a call anywhere, but i have to put the 8300 on the window sill and im still luckey if it gets a call, let alone holds it. and its been exchanged many times so its not like its a bad one. plus, its very easy to flash the razr to alltel and get skins and stuff. the 8300s flash themes suck and are very slow. the razr is a great first phone.

ok... why don't you just get the razr 2? it'll be out SHORTLY. just like i posted up on top

1) If it's his first phone, he probably doesn't have the cash to blow on a $200 phone.

2) He valued call quality and reception as tops, extra features second. So the RAZR V3m and the KRZR fill those slots.

3) He lives in a rural area, and they'll probably be the last area to get them.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I hope the LG/Moto battles can be kept to a minimum.


I'll probably put in the necessary research to get a phone I'm very satisfied with, and then hang onto it for the next 2-3 years. So if I have to spend some money to do that, it's ok.

Sounds like the Moto Razr and LG 8300 are the recommendations for reception. I've read this elsewhere too. I would assume newer models of these phones (Razr 2, 8700, etc) would also be recommended if I wanted to part with the cash.


I've always been indifferent to the razr's design. While skinny, it is wide and not really all that small of a phone. Add the fact that everybody owns one... The razr2 does look like a very nice phone, but I can hardly justify having half of those features.

Leaning towards the 8300 or an upgrade to the 8700 if I'm feeling rich. Unless somebody can convince me that the razr might give me noticeably better coverage...

Any downside to just purchasing online? The verizon website says they have no coverage in my town, although verizon customers get decent coverage out here. Does it make any difference what location I tell them online?


What will the razr2 cost with contract?


Thanks again.

Of the newer LG phones (8300 and newer) the only one that I know of that has had significant battery trouble is the v1 chocolate. I have owned a v3c and I currently own a vx9800 and both not only got amazing service everywhere I went, but also have amazing battery life. My vx9800 can go 3 or 4 days without needing a charge and I use it to listen to music and as my work phone. Also, I am out on the ocean a lot and service has never been a problem for me. The problem with the chocolate can be corrected (I did it to my girlfriend's phone and she now gets great battery life) by simply conditioning the battery by letting it run down completely and charging it fully, do it for a week and you'll NEVER have a problem again. My choice if I were you would either be an enV or to wait for the v9m since both do (will) have great service and features.

No. One of the pluses is that you can just sit at home and wait for your phone, and whatever mail in rebate there is in store gets deducted online.

Whatever price is in store make sure to add the rebate. Also shop around at stores. I've found 1 store has had prices high while another had them lower.

And no dice about the RAZR2. The moto maxx right now is $200, so I assume it will be 200 or above.

yeah if you're willing to go for it, the MAXX will give you better reception than the 8300, and has a much more unique look than the V3m.

Wow. I've heard a lot of phrases used to describe the V3C, but "amazing battery life" has never been one of them.

Ditto the V3M. Both have pretty small batteries (like most slim phones), around 750 mAh. What'd you do, go with the extended?

For reception get a moto v710 or if you want an upgrade get the E815. The E815 goes days even with using it a lot. And I think it was rated in the top 3 phones for verizon EVER! Buy a cheap phone and then get a E815 or V710 on ebay. If you buy an EVDO phone you will need the E815. And if you get a 1X phone get the V710, that way you can change them out online for free. Oh, and BTW, I think the E815 is STILL one of the best phones out there.

Correction: if you turn off Ev-DO then the razrs have great battery life, I forgot to mention I had done this.