Which cell phone should I get?

which carrier?

I live in a dead area, but just bought a Verizon plan w. their cheapie fold-over phone..I can finally get some signals from my house and have few dropped callls in frequently, as long as I face SE. It is the size of an oreo, if you have large fingers, but looks pretty pretty...Has the usual features ( I just discovere the speaker phone by accident) none of which I would use. Alarm clock, TM, calender, stupid rings, etc.

pcmag.com has some good reviews. When I was researching my last phone, I noticed that they (PCMag) tell you what's the best phone for voice calls -- for those who don't need the bells and whistles, but need a phone that drops fewer calls, gets better reception, has good sound clarity, and stays charged a long time. (Why don't phone companies focus on these features? I don't know.)

I have heard very good things about Sony Ericsson phones, as well.

I have Sprint, and I have a fairly basic Sanyo that's pretty good. It's old, though -- one thing you may find is that it's almost impossible to get a phone these days without at least some of the extra features. I think Sprint offers only one or two models that aren't web- and camera phone-ready. If you're looking for the sturdier phones, don't go with the ultraslims, and you might want to avoid the clamshells altogether. Nextel has a couple of "tough" models, and I'm sure Verizon offers something similar.

I was looking at PDA-esque phones a month ago when my motorola ROKR was not acting correctly when I plug the charger in. (I actually got a replacement under warrenty for this very reason.) And due to the cost of the PDA phones I started to look for a cheap temporary phone. If you don't care about a camera or music you can get a really sturdy phone. Check out some of Cingular's phones on their website. They have them sorted out quite nicely. (PS sony ericsson was the best mid-range phone ive had so far, as far as durability: You can drop/slide it on wet concrete and puddles a dozen times and it will still work.) I have also seen a phone (I BELIEVE motorola, not quite sure.) That is completely waterproof - as in works IN the water. So I imagine you could drop that a few times as well.