Antenna

[Busker]

My wife has the LG AX390 cell phone. I have the LG AX8600 cell phone. When were standing in our kitchen, she has atleast one more (if not two) signal bars than I do. Going down a certain road in our town, I have no coverage, but she has one signal bar. Why is her antenna better than mine and when I decide to upgrade, what do I look for that will let me know that particular phone has a good antenna? Thanks for your help!

[spleck]

She has a stub antenna, you do not right? That is probably a big difference there. Also, the number of bars is not always the determining factor in making a call. You may still be able to make calls from all the same locations as her.

If you want a better performing phone, you'll really just need comments and opinions from others. I've always preferred Motos, but different people get different results in different areas.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by Busker

My wife has the LG AX390 cell phone. I have the LG AX8600 cell phone. When were standing in our kitchen, she has atleast one more (if not two) signal bars than I do. Going down a certain road in our town, I have no coverage, but she has one signal bar. Why is her antenna better than mine and when I decide to upgrade, what do I look for that will let me know that particular phone has a good antenna? Thanks for your help!

I'm not fond of LG. Although their CDMA models are much better than their GSM models, the call quality can vary greatly from model to model. Personally I would recommend either a Motorola or Nokia phone if you are looking for the best reception. Motorola and Nokia's quality is much more consistent.

-Jay

[RadioRaiders]

It's hard to tell which phones have better reception than others. The main factors are: lower receive sensitivity, higher transmit power, and higher antenna gain. But these specs aren't usually listed by the phone manufacturers, so it's hard for the consumer to know.

Generally speaking, like Jay said, Motorola, Nokia and SonyEricsson all have good reception, as these are companies with long experience in radio.

[bikebryan]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

I'm not fond of LG. Although their CDMA models are much better than their GSM models, the call quality can vary greatly from model to model. Personally I would recommend either a Motorola or Nokia phone if you are looking for the best reception. Motorola and Nokia's quality is much more consistent.

-Jay

However, you can't buy a new Nokia for Alltel...they don't make CDMA phones anymore.

[spleck]

Originally Posted by bikebryan

However, you can't buy a new Nokia for Alltel...they don't make CDMA phones anymore.

On the contrary. Nokia never fully quit CDMA and they are refocusing on a few new handsets. Nokia 1508 and 1606/3606 are soon to be released. Most likely for MetroPCS/Cricket considering the additional 1700 AWS support, and not for Alltel, but Nokia DOES make CDMA phones.

[bikebryan]

Originally Posted by spleck

On the contrary. Nokia never fully quit CDMA and they are refocusing on a few new handsets. Nokia 1508 and 1606/3606 are soon to be released. Most likely for MetroPCS/Cricket considering the additional 1700 AWS support, and not for Alltel, but Nokia DOES make CDMA phones.

Fine, I stand corrected - but Alltel doesn't use them now, hasn't used them for some time and likely will not use them in the future. Is that better for you?

[Busker]

Originally Posted by RadioRaiders

It's hard to tell which phones have better reception than others. The main factors are: lower receive sensitivity, higher transmit power, and higher antenna gain. But these specs aren't usually listed by the phone manufacturers, so it's hard for the consumer to know.

Generally speaking, like Jay said, Motorola, Nokia and SonyEricsson all have good reception, as these are companies with long experience in radio.

Your main factors listed is what I'm after....there has to be some place we can get those specs?

[MrObvious]

I will say that the 8600 gets great reception and the 390 (IIRC) isn't. I've heard several reports about it and it surprises me.