Do you need to activate a phone to judge it's signal reception?

no you do not need to activate it to determine its signal strength. You can always dial *2 on an unactivated phone to see if it connects ok. If you are having doubts, just return it. Keep in mind, the samsungs (especially the 8500) tend to show more signal than it has. You will notice that when you actually connect a call on the 8500, the bars will drop (sometimes a lot).

 

In the last 18 months, I've had (in order):

1) Samsung 3500
2) Samsung 8500
3) Samsung A400
4) Samsung A460
5) Sanyo 4900
6) LG 5350

In the last week, I've found the LG to have reception equivalent to the Samsungs, which is to say "not impressive." The Sanyo, OTOH, was increadible: rock steady at 4 bars and crystal clear in the same places and conditions where the Samsungs and LG would drop calls or lose service. BUT, I need connectivity to a PDA, and no one offers a serial-to-USB cable for the 4900 (serial on the PDA end, USB on the Sanyo end). So, I need to live with the LG until Sprint starts offering some Bluetooth phones.

Sure, the LG offers more configuration options than the Sanyo, and its screen is better. But, if you don't need PDA connectivity -- either phone can connect to a notebook PC using a USB cable -- I'd go with the Sanyo. It's a bit cheaper, and it does what a cell phone is supposed to do (i.e., MAKE CALLS) better than any other Sprint phone out there.

That said, if you're choosing between the LG and a Samsung, keep the LG. I have a boatload of Samsung accessories that are gathering dust because the phones have become so poor at holding onto service.