DescentBB

I have Cingular for a provider and am changing over from the analog system to the GSM system. So I got a choice for some cell phones that won't cost me a dime.
They are:

Moto V551

Blackberry 7100g

Nokia 6102

I've eliminated other choices as they had bad reviews (like the moto v180)

My main two criteria are reception and loudness of ringer (I eliminated the Sony Ericcsson Z500 due to extremely weak ringers...and yes the volume was set all the way up).

My first choice will be the Motorola V551 as it seems to meet my basic criteria. A question for you is how good do external antennas help in boosting a weak signal? The V551 has a external antenna jack.

The Nokia got a lot of good reviews though when I did a side by side comparison at the cingular store the Nokia did not seem to have as good of recept as the V551. Nor does it have a antenna jack.

The Blackberry is attractive for all its capabilities but it had the lowest reception and no antenna jack.
So give me your impressions and thanks in advance.

I support BBs at work here and I have one myself. find they work fine for cell phone usage. they are the same as regular cell phones. It all depends where you are in a building wether you get reception or not.

Does something like this actually work?

http://www.cell-phone-accessories.com/b ... anbo1.html

Actually, we don't have the antennas and they seem to work fine here.

Unfortunately at my home I have next to no reception.

You may be to far from the tower. We have different providers and between the 2, some are better in North America while the other is better around the world.