Which Bell phone has best reception/call quality?

Hello, in a few months I will be eligible for a hardware upgrade as my 2 year contract is ending. I want to get a new phone to replace my Samsung A660 which doesn't have the greatest reception and voice quality. The two phones I'm looking at are the Samsung Jive and the Motorolla RAZR. How is the reception/voice quality of calls on these phones? Features do not matter to me as much as solid connectivity and sound.
Also, could someone tell me how the hardware upgrade works at Bell? Do I get to choose any new phone? Will I have to pay anything? How much should I expect to pay?

Thanks.

Alrighty, some very good questions !

First off, the phones. The Samsung A920 (Jive as you know it), is an excellent handset. It has excellent voice quality and reception, better than the Motorola Razr from my own testing (and trust me, Whitehorse is a prime testing area, we can weed out good from bad phones with little trouble). That said, the V3c (Razr) is also an excellent choice, but personally, I find the Samsung the better phone in quality.

At the end of 24 months, you may do a hardware upgrade. This consists of you signing another contract. If you sign a new 24 month contract, you will receive $150 off the price of a new phone. If you sign a new 36 month contract, you will receive $200 off the price of a new phone.

That said, the price of a Samsung A920 is $349. It all depends how much you want to pay for the phone out of your own pocket. And remember, you can always resign every 24 months, even if you take a 36 month contract.

I work for Sprint, and everyone I know that has the Razr wishes they had the Samsung A920.
Side by side, call quality, audio quality (mp3's), durability, and features, the A920 easily beats almost everything out there, except possible some of the PDA types.
The only upgrade to the A920 that I would consider, is the PPC6700.

Hello there fellow USA roaming agreement company representative

You are very correct, the PDA phones are stellar at the phone part. The Blackberry 7250 and 7130e are by far the BEST "phones" I have ever used in my life.

_Abom_ could you shed some light on the reception/voice quality of the Motorola E815? I've overlooked that handset and maybe I should consider it. How does it compare to the Samsung a920?

As far as I'm concerned, the E815 is better than the 920 in the reception field. It's really hard to tell, the group encompassing the E815, V3c, A920 and A900 are all excellent handsets. They are all in the same class, with slight differences between them. They are all above the A740, A860, LG phones, etc, which are in a lower class.

I have an E815 too, and it's also a very good phone. I hate having to pull up the antenna all the time though. I just prefer the 920's looks and I'm more familiar with it's functionality and menus.
I think the 920 has better sound for mp3's, and of course the external controls.

Do you find that pulling the antenna actually does anything ?

I find that it's 99.9% useless.

Do you find that you have to post in EVERY thread in the Bell Mobility forum...?? Just a question!!

Hey, I post in almost every thread in the Sprint forum...

If you didn't know, take a peek at the link in my sig, the one for the list of moderators.

The only time I don't post a reply in a Sprint thread is if there's nothing left to say. We have a few good members that know enough about Sprint to do my job for me, but for the most part I try to put my 2 cents in on every topic in the Sprint forum.

Abom, keep up the good work.

Thanks Brad

And I only try to help, answer questions and give my input.

The Sanyo 7500 looks like another high end phone that belongs in this group. Do you have any experience with this one? How does it compare to the others?

IMHO there isn't a Sanyo made that can compare in quality to the higher end Samsung's. They just don't have the antenna technology, and in areas where coverage is spotty (most of BC with the mountains for example), you'll be trading that Sanyo in for a Samsung within a week.

I disagree a bit with the Samsung being one of the best. I've been testing all kinds of phones (since Latitude is building a network from scratch), and Samsungs seem middle range, but not the best by far.

However, that said, I'd take a Samsung over a Sanyo anyday.

My opinion, Motorola makes the best 2 handsets at the moment for Bell.