Dear All, I am trying to find out about the reception capabilities of individual models of mobile phone (not network coverage).

I am currently under contract to 3 and have a Nokia6151.

I have had continuous difficulty with reception since I took out the contract whch I had put down to poor coverage by 3, however a collegue recently moved to 3 (identical contract) but with a Sony Ericson (610i) handset.

Standing together at several locations, he gets a three or four bar signal, where I get one or none (this includes my own house, and an event location at which we are organisers- both listed for full coverage). My subsequent reaction was that my phone was faulty, but on approaching my local 3 dealer, was told, that the reception capabilities of the assorted handsets vary widely!

I have since been trying to find out where I can actually access this information in order to find a buy a new handset which better meets my needs.

Can anyone help?

I would also welcome any specific reccomendations from forum members as to a model which may suit my (somewhat unusual) needs.

Reception: I must have acceptable reception in: my home in Glasgow, the Island of Arran, parts of Cumbria, Brora (near Inverness), and Biggar. All these appear a full strength on 3 coverge, but in reality I get little or no signal making my phone all but useless.

Battery life: I am a very light user (the contract was a mistake, I shall be returning to PAYG), except for two weeks in August when I organise a festival, and am frequently moving for 4 days on the trot, often driving a number of different vehicles. I find I get 2 days on stand by, out of my Nokia, and about half a day if I'm actually using it. This is worthless. While I undrstand the phone is not yet here which will do 4 days usage on a single charge, there must be something better than what I have.

Blue tooth: I drive, I need this facility.

Robust Contruction. Anything in my possession will generally meet the ground at least once a week. If it can't survive some knocking about, it's no good to me.

Appearance, memory, camera, games features, radio etc ........ completely unimportant.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer help or even a suggestion of where to go for this information.