Actually, I'm pretty good on phones. I just want to have a "contractor grade" phone when I do landscaping and stuff. The Gz One by Casio seems to fit the bill rather nicely, but lately they've been hard to find. It's not a phone with a lot of bells and whistles. It's just a rugged phone that reviews from people who have one say it takes a beating. The one I'm interested in is the "Type V" which can be found here:
http://www.casiogzone.com/home.aspx

Like, I read one review where this guy drops his in a lake at night right near the shore in about 10 feet of water. Can't find it, can't find it... even uses a friend's phone to call it and actually hears it ringing from underwater but still can't find it in the darkness. Comes back the next day in the sunlight and fishes it out. Charges it up... it still works! How cool is that?

My experience over the past 4 years is with Sprint. They seem pretty reasonable and no really large complaints to speak of. This phone is ony available through Verizon. Even now, it's not available online. I'm wondering if I'm putting too much of my expectations on one phone and does it warrant my changing carriers over it. Probably not.

Sprint sells one that's "rugged" but I'm not really sold on it. It's called The Buzz™ ic502 by Motorola. There's also the ic602 which has a camera, and Sprinit also offers the Sanyo SCP 7050. They all claim to be "certified to military standard 810F" for extreme temperatures and vibration, and dust... but it's not waterproof like the GzOne is. Here's the link to it: http://nextelonline.nextel.com/NASAp...itRegionAction

So what would I do with a waterproof cell phone? Probably something really smart... like drop it in the toilet by accident while it was flushing.

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"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left."
Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NIV)

I use to have Sprint, but the phone was crap. The battery wouldn't last a week and I never could find service. I swiched to Verison and am very happy. The battery lasts forever, maybe 3 months at a time, and the service is exelent, but the price is higher than others, but sometimes you must sacrifice cost for quality.

I remember playing football in school with the indestructable 'block' cell phones...throw them over the goal post and they would hit the cement - no problem. Those were the days...

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"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread." - Alexander Pope

I would say, based on my experience that none-of-the-above is the best answer.

I was a consultant on a Verizon contract for 3 years. They structure their fees to suck money out of you like a vacuum! And their model isn't exactly their own.

I choose a pay-as-you go no contract cell. I am not so vain as to be ashamed of saving hundreds of dollars a year in charges. When someone comes up to me and asks, who's my cell company, I tell em.

But my usage and income justifies the small inconveniences that come with pay-as-you go... I don't talk on my phone unless I am saying where I am and how soon will I be home.

I pay about $14.00 in charges every month.

If MONEY is no object, then by far, Verizon is your best carrier. Because they have the most extensive network and the most reliable services. Most companies in the U.S. have accounts with Verizon because of that fact.

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"I know no method to secure the repeal of bad or obnoxious laws so effective as their stringent execution." March 4, 1869, Grant's First Inaugural Address

That won't work unless you never talk long distance. With 6 people in my family, all long distance from each other, the charges would break my already pathetic budget. I hardly ever talk to people who aren't long distance. Lucky for us, 4 out of 6 of us have best friends who are also t-mobile so they don't count against our minutes either.

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Order without liberty and liberty without order are equally destructive. - Theodore Roosevelt

I am with Cingular ahem.. I mean AT&T. There customer service has always been excellent. The price is good, and my range is better than the other two carriers I have tried, Sprint, and Qwest. I liked them better before the Cingular At&t merger only because they are soliciting me more now by mail and by phone.

My latest phone is kinda cool. The Pantech Duo. A phone for AT&T. It has Windows, Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, Microsoft Office just to name a few. Of course keeping with true Microsoft tradition, Internet Explorer occasionally crashes and sends error reports LOL. Ahh what a crappy software company.

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Society is produced by our wants and government by our wickedness ~Thomas Paine

ATT is known to work with the government in spying on their costumers, such unethical business practices deserve to be punished any therefore I would recommend any company but ATT!

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In times of universal deceit the love of truth becomes the most radical of all ideologies.

Still a Caveman? - Your Mind is Controlled - The Brainwashing of the West - Your thoughts are not your own

Veritax Vox Liberabit

I haven't done a consumers reports type study but I've been please with verizon. They pulled some spam texts off my bill, do the new every two thing (maybe not such a big deal to you). And at least when I signed up in the first place they were the best deal.



I've been well please with coverage.

And I just use my cell phone. No land line at all.