Henry: I thought signal strength depended upon where you were, i.e. near to a base station or not, or in a valley or dip of land, and not so much as to the cell phone itself?
I can confirm that the signal strength depends on both; nearness to a base station and your cell phone. I had 4 Siemens phones for the last 6 years, was satisfied with all of them and their abitlity to reach a base. Now I have an LG Chocolate, and as soon as I am out of town, the only thing that works on my cell phones is the clock. It really is not worth a single cent!
Edit: if there is a weak signal, a good phone can deal with it, a bad one can't.
Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. - Berthold Auerbach