RF--candybar vs flip?

[iddibhai]

G'day, newbie here, been lurking before registration for a while, figured it's time to join the club :)

Is there any advantage in one form factor or the other, candybar vs clamshell, as far as RF goes. I'm about 1 mile away from the tower, but due to terrain and vegetation, get marginal signal at home, enough to get a ring or voicemail notification, but not enough to carry on a conversation (no bars, but in service)--to do that, I'd have to step out into the street. Phone in question is a Kyocera 2345, going on 2 years and few months.

Been out of contract since Jan.05, and want to renew with a new phone. I've narrowed selection down to the Sanyo RL4920, which I can get now, or the Sanyo VI2300, as yet unannounced but in Q2-2005 it seems. A clamshell would be nice, but if I will loose out RF then will stick w/ candybar style. So, any technical reason to favour one over the other then? Didn't find anything in the forums that addressed that issue, so hopefully some answer exists. Thanks.

[Sanyo7400]

G'day, newbie here, been lurking before registration for a while, figured it's time to join the club :)

Is there any advantage in one form factor or the other, candybar vs clamshell, as far as RF goes. I'm about 1 mile away from the tower, but due to terrain and vegetation, get marginal signal at home, enough to get a ring or voicemail notification, but not enough to carry on a conversation (no bars, but in service)--to do that, I'd have to step out into the street. Phone in question is a Kyocera 2345, going on 2 years and few months.

Been out of contract since Jan.05, and want to renew with a new phone. I've narrowed selection down to the Sanyo RL4920, which I can get now, or the Sanyo VI2300, as yet unannounced but in Q2-2005 it seems. A clamshell would be nice, but if I will loose out RF then will stick w/ candybar style. So, any technical reason to favour one over the other then? Didn't find anything in the forums that addressed that issue, so hopefully some answer exists. Thanks.



I know of no known advantage between the two, just personal preference of the customer. The phone manufacturer will make a difference in signal strength though. The cheaper the phone, the weaker the signal, or so I've noticed. Sanyo's generally get the best signal. Samsung's antennas picks up in one direction, Sanyo picks up in all directions. The Samsung antenna design is supposed to be changed/corrected sometime this year.

[fever]

If you're going to be at home, you might as well leave the antenna extended. Unless you carry it around in your pocket, it's a good idea. Also, as long as the phone doesn't have a stub antenna.

f

[alaskanbo]

Generally a flip is better because with the antenna extended it sticks out away from your head. where on a candybar it's parallel to your head. The head can cause very slight signal degredation.

[goddess9]

The head can cause very slight signal degredation.


LOL. I don't know why I found that so funny.

Anyways, don't limit yourself to a candybar. Yes, they tend to have better RF, but alaskanbo is right, flips have a better way of working with the antenna. And besides, you can get yourself a nice phone too :). Especially with that rebate. Maybe you can check some stores and tell the reps your plight and ask for some suggestions.

[Raptor22]

Flip is better than candy. My opinion. But then again people, in general, look to flip phones and candy phones as flips have greater chance of breaking due to its a flip phone(can exend the flip more than it can and cause damage, plus normal wear and tear will eventually stress the hinge of flip phones) and candy phones as brick(cant really do anything bad with the phone except a hard drop to break it). But I like flip phones better.

[iddibhai]

No apparent difference in reception quality at home, antenna up vs down. I was under the impression the antenna length is optimized for 800 (digital roam and analog), not PCS (1900Mhz) since metro areas are often well covered, and it's only when you get into the sticks that you need every last iota of RF. I can set the phone to automatic mode at home, and it will pick up a roam signal, not the PCS tower down the street (again, due to terrain/vegetation).

We're fairly kind to our gear, the Kyo2345 shows little signs of wear over 2 years, so not too worried about the clamshell hinge loosening up. Good point about the antenna being farther from the head, which should theoretically contribute to better RF.

In any case, I'm leaning towards the VI2300 unless I find any particular technical reason that favours the 4920.

[CoreyTheGent]

As someone already mentioned, the only difference between a candybar and flip is the personal preference of the consumer (aside from that "antenna being farther from the head" idea). I've found flips the most comfortable to use and I like the protection they afford for both the internal screen and keypad.

That Kyocera is far from being one of the greatest Sprint phones. You should have better luck with a Sanyo. I wish we were talking about the 4900, that phone could get great reception from Mars. I've never owned the 4920, though. I've heard it's alright but wouldn't give any confirmation unless I could speak from my experience.

Ever thought about the Sanyo 7400 (http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=631), perhaps? Another good choice for those needing optimal reception. It may look like a bit much, but it functions well where it counts.

[Bohemian Iconoclast]

When I had a 4900, I could stand at the bay end of the Embarcadero BART station in SF and get my voicemail.

It was spotty service, but that spot is two stories underground...

If anyone gets signal from that spot with *ANY* other phone (except the 4920 and the RL-2000) I would like to know.

[iddibhai]

Fair enough, and as someone else mentioned, the higher end phones usually are better at acquiring and holding a signal, the Kyo was a freebie-when-you-sign phone. The other sanyos flips are nice, but a bit rich since I only use the phone for voice--photos taken care of by a ultracompact digicam, PDA handles email/web, etc. If I could get the instant rebate (instead of mail-in (already tried at the local store, no go), the 5600 was a contender, but paying retail out of pocket? No thanks :)

The one thing the 4920 has going for it is that everyone seems to swear by the 49xx series for holding on a marginal signal. Not many reviews for that line, being the simpler of the Sanyo/PCS offerings, but dang if I found negatives things said about it. The VI2300 on the other hand, is still vaporware, and how it deals in the real life is to be seen (granted it can't be too bad, being a Sanyo).

[CoreyTheGent]

I figured to go from that Kyocera to a 5600 was a jump you wouldn't be willing to take, that's why I recommended the 7400. Reception just as good as the 5600 (thought there are reports of a slight improvement with the 5600) but with a much cheaper price-tag and more deals being offered nationwide for it.

[Bohemian Iconoclast]

iddibhai - The big complaint about the 4900 was the earpiece volume, but I used the excellent squeakerphone alot, so it never mattered to me.

Careful about thinking high-end phones have better signal...the 4900 was the cheapest of the lot when it was new...

[coolqf]

I'm baffled by higher end yielding better reception.

I've owned the 4900, got my gf the 4920. And also owned the 5400, and presently the 7300. I must say, I haven't found variation in reception amongst any of them, and my location hasn't changed.

[iddibhai]

Good point psyberian and coolqf. I wanted the MM5600 till the price was released--sticker shock for sure. As far the 7400 goes, it still has lots of bells and whistles which are of no particular use for me, so might has well another month or two, get the 2300 for less, no?

[coolqf]

Good point psyberian and coolqf. I wanted the MM5600 till the price was released--sticker shock for sure. As far the 7400 goes, it still has lots of bells and whistles which are of no particular use for me, so might has well another month or two, get the 2300 for less, no?

You can wait, but it's 3 months away. Do you know how much it's gonna cost? If you can wait, then wait. It never hurts.

[iddibhai]

Guessing around 200 dollars retail, which I have to pay, then MIR of 150$. Can't be too far into the future, 3 months at most (Q2.2005).

[sharkdamark]

For sure I would recomend sticking to the sanyos or samsungs, phones that have some street credibility :) The new the phone is the better the reception is too so try not to get an older phone like the 8100 or a620.

[Bohemian Iconoclast]

Actually, as far as flips go the 8200 isn't so bad....and age isn't everything...the 4900 still whups pretty much any phone out there, except of course the 4920...

[CoreyTheGent]

Are you saying that the 4920 gets as good reception as the 4900?

[Raptor22]

Are you saying that the 4920 gets as good reception as the 4900?


i think the 4900 has more reception than the 4920 but the reception on the 4920 is more real reading than the 4900(like the 8100 compared to the 8200).