Kyocera Soho kx1v, NY to DC trip, Nextel, etc

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Just took my new Soho phone (kx1v) on a quick blast from mid-state NY to
Washington DC. My wife (Moto v265) and brother (Nextel) were with me.

The usual route; NY Thruway to GardenState Parkway to NJ Turnpike, Delaware
Memorial Bridge and I-95 all the way down to the Capitol Beltway and around
into Falls Church VA.

I had stayed with my v60s for a couple of weeks while I played with the
Soho, getting more-or-less familiar with the UI, and this was its first test
on an out of town trip. I am amazed at this phone's ability to make and
receive calls almost ANYWHERE. I was able to make and hold usable calls with
NO BARS showing, and there was nowhere on this trip where I couldn't use the
phone. Wife's v265 was also usable for the whole trip, but she gets annoyed
at the constant playing with cellphones, so I didn't play with the v265 all
that much, but she did get calls all the way down, and never had a problem.

My brother's Nextel was another story. He and his wife both have them and
they rarely use Direct Connect, they both say it's a pain in the a**.
But---I was surprised at how accepting they are of Nextel's
shortcomings---half of my brother's incoming calls went to Voicemail. Now I
understand why it seems whenever I call him, I get bounced to VM so often.
They are so accustomed to this that they leave full-minute VM messages, as
if they are carrying on a conversation with a minute time-delay. He is
constantly getting beeps on his phone to notify him of a VM that was left
because his incoming call didn't come through. Wow. At one point I thought
he was talking to his wife, and I said "Hi Kathy! out loud---when my brother
hung up he said "I was leaving a message". Primitive way to communicate, I
think.

I fully realize the utility of Direct Connect in business (we use it at
work), but this was a real eye-opener for us if we ever considered migrating
to Nextel.

Back to the my-new-phone vs my-old-phone thing. There was a marked
difference for me in using the new Soho after over a year with the v60s.
Finally, I can see the display, and I realize just how dim the v60 is.
Battery life for the Soho was perfectly fine, the phone lasted me 18 hours
with fairly heavy use (I made one 75 minute phone call, and a ton of short
calls) and it wasn't near dead when I finally plugged in the charger and
went to bed. The Kyo failed to drop a single call over many, many calls.

When I shopped for a new phone, I wanted a simple, fairly gadget-free (read,
DON'T need a camera) tri-mode phone with a speakerphone, WAP capability and
good battery life. Also, I wasn't going to pay more than $50. Although the
speakerphone is a bit cheesy compared to the Moto, and they are both
horrible compared to Nextel speakerphones, I can recommend the Soho to
anyone whose needs are similar to mine. I read plenty of posts from people
who just want a phone that works. Found one.