My wife and I have identical cell phones, Siemens model A56. My example
is perhaps a year older than hers. Mine seems to lose connection more
readily than hers does, and if we turn them both on side by side in any
given location, mine typically takes 2 to 5 times as long to establish a
connection. What would account for this difference? Is mine simple a
"lemon", perhaps having some portion(s) of its rf alignment off? Since
mine is older, could the battery be a bit weaker? Our service is
Cingular, they do offer other phones, these are probably their least
expensive option. I'm wondering if other brands/models perform better
in terms of connection, general sound quality, etc. If they are like
virtually every other electronic device (no reason to assume they are
not) it seems likely some make/models preform better than others. I'm
wondering if anyone tests various cell phones for these things (Consumer
Reports, maybe)? Anyone know?

TIA

Dan