Direct connect and cell phone work just fine. Nextel had a series of problems with the i530 and 730 phones. My wife had 6 i530's before she got a good one. I think that they were all factory refubish models. T-Mobile just junk... ... ... ... . Dropped 8 out of 10 calls. Dont ever buy anything from T-Mobile.

I've been so happy with TMO and I concur with the person who said she never lost reception during the hurricanes of 2004, I didn't either although I couldn't call any of my friends on their cellphones (they all had Cingular or Sprint) but I had no problem calling land lines in Central FL or my mom in NC. Even in my office in 32806 zip code I get perfect reception while my coworker 3 feet away from me can't even get 1 signal bar with her Cingular Siemens phone. Also, TMO's rate plan and customer service was the best I could find after doing much research and surveying many friends.

I can't talk on the phone in my house without having to hunt down a "hot spot" in the house where I may be able to receive 1 bar if I'm lucky.

I can get about 1- 2 bars in the house. If I step over to a window, I get 2-3 bars. Outside it is 3-4 bars. I just traded up to the Motorola v551 from an old Nokia. The main reason was because the Nokia dropped calls like crazy. Cingular told me it was the old technology... .well we'll see...

I get perfect signal at my house. However, dropped calls have become a persistent and increasing problem recently. Sprint's acquisition of Nextel seemed to make things worse.

Get poor to no service. Around the I drive area from Central Florida to Sand Lake poor to no reception. Very spotty around town. Nextel needs to get on the ball. I know I am switching as soon as my contract is up.

Poor reception dropped calls indoor / outdoor - often switches to roaming

My reception is next to perfect (clear voice) even if the reception bars drop to 3. I have tried others but nothing is as clear as the VX6100 plus Verizon.

Sprint sucks, the irony is that I was in Sprint store in waterford lakes and the phoe was searching for the reception. So think about other places. I spoke with my friends and they say that Verizon has best service and reception. I am planning to change my provider.

Have horrible reception, it's almost impossible to use the network in the house and I have to get to certain location in my yard to get reception. Not very happy with Cingular at this time.