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The biggest difference between the two is clarity of reception and strength of frequency. Years of saturating the coun try with transmission towers has given analog phones a typically longer range than digital phones, but they also have more static and faint hissing noises in the background. Digital phones, on the other hand, generally give a clearer message but with a shorter range.

Living in the sticks makes digital phones a liability at the moment, particularly if they're purchased for emergency purposes. Our research found that when you start getting too far off the beaten track the digital connection begins to clip on and off before losing the signal all together. This is especially true if you're in low-lying or hilly areas. Get to a high point and things clear Lip considerably. Or wait a bit, as this is all expected to change in several years, when the digital network should catch LIP with the volume of phones already on the market (i.e., the industry will expand their fiber optics), making coverage much more thorough.
Ham radio-sized handsets are history.

For now there are dual mode phones that offer both analog and digital in one, allowing the caller to keep a signal once he or she leaves the invisible digital boundaries and "roams" into analog territory.

Interestingly, analog phones, once the only option for wireless service, are slowly being phased out as companies expand their digital coverage to incorporate more of the country. Some companies, like Prime Co. and Nextel, are all-digital and Sprint,

AT&T and GTE are rapidly going in that direction, already offering digital-only packages that include a phone/rate plan combination. However, these packages are noticeably more expensive than an analog only or a dual mode package (AT&T's Digital One Rate starts at $89.99 per month). And if you don't use up all of your minutes, they don't get carried over to the next month. Nevertheless, digital phones offer options like e-mail and headline news that analog phones do not.

So what kind of phone do you buy.? At the moment, if you live in a rural area it's best to get an analog phone because of the thorough coverage they afford. But with the industry headed toward an all digital network, if you're buying for the long-term, you're better off spending the extra money for a dual band. You'll find your most compact and expensive options among the digital phones. But before you lay down any money, find out what kind of coverage you can get in your area and go from there.

The Phones

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