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There are more than a dozen cell phone manufacturers out there, but your shopping choices are going to be made far easier by first determining what kind of calling plan best suits your needs. Often times the plan will dictate which phone you buy. For instance, if you like the rates that Nextel is offering, you'll be limited to a Motorola-made phone because Motorola is the only brand Nextel carries. Bringing in a phone made by Samsung and asking to get set up with a Nextel plan will do you no good. Besides, the price of the phone is usually tied into the start-up price of the plan, so it's cheaper to buy both at once.

Each phone, too, has its own style and menu options. The newer digital phones are smaller and lighter than their analog counterparts. There are phones with or without antennas. Some have different rings or buzzes to choose from.

Some, like the Nokia 6160, even offer built-in video games. That said, the best way to choose a phone is to go out and play with a few at the sales office until you find the one that's right for you. While you're there you might want to pay attention to a few details like battery type, length of battery life, size, weight and general comfort of the phone while you're using it. Also, keep in mind that the reception you get is dependent on the phone's ability to hold onto a call when it receives one. For analog phones make sure you get a powerful receiver capable of fielding plenty of radio frequencies. If you're looking at digital or dual mode phones be sure to find out which platform the phone operates on, whether it be TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) or GSM (Global Standard for Mobile Communication), a standard used mostly in Europe that is being slowly introduced in the United States. CDMA is the most advanced in digital technology and allows cell phone companies like Prime Co. and Sprint PCS to handle far more calls on their digital networks, while giving clearer quality signals in the phones.

As for the battery, the preferred type for a cell phone is the lithium, which reserves power when you turn the phone off. Other types continuously lose juice even when you're not using them. We found that the digital phones conserved energy better than the analog or dual mode phones. Charging frequency with the digital phones was about every three days, while the analog or dual mode phones needed a little more attention-say, once every two days. If you find that charging a phone is an inconvenience or if you know you'll be away from an outlet for long periods of time, you might want to consider buying a cigarette lighter adapter for your car or even a backup battery and a charging "cradle." Still, not all phones offer these options, so be careful. With the Qualcomm models, for instance, you can only charge the battery when it's attached to the phone.

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