-CH> >dropped calls that they get.
-CH> I have a Sony pocket phone and it works great in or out of
-CH> the car.
I had a chance to borrow a Sony CMRX 100, that's the little square on with 
the microphone that pops out. Nice phone, thumbwheel switch on the side to 
step thru your memories, fold out the mike and your call goes thru. I found 
it easy to operate while driving.
Took it up to an area not too far from here that is pretty tough, the Sony, 
just like all of the other hand held phones couldn't handle that area and the 
call was dropped and other calls couldn't be put thru, until I left the area. 
Using my 3 watt, with the antenna on the roof, no trouble, a little crackle 
of noise here and there but it kept the call. If someone were to tell me that 
a handheld phone worked well in the car, I'd expect that phone to equal my 3 
watt Diamontel with the antenna in the middle of the roof. Of course that's 
not going to happen. A phone that drops calls while another can keep the call 
is not working well.
600mw into a quarterwave or halfwave antenna inside a vehichle is not going 
to work well unless you're really close to the cell site. By working well, I 
mean if that phone can't get service, nothing will.
I've been playing with the Qualcomm Qcp-800 lately, nice phone, cdma/amps 
hybrid handheld phone made by Sony, caller ID, excellent audio quality, I 
like it, for a handheld it's a great phone. Of course, when the going gets 
rough it's gonna drop the call while a real phone will continue, maybe with 
some noise but at least the call will continue.
Another good test of a phone is to drive for an hour and see how the call 
holds up. I do my testing in Southern N.H. where the cell sites aren't very 
close and where my 3 watt diamondtel is running wide open quite a bit of the 
time.  That's the place to test a phone for performance.
In those areas, the difference between the antenna inside the vehichle and 
outside is night and day. If you're in an area where coverage is good, the 
handheld phones are as convenient as can be and they generally work great. 
That's probably why most people buy them.
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