Telephones for Audiophiles?

I don't know if you use 2G or 3G. I find 3G to be fine (as long as the person on the other end of the phone is also 3G). I was similarly unhappy with cell phones when I had a 2G. I now use a 'smartphone' by HTC which allows me to deal with multiple email accounts (just not my work account). It even has a memory card slot and music player. It has gotten now so that I use my landline at home quite rarely.

My Motorola E815 on Verizon isn't too bad. But I still prefer to use the landline for important calls.

A little OT: My pet peeve is answering machines. I've been through many, selecting them based on user comments I've seen, and looking for the best sound quality regardless of price. But I just can't find one that sounds decent, either playing back incoming messages or recording the answering message. That includes the very expensive Bang & Olufsen. There have been times when it's taken me several seconds to even recognize my own wife's voice on some of these machines.

Regards,
-- Al

Tough to beat the iPhone. The user interface and resolution is much better experience from my Palm Treo.

Agree with all the above comments. As for audiophile cell phones, actually there was one but it was a long time ago.

In 1985, for about $2000.00 you could get a Motorola analog cell phone that required an antenna in the center of your cars roof and required a 12 gauge copper wire run directly to the car battery because it drew so much current.

On more occasions than I can recall, if I stopped the car in a parking lot to return a call viewed on my pager (answering service) the person on the other end assumed I was in my office.

Several times I gave my cell number in case we had to get off, explaining it was my car. Then the questions, when will you be in your car? Will I be able to reach you?

When I told them i WAS in my car laughter rolled as they thought it was joke I was playing on them. This is absolute truth, those old Motorola phones that were the size of a suitcase that trunk mounted and analog only operation were incredible.

Funny thing was, they were so powerful i could drive for miles before it clicked to another tower. Those damn things would broadcast forever before they would die.

When I could no longer get service for my analog mobile phone, similar to the one Albert describes, I simply gave up mobile service altogether. They are all terrible. Home service is now digital and I think my blood pressure goes up when the phone rings. "What?" is the most frequent word I use when on the telephone. I pray for an analog resurgence, I will pay any price.