Mudflap
The reception depends on your phone and how you hold it. I've stood on mountain tops in the sierras and got nothing, but my buddy who also had sprint pulls out his phone and hands it to me and I called my wife. Some places (in the sierras) I have to walk up to an edge to get a signal where my friend with the blackberry did not have to walk to the edge.
Jim
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These are my own opinions based on wisdom earned through many wrong decisions. Your mileage may vary.