Rule number one.... STAY AWAY FROM MOTOROLA
Look into Nokia, Samsung, and LG....
I have had quite a few cell phones in my past.
A few Nokias, one Samsung, two Motorolas (currently have a SLVR (POS)), an LG, and I believe something else, but I do not remember.
Motorola: less reception than any phone I have owned (friends on other services say the same in certain areas)(I live next to a hill cutting reception down a lot, making me see the difference between phones). With both Motorolas, I have had nearly zero reception in my house. I have to put my phone in certain places in my house to get a single bar. Other phones could be any where. The Motorola interface sucks, and they tend to lag.
Nokia: very basic (though that might be changing with their newest phones, not sure), VERY durable, and the best reception with my experience.
My Samsung and LG were pretty good in my opinion, wouldn't mind having another from either brand.
My opinion, Motorola sucks... they make flashy phones, but the quality is low. (the L6 (same thing as the SLVR, but without iTunes) gives off the most radiation of all phones in the US....)