Time for a new phone?

When my phone starting announcing mid-conversation "signal faded" I was irked but when the battery started draining without a reason every couple of days I suggested to Carolyn that maybe it was time to get a new phone. They've continued to get better since we got this one and I was really tempted to get an iPhone or a Droid for all the bells and whistles.  The cost of the phone wasn't exorbitant but the monthly cost would have gone up 150% from our current plan!!  We decided to get a second or third opinion.

We found a Wireless "Toy Store" where a knowledgeable store manager was able to find out what we really wanted in a phone and match that to what they had.  Our monthly charges won't change and I'll be able to carry around one less gadget.