I got this phone in Feb '05 as a spare for the summer (fold up, nice and small). My other GSM phones have been a Sony Ericson 68 something or other, and a Nokia 3200.This phone is nice and small, and I have no trouble with the buttons, but I have small hands. Someone with large hands would probably have trouble with the navigation button in the center.I read the other reviews, and don't understand why some folks say they only have 2 programmable buttons: I can program the left soft key, as well as the up/down/left/right on the navigation button. I also have volume up/down buttons on the outside of my phone on the left side, so I can adjust ring volume without opening the phone. You can also use these to mute and decline an incoming call.I do love this phone, mostly because it has the "real tones" you can download as MP3's. The standard ringtones that come with the phone sound cheap, with WAY too much dance/hip hop type music to suit my country ears. The downloaded tones sound awesome, however, and are considerably louder than the preloaded tones. I dislike the vibration feature, though, because it only vibrates at the beginning of the incoming call, then starts with your selected ringtone.The phonebook is a drawback. Like everyone else has said, it only stores one number per person, and doesn't have icons to show you what type of number this is (cell, home, etc). Name one person you know that only has one phone number!Love the speakerphone, wouldn't have a phone without one...saves you money on the handsfree kit for your car (at least in my state).As for signal strength and battery life: battery seems about the same as my other phones...about 5 days, mostly standby time, about 1 hr talk time/day. It charges pretty quick, though. Signal strength was really good when I first got it, but then started dropping off. I attributed this to the ATT/Cingular merger (I'm ATT) and figured it would straighten out over time. I, too, have noticed that the signal drops while I'm standing still, which is really weird.Lately, last 2 weeks or so, I've had increasing static on my end, and increasing complaints from folks on the other end that they can't hear me. Switched SIMM cards with my daughter, and her phone is fine (same phone), so it must be my phone. I called Motorola, and they said the phone sounded like it needed warranty work, so I called the ATT/Cingular folks, and they are doing a warranty exchange for me. All you people who's phones are less than 1 year old, call either Motorola, or your carrier and get the warranty service! Motorola gave me the option of having my phone repaired, and Radio Shack was one of the authorized centers, just bring your receipt. Radio Shack said it might take them a couple of weeks, but then at least you'll have a working phone.Overall, I do think this phone is slightly lacking in quality, but if you are a very careful user, it seems nice. I got mine free from ATT, so the price was right for me, and I do happen to have a spare while I wait for repair/warranty exchange. If you can get it for a very good price, get it, otherwise you might consider something sturdier, like a Nokia.