Many thanks for the article; I must be way behind the times, as I usually don't take a cell phone to the mountains because when I first began carrying one in 2000, there wasn't any coverage, and hadn't thought to check since. That, and my cell is very heavy to pack, being a few years old. Looking at the carrier's map, it still looks like a lot of areas around me are still not covered. (Even the service where I live is rather spotty)

Would it be better to get a PLB instead? Or should I wait until I get a newer generation phone?