Motorola

Just wondering, I have customers that refuse to give up their Startac. What happened at Motorola after the Startac? Why don't their phones work as well as the Startac? I know customers that the husband has a Startac and the wife has a current Motorola and the service between the two is amazing. They can be standing in the same spot calling the same place and the new phone will have almost no signal at all and the old Startac has a full signal. An ideas? Anyone on the inside know?