Every year it seems that I switch cell phone companies and plans in an effort to get a better phone and better service at a cheaper price, and yet somehow I end up with lame phones and expensive plans with no real improvement in service. Well, let’s do it again. What would you recommend?
I’m currently on a shared plan with my wife. Here are the relevant specs:
Carrier: Verizon. I could stick with them or I could switch. They don’t seem to be any better or worse than other providers I’ve had in the past.
Minutes: 2,100 (shared). We probably only really need around 1,500.
Texting: Unlimited
Data: Just on my phone–I check email quite a bit from my phone. I do a bit of browsing too, but I could do without that. I could probably do without email too, and I will if I can’t find a cost-effective option, but if at all possible I want to keep it. One issue, however, is that if I’m going to have it I need Exchange functionality.
Hardware: Motorola Q – I hate the thing. It wouldn’t be so bad if it worked, but the features in Windows Mobile 5.0 are fairly limited and the thing is super slow. I click a button…I wait 10 seconds…and then the phone reacts. Nothing seems to fix it, and it’s been this way more or less since I got it.
Current cost: About $240 per month at the moment. That’s what is really driving this.
What I’m Looking At
Blackberry – Amazingly, I’ve never had one. I’m somewhat curious to try one out, especially since email is fairly important to me. But I’m also concerned about cost. Verizon charges $50/month for their data plan, which is a hefty part of the cost right now.
iPhone – It’s soooo tempting, but lack of proper integration with Exchange server, not to mention the prospect of 3G being added later this year make me want to wait it out.
Something simple an cheap – Maybe I should just dump the data plan and use one of those cheap giveaway phones for a few months and see what appears during the next six months.
