Cell Phone Choices...

[Adrian]

So Nick and I had a great conversation about cellphones this evening. I've been looking around for a new phone for the past month or so. I currently use the original iPhone - so the technology my phone provides is rather dated when compared to the smartphones we have available today. I'm at a point where my phone is on the cusp of failing completely, so finding a replacement has been on my list.

After running through at least 2 dozen reviews online, I've found that there are trade-offs almost everywhere. Network provider, coverage, speed, features, size, weight, capabilities, and over all tech seem to be scattered around the table pretty well. I'm not absolutely in love with any of the options, so I thought I'd post this poll and see where everyone else is at.

As for my decision...I've decided that I'm going to hold out and use my phone until either it dies, a network I actually want to be on released what I want, or my girlfriend throws it into the Atlantic Ocean. 

[Marshall]

There are definitely trade offs for every phone and network. I've always been more drawn to android phones personally. I have a Nexus One (the branded google phone made by htc) and I've been very happy with it even though google just stopped selling it due to poor sales.

If I were to pick up a new phone right now I'd probably get a DroidX or the Galaxy S from Samsung (Each network calls it something different. Samsung Vibrant on T-Mobile). You'd have a hard time getting me back on the Sprint network for the Evo even with 4G.

[battenworks]

I did a bit of research recently on smartphones, preparing to buy a pair for my wife and me.  As far as network goes, I've been a Verizon customer for years and I'm not switching.  I've had VoiceStream, PacBell, Cingular, AT&T and Nextel, and my folks and other friends have Sprint.  Nothing compares to Verizon in my opinion, after dealing with other networks and seeing what my friends and family have with Sprint.
That said, it would appear that Verizon is strongly focused on Droid as the future of their smartphone business.  They are phasing out all WinMo 6.x phones over the next few months, according to what I've read on the internet, and the future of Windows Phone 7 looks a bit vague right now (Verizon got burned badly with the Kin debacle).  Doesn't appear that they're trying to get hold of Apple technology, either.  They're releasing new Droid phones like mad.  I played a bit with the HTC incredible, and it was a really cool phone.  It doesn't have a physical keyboard, though, which is a deal-breaker for an old man like me (I hate virtual keyboards on phones).  So, if you're looking for a Droid with a physical KB, the Droid 2 from Motorola looks like a good choice (only problem with its keyboard is you have to Alt to type a number because the top row is not numeric only), while the incredible is a great phone if you like virtual KB's.
Now that I've spouted off about the lovely Droids, I have to admit that I bought a WinMo 6.5 device...  I picked up the HTC Touch Pro 2.  Why WinMo 6.5?  I'm a .NET developer and I have a lot of time and energy invested in having Outlook as the focus of my calendaring/contacts and have shy'd away from using the cloud for these services.  As such, it made more sense for me to choose a platform that integrated seamlessly with my desktop, so WinMo was the obvious choice.  I simply connect via Bluetooth or USB and instasync...  I researched how Droid phones would integrate with Outlook, and the story wasn't good or clear.  There were a few third-party solutions out there, but none were fully baked. I think the phone is fantastic. HTC Sense makes it much easier to use than WinMo out of the box and its keyboard is the best out there, without question. The one thing that sucks about the phone is web browsing. It's pretty crippled. You can get them for a song right now, too, but you'll have it for 2 years on a contract. That's what I chose to do, with the intention of picking between a Droid and Windows Phone 7 for my next ride, knowing that Verizon will have figured out its support strategy for Windows devices by then.

David