i think verizon has the best phones.

They do tend to have some great phones. I've just been really unimpressed with their customer service and don't want to keep giving my money to them. They are wicked rude here! Over anything!

I have AT&T and am pretty happy with them. I had Verizon about 10 yrs. ago and they pissed me off one time too many. I'm currently using a Razr phone and it doesn't feel sturdy enough. I have tiles throughout most of my house and dropping it on the hard surface isn't helping. I think I want to get a slider next time I'm due for an upgrade.

Adge! Come to AT&T so I can text you for free again. :) Greg and I have really liked having AT&T, mostly because we never use all of our minutes but still have them in case we need them. I've been a fan of Samsung phones - they aren't horribly expensive, they usually have a pretty good camera in them and an mp3 player too.

I HAVE SPRINT AND I AM NOT HAPPY WITH IT=( THE UNLIMITED PLAN IS SO PRICY..I'VE BENN RESEARCHING WHICH PHONE TO BUY AND WHICH COMPANY TO SWITCH TOO AND I FOUND CRICKET WIRELESS.I'VE SEEN THIS COMPANY BLEW UP IT'S EVERYWHERE NOW.THEY HAVE SOME GREAT PLANS U SHOULD CHECK IT OUT.MAYBE YOU'LL FIND IT INTERESTING;)..I'M JUST WAITING TILL MY CONTRACT IS DONE WITH SPRINT SO I CAN SWITCH.HERE THE SITE .;)HOPE IT CAN HELP. http://www.mycricket.com/"

I have AT&T, and I am extremely happy with their service.
You say you have family and friends who already have AT&T?? I think you can be added to their plan for about an additional $10 a month - I think!?
As for phones, look into buying a refurbished one - they come with a warranty.

I love my Blackberry Pearl!!!

@ lady_arndt I am anti refurbs... My phone I have now is one of 3 refurbs (I've had the same type of phone, but 4 different ones) and this is the only one that has worked for more than 3 months. Don't all or most phones you buy come with a warranty? I hate technology... It's so confusing... Arg....

I don't like AT&T because it's really Cingular, who has @#$*ed me over twice. In both cases they bought out my carrier (including the old AT&T wireless, which was awesome) and started shutting down their towers, so our service went away, so they told us to come in for a new phone (and a new contract!), and in both cases we were past our contract, so we closed our account, paid the final bill in full, and they sent us to collections! I will not do business with them ever again. Have T-mobile now, which is pricer than some, but the customer service has been great and the service suits my needs. My honey is now on Virgin Mobile who bought out Helio and she's been really happy with their customer service. If I was looking for a brand new carrier, I'd take a serious look at Metro-PCS, which looks like the best value out there. Given that you sound pretty flexible about the phone, I'd choose the best carrier (which probably depends a lot on coverage in your area) and you can probably find a phone that suits you.

I lied before...We've had Sony Ericsson phones in the past and really liked them, not Samsung. I don't know what I was thinking before. :)

damn. im sorry to hear you've had horrible experiences with refurbished phones. I've had mine for almost 3 years and it is awesome!!!

I am so sorry I know very little about this kind of thing!!! : }

come to at&t they have the best network and there phones are really cool! t mobile has some cool phones to but there network is bad!

NO!!! NOT AT&T!!! I live in NY and the calling connection is even horrid there! Basically if you live anywhere else itd be a definite waste. Try T-Mobile. I heard it was a better deal.