Mobile Phone

So I'm kind of a gadget whore. And working at a multi-carrier cell phone store is a like a heroin addict working at the methadone clinic. Needless to say, after working there for a few months I've had contracts with T-Mobile and Verizon and have current subscriptions with Cingular, Sprint, Nextel and Helio. I'm tired of paying so many phone bills and I'm trying to decide on one phone company to consolidate all of my lines (me, wife, mother, grandmother, PowerBook).

Here's how the carriers are breaking down:

• T-Mobile: Probably the coolest phones (see the Samsung t629 and the BlackBerry 8100) but the service is probably the weekest of all the major carriers (my opinion)


• Cingular: Excellent coverage, offers "roll over", but GSM/EDGE carriers are at an automatic disadvantage compared to the CDMA/EVDO carriers. UTMS not on any of the smart phones. Dissapointed by uninspired interpretation of the UK's Treo 680.


• Verizon: Probably the strongest data coverage (arguable) and a Mac-friendly company puts it on top. Phones are totally uninspiring. Service is more expensive.


• Sprint: Sprint is my main carrier right now. I have the Treo 700p on an AR plan and get 3000 anytime minutes with unlimited data for only $20 a month. Sprint only has me approved for 3 lines as opposed to 5 lines with all the other carriers.


• Nextel: I'm a big fan of Nextel. I think they are an interesting company that offers useful features and solid phones. I don't know if wife, mother and grandmother would like carrying the bulky handsets around.

I'd like to move everybody to Verizon becaue of the fact that they are a Mac-friendly company, but than I'm on the hook for paying early termination fees for two lines on Cingular, one on Helio and one on Nextel. That's a lot of money just to get out of a contract. Ouch!