* Full Disclosure: I spend a lot of time reading about cell phones, and go out to look at them frequently. I have had sprint for nearly five years now, and prefer that network to most others that are available. I was an early adopter on the Palm Pre, and was with the Samsung Epic 4G as well *
Smart phones in general really come down to two or three important factors:
1. How much money you want to spend on the phone itself
2. How much you are willing to pay on a contract
3. Whether or not you want a 4G WiMax or LTE product
NOW or are willing to wait
Speaking only to #1, you're looking at $200 almost anywhere you go. You can spend a lot less and get something fairly decent, the Palm Pixi comes to mind as a decent starter phone on Sprint or Verizon. There are some low-level, older HTC and Samsung Android headsets that can be had right around $100, and assuming they'll be pushing updates on the phones, the only limitation would be the hardware. If you're just venturing into the smartphone waters, again, not a terrible option.
Stepping up into the heavy-hitters, it is really a three-way race between the iPhone 4 over on AT&T, the Android twins of the Epic 4G and Evo at Sprint, and the Nexus S over at T-Mobile. All of them sit around the $200/250 mark, and spending anything more than that is pretty outlandish. These are arguably the best phones you can get right now, regardless of what OS you prefer. That being said... There are some things coming down the pipe that may be worth waiting for. Still...
How much money do you really want to spend month-to-month? For a smartphone, you need to take into consideration not only the voice and text plans, but the data as well. The AT&T and Verizon voice and data plans are absolutely outrageous in my mind, and unless you are getting in on some kind of employer-backed deal or have a kind of loophole to get you a lower price, you're going to be spending more than $100 a month to get a comparable plan to what is offered at Sprint or T-Mobile. My Sprint plan, for example, is $69.99 a month plus a $10 Unlimited Data package that is
required for 4G-capable phones. But, I am getting 450 minutes a month (free calling to any phone on any carrier), unlimited text messages, and unlimited data anywhere in the country. T-Mobile gets crazy and will let you go almost entirely without minutes, and then add on the texts and data if you choose. It all depends on what you want over there.
As of now, Sprint and T-Mobile are the only mobile providers to offer 4G networks. It isn't offered everywhere, so make sure you check if you have it in the first place if you're willing to pay for it. That being said, 4G is rather pleasant if you do. I don't use it frequently on my Epic, but it is nice being able to check up on things quickly, without any drama. Verizon will be adding their LTE network early next year, which may be worth the wait if they will offer it in your area.
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But YSSMAN, What About the iPhone4?
I'd say skip it. I was very impressed with the hardware and software when it first showed up back in 2006/2007, but it has not aged well. The hardware itself for the iPhone4 is pretty decent, the battery life is impressive, the Retina Display is crisp and sharp, and it is probably the best camera you can get on a phone to date. What cripples the iPhone is a combination of the AT&T network and the increasingly bloated iOS. We're still talking about a phone that requires you to hook it into iTunes to manage
anything, including updates (that you have to pay for), that blocks a significant portion of user-generated content as well as stuff from legitimate organizations (like Google) because it does not fit their ideals of what should be on their phone. It is a very close-ended platform that is successful because of it's clean design and clever marketing. Really, that's it.
Soooo... Android Then?
It would be my choice, but it is not for everyone. The struggle here is that while Android is open, easily customizable, snappy and generally amazing... There is still a fairly significant learning curve to go with it if you are not already accustomed to Android. Furthermore, we have the issue where no two Android setups are quite exactly the same. Each of the phone manufacturers have their own way of showing off an Android handset, Samsung, HTC, Motorola and many others all have their own blankets over the same Android bed. The only "pure" Android products come straight out of Google, and that would be the Nexus products. So, you'll get Gingerbread first and that is a major plus... But, you also have to deal with the raw edge of Android.
What About Blackberry?
Have you actually used a Blackberry? I don't even know if you can call them smartphones anymore, it's really a different ball game when you look at RIM products. The Torch is interesting, and seems like a halfway decent product, but in general the RIM phones lag pretty far behind iOS and Android in terms of overall functionality and performance.
The "Outsiders"
I think the biggest secret in the smartphone world is what HP/Palm have on their hands when it comes to their WebOS handsets. The Pre was a product that was way ahead of it's time, but ultimately fell flat due to poor marketing and a total lack of support from Palm itself. Being bought out by HP and having them put WebOS2.0 in almost everything should liven things up, particularly when the Pre2.0 is apparently on track for the spring. As an early adopter for the Pre and WebOS, I am a bit biased, but of all the OSes out there, I feel like it was the best put together out of the gate, and I am very excited to see what they have done for the second version. If you have the ability to wait, I would consider doing so for the Pre2.0...
Windows Mobile 7 is a platform that I haven't had a lot of experience with. My understanding is that it is a pretty solid platform, and goes leaps and bounds ahead of it's predecessors in terms of being competitive with iOS and Android. The hardware is there with the new phones, especially those that have showed up on AT&T already, and I would consider them to be a reasonable alternative to the iPhone4. They, however, would not be my ultimate choice by days end.
TL;DR - AT&T charges far too much for the bloated iPhone4, it is a waste of time. WebOS2.0 is worth waiting for if you can, Windows Mobile 7 is decent if you need something immediately. Otherwise, go for an Android product on Sprint or T-Mobile. It is the best combination of price and performance nationwide.
