I have avoided getting snared into a mobile contract. I used different prepaid plans, and finally settled on Pageplus Cellular, which runs off the Verizon network another words the reception is excellent.
For some time I used a Samsung i760, a Windows mobile phone. Although it was a durable phone the web experience was limited. I was looking for the iphone web experience, but with a physical qwerty keyboard.
I wanted to continue having the flexibility of the Pageplus plans ($29.95 for 1,200 domestic minutes and 3,000 text plus 100 megabytes of data and $39.95 for unlimited minutes and 20 megabytes of data). You can actually switch the plan every month depending on your needs. Another advantage is that there are no additional taxes or fees!
After some research I decided to go with the Motorola Droid which was about $100 on ebay. Surprisingly the newer versions of the Droid had worse reviews on CNET compared to the older Droid.
In addition to the phone, I also purchased an extra battery and charger, and some accessories like a headset, usb charger, rubber case, screen protector, and a Square Trade warranty from ebay.
So far I love the phone–beautiful screen, physical keyboard, super fast web browsing, and great call quality. The battery can run out quickly if the wifi and 3g are on constantly, so the extra battery is good to have.
The 5 megapixel camera is pretty good. Here’s a sample image taken with the camera of the Afro-Colombian mural by Joel Berger on U St. NW in Washington, DC.
