Digital Trends

Cingular Wireless (www.cingular.com)

After swallowing up AT&T Wireless, Cingular has become the nation's largest cellphone provider. Cingular uses a GSM network with SIM Cards, which allow you to transfer your numbers from phone to phone with ease. People looking for the hottest phones will be pleased with offerings from companies like Sony-Ericsson and Motorola. However, if you are looking for a package with a lot of minutes for a reasonable price, you may want to look elsewhere. A 900-minute monthly plan costs $59.99, including free nights and weekends. On the positive side, rollover is included with nearly all of Cingular's plans, so if you're not a huge talker a lower plan can work to your advantage.

On the other hand, if you have a larger family who will need to share minutes, Cincular is probably not the way to go. Their family plans are a bit expensive at $89.99 a month for 1400 minutes and 2 lines (and if you have teenagers, be prepared to go way over 1400 minutes). Anyone looking for a good data plan should skip Cingular entirely. They charge by the megabyte and the unlimited plan costs $79.99. For that price, it makes sense to go with Verizon's EV-DO offering. Blackberry and Sidekick users should stay away too, as you'll find yourself constantly going over your data plan.

One great feature that is offered by Cingular is their prepaid service called GoPhone. You'll only pay $.10 a minute and get unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling. This is a great deal for those looking for a cellphone without a monthly bill. The selection of phones is a bit weak, but there's always the sleek new Motorola RAZR available for $249.99 or less. The service quality is quite decent too, so you shouldn't worry about it roaming or not picking up a signal.

T-Mobile (www.tmobile.com)

If you ever have a problem with your cellphone, you will find yourself in luck if you have T-Mobile. T-Mobile's customer service is unparalleled in quality and politeness. There are never any wait times and they are more than willing to go the extra mile to make sure that you are pleased. Aside from award-winning customer service, this GSM-based provider also uses SIM cards for easily transferring numbers from phone to phone. Phone enthusiasts will be glad to know that they can get their devices unlocked from T-Mobile for free once every 90 days. This is a great feature for backup phones that you may come across for cheap (or free).

As far as plans go, T-Mobile reigns as king with a commendable amount of minutes for your money. $59.99 will net you a whopping 1500 anytime minutes and unlimited nights and weekends! That's some serious talk time for the chatterbox in your family, so consider T-Mobile when it comes to both personal and family plans – you won't find a better deal on minutes. Coverage is better than it was a couple of years ago, but it's still not on par with Cingular or Verizon. So if you need a phone that you can rely on anytime, anywhere, T-Mobile may not be the provider for you.

The offering of cellphones from T-Mobile is mediocre and the selection is very limited. Those of you looking for a Treo from Palm won't find one here. We suggest that phone buffs go with Cingular for the best choice of phones. Data oriented phones, however, are another story. If you like the Sidekick II or use a Blackberry, you can't beat T-Mobile. Their data plans are only $19.99 a month for either Blackberry Unlimited (E-mail, Web, etc.) or the Sidekick II plan that includes unlimited texting, web, and picture messaging. Those big on texting or media messaging will want to go with the $14.99 a month unlimited messaging package which includes…what else? Unlimited messaging.

Conclusion

Verizon Wireless (www.verizonwireless.com)

Can you read me now? Good. People looking for true cellphone coverage should probably choose Verizon, if all they're plan on doing is talking. Verizon has always been touted as the best for voice connections due to their CDMA network and copious amount of cell-towers located in the United States. Their plans for individual users are about the same cost as Cingular's are, but become more of a value the higher you go. 6000 minutes for $200 a month isn't a bad deal when you think about what you are getting. Verizon also has pretty decent family plans and only charges $9.99 extra a month per line – a great deal for those with a family of 4 or more. Plus, calling other Verizon customers is free. Pretty sweet!

On the down side, if you're looking for stellar phones, you won't find much in Verizon's show room. Their phone selection is mediocre, with expensive standout models like the Treo 700 and Motorola Q. Most of the other phones all look and perform similarly. However, picking up a VCAST phone such as the Samsung A920 or LG VX8100 will allow you to experience multimedia in a whole new way. For $15 a month you can subscribe to Verizon's VCAST service and enjoy music on demand and plenty of free videos and content. If you've got the cash to spend, go for it, but most consumers won't find VCAST worth it.

One great feature Verizon Wireless offers is their EV-DO service for $59.99 a month. For that chunk of change, you get wireless Internet from any location in most major cities. Not dinky GPRS speeds that rival 9600-baud modems, but high quality broadband access that is suitable for downloading, surfing, and watching media.

Conclusion