Choosing a new cell phone should not be a quick decision. To qualify for promo pricing on free or reduced cost phones, most carriers will require a two year contract when activating your new phone. Most carriers will not even consider offering you upgrade credit ($ toward a new phone) until you are within 3 months of your contract expiration. This means that you will likely be committed to your new phone for a minimum of 21 months. With that being said, be sure to consider all aspects of the phone including durability, features, technology, size and user reviews of the phone(s) you are considering. Picks as determined by my customers reviews are listed below categorized by primary use.

Consider the following when shopping for a new cell phone:

• How will I use the phone? Just for calls? Music? To capture pictures/video? Text messaging? As a PDA? For gaming and web surfing?
• What do I anticipate my future needs to be for my phone?
• What size phone am I looking for? One that will fit in my pocket?
• Do I prefer a flip, slider, Blackberry or other style of phone?
• What do others who have this phone say about it?
• What is the battery life?
• Is this phone Bluetooth compatable? Is this important to me?

Great Picks

Great Texting Phones

• Samsung SCH-U740 (Verizon)
• EnV LG VX9900 (Verizon)
• Nokia 9300 (AT & T)
• Motorola Q (Sprint)

Great MP3/Music Phones:

• Nokia N75 (AT & T)
• Nokia 9300 Xpress Music (T-Mobile)
• LG Chocolate (Verizon)
• Samsung Sync a707 (AT &T)
• Samsung M620 Upstage (Sprint)

Great PDA/Pocket PC Phones:

• Blackberry Curve 8300 (AT &T)
• Motorola Q (Sprint & Verizon)
• HTC 8525 (AT &T)
• Blackberry RIM 7105t (T-Mobile)

Great all around phones:

• Nokia N75 (AT &T)
• LG EnV (Verizon)
• Motorola Razr (Multiple Carriers)