Hm I’m in the same dilemma as you are Luke. I’ve come close to getting the bb Storm a few times. Every time I decide to go to the store, I end up looking the storm up online, reading reviews, etc and decide to wait again.

I’m hoping the new firmware updates will get better reviews but who knows.. I did hear the new version of the bb storm(is that what the tour is?) is coming out soon-ish. I just don’t want to buy a phone, end up hating it and then being stuck with it unless i want to pay a ridiculous price for a new phone.

@Mack: Hey Mack – I think you suggestion is a no-go for me:

AT&T (and T-Mobile) use different cellular technology (GSM vs CDMA) than Verizon (and Sprint). The only way this could work is if you also opened up the iPhone, replaced the radios, rewired the phone and wrote new drivers for it to work on CDMA.

Yeah. It doesn’t seem like I could use my current provider and have an iPhone at the same time.

@Milos: Yeah, if I knew more people on AT&T I’d probably switch. But all my family, and most people from work are Verizon customers. And seeing how I sometimes need to use my cell to make work related calls, it really helps me to be on Verizon.

My company gives us monthly “allowance” to cover our phone bills but it is a flat rate so if you buy an expensive plan or hit overages you are on your own. Right now, I have one of the cheaper Verizon plans and I never go over my minutes or texts. It is probably due to the fact that most of my calls are in network. If I was calling out of network all the time this would likely change.

@Rob: How is the browser on the Curve? I read somewhere that the Storm browser is based on WebKit and renders pages better than most blackberries. It might be BS though – I don’t know.

I was trying to look up BB Tour online but all I find are rumors and unsupported claims that it will be the best thing since slice bread.

@Mack: Will jailbroken phone work sufficiently well on Verizon though? Again, we don’t have sim cards – you have to activate everything over the phone. So I’m guessing that jailbraking iPhone for Verizon is a bit different.

Oh, forgot to mention – Jailbreaking takes about 10 minutes, probably less, once you’ve downloaded the software. Then you just put in whatever sim you want

As for blackberries, the design is crap, the interface is crap, the hardware is crap

A friend showed me their blackberry and I couldn’t figure out how to use the damn thing. Load of funny dials and a clicker or something on the side

From the moment I picked up the iPhone I could understand the interface and usage of it perfectly without being told. Superior product in every way

Endless phone debate in this thread.

Blah all you like about different phones and prices, it doesn’t have the app store or install base of the iphone, or the design perfection.

1) Buy 2nd hand iPhone locked to AT&T

2) Jailbreak using custom 2.2.1 software freely available from tinternets

3) Use SSH to change your root pass (Optional)

4) Use whatever network you like

I use the camera on my iphone with about 7 different camera apps for filters and improved functionality like taking many low res pictures at high speed, I have decent games on it, fleshbook, twitter, flickr apps, good webrowser, storage for movies – Everything. I run Orange on my iPhone when it was previously locked to O2 (UK here) and can send and recieve MMS texts when that’s not currently possible with locked iPHones. It is the ONLY smartphone that functions as a hardware platform well, instead of just a phone with some additional functionality crap tacked on. And as for jailbreaking: Don’t buy into the baseless fears

Luke, I’ve got a Curve 8330 and love it. Nothing like a REAL keyboard in my opinion. I’ve never played with a Storm, but I don’t think I’d want one. I played with an iPod Touch and hated it. I couldn’t type on it if my life depended on it. Now, my friend has a Touch and he loves it. He uses it all the time for chatting and email and such. I guess it really depends on the person. I hear that Verizon is getting a new smart phone later this year from RIM called the Tour I think. It’s supposed to be a cross between a Curve and the Bold. If you can hold out for that it’s supposed to be one of the best Berries yet. That’s the one I will be replacing my Curve with early next year when my renew every two is up.

I’m sure you already know this, but stay away from anything with Windows Mobile or Palm OS. Both are crap in my opinion.

I’ve been an AT&T customer since I moved to the U.S. back in 1998 and have to say that I am overall satisfied with their network availability and performance. Over that time I have changed several phones and am currently using an iPhone 3G and find it very useful. Then again, most people I speak with on a daily basis are also AT&T customers so I see your dilemma.

When it comes to the Storm, a co-worker of mine (another IT guy) has it and absolutely loves it so I guess it depends on usage and if the phone is kept up to date on firmware/software side.

Also, my best friend has been using BB Curve for a while (on T-Mobile) and loves it as well. That could be another option for you.*

* Note: Not all Curve models are the same across carriers.

Good luck making your selection and let us know what you’ve picked.

@Luke Maciak: Ah ok. Yeah, if you only want mobile email and web, then the Blackberry Storm would already be a very nice device. A friend of mine has the Bold, it’s quite sleek.

@Mart: I don’t know – I never used pre-paid. Verizon goes out of their way to get you to sign 2 year contracts. For example, they will give you up to $100 discount towards your new phone if you sign.

My current plan is something like $39 /mo and it would probably be $30 more for data plan if I got a smart phone.

I don’t know if they offer prepaid pans, but if they do, they probably don’t involve cards. You probably activate it over the air just like everything else. I’ve seen prepaid cards for other carriers in stores though.

Either way – as far as I can tell using iPhone on Verizon network is difficult at best.

I could get the Touch but I what I really want is mobile email and web browsing. For that I need a cellular network of some sort to carry my packets to me wherever I go. The iPod touch is only useful for that when I’m within the range of Wifi. I already have an old pocketPC for that.

@Luke Maciak: Woah, that’s a pretty f’ed up process. No wonder I read about some articles which state that pre-paid phones are cheaper than post-paid, which is not true here. iPhone with pre-paid card perhaps? ;)

Alternatively, just get an iPod Touch. :P