My cellphone is my primary phone as well (although I could use my boyfriend's if I had to, and it used to be that way, which sucked). I am on my boyfriend's parents' family plan with Verizon. Because I'm on their plan, I didn't and don't make the decisions in reference to money, so I can't really say how Verizon financially compares to other companies. There definitely was a time when Verizon was far better than Cingular, but from what I hear from other people, Cingular has got its act together.

Every once in a while Verizon will send me an advertisement in the form of a text message. I don't really consider it a hassle, and I don't know if I could have that stopped if I had control of the plan.

I use a Motorola 120e phone ( http://commerce.motorola.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=249130&prmenbr=126&phone_cgrfnbr=1&zipcode= ). This phone is probably considered outdated by now. I don't get reception in certain places, but then I doubt many phones would (such as in a laboratory basement). But I absolutely hate the setup of the menus, so unless Motorola has made some big changes in the past 4 years, then I don't recommend them just for this reason. For instance, I can't list several numbers under one name entry. I have to have the same person's name listed several times with the different numbers (my sister is #5 and #6, one for home and one for work). I won't go into all of the reasons why I don't like it, but I've talked to other Motorola phone owners in the past who feel the same way. My particular phone is often uncomfortable to hold to my ear for a long period of time, but that's because it's not flat. It's slight curves so that the top part sticks out more, along with the big Menu button that irritates my ear. Sometimes I accidently end phone calls when my ear presses on the End button.

I definitely recommend Kyocera. That's the phone my boyfriend uses (2235, http://www.kyocera-wireless.com/2200-phone/ ). The navigation is a 1,000 times better, it's comfortable, has much better reception actually. His battery's life is pretty standard I think. The blue backlight isn't as bright as mine, but it's still good (and blue is better than green I think). The 2235 at least is great and simple.

I was thinking of getting a new phone too, but probably after I'm on my own plan. I don't use any special features or play games on my phone. But I think I may want to get a camera phone because I always find myself in want of a camera when I see interesting things. I also am thinking about a flip-phone, but only because they're small and flat on the front. No more of this curved-jabbing-me-in-the-ear stuff. What I really don't like about newer phones are the colorful animated screens. I just want black text and minimal pictures/symbols. It seems like no one has simple screens though now.

Good luck. Let us know what you choose because it sounds like we have very similar tastes in cellphones.

Hmm, well it seems like Cingular doesn't use Kyocera phones at all. I thought they did.

Does it matter though? Can one not use any phone they want?

Unfortunately, it does matter, because Verizon/Sprint and Cingular use different RF technologies (CDMA and GSM respectively). You should be able to switch between Verizon and Sprint without changing phones (though I'm not positive about that), but you can't access Cingular or T-Mobile networks with a CDMA phone. Aren't free markets fun? At some point, we'll get a more universal standard (I think all the big GSM companies are switching to CDMA in the future, but I could be wrong) and then things will be much easier:P

See this link for more on GSM & CDMA (it's written by someone who worked on CDMA, so take it with a grain of salt.)

http://denbeste.nu/cd_log_entries/2002/10/GSM3G.shtml

I know, it's not a tremendously interesting subject, but that entry is well written (though long)...

Yeah, so anyway I'm not sure what I'm going to get at all now. From my research, I like the Sony Ericsson line, but I checked with a friend at work today and heard some troubling things.

And last night, I was almost sold on a higher end model, but am now considering just the base model again. Who knows. I'll probably get sweet-talked into something by the slimy salesman wherever I go:P

I could theoretically get on my parents' Verizon plan, which would be cheap, but I'm not sure I want to go that way (plus, Verizon's phones seem to be mostly flip phones).

And I don't think we'll be able to get simple monochrome screens anymore. That doesn't especially bother me though:P

You seem set on not getting a flip phone but I have one and from what I've seen, flip phones tend to be hardier than the, um, non-flip phones (whatever they're called). But I also prefer flip phones to the non-flip phone variety in the first place.

I have a Samsung SPH-A620 (or VGA 1000, it seems to go by both model numbers), which is apparently one of the heavier phones out there, but it's never really bothered me and I carry it around in my pocket. It uses CDMA (I have Sprint and would give you details on the plan but it's a plan I share with other family members so it's probably irrelevent to you) and has some bells and whistles (text messaging, email, still camera, Internet access--yes, I once looked something up online while driving). I use the ring tone that sounds like a phone because the others make me kill kill KILL and once in a while play Tetris but there's other ring tones and games that are downloadable if you want more.

I think it has a pretty good battery life. I don't have exact figures for you but I know it's lasted longer than I thought it would considering how often I've used the camera and text messaging at times. The camera is good quality considering it's a phone - here's a good example: http://www.unevensurface.com/imagery/16-edge.jpg

In my area, Sprint and Cingular both have really good coverage. Don't know about your neck of the woods though.