Thomas answers:

If you are looking for the BEST phone that sprint has to offer and you don’t care about the price it has to be the Sprint’s version of the HTC Touch Pro. Although it runs on windows 6.0 it looks fantastic. Of course the phone will be a lot cheaper with a 2 year contract. Check out the video I think you’ll love it =D. Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQVLvwauORI&feature=related
Phone is supposed to come out the end of this month, it’s also coming out on Verizon but supposedly they took out some cool things from it and watered down the RAM and processing speed, these are all rumors but who knows?

Thomas answers:

Hey there! I worked for at&t up until January.

Please keep in mind that if you do not want to pay the additional $30 a month, you’ll need to avoid PDA devices like the Blackberry and, obviously, the iPhone. Some of these phones will only allow you to receive the mail-in rebate if you get and keep their $30 data package for 3 months or so.

The internet and device itself will not work properly if you do not have that data package.

A normal unlimited data plan for simpler phones is $15. This data plan may be required for some mail-in rebates, so be sure to ask your representative when purchasing the device.

Now, you said you were interested in touch screens.. If you click here:

http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phones/camera-phones.jsp

You can view all the phones at&t currently offers. Over to the left, you can narrow down your choices.. For example, by clicking the box beside “Touch Screen” under “By Capabilities” it will show only those with touch screens.

If I were to suggest a phone with a touch screen that DOESN’T require a $30 data plan, I would recommend the LG VU. Nifty little phone with a touch screen like the iPhone, but without the hassle of a $30 data plan.

I would recommend going into a local at&t store and feeling out the phones before making a purchase online/over the phone, if that’s what you’re planning.

Good luck!

Thomas answers:

Using a US phone with a US company overseas would be ridiculously expensive. Most phones you get here aren’t even compatible with the Japanese cellular network anyways. She’s going to have to get a Japanese phone and sign up with a Japanese service provider. This isn’t difficult, she just needs to ask her fellow marines when she gets there and they can point her in the right direction.

Thomas answers:

IPhone … Great apps for contacts, maps, etc.

Thomas answers:

Depending how many minutes you need you can go with a prepaid cell phone. Tracfone = as low as 9.99 phones, and you can pay as low as 20 dollars every 90 days. Net10 = as low as 29.99 phones and you pay as low as 30 dollars every 60 days. Straighttalk = as low as 29.99 phones and as low as 30 dollars a month.
Tracfone = works on all major carrier networks
60 minutes for 20 dollars for 90 days
120 minutes for 30 dollars for 90 days
200 minutes for 40 dollars for 90 days
and so on….
Net10 = works on all major carrier networks
300 minutes for 30 dollars for 60 days
600 minutes for 60 dollars for 120 days
and so on….
Straighttalk = works on the verizon network
1,000 minutes, 1,000 text/picture messages and 30 MB of data for 30 dollars a month
unlimited every thing for 45 dollars a month

if none of these work for you then i recommend verizon wireless. I know you don’t want verizon but i can’t recommend metro pcs, cricket, or boost mobile because they have a very small coverage map. And i wouldn’t recommend at&t either. You’ll want to stay away from small carriers including:
cricket, metro pcs, boost mobile, u.s. Cellular, virgin mobile, cellular one and all other small ones.
Im sorry if this is not helpful…..but it’s the truth….im a cell phone fanatic….have been for years. Good luck making your decision, but seriously think it through before you go with a contract phone, or a small carrier.

Thomas answers:

If your husband is near major interstates most of the time I would go with Cingular. I have been with Cingular since it was Bellsouth Mobility DCS and I am very satisfied with network growth and quality.

May I also suggest a multiband phone that way if you are out of the area of one type of bandwidth you can still get on using another.

If you are not a heavy minutes user, then Cingular’s Family Talk Nationwide plan with rollover can be a real bargin.

The free phones are on the low end of gadgetry as compared to Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint/NexTel, but I would rather have good service than jazzed up phone and spotty service.

Thomas answers:

The Nokia 5800 is a very cool phone. The iphone is good but the 5800 has the unlimited music downloads. Its starting to sell like hotcakes.

Thomas answers:

Try the razor or the slivr idk if there wit sprint but give them a shot

Thomas answers:

Verizon has always had decent coverage for me – up in the mountains, out in the San Juans. I’ve been out camping and the only phones that had coverage were Verizon.

We switched from AT&T a few years ago because our house in the burbs (not at all in the boonies) was in the middle of a donut hole of awful coverage. And we checked the coverage maps for AT&T recently and it’s still the same.

Bottom line – there are a lot of places with few people and no cell phone towers in this state (mountains, state parks etc.) and no carrier has invested in the equipment to have great coverage through the whole state. But it certainly seems that Verizon has it covered better than anyone else.