The best phone for each carrier IMO is
AT&T: New iPhone (release this June). Should be $199.99 after 2 year contract
Verizon: Driod Incredible. $199.99 after 2 year contract
Sprint: HTC Evo. $199.99 after 2 year contract
Sprint SERO: HTC Touch Pro2. $199.99 after 2 year contract
T-Mobile: Google Nexus One. $179.99 after 2 year contract or $529.99 unlocked.
| Sprint SERO-P | Sprint ERRP | Sprint | AT&T | Verizon | T-mobile | |
| Minutes | 500 | 500 | 450 | 450 | 450 | 500 |
| M2M | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| N&W | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | 5000 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Data | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | 200MB/2GB | Unlimited | Unlimited++ |
| Text | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited* | Unlimited+ | Unlimited+ |
| Other | - | GPS Nav. | GPS Nav. | Rollover | - | No contract, expensive phones |
| Price | $50** | $69.99** | $65.99** ($79.99) | $46.99***/$51.99 ($54.99/$64.99) | $54.58 ($69.98) | $39.99 |
| Total Cost (for 2 years) | $920 | $1880 | $1784 ($2120) | $1328/$1448 ($1760) | $1524 ($1880) | $1490 |
Notes:
* With Free iPhone App
+ With Google Voice
** $10/month charge on top of Sprint Everything Data plan and SERO Premium
++ with T-Mobile $10/month data plan. Require manual change to network configuration.
*** No discount on the $15/200MB data plan
As we can see, with this $10/month charge for Evo Sprint's offering is no longer as attractive as it once was especially if you are not in 4G area. In fact, it is now the most expensive plan out of all four carriers. Granted, to get the price down on the other 3 you need some work around to get free text, but that's precisely the problem with Sprint as they don't offer you any options. I was surprised that T-mobile's total cost with N1 is about the same as AT&T or Verizon, guess iPhone really wasn't that expensive after all..
--update 6/3/10 --
Looks like AT&T updated it's data pricing for smart phone. Now you can get either 200MB/$15 or 2GB/$25, but no more unlimited data plan. Chart updated based on new pricing. I don't like the plan as I use a LOT of data on my phone, but I guess it lowers the barrier of entry to iPhone...
