Phone Choices

As a big fan of Windows Phone 7, and a Verizon customer, and one mostly happy with Verizon, I am on the opposite side of this dilemma.  Verizon has only one Windows Phone 7, the Trophy, which while not a bad phone pales beside the Lumia 800 and Titan II.  So, I have been dealing with this question myself.    

Three factors are making this decision more interesting. 

1. Windows Phone 8 - I am unlikely to move to any other carrier or any other phone until Windows Phone 8 is released.  To me it would be a little silly to be stuck with Windows Phone 7 for another two years at this point
   AAs a sub-point to this one, is the fact that traditionally, Verizon has the worse selection of Windows phones.  As mentioned above, the Trophy does not compare favorably to the selections on ATT.  There are rumors that this may change, but I have to wait and see. 


2. Verizon's new Share Plan pricing.  I have my wife and my son on my account, and it is going to cost at least $10 more each month to switch to a new plan.  I have unlimited data and I would pay that $10 more to get 1GB to share with my wife (she has 150MB).  I haven't done my homework yet, but I want to find out how much my set of three phones would cost on another carrier. 


3. Three phones on 3 separate refresh cycles.  I need to stay with Verizon until February to avoid any charges for breaking the contract.  My wife's contract may be even further down the road than that.  My son has been using old phones, because he keeps breaking them or losing them, so he does not have a contract and there shouldn't be an early termination fee. 

I feel like I have until February to make a decision, but I am really balancing the extra cost against the hassle of moving three phones to another carrier.  Also, I would like a better Windows Phone.  I love Windows Phone 7 and I am excited about Windows Phone 8.  As I mentioned above, Verizon has lagged behind on Windows Phone, and that throws an extra monkey wrench into the works. 

There is also the fact that my wife really hates AT&T and I am not too fond of them either.  My mother-in-law has AT&T home internet and cable (only thing allowed in her apartment complex) and has had many problems.  Also, the dropped calls problem is worrisome, though it does not appear here in Austin.  We, not quite jokingly, note that AT&T's logo looks like the Deathstar, and despite claims by Microsoft, Apple and Google, we feel that AT&T is the real Evil Empire. 

So, I am in fact facing this very question of is it worth moving.  We have been happy with Verizon's service, so we feel no reason to change on that account.  My wife likes Android and Verizon arguably has the best selection of Android Phones, but there certainly is no reason to move to get a better Android phone.  I am the one who would like to move for a better phone, but it is the Evil Empire (AT&T) that has the best selection of Windows Phones. 

So, I am waiting until Windows Phone 8 launches and then I will be giving this a lot of thought.