My AT&T lock-in (courtesy my iPhone 3G, two years ago) is expiring in a few weeks, and I'm basically decided that I'm getting an Android phone. Of course, I'm still entirely up in the air on whether I want the HTC Evo 4G (Sprint), a Google Nexus One (T-Mobile), or a Motorola Droid X (to be formally announced on Wednesday). AT&T is not something I'm considering with any seriousness. While they work quite well here in Houston, their service in the SF Bay Area is embarrassing, and I'm there no small amount on business.

I also need to accommodate my wife's desire for a phone, where she's largely uninterested in having fancy data services (she presently uses my vintage 2007 Motorola KRZR and it does the job nicely, notaly having a battery that can last for days).

Question 1 is what people think about my various Android options. Part of me is keen to have a Nexus One since it's the very same thing that thousands of Google employees have in their pockets. I know I'll be able to reflash it, hack it, do whatever I want to it. However, the siren song of the newer devices with the bigger screens and faster CPUs beckon.

Also relevant are the pricing plans for a "family plan" for the two of us. With Verizon, I'd inevitably end up with another two-year commitment, and I'd probably be able to swing a "normal" phone for free for my wife. The basic family plan is $70/mo. (rounding up to keep the math clean) with a $30/mo. data charge. My employer gets me a 20% discount off that, so I'm looking at $80/mo. with Verizon.

With T-Mobile, I can pay either $110/mo. or $140/mo., with the latter price including subsidized phone purchases and a two-year commitment, versus the former assuming you bring your own phones. These plans also include unlimited data and text messages on both phones (whereas Verizon wants to charge more if you want unlimited text messages). The monthly savings, and our existing perfectly functional Moto KRZR mean that a Nexus One, bought without contract ($530) versus subsidized ($180), becomes the proper decision if you plan to have it longer than 18 months. Now, my employer has no discount program with T-Mobile, but if my wife wanted a phone with real networking, we'd have to add another $30/mo. to the Verizon plan, making the prices roughly equal.

Ahh, Sprint. They're pushing a plan, similar to T-Mobile, with effectively infinite calling minutes, infinite data and text messages for both phones, for $130/mo, which is probably best compared to the T-Mobile $140/mo. plan. Alternatively, a Sprint basic no-frills line is $30/mo. and the "everything" data plan is $70/mo., so that's an alternative path to Sprint.


Given that my wife and I hardly rack up two hours of mobile phone calls per month, any of these plans might as well be infinite phone calling. We similarly have few enough SMS messages than an all-inclusive plan isn't necessary and the $0.20/SMS highway robbery is still a win.

So... am I missing something here or am I destined to become a Verizon customer? The only catch I can think of is the total lack of GSM in any of the phones I'd be likely to get from Verizon, but I'll still have the old Moto KRZR which I can bring with me on my next overseas trip (typically once every two years), wherein I suppose I could get a local pre-paid SIM.

Thoughts?