Well, I needed a new handset anyways.

As I have mentioned in a previous post, Verizon has bought Alltel which is my cell’s service provider. When I first did my research when choosing a provider, Verizon was the closest competition that I considered. One of the drawbacks was that Verizon did not have native coverage where I lived. I’ve been very happy with Alltel and I am not so sure about this merger. While Verizon has a reputation for having a superior network and service quality, you do have to pay a premium to use it.

Over the summer, I renewed my contract with Alltel and purchased and upgrade to the LG Glimmer. I liked the phone even though it did have its drawbacks. Now I hate the little frakker because the touchscreen is acting buggy. It looses its calibration.

Verizon’s takeover of Alltel may be the solution that I am looking for. No details have been released yet, but I’m thinking that Verizon is going to offer Alltel customers to be released from their contracts. Alltel customers who want to remain with their contracts will probably be able to continue with them until they expire. If Verizon allows me to cancel my contract, I probably will and pick up the Blackberry Storm. Even with the mediocre reviews of this phones, I am not eager to replace my Glimmer with another resistive touchscreen. I’m going to go with capacitive which my iPod Touch has. As far as I know, the Blackberry Storm is the only capacitive touchscreen phone that Verizon has.

I haven’t desired a phone with fancy features until recently. Before, all I cared was that the phone had good call quality, reception, and could do text messaging. My iPod Touch changed all that. If it wasn’t for the fact that I loathe AT&T, I probably would have an iPhone right now. Since I don’t want to get an iPhone with its crappy service provider, I think the Storm will do nicely.

Money is the issue, though. I may not get this phone because its monthly bill is going to be nearly $100 per month. Given the employment situation, I’ve got some major reservations. Still, if I can’t use my Glimmer… it may provide just enough incentive to make a switch.