- In this report
- Overview
- AT&T is now the worst carrier
- No-contract options multiply
- Faster 4G networks expand
- "Bill shock" is common
- Best plan if you're a minimal phone user
- Best plan if you're a talker and texter
- Best plan if you want it all
- Best plan if you're an ardent e-mailer
- January 2011 Recommended
- Ratings by city
- Contract service Ratings
- No-contract service Ratings
- January 2011 Canadian Ratings
- 75 Years of CU
75 years bold
A retrospective of Consumer Reports and its place in the American consumer landscape.
Best plan if you want it all
Last reviewed: January 2011
This article appeared in 
Illustration by Eva Tatcheva
You want to do everything with your phone, including using a host of applications.
A fine multimedia smart phone
The iOS and Android operating system lead the way in apps and multimedia navigation, so a phone using one of those systems is your best bet—but buying an iPhone locks you into low-rated AT&T, at least for now.
A contract everything plan
Figure on 700 talk minutes, 700 text messages, and 400MB of data per month per line. For that plus a signature handset, your best bet is to go with a major carrier.
Smart choices include:
- Sprint Everything Data with Any Mobile Anytime 450 plan ($70 per month) or Everything Data Family with Any Mobile Anytime 1500 ($170 per month), plus the Samsung Epic 4G ($250).
- Verizon Nationwide Talk and Text 450 ($90) plus Motorola Droid X ($200).
