iPhone, because you really can't get it without a data plan and that means you always have the availability to use all of its features. Other than that, blackberrys are great for more business type of uses.

Verizon is a great network and the blackberry storm is not for everyone, unlike how the salesperson may tell you in a store.
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It depends on what you are looking for. Some people swear by the iPhone regardless of the fact that it does not have some of the features expected of a smartphone. To them, the iPhone is the best because it is such a pleasure to use. It's easy and fun. Others would say that something like the Omnia or another phone running Windows Mobile is the better option due to the fact that it has more features than the iPhone.
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I would probably wait it out for the Palm Prē.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/04/Palmpre.png

The Palm Pre (styled palm prē) is an internet-connected multimedia smartphone designed and marketed by Palm, Inc. with a multi-touch screen and a sliding keyboard. The phone is scheduled for release in the first half of 2009 and is the first phone to make use of the palm webOS — a Linux-based operating system developed by Palm.

It has been awarded The CNET Best of CES award for Best Cell Phone/Smartphone, the People's Voice award based on votes from over 10,000 CNET readers, and the Best in Show Award given to the best overall product at the show across all consumer electronics categories!

http://www.slashphone.com/media/data/1391/palm-pre-1.jpg

The Pre functions as a camera phone, a portable media player, a GPS system, and Internet client (with text messaging, email, web browsing, and local Wi-Fi connectivity).

http://www.urban75.org/tech/images/palm-pre-webos-lg.jpg

Featuring a 3.1-inch accelerometer-sensed 320 x 480 multi touch display with full QWERTY keyboard in portrait orientation, the phone packs in all the features conspicuously absent from previous Palm OS handsets, including 802.11b/g WiFi, GPS with turn by turn mapping, Bluetooth with stereo A2DP and EV-DO Rev. A 3G.

Powered by TI's new OMAP CPU, the handset comes with 8GB of built-in flash storage (but no SD card slot), a 3 megapixel camera with LED flash, mass storage-friendly microUSB plug, removable battery and - huzzah! - 3.5mm headphone jack.

http://www.urban75.org/tech/images/palm-pre-webos-lg3.jpg

A truly revolutionary multitasking user interface serves up a truly slick 'desktop and cards' paradigm, where apps are brought up via a launcher bar.

New cards containing web pages, IM conversations, emails etc, and can brought up from the bottom of the screen, with active cards flicked through like Apple's Coverflow. When you've finished working on a card, they can be swished away or closed by dragging them off the top of the page.

There's also a cunning touch-sensitive gesture region under the display, where you can use gestures to control the handset without affecting content in the window (thus getting rid of the problem with touchscreen where scrolling onscreen can, for example, accidentally click on a link on a web page).

There's also a set of advanced gestures that let you, for example, bring up a launcher bar and immediately launch an app.

Email support for Microsoft Outlook, POP3, IMAP, Gmail, Yahoo, AOL is built in, and email, SMS and IM conversations can all be grouped on one screen, with replies automatically being routed via the correct app. Very clever.

http://www.urban75.org/tech/images/palm-pre-webos-lg1.jpg

The phone picks up copies of contacts when users browse sites like GMail, GoogleTalk and Facebook to compile a master address book of all known contacts and the various means to get in touch with them. When viewing a friend's contact card, the user can see their regular contact details as well as their status on chat services - and start chatting with them with a single click.

There's even an optional wireless charging accessory called Touchstone, which is a a smooth pebble-like gizmo that lets users charge their handsets just by placing it on its surface.

http://www.urban75.org/tech/images/palm-pre-webos-lg2.jpg

Palm's new package adds up to a truly remarkable offering, with the compact smartphone offering a truly innovative interface that even outdoes the iPhone. The way the phone handles contacts is truly impressive, the multitasking seems extremely smooth and if the the initial reviews are anything to go by, Palm is on to an absolute winner with this one.

Palm Pre - basic specs:
OS: Palm webOS
3G EVDO Rev. A
3.1 inch 320×480 capacitive touchscreen
Slide-out QWERTY keyboard
Microsoft Outlook email and POP3/IMAP
Integrated messaging (IM, SMS, and MMS)
Built-in GPS
3MP camera with LED flash
Integrated ambient light, accelerometer, and proximity sensor
Music (MP3, AAC, AMR, QCELP, WAV) player
Video (MPEG-4, H.263, H.264) player
Image (GIF, JPEG, PNG, BMP) viewer
802.11b/g WiFi
8GB internal memory
MicroUSB connector
3.5mm headset jack
Wireless charging
4.76 oz

Palm Pre official site
http://www.palm.com/us/products/phones/pre/index.html

Review:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/13/palm-pre-everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know/

Preview here:
http://gizmodo.com/5126702/palm-pre-preview-simply-amazing

Feast your eyes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiQzCd2OnoM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD4HQSRWhzA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRnlzbuLRwM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjQ4v2QEZUI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeU1h0Nh6Hw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jtzvtfgeGQ
Source(s):
http://www.urban75.org/tech/palm-pre-smartphone.html

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I think currently the iPhone (From Apple) is the best option of getting a smart phone, because first of all, you can use the unlimited plan and bandwidth, so you wouldn't have to worry about exhausting your plan and paying more money for the bandwidth/SMS, etc.

Some great features on the iPhone is the built in mobile browser: Safari. It's great for surfing sites and casually browsing, but there's currently no Flash and Javascript inside the rendering engine so it's not that great, but still ok if you want to read your favorite blog or check some email. (Gmail works great with (Mobile) Safari.))

Another great app that comes with iPhone is Mail. It's a very powerful mobile email client and can be configured to work with Gmail easily (Just input username and password.) If you use something else, it's still easy, because you just need to enter the details in and you're ready to go. Emails are saved on your iPhone but because of the limited disk storage, it will need an Internet connection. But don't worry, because you can easily download mail through the 3G connection that comes with your iPhone.

Other apps worth mentioning are: Calendar, Stocks, Weather, Currency (Can be downloaded through App Store) and Facebook (Can also be downloaded.)

The App Store is another great feature of the iPhone, because you can download apps such as Currency, Facebook, TwitterFon, ... onto your iPhone and use it from there.

The iPhone is just like a better version of the iPod Touch, with features such as Music (iPod), Videos, iTunes, ... (Ability to SMS is also included.)

The Notes application is also very useful for jotting down quick notes to look at later. (Other noting applications can also be downloaded via the App Store.)

So I suggest you to get the iPhone. It's a bargain for all the features that are included in it.
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Everyone is going to give you a different answer. This will be based on their preferences and bias. What I recommend is that if you make a list of what you want to phone to be able to do. Find out which phones meet your needs. See if any of your friend have those models, play around with them, or go to a retailer and play. Figure out what meets your needs and feels good to you. Get that phone.

Personally. Me. I love my iphone. It is fun. It is a great toy. I find it functional; I was able to get rid of my PDA and am able to sync to gmail calendar. As far as the data plan is concerned, I don't use it much-I am usually at a computer, but when I need it, it works great.
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Windows Mobile based phone is the best smart phone available for sure (e.g. Sprint palm 700w/750w/etc. Sony also has 1 WM based smartphone)
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