Technological Advancement

I've decided that it's time for me to venture back into the world of cellular phone ownership. I haven't had a cell phone in about 6 years. Not since my dad lost my phone somewhere in the pasture while fixing fences.

The main argument against having a cell phone all these years was a combination of a) you needed a landline to get highspeed internet and b)I'm usually somewhere where I have a phone, you can call me at home or at work and if I'm not in either of those two places then I probably don't need to be talking to someone anyway.

But things have obviously changed. Now we have cable internet which doesn't require a landline at all. I've been off work for a while now (I can't believe it's been this long) and I've suddenly found myself without a phone when I really wished I had one. I've also been driving back and forth to the farm lately (almost every weekend) and you never know when you might need to make an emergency call from the side of the highway. The other big recent life change has been developing a relationship with someone who lives a fair distance away. We spend a lot of time IMing each other and well we could text more easily if I had a cell.

So now the problem is to choose a service provider. I know people who are on MTS and people who are on Rogers and not really a whole lot of complaints for either company. So it's a matter of figuring out what works best for what I intend to do, which is a lot of texting and a little bit of websurfing. Which then brings up the question of Smartphone or Voice Only? I'm still torn here as I don't really get enough e-mail to make it worth it, BUT I would like to have web capability that isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg. Someone recommended waiting for the new iPhone to hit Canada and I was going to take her advice, but what do I need a $700 phone for?

So anyone have any ideas or suggestions? I'm going with Rogers or MTS because come this fall they'll have the best province wide coverage. Which I'll need if I'm out at the farm a lot. Is there anything else I need to consider when looking at what to do here? Any help would be greatly appreciated.