Okay, folks, puzzle out this consumer choice. My wife has Cingular with an old TDMA phone that needs to be upgraded to GSM. I have T-Mobile, and my GSM phone just crapped out today. After much phoning and Amazoning, here are the options.

T-Mobile:

- I "upgrade" my phone to a Motorola V600: $169
- I buy another V600 through Amazon for my wife: $-25 (yes, negative after rebates)
- They give me my first and sixth month free: $-70 now, $-70 later

Net out-of-pocket now (post rebates and such): $74

Cingular:

- My wife "upgrades" her phone to a Motorola V551: $0 (a "courtesy" upgrade)
- I buy another V551 through Amazon for me: $0 (after rebates and such)
- They matched the sixth month free: $-70 later

Net out-of-pocket now: $0


Alternatively, I could spend $370 out of pocket and have a Cingular-branded Motorola RAZR via Amazon. After that, the calling plans are exactly the same. Same minutes, same cost.


T-Mobile Pros:
- I get to keep my grandfathered international roaming rates (notably cheap incoming rates in Western Europe, typically $0.20/minute)

T-Mobile Cons:
- More money up front
- No (cheap) availability of the RAZR

Cingular Pros:
- Less money up front (probably some hidden activation and garbage fees)
- V551 > V600?

Cingular Cons:
- $1.29/minute roaming in Western Europe


Put all of that together, and the only real unknown is how much I really need the grandfathered cheap international roaming. I probably go to Europe once every year or two for a week on average. I'd like to be able to call home every day or two for 15 minutes, so call that 60 minutes of air-time per trip. The Cingular penalty for me is then roughly $70/year. On the other hand, the RAZR discount is $300 relative to the street price.

Sounds like Cingular wins, and that's without even getting some kind of pre-paid wireless SIM card while I'm in Europe. Virgin Mobile seems to charge £10 ($19) for the 60 minutes I think I'd need. Are prices similar in France, Germany, and other parts of Western Europe? Luckily, even if I couldn't get Cingular to unlock my phone, I've still got my trusty old Ericsson T28W in the closet to call into duty (which I'm doing right now, in fact).

Thoughts?