Date: 2011mar3 Q. Which Android phone should I buy? And how? A. The easiest option is call your provider and ask about upgrading. Nearly every phone company has Android smartphones. The cost may be minimal... especially if you have a data plan. If you don't have a smartphone and a data plan then you should decide if you really want to pay for a data plan. Smartphone can work with a voice SIM and Wifi. But, of course, you aren't always connected. A frugal option is buying an unlocked gently used phone (from Graigslist, eBay or http://kijiji.ca/ ) and dropping in your existing SIM chip. Look at the Android phones you current provider sells and buy one of those used and it will be sure to work. I would avoid: - The X10 mini (this phone doesn't have enough memory) - Phones that have a software shell (skin) added on top of regular Android http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/06/androids-acne-problem/ - Android at or before version 1.5 Things that are nice but not essential: - Unlocked - Promised future upgrades (Since you aren't going to have the phone for more than a few years realistically) Once you have it: - You need my Wi-Fi Manager http://market.android.com/details?id=com.hogdex.WifiRuler and check out my other apps too http://market.android.com/developer?pub=Dave+McKellar