I'm kind of confused about the benefits of going with Verizon with the 6700. I'm in the SF bay area and cingular is the best provider but sprint is ok most places.

My $30 SERO plan + bonuses gives me unlimited EVDO data, I can tether it, and get 500 minutes, free 6pm nights/weekends, free txt, free mobile to mobile + I can roam on Verizon towers for free. In addition, I get some discounts like loyalty and business that brings my total price down to about $20 after taxes.

I've talked to Verizon and it's going to cost me like $150 to get the same thing.

Is there any reason at all to go with Verizon other than some of my family is on verizon and don't want to pay mobile to mobile to me?

Many people will stick with Verizon because they feel they have better coverage in a particular area where they need to use the phone. Sprint works fine for me.

This thread is on a very short leash. The second someone starts bashing a carrier, I will close it down in a heartbeat. Keep the original poster's question ("Is there any reason at all to go with Verizon other than some of my family is on verizon and don't want to pay mobile to mobile to me?") in mind when posting your repsonse.

Just depends on how reception is in you area. How many friends and family do you have on Verizon? If most are, then the in-network calling and text benefits may apply. For me Verizon had the best reception in my area, and 90% of my close friends and family were on Verizon. I personally think the T-Mobile version of the 6700 is the best (smaller and more up to date - they learned from the PPC and VX6700 issues).

tmobiles mda buttons suck but i do like the built in aim messenger. and the much better stylus.

Really? I hate the stylus on the MDA - its one of those retracting two-piece things. Although, I'm still waiting on my 6700 to arrive so I can't compare (should be here early this week).

Anyways - back on topic: The only reasons to stick with Verizon that I could see is better coverage (data really, since Sprint has roaming agreements for most places that they do not have coverage), and IN network if you have a lot of Verizon friends/family. I'm currently a Verizon customer but am switching to Sprint because of Verizon's horridly expensive data plans.

I'm with Sprint because of the cheaper data plans. For this phone, I'd assume that's important for most users. For strictly voice plans, however, I think cheaper plans can be found elsewhere. I can't think of any advantages of you going with Verizon (aside from the mobile-to-mobile for your Verizon-customer family/friends) unless coverage is significantly better with them.

If coverage for VZ and Sprint are equal I'd without doubt go with Sprint. Verizon seems to be much more expensive for similar services if this is an issue. Sprint coverage is marginal where I need it so I'm using VZ for voice only and data on a pay as you go feature which is a problem in of iteself.

Additionally, VZ's website is OK for checking out voice usage and bills but it's lacking a user interface for simple things like setting up call forward on busy among other basic items.

Sprint is adding CDMA repeaters to existing Nextel towers to increase coverate. Couple this with cheap data, I'm sticking with Sprint.

Verizon's coverage is impressive, but I can roam on their towers anyhow, best of both worlds. My plan on Verizon would be more than double. Don't see a compelling reason to pay that when I can use their towers as part of my Sprint plan...

well quetion then, why does verizon allow them to have free roming on their towers if i could just switch to sprint and pay half as much for the exact same service...

I have both carriers, but I picked Sprint's 6700 as my primary phone because they beat VZW to the punch with EVDO in my area. So, in the end, it is services offerred that did it for me. Of course, once VZW hits with EVDO, it goes down to other matters. Right now, both carriers are pretty good coverage wise so I'll probably stick with Sprint's cheaper pricing. But I may pick up a VZW Motorola Q SmartPhone when they come out as a backup.

You can't roam with data, just voice. So that is one advantage of native VZW.