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i was at the mall earlier and noticed virgin mobile had a crackberry (the kind w/o the problematic ball) for $70, 6632, iirc.
i've seen boost has had a bb too, but the one with the small keys. cricket is carrying one now too.
which (non contract) carrier is best for these units, and which fones are best, and what to avoid?
thanks
c

There is no one best carrier. You need to look at which provides the coverage you need when and where you need it. That is the one you should go with, even if it is one of the "Big 4". If you have no signal, even cheap is too expensive.

In the same vein, there is no one best phone. You are the only one who can make the choice. You need to pick one that fits your does, does what you want and need it to do. Since you didn't give us that information, we can't even make a guess.

Carrier Service availability is first then pick the BB you want. The best thing is to try them at the stores.

basically just want to log in and surf the forums and check the e-mail.
i had a curve and it would frequently jam up and i got tired of doing almost daily battery pulls. that and the trac ball was a pita.
i know boost is part of sprint so i'm thinking that network would give the best service.
don't know much about virgin network service. but for their price and the phone sans trac ball their deal is looking pretty sweet.
i'm in houston, so every major carrier has service here.
and thanks for the quick replies folks

Don't assume the major carriers have coverage. They all have holes.