RIP iPhone 3GS

Well, after my best attempts at becoming a total Apple consumer, I am returning my iPhone 3GS today. There are two main reasons for me doing so:

1. Push email from Exchange not practical for me due to battery life issues (and yes, I know many people don't have the problem, blah blah blah, but I do)
2. No 3G here at my new home in Destin, Florida. EDGE is pathetically slow, even just for downloading emails.

So, half of my issue is with Apple, the other half with AT&T.

Now the search for a new wireless device/provider begins. I've been with Sprint for 6 years, and can honestly say that I've been fairly pleased with their coverage and their customer service. They've taken care of me when things have gone wrong during my tenure with them, and really have no complaints.

That is, except that they have not had the best phones.

I did try a Palm Pre, but had my fair share of issues there as well. My company is wanting me to switch over to a corporate plan, and has given me a choice of carriers to do so, but I still don't know what kind of phone I want. I have been staying away from Blackberries (corporate standard) for years after a painful experience using one in 2005, but maybe I need to wander over to a Sprint or Verizon store (both of which have 3G/EVDO here in Destin) and check one out.

It's funny...I've made sacrifices in functionality for user experience with my MacBook (can we please just have and Outlook-equivalent client instead of Entourage?), but couldn't make it worth the switch on the iPhone. It is likely that if AT&T had 3G here (or in places like Charleston, where the dumb thing still could only get EDGE), I might have hung on. But, the pressure is on from my company to switch, so I guess an iPhone won't be part of my future after all.

Oh, what am I using now? I'm on an HTC Touch with Windows Mobile 6.5 loaded. And it works very well.

Which makes this even harder...