Like many other people, I would like to have an iPhone...however, only AT&T has the iPhone, and their network in my area is awful. Having a cool phone isn't so cool when you can't get coverage.

Never change carriers without asking a LOT of people about how their coverage is with that particular carrier.
I have the Motorola Droid from Verizon Wireless, and I absolutely love it. I previously had the Blackberry Storm (the original one, not the II) and I hated that phone. I took it back before my 30 day period was up. The touch screen was terrible and non-responsive, and even after almost 30 days I didn't get used to it. On the other hand, I got used to the touch screen on my Droid within a day. It's very responsive, intuitive, and easy to use.
Like someone else mentioned, don't forget that you have to pay a $30 data plan with any smart phone, regardless of the carrier. I get plenty of use out of that though, and it's well worth a dollar a day to me.
I check my email (both Gmail and Verizon accounts) on my phone frequently. I use the internet on it quite a bit as well. Texting is super easy with the slide out keyboard. The apps are awesome. I've got all free ones, although there are some you have to pay for. The free ones are working great for me now though. Some of my favorites:
Google Maps (Works like a GPS with turn-by-turn spoken directions and there's no charge. Works just as well as my Garmin Nuvi.)
AK Notepad (Leave myself quick notes, with or without a reminder)
Aldiko (Read free books, mostly classic titles)
Backgrounds (Free wallpapers)
Barcode Scanner and Shop Savvy (Say you're in a store and think you see a good deal...this takes a picture of the barcode and does comparison shopping for you. I just used it in Marshall's today and saw that the baby gate that I bought was over $20 cheaper than elsewhere. Both apps do the same thing, I just haven't figured out which one I like better.)
Calorie Counter (Nutritional info for lots of restaurants and foods, along with a food diary, exercise diary, weight tracker, etc)
Facebook (Darned addicting website!)
Google Sky Map (Point your phone at the night sky, and it will show you which constellations, etc that you're looking at. If you move the phone, it moves with you. Very cool.)
Music apps like I Heart Radio, Pandora, Slacker Radio, etc (I plug in my headphones and listen to music while I'm at work. I also like to plug it into my car stereo and it plays through my speakers....kind of like satellite radio with no commercials, but free.)
Shazam (Hear a song and don't know the title or artist? Start up Shazam, let it listen for about 15-20 seconds, and it will come back and tell you the title/artist of the song. Simply amazing technology.)
Weather Channel (self explanatory)
Pkt Auctions Ebay (bid on auctions from your phone)
Tip Calc (tip calculator)
USA Today (read the news)
TV.com (watch full episodes of certain TV shows on your phone)
Where (multi-function app...shows the weather, news, yellow pages, movies, gas prices, etc)
Movies (movie show times and reviews)
You Tube
YZ Free (Yahtzee game...the only game I play but I'm addicted to it.)
Voice Search (Don't feel like typing? Just speak what you're looking for and this will look it up on the internet.)
Advanced Task Killer (Your phone will be speedier if you occasionally close down applications you aren't using. This does it quickly and easily.)