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Those who read this site (or just those who dig through my archives) will know I’ve been trying to get a cell phone for about a year now.

I hardly ever need to talk on a phone, so I’ve been trying to find a phone that will let me do data. I think I would certainly use data if I had it – particularly if I could synch it with my PowerBook through Bluetooth and have a modem with me at any time. The thing is, all of those cutting edge phones get panned by critics. The sidekick, the Sony Erricson T68i, or P800 all looked promising but I could never bring myself to take the plunge.

So here I sit, the gadget freak to end all gadget freaks, and I don’t have a cell phone.

I was in Best Buy tonight, and I noticed the Virgin Mobile Prepaid Phones. They’re aimed at kids with a bunch of extra crap I’d never use. The rate plan seems to make a lot of sense for somebody like me who doesn’t expect to use many voice minutes though. You only need to spend $20 every 3 months (or just under $7/month). That $20 will get you 80+ minutes of talk time. (or about 26 minutes a month). Of course, you can purchase as many minutes as you need. It’s basically $.25/minute. $20 every 3 months is just the minimum required spend. And, there’s no contract. You can walk away whenever you want.

All in all, that seems like a solid plan for somebody like me. I think I may have to pick one up tomorrow. I would have gotten one tonight, but I wanted to see what people had to say about the phones. Basically, it looks good. Stay away from the super model as the screen seems to crap out after about 6 months. The other two models get good reviews (on Amazon anyway. There aren’t enough to be sure, but the price and commitment is so low, there’s virtually no real risk/barrier).

All that time trying to go up-market. I should have been looking down at the bottom of the barrel.