Cell phones: Verizon or Cingular and why

Verizon, all the way

I've had Cingular. The signal performance isn't as great as Verizon. And with poor signal performance you're looking at a greater tendency toward dropped calls, bad call quality, or signal strength that's too low to to hold a conversation. Not that you'll get bad service all the time, but you won't have as good service as you will with Verizon. I'm with Verizon now. Sometimes in my friends basement apartment I get zero bars on my signal meter, yet I can still use my phone, and hold a conversation. As long as your phone is getting a signal, you don't need a minium number of bars in order for your phone to work. My phone works fine in places Cingular phones either don't work, or doin't work well enough to make the call worth it. My buddy actually has to use the payphone when we go to the pub because his Cingular phone gets such a poor signal that he can't use it.
Customer service with Verizon is outstanding....and I really put the Customer service department to work (Service and billing questions/requests for one of my 3 Verizon lines) THey bend over backwards to help you, they're easy to understand, they speak perfect english and they're patient as saints with you. In my opinion, customer care is one of the most important things to look for in a wireless carrier.
I don't travel a lot, but when I do I've always had good service. Even in rural upstate new york. I almost can't believe how good their network is. I've been with verizon a little over a year, and I've had only one dropped call. The phone is so reliable that I actually use it as my primary phone. I don't even have a wire-line phone.
Verizon is a little more expensive than some other carriers, but they're comparable to Cingular in price. And I find that the cost is worth it. Do yourself a favor and get a verizon phone. But research the phone you want to buy before getting it. Look at user feedback for the phone you're interested in and see what experience others are having with it. My primary phone is the Motorola e815. I think it's the best phone I've ever had (and I've had many).
Hope this helps