The first thing your will notice when making your comparisons is that the cell phone companies manufacture phones and other wireless products that can be used with different service plan providers and they various plans that they in turn offer to the consumer. Not all the companies make products that are compatible with all plans and deals. For example, if you want to sign up with T-Mobile and take advantage of their camera phone plan, then you can choose from phones made by Sony Ericsson and Motorola, as a preference.
Before you select a new phone that appeals to you and meets your needs, make sure that it will work with a suitable plan. In actually fact, it is probably better if you do your homework and shop around for a service plan first, and then consider the cell phones and products that work with it, before buying either one. That way you dont have your heart set on a phone only to be let down by not being able to secure a suitable plan. Many of the best wireless phone plans offer bundled packages in which you pay together for the phone and the service, at a reasonable rate.