Hello folks,
I just stumbled on your NG here and thought maybe you could offer some
advice/input on my situation.  My contract with Cingular will be up in a
month, and I wonder what I can expect as far as being able to upgrade my
phone

I got my nokia 3360 off of buy.com, so I don't really have any kind of
relationship with a local store, but I did stop in at one of their
company stores a month or so ago when i was having problems with my
service, and briefly discussed this issue.  At that point, I couldn't
remember when my contract would be up so the rep checked, and he told me
i would be eligible for the promotional price at that point.  However,
what i don't think he knew was that my contract was only for one year.
I have always seen that with cingular you are eligible for an equipment
upgrade after 2 years.  Was he just assuming that I had a 2 year
contract?  Or is the policy to allow upgrades when the customer has the
opportunity to walk away?  or could that be something that is
negotiable?

If I do end up upgrading the phone, will i have to do a 2 year contract?
Also, i assume that i will have to move from my current (old) nation
plan to one of the currently offered plans, right?

I'm also a little confused about what happens if I don't do anything.  I
was told that the contract continues on a month to month basis, so I can
keep my current plan even though its not offered anymore, right?  I read
somewhere that cellular companies start trying to basically screw you
over (changing terms, etc.) at the end of your contract in order to get
you to re-sign.  Should i be expecting this to happen?

i'm thinking if i don't end up extending the contract i will hang on
until november for the number portability thing.  Does that make sense?
is there any kind of consensus on what kind of bother/expense moving
numbers from one carrier to another will be?  I think it would be nice
to keep my number, but its not worth all that much to me.

i guess my last issue is just general advice on what to do (assuming
there's at least a chance i might be eligible for an upgrade, if not, i
guess this doesn't really matter).  does it matter what kind of store i
go to?  would a company-owned store be better at all?  is there any kind
of strategy that seems to work better?

many thanks to anyone who is willing to answer my questions and help me
out.  i would really appreciate anything you have to offer.
-Donald