i'm a former AT&T Wireless customer, and i got a letter from cingular last
week that is basically offering me 2x the minutes for the same price (new
deal: 1000 min for $40) if i switch over to GSM (2 yr contract).

AT&T's GSM network was terrible in San Francisco a couple of years ago (so
much so that i forced them to switch me back to TDMA) - is cingular's
current network any better?

also, the phones they've offered me (Samsung C207 free after rebate, and
Moto V551 for $50 after rebate) don't seem that great to me. do you think
it'd be possible to get them to cut me a deal on say, a nokia 6230 or
something? i have friends who have been able to get Sprint to kick in some
pretty good deals for them when they called - is cingular as willing to
negotiate?

any other recommendations for cheap, durable, high quality phones would be
super appreciated too -- i'll sacrifice whizbang features for good sound,
reception, and build quality (small size is good too).

thanks in advance for the help!

lalaland5000