So I know carriers take off and add on features on phones as they please and I'm having trouble deciding which one to pick.

I want a Samsung Galaxy S but 4 carriers in canada all have different versions. On http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S#In_Canada which carrier has the best? I'm so confused!

CDMA networks seem to have the widest coverage (at least in North America), however most cell providers use GSM. CDMA's LTE ("4G") is the fastest network currently. Telus and Bell Canada use CDMA.

I use a Verizon Wireless Smartphone (CDMA network) and definitely have better service then I did with AT&T (GSM). Unfortunately, there is no 3G coverage (for the most part) in the part of West Virginia that I live... well occasionally I can pick up a 3G signal, but it must be a new tower grid. Signals are normally routed through U.S. Cellular (CDMA) tower (at 1x speeds) but its still better than AT&T.

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According to that site, the Telus 3G+ (HSPA+) verison is the fastest in data bandwidth and coverage is very good in Alberta: http://www.comparecellular.com/telus-coverage-maps/map.asp?CoverageMapID=197

The guy at Bell persuaded me to buy http://www.bell.ca/shopping/en_CA_AB.HTC-Desire-Z/70785.details instead. It only has a 800Mhz CPU and no front facing camera but it has in place LED flash camera and the qwerty keyboard.

I only paid 31 dollars for the phone and case. I think I did good.

That's actually a pretty darn good Android phone, although the internal storage is somewhat lacking at 1.5GB. Now just root, install a custom ROM like Cyanogen, and see the light.

It came with 8GB SD card so I'm not complaining about storage. And I can't wait to start fiddling around with it.

http://forum.cyanogenmod.com/forum/150-htc-desire-z-g2/ might be a good place to start.

I picked up the Galaxy s Epic 4g and its amazing. Most of the galaxy line you cant beat. Of course as soon as I bought it new ones came out and the price dropped to 100$.

The speed of the network makes makes or breaks many apps. Sprint is away ahead when it comes to 4g, then Verizon, then T mobile and last att... for now. Give it 2 years and it wont really matter. Good thing about ATT using LTE is that it not only adds 4g speeds but it also adds to the capacity of the 3g equipment as well. With sprint you get a larger 4g network for now but it does not help the voice coverage.

Sprint uses WiMAX as its "4G" services, which is very slow compared to its full potential. LTE will most likely be used by a majority of the market. By 2013 Verizon Wireless should have their 3G network upgraded to LTE. Sprint's WiMAX coverage area is restricted to... like 27 markets in only 15 states.

Sprint 4g has much greater capacity for data but is stuck with CDMA. I am an Independent consultant working on building out the broadband network right now. Currently I am working on att, Sprint/clearwire and Lightsquared. Good thing about Sprint / Clearwire is the amount of new equipment they are installing is very robust and has room for growth. Sadly it only works for broad band and will not improve voice.

ATT is replacing one antenna per sector, with a new "LTE" antenna, then adding two small radio units near the antenna as the LTE support. This spreads the current array of 4 antenna per sector (3 sectors total) to GSM, UMTS 850/1900 and LTE. I am not an RF engineer but it seems to me it is spread a bit thin considering each panel antenna can only handle about 250 calls at a time.

The build out is massive right now. I am seeing it first hand. In the last 90 days we have completed more than 45 att LTE sites for one small section of the Bay Area. Great news for what I do.

In the end, close to 2013 as you say, Verizon will incorporate LTE, and Sprint will be the odd man out, but still a very viable option. My money is on LTE. After all LTE means Long Term Evolution.

Some issues with the HTC Desire Z I've found which make me feel like bringing it back and exchanging for a Galaxy Vibrant.

-Heavy like a rock. 200g feels like when you put it in your pocket your pants sag with it.
-The QWERTY keyboard is useless. I never use it and the hinges to spring it out look like theyd break in a few months. Plus, it adds to the heaviness.
-The big button at the bottom is useless too. It's supposed to be an alternative to using the touch screen but just gets in the way.
-No front facing camera. I'd use Skype and webcams alot.

So yeah I'm thinking of heading back to Bell for a quick exchange. I don't know why the guy wanted me to buy this phone so bad.

I'm having trouble finding a good up to date guide to rooting the Desire Z.

What will I all need?

Why not just a Desire? (without the Z)
I have one, great so far, and better tech specs than the Desire Z. Not heavy at all.

I just bought a new Droid(the original), and I love it. I'd heard nothing but bad stuff about the phone but I decided to go for it anyways and so far I've had no problems.

Pretty big upgrade from the LG rumor I had before this . I broke my Instinct, it was a piece of [censored] anyways.

That's one of the better old phones (assuming you have the Verizon Droid and not the Milestone). Ridiculously overclockable. Stock speed is 550, and mine runs at 1.1GHz stable (on the performance setting, rather than the "on demand" setting) with no battery life issues. Definitely have to charge it every night, but it makes it through the day just fine. And, if you ever need more battery life, you can easily just clock back down.

I'd definitely suggest the latest Cyanogen ROM with the ChevyNo1 1.0 or 1.1 GHz kernel. The voltage depends on what you manage to get stable. Lower voltage obviously means better battery life, but harder to make stable.

EDIT: Oh, and as I'm sure you've already realized, the physical keyboard is garbage. It's what made me start to like touch keyboards, since I had to switch to it for my sanity. I'd also suggest installing the Android 2.3 touch keyboard once you have everything else set up and working.

I just bought it today,so I haven't gotten around to customizing it but I bought it for two reasons:

1. It was a ridiculously cheap smartphone
2. To put cyanogen on it and overclock it

What's the easiest way to root it? Oh and yes, the physical keyboard is horrible, the touch screen works fine for me but I'll try out 2.3 when I can.

I honestly have no idea anymore. Mine's been rooted for about 5 months and I don't know if you have to downgrade first. Look here http://www.droidforums.net/forum/. And it's not that the stock touch keyboard is bad. Just that I find the gingerbread keyboard to be better. Wont be needed for long though, since there will be Gingerbread ROMs for the Droid out soon.

I'll just Google it later. Any other recommended must have apps?

ROM Manager (allows you to download ROMs, kernels, and make backups of your current installation), SetCPU (for overclocking, also allows you to set different clock speeds for different situations like charging, battery levels, CPU temps, etc.), Handcent SMS for a more feature-rich messaging app, bluetooth file transfer (if your computer has bluetooth, makes sending pictures to your computer extremely easy), and if you fly a lot, flighttrack is invaluable.

These and Locale (great for turning notifications off at bedtime), Retro Radio (for streaming radio needs) and Awaken Free (for a better alarm clock).

Awesome guys, I downloaded Cyrogenmod but I didn't like the lack of features that my stock Desire Z came with. So I'm still rooted and OCd to 1.2Gh.