i have verizon & the blackberry storm! i've actually had a pearl & a curve too in the past but that was through sprint. i LOVE my blackberry!!!! i don't think i'll have any other type of phone
as far as service, i've had verizon for a while now even when i lived in cali and i've always gotten great service. i've never had a call drop or lost signal or anything. i'm mostly in the city though so i don't know how good the service is if you live in a really rural area. i don't know how much my plan is because i'm on a family plan with my family in california but i do know the blackberry email & internet plan you have to get with a blackberry is $30/month per line.