I'll look through that, but it does look dated. Hopefully there's an update somewhere in it. :)
Two things:
1) Most of the advice in the guide is reasonably timeless, and the recommendations for reasonable and solid providers doesn't change much.
2) What little does change, that's what the
discussion thread covers to an extent, and where
the main guide on my site are a bit more useful.
(By the way, the threads are
stickied, referenced in the
forum FAQ, and even linked off the main
MMM recommends page.)
New phone? New company? New network? Suggestions please! I'd like to sort things out and coast for a few years if possible :)
First, let's nutshell a bit on what you should avoid in general. Stay away from providers that require or use proprietary handsets (Republic, Tracfone/NET10/StraightTalk/PagePlus/Total), offer poor to non-existent customer support (
Republic,
Tracfone/NET10/StraightTalk/PagePlus/Total), use draconian terms of service (Republic, Tracfone/NET10/StraightTalk/PagePlus/Total, Cricket - just read their service contracts), utilize and invest in anti-consumer practices (
Tracfone/NET10/StraightTalk/PagePlus/Total,
Cricket)... you get the idea. (See some patterns developing?) Quality providers may not always be
quite as cheap as some alternatives, but they will be the least problematic and easiest to use. Unfortunately, the good ones don't have quite the visibility, and most people would rather continue to be exploited and abused while saving money than be treated like a human being who's respected as a paying customer. There should be far more considered than just the bottom line. If you're paying for mobile service, it should just work. No excuses. Also, be wary of recommendations for providers who have extensive referral programs.
That out of the way, you really need to work out specifics on usage to find your best fit.
If you want to stick with Verizon coverage? There's Selectel (Verizon with roaming), but any amount of mobile data on any plan that weighs in under $30/month is going to cost you about 5¢/MB using Flex Card addons to get you that 100MB or so. There's also Puppy Wireless with an assortment of Verizon plans (no roaming) - they're young still, but they're run by Kitty Wireless who is one of the older and more respected Page Plus dealers. I hadn't included them in the guide yet because of that business age, but they're straight shooters. Given the MVNO market is in flux now, age doesn't seem to matter as much on that front anymore... what matters is how they carry themselves in business.
Of course, AT&T MVNOs are going to offer you better rates, and you'll have a far greater selection of handsets. Airvoice, Puretalk USA and H2O Wireless are all decent options.
Lastly, if you're potentially wanting WiFi UMA network fallback access, Ting GSM supports that with any unlocked T-Mobile handset that supports UMA WiFi calling. That would give you close to PAYGO rates for lighter usage with the flexibility on selling points with Google Fi and Republic (though certainly far better executed than the latter mentioned service).
As for hardware, if you really need/want a smartphone and you decide to leave behind CDMA (Verizon) and opt instead for GSM (AT&T, T-Mobile)? Lumia 640 carrier unlocked, or a Blu Android handset. You shouldn't need to spend more than $100 on a decent handset that has a user replaceable battery.
I'm actually not far different from you in terms of usage. I use Airvoice on their $20/mo plan (unlimited talk/text, 100MB data). There are other plans that are cheaper, but this one works well for me. Airvoice uses AT&T's and T-mobile's network (depends on which SIM you get).
As far as the phone is concerned, obstinate is right on. Get an unlocked flagship phone from a few years ago (Galaxy S-whatever, Google Nexus, or even maybe an iPhone*), and you can take it to whatever (compatible) carrier you want.
*Unless you want to use an iPhone on an AT&T MVNO that isn't officially on the Apple approved provider list, then they'll completely break MMS support for your phone and force you to use third party websites just to set your data APN every time you do an iOS system update.
Edited for accuracy.