I ALWAYS come to DU for advice, and I need some now. Tired of my nephews and

[2pooped2pop]

94. for phone service they are all a bitch to deal with

If u are keeping your home phone or have internet, which I assume u do, you might be better off to go with the same company and get a deal.

If you go with an unlimited type plan with someone else, you might consider straight talk with no contract. You get unlimited talk, text and internet for 45.00. About 48 with taxes, or for 30 you can get 1000 min, 1000 text and min internet time. and can quit anytime. They also have a phone you can start with for free.
Customer service sucks though.

at&t has a similar and a text only but they kill you on minutes getting used up.

For your phone, you want a qerty (misspelled) or full keypad phone either in actual or virtual keypad but not one where you have to share the buttons (abc being used for a, b or c)

take into consideration your vision. I would hold off on a smart phone unless you really want one.