I second getting a droid
I am relatively new to smartphones too, though I did a fair amount of research on what was out there when I got mine. I had gotten a taste of droid phones before, and liked what I saw. While perhaps not as user friendly as an iphone, the amount of options was nice.
I would look up what phones are available for your carrier and look up some reviews for the newer ones/ones you like the best. The price you pay to get the phone is negligible. Free, $100, $200...basically 6 months tops of data plan cost.
Some of the more awesome things you can do with a smartphone: Never get lost on the road, find new interesting places to eat (and read reviews), scan barcodes, detect metal, compass, monitor heart rate, access google sky maps and find where constellations are relative to you, can act as a flashlight, and also some games if you get bored :p
Also take pictures and video.
And if you really really want to, make some calls >_>
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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out