I'm not too sure about any new phones on the horizon. But it does sound like you've done your homework if you know that Sprint will get better coverage at your location. It might just be a CDMA thing in your area. Find the carrier that works best for you and talk to as many sources as you can find, and people who know your area better area better resources for information. I am just a little curious though, are there any other carriers in your location? T-Mobile and Sprint are both PCS carriers so you should have at least 2 other options. Chances are it's Cingular and Verizon, which aren't any morally better companies than Sprint and Sprint's offerings are better than either of them. Though if Alltel or US Cellular is available in your location, they would also be great options. US Cellular has free incoming calls while Alltel has My Circle. Neither carrier cripples phones and the plans are often a better value.
But back to your original question, as far as I know, the M2M between Sprint and Nextel is still charged. Also, very generally, most carriers try to release their phones before Christmas, not right after, so you probably have a couple months to wait for any new, groundbreaking selections.
edit: Just to clarify, I agree with everybody else, if T-Mobile is an option, I would go with them before Sprint. Prices are better, phones are better, and customer service is better. But I'm just assuming that you know Sprint has the coverage you need in the area you travel and T-Mobile doesn't. I mentioned Alltel and US Cellular, possibly Verizon earlier because chances are, if Sprint is better than T-Mobile, it's because of a roaming partner in the area, in which case it would be better off going with that carrier because Sprint rarely covers an area better than T-Mobile.
