Cell phone carriers have the tendency to spruce up their internet sites with online exclusives - but are those deals any better than what they have in the stores? Here's a look at the latest offers being peddled in cyberspace:

Verizon is offering three free phones, with 2 year carrier contracts as an online exclusive; the Samsung Juke, the LG VX5400, and the Samsung u550. Of those phones, the Samsung Juke has a reputation as being featureless, lacking 3G, a video camera, and V Cast. The LG VX5400 I don't think you can even pay for anymore, but when you could it was only $29.99 and the features reflect the modest price. There is Bluetooth and a digital camera, but that's pretty much all you get.

Meanwhile the Samsung u550 is only a midrange phone but it comes with a 1.3 mega-pixel camera with zoom and night shot, a camcorder, Bluetooth, and V Cast. Of Verizon's online "free" phones, the Samsung u550 is the best deal. 

In terms of AT&T's free online offering, other than their refurbished phones which is good for the environment but it's not like you're going to get a free iPhone out of it, is a brand new Sony  Ericsson W350 with a two year plan. 

A music flip phone, the Sony Ericsson W350 has a reputation of being mediocre at best. The screen is low resolution, the keys are tiny and hard to use, and for a music phone the music transfer software doesn't work very well. Still it comes with a serviceable 1.3 mega-pixel camera with 4x zoom, FM radio, USB, Bluetooth, a memory stick slot, Walkman player 2.0, and video playback.

Sprint on the other hand, through Wirefly, offers online exclusives that are much better values... sort of. For instance while they offer much better phones free, such as the Blackberry Curve, LG Rumor, and Palm Centro; their minimum plan per month is $39.99 - you can't get those phones with their Sprint Basic 200 plan which is $29.99. Not a big deal, but just be aware they're making up for that added value somewhere. 

Of the phones they feature avoid the Samsung Cobra M320 and Samsung M520; while the Samsung Instinct is a better phone be aware that while it's at a reduced rate, it will still cost $79.99.

In this group, I'd say the Blackberry Curve is the best bet. 

As for T-Mobile, curiously they offer all their phones for the exact same price as in stores but throw in a free Bluetooth headset for many models online. They have about 16 "free" phones to choose from, and they're so similar that it's not even worth going into the specifics - most have a 1.3 mega-pixel camera, Bluetooth, with about half having Wi-Fi or video playback.

The one thing T-Mobile does offer, is you can still use their $29.99 2-year carrier plan with these phones, so even if the features are kind of Spartan, so could be the price.

All in all though, I was most impressed with the Sprint deal for the Blackberry Curve.