We've begun transitioning Madame from breast to bottle feeding (in anticipation of the wife going back to work), and I'm happy to report it's going quite well - from her perspective.
My perspective however has been quite different. There are seemingly a million choices for bottles, nipples, formula, warmers and everything else you might want to use to nourish your kid. It's hard to figure out what's best, and like most things you end up using whatever works. The trick is what works is also usually whatever you use first - and that's where they get you. For what it's worth, here's our breakdown:
Formula - The most genius marketing I've seen to new parents so far is from the people who make Enfamil. We got a can of it at our prenatal classes at the hospital, a can of it at the hospital when we had the baby, and then a week or two later we got a package delivered to our doorstep from Enfamil with more formula. 3 free cans total. I figure it's at least $50 worth of formula - a big incentive to crack it open. And if we use it and it works, then hey, we'll probably go buy it for the baby because it's what she likes. Remind you of anything? Hey man, the first one's free - then come back if you want some more...
We decided on Similac because that's what both of us had as babies, and I had read that in a taste test Similac tasted best. But we've always got that Enfamil for emergencies.
Bottles - We're going with the Playtex VentAire, mostly because we received more of those as gifts than any others. But they're kind of a pain in the ass, because the VentAire rubber thing on the bottom of the bottle means you can't put the bottle in a warmer, and it's better to make the formula in another container first to avoid excess bubbles. But the kid seems to like it (see pitfalls above) so we're staying with it for now.
Warmer - I just need something to keep one bottle warm in the middle of the night so I don't have to go downstairs and make one, so I picked the Philips Portable Baby Bottle Warmer. I've only used it a few times, but so far so good. It's got an adapter for the car, but it says not to use it while the car is moving. As I don't spend much time in the car while it's in the garage, I probably won't be using the adapter much.