I'm looking to get a payrise sometime within the next few months (I'm hoping next month!) and I've been eyeing up a smartphone. To be honest I've not done much research into anything, but I know my geek friends are into the Androids, and I was starting to settle on one of the HTCs.

However as you know the iPhone4's just come out, and assuming its affordable (probably not), it looks pretty cool with the ability to multi-task.

For those who are curious, my current phone cost me £5 and is a Samsung E1100 (http://www.theorder.co.uk/images/samsung/large/e1100.jpg). I didn't want any mid-range phones because they seemed like a waste of money/silicon. I already have an mp3 player and digital camera with better specs than most mid-range phones!

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I had an iphone before this which was nice but I need a physical keyboard...

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But anyway, judging by the build quality, I would say if you can stand using Symbian, you can do well to consider its larger, more robust siblings, the E63 and the E71. I believe both are built on a newer generation of the same hardware as the E63, so both should have the call quality and battery life that are so handy. Both have full qwerty keyboards (mine is a standard touch tone 12 key, with a few extra propritary buttons around the direction pad) The E71 has the same stainless steel and tough plastic exterior as the E51, and the E63 has a more "pedestian" all plastic chassis. My sister eded up getting a an E63 when I she wanted a smart phone and I raised the same points as above with her. She likes to pocket the phone, so a small form factor was important, and she wanted the full keyboard. The deciding factor ended up being price, with the E63 weighing in around $60 cheaper than the shinier and prettier but otherwise identical E71. In her shoes, I would probably have gotten the E71, but I like shiny things and am more willing to spend a few extra dollars for otherwise useless bling (altough in this case, I have a feeling the shiny metal parts actually do contribute to the solidity of the thing.

Anyway, I'm pretty much rambling at this point. So if you got bored and skipped down here, check out the E51, E63, and E71 by nokia, and maybe even the n900 if you really want to go whole hog (basically, the iPad concept as imagined 5 years ago by nokia in the n770, gone on to grow into a fully realized smart phone rather than internet tablet -- if not within nokia's brand, the n-series internet tablets are definitely a concept that will grow in the coming years).

For the E-series phone, as long as you can tolerate the mess that is symbian, comprises some excellent phones. And the N900 is a very intersting product, basically a linux tablet computer, similar to what android is becoming.

I would also recommend avoiding touchscreens. I have serious doubts about the current generation of sensors being able to withstand even gentle day-to-use. (an opinion drawn largely from the dead spots that formed on my yepp p3 player after about a year of ownership and maybe 2-3 months of daily carrying at work)

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I'm still waiting for my payrise so I've been holding off looking at things otherwise I would get too impatient!

I do have concerns about using a touchscreen, although it never occured to me about what you were saying about the 'dead' spots. No one I know who uses a touchscreen phone has complained about it to me though.

I've never used Symbian before - it did occur to me to look at the Nokias based on the build quality of their old models, but I have heard not so great things about Symbian.

I do want something I can put in my (girly) pockets and the HTC Legend, which is what I've pretty much decided I want, is a bit big. So I shall have to reconsider! (when I get my raise that is...)

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Going shopping tomorrow.

Acid, friend has a Galaxy S and he says it's starting to lag after a few weeks even though he doesn't have that much running on there. He's thinking of flashing it.

Any problems with yours?

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Biggest problem with the Galaxy S lineup: Samsung shipped the phone with a broken GPS. It isn't a minor problem either.. every Galaxy S phone (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile.. as well as Euro variants) have it. It has been acknowledged.. but no word on a release date for the fix yet.

I sell a lot of Evos because the area I live in has solid 4G network and those phones DO NOT lay on the shelves long. I would consider it to be the Rock Star right now. You can use it as a hotspot for up to 8 devices with 7 MB download speeds and that option is 30 bucks a month with unlimited data. It also has two cameras with one doing full hd and it has hdmi output. I would take a single evo over two iphone4s But I'm in the US and not sure about where you are.

Later this year motorola and htc are supposedly going to be releasing 2 GHZ processors and dual core models. Soon we'll be docking cells with monitors, keyboards and mice and and using them as desktops and I still fondly remember all the kind folk here that helped me get that old 300a up to that AMAZING 450mhz for q3 lol.

btw hi to everyone long time no see.