What phone should I get?

[ciphergoth]

I need a new phone. I'm almost totally at a loss about what I want. I don't know whether I should get a smartphone, or whether the browser/diary/etc facilities of a normal phone are enough. Any ideas?

Rules (updated):

• 3G, Bluetooth
• No Microsoft
• Must work in San Francisco

Update: Currently tempted by the Sony M600i...

Comments

Nokia E61(i)

[rukzise.livejournal.com]

Hi Paul,

I can warm-heartedly recommend the Nokia E61. Just as the M600i it doesn't have a camera, but it has WLAN! Plus it does SIP connections over WLAN. I also like the keyboard on the E61 better than on the M600i (the 2 letters on a key is a nice idea, but I can type better on my E61). You can read PDFs on the device if you're pressed to do so (use PDF+ instead of the Adobe Reader though, since the Adobe Reader has a problem with LaTeX fonts). I haven't been to U.S of A. since I bought the phone, but from the specs it should work alright in the SF: Quadband GSM (850/900/1800/1900), unfortunately it lacks WCDMA (UMTS version used in the US) support though (Nokia babbles something about WCDMA 2100 support for the E61 on their web site, but AFAIK this is not true; the E62 does WCDMA, but it lacks 802.11g). You can feed 2GB MicroSD cards into it if you have a severe appetite for storage. Ah yes, and of course it does PuTTY. The browser on this thingie rocks! One caveat though: You might wanna wait for the E61i. It is supposed to come out in the time frame of the 3GSM in February and packs an additional 2MP camera.

-R