smartphone suggestions

[Flibb]

Wife has decided she wants a new phone, so is having my imate SP3i. Consequently I get a new toy

Preference is to stick with an MS os, but would switch back to something else if necessary.

My wants in order of preference
wifi
screen with good enough res to use internet easily
bluetooth
memory card (any type)
built in qwerty keyboard (would lose this if not possible)
camera with flash (not that bothered)

Its a big wish list, and budget is limited. Happy to go on to contract for this, or £200 sim only. Also happy to get a refurb if theres any deals about.

ANy advice

Cheers

Jon

[Spud1]

Nokia N80 fits the bill there aside from the keyboard - very nice looking phone, symbian OS which is the best smartphone OS out there imho (very customisable, lots of applications, generally quite stable), and its a Nokia so you know you have a good phone with good support should anything go wrong.

Its been out for a while now so you should be able to get it free on a contract, or very cheaply at least..sim free it seems to be around £200-250 depending on where you look.

[Flibb]

ust been looking at XDA execs again, might be tempted to get one off ebay.

[Spud1]

only problem with them is that they are HUGE..well they are PDAs not smartphones really

[monkeyville]

Nokia E Series are good.

[herulach]

xda exec is huge, but the tytn (vario 2, dont know what on o2) ticks all those boxes, as does the compact 3, which looses a keyboard, but adds built in gps.

[Flibb]

anybody used the vario 2 for viewing internet sites? WOndered how user friendly it would be for that?

[herulach]

I have one, with IE its just about usable, but opera mobile is excellent.

Get a good rss reader also, i use spb insight, which means half teh websites i use on a daily basis i dont need to bother with anyway

[Howard]

Yeah the Vario II is good, Internet's as good as any other PDA, slide out keyboard is ace, and the HSPDA or whatever it's called (3.5G) makes it uber quick.

Normally I'd recommend Nokia with the S60v3 OS as I have an N73 and love it, but the N80 was, don't know if it still is, known for being terribly buggy and unreliable. Mine has it's moments but largely has been great

[Flibb]

Im not actually a big mobile user, but am a hudge internet user. I rhink I am after more of a PDA / internet + email browser than a phone. What I like about the XDA's is the ability to do away with my PDA all together, and to be able to use it for email while on holiday.

[herulach]

if you want data use youc ant reall beat the web n walk packages from t-mobile. If you dont mind the size the exec is awesome, id be alright with it at work (allthough it wont fit in a suit pocket) would look a bit stupid down the pub with it though.

[Dareos]

have to recommend the TyTn myself, colleague uses one and i am very impressed. Sim free will cost upwards of £300 tho, not sure what price with a contract.

[starbuck]

Wait for the Nokia N95 to come out later this month(some places already have it). It has wi-fi like the N80 but also has hdspa which is supposed to be the next gen of internet access faster than 3g.
Also has a gps reciever built in.

[Flibb]

Just taken delivery of a T-Mobile MDA PRO, its a warranty replacement and cost £200.

As others have said its not designed as an in hand phone, its designed to be used with a headset with voice dialling. Am using it on web and walk (pay as you go), or free wifi in the pub. I decided to stick with a MS based system due to the amount of software I already have, and the community support from xda dev. Picked up one oft he cheap BT GPS systems with software for £25, but have a copy of TT laying about. Mates down the pub were most impressed with its ability to stream porn feeds. Also using it for listening to shoutcast broadcasts. Being able to use it as a USB drive is great, activesync has come on a lonng way lately, so all my contacts maintained between work, home and the phone.