[DanielNB]

I wonder if anyone can give me the benefit of their wisdom on this one.

I'm on O2 and I'm due an upgrade, my contract is £50 a month so I should [I think] be able to get pretty much any handset.

I currently have the Nokia N95 and it's okay but I dislike the dual slider and I have found little use for its GPS and Office functions. I guess I chose it because a year ago it was supposed to be the best phone on the market and I love my gadgets.

In real life though what I actually want is a phone that's very good as a phone [call quality and signal] and which is excellent to text on [I sometimes send 1,000 a month]. After that I'd like a good screen, good build quality and perhaps a few applications or games to keep me interested. I'm not too bothered about its music playback or camera facilities.

I've looked at a couple of the XDA offerings and even the Nokia e90 just because of their keyboards, I'm guessing all touchscreen phones are a no-no when it comes to texting.

All the Sony Ericsson phones seem too music or camera oriented and Motorola used to have truly crap software [though I do like clamshells] so I'm put off those.

Any suggestions?

[dejongj]

Except for forwarding on texts I would say the iPhone...I love the ability to see it threaded on the screen so for once I know what those texts with just "yes" in them correspond to....

[DanielNB]

dejongj - how easy do you find typing on the touch screen? I know third party apps are available which allow MMS and also a larger typing keyboard so perhaps it's not too painful.. I had a play on an iPhone when they first came out in the US and it is a lovely piece of kit. O2 want an 18 month contract for iPhones though so ebay might be the way forward, 8Gb seem to be going for about £250. Hmmm intriguing..

[RobM]

I would definitely not recommend the iPhone for you, considering your requirements.

The touch screen is much slower and less accurate to type on. You do get used to it quickly, but you'll never text as comfortably as you would on a normal keypad. The conversation layout is fantastic, other than slowing up when it gets to a long length, but that's not reason enough to recommend one considering it's down sides.

And the iPhone doesn't hold onto a weak signal very well, as is widely reported across the 'net. So as a phone, one of the key things of which is signal strength, it's not the best.

I would also avoid QWERTY keyboards as, with the odd exception such as the HTC TyTn 2, the trade-off for having a QWERTY keyboard is smaller buttons. If you have small fingers, no problemo, but otherwise it can be fiddly.

The HTC TyTn 2 (branded differently on different networks, such as the Stellar on O2) is worth a look as it has one of the better QWERTY keypads around. That's my recommendation

[DanielNB]

Rob - cheers for the response you've made me think again. I did consider the Stellar but wondered if it was just too bulky to keep in my pocket, I guess I could keep the N95 for when I'm going to the pub and use the Stellar Mon-Fri. I hadn't heard the iPhone was prone to weak signal strength, that would irritate the hell out of me and be a return to the 90's "Hello? Hello? Can you hear me? Ah MOD EDIT this!" etc

There's a new LG out soon [KT610] with a similar form to the Nokia e90 [keyboard and larger screen within] but smaller and therefore lighter which is might be a possibility - provided it actually gets released over here and isn't turd.

In the mean time I'll see if I can get my hands on a Stellar to try out though or wander down to the O2 store.

[dejongj]

I tried to refrain from responding as there have been so many iPhone bashing threads. But accusing the iPhone of being slow and weak at holding a signal is the latest low point nonsense.

If there is one thing the iPhone and its keyboard are very fast. And regarding signal, well it is a mobile device and there are so many external factors that can influence it that is becomes impossible to objectively comment on that.

The keyboard can take upto a weak to get used to. I think "getting use to" refers to trust. Sometimes when you type the words look like they are wrong, but once you trust the clever finger-landing-zone correction the correct word snaps in place and you can achieve very high speeds. Buy fair enough if you are of the "turbo" language generation using text speak and can't spell this won't work for you. That is basically what it boils down to, people that can't spell won't like the iPhone.

In addition if you text or input text in different languages it is the only phone I am aware of that can do predictive text multiple languages! Very useful for me.

[DanielNB]

Hey dejongj - thanks for taking the time to reply. I don't use text speak so if typing words out in full suits the iPhone set up then so much the better. A chap sat in the office has got one now so I might see if I can steal it for an afternoon and see how quickly I can tap out the usual message length. I take on board your point about location, network etc about the iPhone so I'll quiz him on that too.

Hutch - apologies for the soundalike swear word.

[hutch]

Definitely give the iphone a try, I applaud apple for bringing out a device which means people "cnt use txt spk" because I absolutely hate it!

It takes some getting used to but trust the predictive text function and you'll be surprised at how good it really it.

[RobM]

Originally Posted by dejongj

I tried to refrain from responding as there have been so many iPhone bashing threads. But accusing the iPhone of being slow and weak at holding a signal is the latest low point nonsense.

See for yourself, Google the words 'iPhone No Service' and 'iPhone No Signal' and read other peoples experience. You might not have had it, heck, I've only had it a couple of times myself, but it's a real issue that real people are experiencing. I've also had the iPhone sat next to me with no signal, with another phone on the same network (Voda) with a couple of bars signal.

There are even discussions on the Apple support forums about this problem and O2 have acknowledged the issue too.

I apologise for criticising a loved one of yours, but this forum is about fact finding and getting information to make the right decision. What I posted is fact, not opinion and is widely reported and acknowledged by the main parties involved, as well as users.

[dejongj]

Originally Posted by RobM83

See for yourself, Google the words 'iPhone No Service' and 'iPhone No Signal' and read other peoples experience. You might not have had it, heck, I've only had it a couple of times myself, but it's a real issue that real people are experiencing. I've also had the iPhone sat next to me with no signal, with another phone on the same network (Voda) with a couple of bars signal.

There are even discussions on the Apple support forums about this problem and O2 have acknowledged the issue too.

I apologise for criticising a loved one of yours, but this forum is about fact finding and getting information to make the right decision. What I posted is fact, not opinion and is widely reported and acknowledged by the main parties involved, as well as users.

There is a simple solution to those without signal and most of the Apple threads end up in that direction; return it and swap it for a model that does work.

You do need to 'apologise for criticising a loved one', my issue with the post was that all mobile devices can have reception problems and it is not that easy to point the finger where it is. In all cases I read where users bothered to get it exchanged it was fixed there after, which suggests it is not an inherent problem but a real defect when it occurs. Something that can occur with any device, though it may say something about the quality control.

However as you probably realise, more people will post with problems on the internet looking for a resolution (and many times before contacting the true responsible; the seller) than those who don't have a problem.

And remember; perhaps slightly philosophical, just because 'a lot' of people post that does not make it a fact! The only fact in it, is that a number of people a reporting a problem. Just like that my opinion is just that an opinion. Remember the flat earth fact?