Mobile phone recommendations

[fizz]

Its that time of the year once again when I start mobile hunting - not necessarily because I want to, but because our company has a policy that auto-equips us with a new one every 18 months. I'm in no way considered a phone horde and although I like my present phone just fine (an Imate SP3), I wouldn't mind getting something new for a change. I've used just 3 phones in the past - A superb Palm 180g, a classic Nokia 7110 (yeah, I was in love with the Matrix world when I bought that) and my present phone. I generally avoid Nokia's because buying them feels like getting into a rat race to keep up with the latest model, but there is also something very 'every man' like about it which makes is plain and ordinary to own.

What I'm looking for is something that is user friendly, has the normal features including a decent camera (though its not necessary) and ability to play basic media files (mp3 phones are a no no) but most importantly can be used for browsing (which is the only thing I've used  my phones for extensively, apart from making calls etc). An additional incentive would be the ability to sync my calendar from Lotus Notes, which we use at work. My budget is approx 1,500 to at the most 2,000 (I would need a really good reason to pitch in the extra money), and some of the choices I've looked at are the following:

Motorola A1200:
Pros: Linux OS (stability), price (approx 2k for a PDA phone with touchscreen/2 MP Camera etc), looks great.
Cons: Linux OS (lack of freeware/shareware), uncertainty about performance.

Nokia E/N-series (specifically N73, N61 etc)
Pros: Good Nokia form factor, Apparently has Lotus Notes synchronization.
Cons: Personal distaste of Nokia phones (any model you buy feels obsolete the minute you walk out of the store, prompting more questions of 'should I upgrade...?').

Sony Ericsson P900:
Pros: Good Lotus Notes support, all in one phone (Wifi, card reader, 2MP Camera etc).
Cons: A little on the bulkier side, price (nearly 3K!), partially buggy software.

Imate Jamin/Jam/K-Jam/any of the new SP's:
Pros: Great browsers, wealth of applications available online, looks great.
Cons: Buggy software (Windows Mobile OS, which I don't have a very good experience with).

Palm 650:
Pros: Palm OS (I've used them before - the 180g, and loved how robust it felt), a proper PDA phone.
Cons: Obsolete (has been replaced by the 700 and 750 models, both of which have not reach our shores yet, and will be overpriced when and if they do), Palm OS (now being considered a weakling, since it doesn't support multi-tasking), lame browser.

Your expert recommendation are welcome.

[sacred_promises]

Motorola A 1200 looks interesting

[shariqq]

Motorola A1200:
Pros: Linux OS (stability), price (approx 2k for a PDA phone with touchscreen/2 MP Camera etc), looks great.
Cons: Linux OS (lack of freeware/shareware), uncertainty about performance.

eMule, bro. Although mine is a very simple Motorola, I downladed its softwares off the P2P. Phone Sync-ing, JAVA applications, etc. I don't use any of them, that's another matter. As long as the Linux based softwares are out there (commercially or otherwise), it can be gotten.

[kaytee]

Nokia E Series are great business phones with Blackberry Connectivity (the way of the future)

[ozzylogic]

iMate sucks arse. period. wait, AK has/had 1. but ALL the iMate users I've ever known have had issues with their OS. it is Windows afterall.

[X.]

iMate sucks arse. period. wait, AK has/had 1. but ALL the iMate users I've ever known have had issues with their OS. it is Windows afterall.

Yup, my imate Jamin hangs all the time and can get very slow. It's the worst (and most expensive) phone I've ever bought.

[ozzylogic]

There you have it. I can't think of ANY iMate owner who hasn't faced any problems. That rules iMate/O2/etc. out.

[sammy]

my 2 cents :

I-mates : stupid phones, trying to do too much with very little testing. Their SP series is better, as my sp5m crashes only 3 times in the past 6 months (but when it did...oh oh). Just the occasional slowdown
Motorolla : You pay more for the styling. I mean, look at the v3 RZR moto range. Tell me technically, what does it have to have a price tag that high ? and whats with the color :| pink :|
Nokia : They are very smart at their marketing and phones. They dont have one phone that will have all features, usually wil leave one crucial feature out. So you end up with a phone that always is a few pennies less, and you compete with the next person in line.
Sony Ericssons : Come a long way from when it was just ericsson. Sony knows the Consumer market too well and plays amazingly well to this tune. The k800i is just an amazing phone. the p990 has good things that i heard about.

Personlly, i think you should sick with simplicity. Dont go for too much of stuf. Things you wont use, u can let go of or compromised (do i really need a 3.2 MP camera? does it have to have wifi if the places i am usually in dont have it?) Your most important requirement to be able to browse should limit you to phones with a decent keypad. That should limit your choice. The pick and peck of a stylus phone isnt too convinient (esp when driving) and time consuming. See if u can get a decent phone with an added keyboard attachment maybe.

Have a look at  : Sony Ericsson M600 / Blackberry devices before you make up your mind.

[ozzylogic]

I hate the S-E interface. It's too fking sluggish. And not intuitive, unlike Nokia.

[kaytee]

I prefer E61, it is not very bulky but just big in size and it doesn't cost you an arm and leg, think is close to AED1400.

Here are the phones features:

Advanced email capabilities

Supports the most common features of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel (Microsoft Office 97, 2000, XP and 2003). Compatible with Zip Manager and Adobe Reader
Multi-tasking abilities: send and receive emails while talking on the phone
Access to up-to-date calendar and contact information
Works in offline mode – read and write email even when network is unavailable
Large user memory: up to 64 MB + support for miniSD card

Flexible and fast data connections

WCDMA provides fast, wide-area connectivity
WLAN provides fast, local-area connectivity

Ease of use

Large, advanced high-resolution screen shows images sharper and reduces scrolling
Documents and applications appear with high clarity
User-friendly, sleek design
Easy to configure
Rapid and simple deployment and management
Feature rich device – conference calling capability, speakerphone, email, and messaging

Innovative design

Sleek, stylish design – premium metal materials and thin construction
Full keyboard with backlight
Large landscape screen
Easy, one-handed navigation; one-press access to email
Email LED indicator light

Compatibility

Support for a choice of email solutions
Native email client
Intellisync Wireless Email
Supports push email solutions that provide immediate notification when a new email is received (Intellisync Wireless Email, BlackBerry Connect, Good Mobile Messaging, Seven Always-On Mail, Visto email technology)1
Works with security and collaboration solutions (Nokia mVPN, Symantec Firewall and Anti-Virus, Pointsec Data Protection, IBM Tivoli, Nokia configurator)
Mail for Exchange2
POP3/IMAP supported in native email client
Contacts and calendar compatible with Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes

Security

Internal security: device lock and device wipe
Additional security solutions separately available, such as Pointsec Data Protection and Symantec Firewall and Anti-virus

[fizz]

E61 is a decent phone, but in terms of handling isn't convenient to hold. Try having a 30 minute conversation with that thing and your hand gets cramps.

Someone at work bought a SE P990 and he isn't pleased with it. The problem with the phone is its packed with features (it has literally everything - wireless, camera, 3G etc) and unless you are consultant travelling throughout the GCC it makes no sense.

News about the Plam: The official distributor of the device has discontinued its dealership with the product, which means unless someone new picks it up (unlikely) then the Treo 650 will be the last phone officially released in the UAE. You could order the new ones online, but then support and additional material becomes a problem.

[madali]

The I-Mate can suck ass, but I am still completly in love with my I-Mate, because of how much fun I can have with the OS.

My favorite new thing to do? Play Gameboy Advance games on it. The keypads are not bad for game play (not excellent, but better than most).

[fizz]

Once you've used OS based phones, there is no going back to regular Nokia's. I just demo'ed the Motorola A1200 (aka Ming) and it is pretty cool, both in terms of what it can do and how sleek it is. Haven't decided if I'll buy it (its too delicate for one thing) but Shariqq was right - you can find hundreds of apps for it online (you need to search for J2ME - Java 2 Miniature edition).

[sammy]

i think theres a review that might be of some use to you in windows user mag (note the mag i always found to be biased, but still serves as some useful info sometimes)

[sacred_promises]

so which one did you finally buy Fizz?