New Toys for the Big Girl

So I'm getting myself a new phone. I should've done so ages ago since my phone has been slowly breaking down on me since February this year (there were a few things back then that kept me from purchasing a new one). As much as I love my K750i (yes, ancient, I know), there were times when I just wanted to set my phone flying high outside the window onto the first bin it sees. Why? First, my phone had shut off on its own a number of times, clearing it of some important stuff I had stored in it. Then the joystick started acting up. It could no longer be used to scroll up and down. The keys got stuck, and my phone froze every few minutes. Though using it was a bitch (pardon), I stuck with it coz it was such a pain to part ways with my beloved Sony Ericsson which I've had for nearly three years. Then again, all things come to an end... and so had my relationship with my phone. Well, almost.

I haven't gotten myself a new toy just yet, but I already have my eyes on a few models that could perhaps serve me for another 3years or so. But before I let you in on what tops my list, allow me to tell you what I look for in a phone.

• A decent camera - Despite owning two pretty decent digital cameras, I don't tote either of them with me all the time coz I hate stuffing my purse with so much junk. I already have a lot of crap in my purse, and having another gadget occupy a bit of space will only make my purse heavier and more stuffed than it already is. I don't really need a 5MP or 10MP camera phone for snapping noteworthy shots; just a decent camera for taking random snaps.

• A decent music player - Walkman phone or not, it doesn't matter. Since I recently just got an 80G iPod video (which I have yet to load with junk), I'm really not after a phone with superb sounds and a video player. Of course, a crappy music player is a big NO-NO. I don't really need a video player on my phone. I probably won't be using it anyway.

• Size enough for a kid's hand - I want my phone to be slim, sleek and classy. Bulky phones are not my thing. My hands are too tiny to be holding a 6x4 smart phone. I'd love to own a smart phone (better yet, a Blackberry), but a lot of the smart phones that I see are way to huge for my liking, and my hands.

• Usability - I want a simple uncomplicated phone. As much as possible, I want it "user-friendly." I guess it will depend on its interface, eh?

• Loaded with cool features - It would be nice if my phone had other options for typing/texting --- Qwerty, handwriting (using a stylus, of course), or a standard keypad. Notes and other cool stuff would also be great additions. WLAN or 3G is something I wish my phone would have. While these are not necessities, I think finding a phone with all these cool features would be great to prevent the inner consumerist in me/us to keep looking or a phone with more features.

• A big memory - It doesn't matter if the internal memory of my new phone is small as long as it can be expanded up to 8Gig.

I don't know if this is too much for you, but for me, these are things I wish to have in my new phone, and I'm pretty sure I can get one for less than $400.

Here are the phone models that top my list.

1. Sony Ericsson G900 I've been a Sony Ericsson fan since my brother got his P(?) years ago. It was the sky blue SE smart phone that was all the rage back then. When I got my K750i in 2006, I fell in love with SE even more. I believed their phones to be the best ones out there, until their other models failed the expectations of many in 2008. Bugs here and there, and some other technical issues.

This one's a pretty cool phone. Touch screen, 5MP camera, business card scanner, handwriting recognition, WLAN and 3G, and StickyNotes are some of its cool features. Price? It's between $250 and $270. Not bad eh?

2. LG Cookie (LG KP500)I saw this cool phone yesterday while I was looking for the LG KC550 (not sure). Actually, the SA handed me this phone when I asked for something else. It's not that bad a phone, to be honest; however, this one's got no WLAN and 3G, and it's got a 3MP camera only. For something that's priced between $208 and $229, this probably won't make the cut.

3. Samsung PrestonThis one was recommended by one of my people at work. It's a pretty cool phone, that's a little better than the LG Cookie. It still lacks WLAN, but at least it's 3G capable, and just like the Cookie, this one carries a 3MP camera as well. I believe this one's being sold at just about the same price as the G900.

4. Nokia 5800I'm not a big fan of Nokia. Their phones are okay, but I feel like they get "phased out" far quicker than other phones. Also, I kinda got turned off a long time ago for reasons I can no longer remember.

Anyway, I've read quite a handful of positive reviews on this one, and I think it's worth the try. I've also gotten around to playing with it a bit since my coworker (the one who recommended the LG Cookie) is a proud owner of the Nokia5800. She's in love with her phone, I'd have to say.

The phone's pretty cool. Fully touch screen, 3.2MP camera, with some other cool features I can't seem to name. You have to forgive me as I'm pretty dumb when it comes to gadgets, honestly. At $312, I'm torn between getting this one or the G900. My heart still belongs to Sony Ericsson, but a part of me is screaming for the Nokia5800. If you've tried/owned any of these phones or know of a better one, would you be kind enough to leave your thoughts in the comment box? Your suggestions would surely be of great help to me at this time.

On another hand, I will be having my hands on an iPod in two days. Truth be told, I've never owned one coz I never deemed it necessary since I have a pretty decent Walkman phone (my brother tweaked my phone a bit) which I used to use to play my songs. But since the beloved bought a new iPod with a much bigger memory (120Gig), he thought it best to hand down his 80Gig iPod to me. So in about two days, I will be once again diving in a music-filled world.

So yes, the big girl is getting herself some pretty cool toys other than makeup!

Tata for now!

*all photos were taken from various websites on the internet*