Since I seem to be in a posting mood.... seeking a phone.

Like it says, I'm seeking a replacement phone. There's a strong temptation to defer this until a time when I'm less busy, although the present Sony Ericsson has become tired, with less battery life, occasional hangs and some bad screen artifacts.

The issue is whether to go for a smart phone - will all the advantages and drawbacks of that - or to just do the 'ordinary' candybar thing again that can be used for calls & texts.

Why would I want a smartphone?

Toys aside (and I'm getting a little too old these days to easily justify toys) the advantages would be to collect email and have internet access without having to lug a laptop around, plus as a music/video player when (if?) we travel. Some (like the Nokia N8) also have cameras that actually take pictures that are of acceptable quality.

Why would I NOT want a smartphone?

I think far too few ask this question. The chief arguments against are because they're brick-like, fragile, over-complex, have no battery life to speak of (1 day of 'normal/heavy' usage seems typical) and cost silly amounts of money. With the Christmas deals I've seen this last is less of an issue for some models, although the iPhone loses out really badly in the cost area.

So I don't know.

The Nokia X3.2 candybar looks like a nice compromise, with many advantages (like long battery life, small size - it's beautifully slim, if a little wide, and sensible buttons) while also having a bigger screen with capacitive touch control. And it seems relatively cheap too. Ben has a Sony Ericsson Elm, and that seems good, but it has their daft proprietary headphone connector, making it useless as an MP3 player without an adapter (I can't use typical mini-earphones).

If I'm quick I can probably get almost as good a deal as I have now (600min/500txts/unlimited landline - £20 SIM only) with a phone chucked in. But the offers round here run out 4th Jan.

Maybe waiting is the 'sensible' thing to do - it's rarely good to hurry.