Get a new 16GB iPhone 3GS for $97
 

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13845_3-20...?tag=rtcol;pop

Does not seem like that bad a deal, especially considering that the new phones don't really seem like they are going to be bringing anything explosive to the table....

That article seemed to be a guy who already has a 3GS debating whether or not you should get a 3GS or wait for the 4G. I kind of imagine in this sort of situation you are going to be biased toward the phone you already have.

I'm leaning more and more towards the N8.

Why? It's supposed to be running symbian (still), I could think of a lot of phones that I'd seriously consider before that one.

Just curious http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/smile1.gif

The N8 phone might be a tad large but I had no idea it had its own gravitational pull.

I recently tested a HTC HD2 and a HTC Desire in a store...both are nice phones, but I will stick with my iPhone 3G, it's easier to use and more intuitive than windows mobile or android...allthough the HD2 got a very impressive screen, it's HUGE!

I'm looking at the Droid incredible, It looks pretty bad ass and seems to work well (atleast the instore one did) I played with it for a good 20 min while i was waiting.

The Desire was fine, too, but with all the stories about Google scanning WLAN nets without permission and collecting data from any unsecured WLAN, I'm not sure if using a Google-OS powered mobile device is that smart option...you never know what kind of data is send to them...

That is just sad.

lol @ 2 year contract, no thanks, i´d pass.

After my experience with the nokia tablets... I have started to dislike Nokia's strategy.
What makes the n8 so special. Isn't Nokia's prime focus Symbian^4? Will S^3 end up like the previous maemo oses?

Not sure how it is over there in Germany, but 2 year contacts are standard in the states.

2 years are standard here, too...but you can get them imported from other countries without any contract - but in total you pay less when you take a contract, but not from the "original" supplier T-Mobile, but from some small mobilephone-shop who offer imported (unlocked) iPhones with e.g. Vodafone or O2-contracts...
It's your decision in the end: pay e.g. 350€ over 2 years (and just let the contract sit there and stay unused), or pay 500€ for an contract-less iPhone and use it with your existing contract or pre-paid card...

I know, same here.
But i´m not a contract person. I prefer purchasing my phone without one and then going with prepaid options.

Don't you guys have PAYG iPhones?

That's the main thing for me. In every other phone I have used there has always been a different way to something depending on where you are in the OS. On the iPhone everything just works. Sure, it's dumbed down and controlling, but even when I jailbroke mine the only things that I used were themes and the free hacked apps.

No 3456

I was at walmart last night getting a new phone and noticed they had the iphones for $97. good deal, but too bad at&t sucks around my house. Still dont think it was as good a deal as the moto droid I got for $20, but if i was an iphone fan and it would be practical for me to have one I would have probably gotten 2.

No you generally have to accept the shittiest phones possible if you want to pay as you go. The best I've managed to figure out so far is getting a G1 and sticking my T-Mobile pay as you go sim card in there. It means its only good for calls and texts when I'm out but since I spend most of my life at home or in an office with wifi it doesn't bother me too much.

Yeah, it's running S^3, which is looking really decent. It's not a "still" in my opinion. They took out the most crummy parts of S60v5, added GPU acceleration and some eye candy and surprise, surprise: it looks awesome. It's still quirky Symbian in some senses, like the softkeys are still present, but I'm not too bothered by quirks. Every OS has them, meanwhile Symbian is super mature and lets you do things like, say, send files over Bluetooth. Shocking, I know.

I do realize it's going to be substantially shelved come S^4 and the transition to the Qt framework that will link Symbian, MeeGo and basically any other platform you want. Of course, the phone will be substantially obsolete in 1-2 years anyway as 4G eventually rolls out broadly. That's OK, though, because the unsubsidized cost of the phone is quite low given what you get. I can replace my existing phone, which is in dire need of retirement IMO, without touching my operator agreement and then get a 4G phone down the line on subsidy or something.

I'll hold out until the thing actually goes through some decent reviews, of course, but everything I'm hearing thus far indicates that the phone will be excellent. You get free nav, Nokia's excellent Webkit browser, what is apparently a brilliant music device, reportedly excellent battery life, unparalleled imaging quality, expandable memory, OLED, desktop widgets, big back library of apps, Ovi Store, etc. Honestly, what's not to like?