Job hunting has kept me pretty busy as of late, but I have already decided that since my last job only gave me a CDMA option for my company phone (so I could not buy a phone and insert the company SIM), as soon as I finally find my next job, one of my first purchases is going to be a phone. Now the big question is, which one?

The Beautiful HD: Hard to Say Goodbye

Well, let me start with what I was considering as of three days ago, and I will conclude with the phones I have narrowed it down to. Remember, I am talking here about my favorite phones, forget for a second the fact that I would never really buy half these phones due to their exorbitant prices. So here are the phones I was considering (in totally random order):

• HTC Touch HD: OK I know it is $800 or $1300 if you buy it is Israel, but a man can still dream, no?
• Nokia 5800 XpressMusic or Tube: Seems like a pretty sweet phone and with a name like Nokia backing it, how can you go wrong, right?
• Blackberry Storm: You gotta love RIM’s attempt at the touchscreen market.
• iPhone: Honestly? With its lack of MMS, video camera, and A2DP, this was not an option for me, until I used my new iPod Touch. With that interface and App store, I am willing to use email to send pictures, bring along an additional camera for taking video, and even use wired headsets to listen to my music. Yes, it is THAT good.

The Tube: A Strong Contender

So, these were my options as of a few days ago, but as we all know, a few days in the cellular industry is like a lifetime to normal people.

So here is what I am thinking today:

• HTC Touch HD: With the $800 price tag combined with the fact that it runs Windows, this is just not the phone for me. Yes, it is no doubt the nicest phone on earth, but the headache of installing apps over Windows (compared to the experience I have had with the iPod Touch of course), the lack of a camera flash, along with the normal bugs associated with anything Microsoft, even a 4″ screen would not get me to buy it.
• Nokia 5800 XpressMusic or Tube: I am not saying a definate NO to this yet, I know I like the price, but Mobile Burn’s review of this toy, did not excite me. I call it a toy because that it what it looks and feels like compared to other handsets.
• Blackberry Storm: Well, contrary to the Tube, this one is a definate no go for me. Engadget’s review of the Storm left me very dissapointed, especially the whole press down the screen thing. If I wanted to press down on the screen and not just touch it, I would buy a standard Blackberry, not a touch screen one. Is it just me or does that just make simple sense?
• iPhone: Well, I would have to say that at the risk of being boring and unoriginal, this is currently my best option. I just cannot get over how great of a job Apple did with the interface, the App store, and the all around feel of the iPhone. The battery life with push mail activated scares me a bit, but we all gotta make sacrifices sometimes, right?

Blackberry Storm: A Thumbs Down for Me

Bottom line? I am going to have to choose between Apple’s iPhone and Nokia’s Tube. Watch the below video of the Tube, and tell me what you think.

-Hillel

There is a new in-depth video review of the HTC Touch HD circulating the Web this morning. The screen looks absolutely stunning and the OS looks very responsive. However, we know there really is no perfect phone (yet) so I knew there had to be a catch. Fortunately, the catch is not something I cannot handle (that means I can handle it). The 5mp camera has no flash. Not the end of the world, there could be worse things, like no WiFi or GPS. I will never understand cellphone manufacturers and why they do these kinds of things. How hard can it be for HTC to offer a flash? My old Nokia 6288 had a flash!!

In any case, for me, this topic of cellphones might actually become a practical one in the near future. I am now using a CDMA phone (ouch!), and  I was just notified that my cellular carrier will be joining the 21st century by year’s end and switching to GSM. You know what that means? It means that it is time to decide what phone to get.

As of now, I am leaning toward the Omnia (I can’t help it, I am shallow and it is so pretty), but a lot can happen until the end of the year, so let’s wait and see.

-Hillel

This phone is just so beautiful, I had to post some pictures.

Comment for feedback.

- Hillel