If you ever used symbian os then you will feel right at home.

I'm certainly not going to get into a pissing contest with you over this

Take it as you will, I've said enough on the subject. I will simply agree to disagree and leave it at that

ARM has teased the future of the iPhone and other smartphones with added early details for its first dual-core mobile processor design. The Cortex A9 will shrink the manufacturing process from the 65 nanometers used on the single-core Cortex A8 used in the iPhone 3G S to 45 nanometers, letting it add the extra core without significantly affecting the power draw. Although it consumes more energy at peak, the smaller process and multiprocessing should ultimately lead to longer battery life.
The design also better handles executing out-of-order instructions than the A8 and can therefore handle a large batch of code more efficiently. A9 can scale up to four cores but is less likely to be used for smartphones in the near future.

Multiple cores better supports multitasking on those phones with supporting operating systems but would also allow for more efficient background processing, such as encoding a video or playing audio without affecting a user's existing tasks.

Importantly, the launch of A9 should also line up for the next wave of smartphones. ARM anticipates the technology being in shipping products by approximately this time next year. Texas Instruments has explained that its future OMAP 4 processor will use A9's technology and hints at sequels to the OMAP 3-based Palm Pre getting the more advanced processor. OMAP 4 will have multiple cores and should also have faster graphics built into the processor package, including 1080p decoding and encoding as well as 20-megapixel still image processing and support for larger displays.

Samsung is believed to make the Cortex A8 processor used in the iPhone 3G S, but its role in future iPhones is uncertain. Apple is actively recruiting for future Cortex programming and is therefore likely to support A9 technology, but its acquisition of PA Semi for the purposes of designing custom ARM chips suggests that future iPhones, possibly as early as next year, will have Apple-developed processors and won't be tied to roadmaps from others. [via CNET]

Wow. There's quite a few other members on this forum that could certainly do a little piece of this philosophy.

Welcome to the forums, by the way, if no-one else has done so yet. We now own your soul.

I would recommend waiting until the new iPhone is released before you make your decision. It's rumored that it'll come out some time in April or May. I think it's worth noting that the newest iPhones came out close to a year ago (June 19, 2009) & that there will likely be significant improvements (rumors include 4G, dual-core processor, OLED screen, 5mp camera w/ LED flash, 802.11n support & a superior graphics processor). The truth is, most of the phones mentioned here are good & you'll probably be happy w/ any of them but there's simply no reason to rush out & buy something when something newer & possibly better is about to be announced. It's sort of like buying a 2010 car & then finding out a month later that the 2011 version was released & it's better.

Yeah, but you could continue doing this for years and years continually anticipating something better in the immediate future and never actually getting anything. When the new iPhone is released, you could then wait for the Nexus Two.

well we are also taking into consideration in the price of phones that we will be buying bundle packages of headsets car chargers and cases, which basically amounts to an extra 100$ over the price of the phones. we're willing to spend 150 each on a phone, but not 250 each...

Actually Android 2.0(.1) supports this all ready (those of you with Droids update your Google Maps) but I think Verizon nerfed it. I'm not sold on Verizon relinquishing its ways of not being control freaks over phones. I think Verizon is trying to control the Droid somehow.

Later I ended up finding a fairly well rated Dell x51v PDA in a pawn shop.

Does that have Windows Mobile 5 on it? I recently found my old Dell Axim x50v in a drawer and had entirely forgotten what a fantastic device it was, though it runs Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition which is pretty slow at syncing and write speed (though read speed is pretty fast, bizarrely). What do you think about the x51v? Specifically, what's the OS like? I don't think I can install WM5 on the x50v

The Droid is probably out of your price range but I'd consider it. Android 2.1 is supposed to be out soon...it should have been all ready but I'm of the opinion that Verizon is holding back. Anyway, Android 2.1 is supposed to bring more functionality like pinch-zoom. Actually Android 2.0(.1) supports this all ready (those of you with Droids update your Google Maps) but I think Verizon nerfed it. I'm not sold on Verizon relinquishing its ways of not being control freaks over phones. I think Verizon is trying to control the Droid somehow.

Anyway, I digress. I got my sister the Droid Eris when I got my Droid (promotional offer) and she seems to like it. She's not sophisticated enough to care whether it's on Android 1.5 or not.

Nerdatry: I jailbroke my Droid and installed a modified version of Android 2.0.1. It has some UI changes and incorporates some 2.1 features.

Ford, why does your fiancee want to stay with AT&T? Is it just because she's had them for 10 years or has the service been wonderful the entire time? If it's the latter then have her call them up and explain that she's considering leaving but might be tempted to stay if they cut you a break on a combined plan for the two of you. Otherwise, cut and run to the company that is going to give you the best value.