My Next Phone

What’s my ideal phone like?

For a while now (which is over an year now), I have been planning to upgrade my phone to something newer, trendier and more useful. So what's delaying it? I want a (smart)phone, that would rid me of carrying any other electronic device on myself on a normal day. Here's what I think is critical for me:

1. The most basic need: It should be a phone. I should be able to make/receive calls :)
   
2. High Speed Internet support: 3G / HSDPA, so that I am 'always connected'.
   
3. Wi-Fi Support.
   
4. The phone should be usable as a modem as well in case I want to connect to the net.(I know that depends on the service provider too)
   
5. Bluetooth: for wireless talking and possibly attaching to the car stereo system
   
6. QWERTY keyboard: that's a must for me. I love the touch of 'real' keys.
   
7. (A)GPS: for finding my way when I am lost.
   
8. An expansion slot. A huge memory (think 8/16/32GB) will be a plus.
   
9. A good Camera (>3.2 mp with flash – vibration reduction desirable and so is zoom). Video recording support...I love taking pictures but don't want to carry around a camera all the time. Videos are a necessity too for capturing those 'once in a lifetime' moments.
   
10. A good screen resolution(pretty much everyone has this)
    
11. Exchange/pop/imap mail support. Office documents support. 
    
12. Support for playing videos in diff formats. Should support flash.
    
13. User Interface: Touchscreen for basic needs like dialing numbers, receiving calls, viewing pictures etc. Coverflow, multitouch is good but not a necessity.
    
14. Good Music Output with music output option(through FM transmitter, maybe )
    
15. Desirable: dual camera (video conferencing).
    
16. Replaceable battery.
    

I can add a few more, but I think this pretty much covers everything I am looking for (and that’s also pretty much the order in which I need it).
What's missing in today’s phone? A few things that come to my mind right away:

Apple iPhone: QWERTY/Bluetooth/Video/Camera resolution/expansion slot.

Sony XPERIA: RAM / Accelerometer / its Windows :( . Moreover, for some reason, I didn't find it very charming when I took it in my hands(although at one point of time, I was quite excited about it)

Blackberries: Camera/Music

Palm Pre: Closest to perfect : The best so far. I have used a Treo for 2 years, and I totally trust Palm products. However, the absence of expansion port is troubling given that I seem to exaust off memory pretty fast ( probably because of my love for pictures and videos). I will have to research a bit on the USB expansion option though.

Nokia N97: The challenger round the corner. So far, it appears to have everything I am looking for. Moreover its a Nokia, so quality should not be an issue(although Nokia isn't much present in the touchscreen world). Moreover, if it really has the FM transmitter that's being talked about, it's going to be awesome. :)


At this time, I think it will be wise for me to wait for N97. It may not be having the touch capabilities of iPhone, but as you would realize from my needs above, I need a phone that 'works' for me and not just looks good. Looks are passé.

N97: I am waiting for you.