I'm looking for a recommendation. I'm about to sign up for a new 3yr plan with Telus. I've never had a Smartphone, but I figure it's time. Company will pay for it.

I'm either looking at the Blackberry Pearl, which would act most like a regular phone (buttons, volume on calls), or one of the HTC's. Maybe the s720 or the P4000.

I see one difference is Windows Mobile vs Blackberry. I assume Blackberry is like having a Mac. Easy to use, fast. But Windows Mobile might have more customization and 3rd party apps.

I'd be on a plan with unlimited web browsing, so does WiFi add anything? That's on the P4000 or the s640. Do any of the Telus phones have GPS? Does it really work when sitting in your car?

And, I see the HTC P4000 can handle EVDO Rev A, whereas the Pearl can only do EVDO. I see the speed of Rev A is quite a bit. Since I'd have this phone for three years, is that something I should look for?

Also, what's it like dialing on touch phones? How awkward would it be if someone asked me to pass them my phone to make a quick call? Are there apps which have large buttons on the screen?

I can't speak for the HTC models other than to say the Telus Bloor St (Toronto) corporate store manager advised me to stay away from them - unless I wanted to join the other customers returning them in the 14 day exchange period. If you can get to a store, like Bloor St, that has working models on display you'll get a lot better feel (literally) for the various units. A lot depends on whether you looking for something to fill serious communications needs or are looking for a teenagers' entertainment device.

I like my Pearl because it is so "phone like" - compact, extremely light, etc. but with all the PDA features. I have unlimited browsing, mail and messaging and use the browser a lot. I carry the laptop a lot less.

The Telus Pearl 8130 has GPS and it works in a car but, unlike a "real" GPS doesn't give verbal directions. You can install Google maps and navigation too. Older models did not include GPS.

The camera is pretty good on the Pearl for casual shots, voice dialling is very good and the sound quality is outstanding. It's by far the best phone I've ever owned, wired or mobile.

The only downside to the Pearl is the small keyboard. The typing system has surprised me with how well it works, but if you have a lot of work related e-mail you may want to go with a model with a full QWERTY keyboard. If you are not in a real hurry, Telus is supposed to be getting a new Curve model this month. It would give you the larger keyboard in what is still a very compact phone.

A quick search of the net will also turn up information about a pending Blackberry software upgrade that will add many more PDA features to every model. I've been told these will be available to all existing users at no additional cost.

WIFI would probably give faster downloads but I am not interested in having to look for hotspots and paying or being on insecure open hotspot networks when I can do all the browsing I need and get all my mail just about everywhere Telus offers phone service. Is WIFI worth it? IMO, no.

The Blackberry/Mac analogy is good. I love my Mac and I love my Blackberry. With a little resourcefulness, most of the useful software can be found in BB versions. If "you're a Mac" and get a BB, get "The Missing Synch for Blackberry" OS-X edition. There are other available synch programs out there but they don't work very well. Regrettably, the BlackBerry Desktop software in MS-WIN only.

Feel free to send a personal message if you have specific questions.

Thanks so much. There were no responses today, so after a ton more research, I had decided on....the 8130 Pearl! I don't expect to type a lot of emails. Maybe quick sentences. But I want to see my emails and open attachments. So really, any Smartphone would have done.

But since I figure I'd have this thing for 3 years, I wanted a bit of a.....toy. Something for my "digital home". One that intrigued me was the HTC s640. EVDO Rev A. Wifi. And a QVGA screen (bigger than the Pearl).

But reading a review, I read that people were accidentally hanging up on calls because of the misplaced End button on the side.

The HTC Touch and the P4000 both were getting bad reviews with call quality. I saw a broken s720 at the Best Buy in Oakville, so that told me something about durability.

At the end of the day, the Pearl is the best....phone, which is my main objective. Add to it that it does a bunch of other stuff well, and has GPS. And maybe Rev A and Wifi don't matter with the speed of current gen phones. Everyone talks about Windows Mobile on the HTC phones freezing.

Thanks for your help.

Congratulations and enjoy your new "toy". Hey, I didn't NEED to upgrade from my MotoRazr either, but Telus was telling me I'd earned a free-phone and the Pearl was far and away the best available. I added $15 a mo for unlimited browsing/mail and cancelled my $25 Telus HotSpot subscription, thus saving $10 month, not to mention a lot of Starbuck's coffees while I used the cafe to check e-mail. Now I surf wherever and whenever I want.

To maximise the pleasure of having the Pearl, I've spent money to add the previously mentioned Missing Synch for Mac for Pearl and Empower, a plug-in that allows you to see you mail in HTML format. HTML mail viewing is supposed to be part of the BB operating system upgrade so you may be able to skip that if you're patient. I didn't know it was coming when I bought it (it's an easy over-the-air install).

Google Maps and Navigator was a free install as was the Opera mini browser. I still use the BB browser far more than Opera and prefer BB-GPS over the cell-tower-based Google Navigator. I also added a few freebies like The New York Times module that puts all the NYT in its own browser and makes it very easy to navigate and read. Guess you can tell I'm a news junkie.

Play around with the notification profiles, choose your favourite display font and make your CrackBerry yours. Enjoy :)

Actually, I should have mentioned I don't have a Mac. But hopefully there should be lots of extras available for my use.

One thing I'm screwed on is the unlimited browsing. Up until I believe Feb 3rd, the deal was $15/month unlimited browsing. I happened to start shopping for a phone after that. So now the deal is $30/month. It's only worthwhile to the company because the other deal is a Business Sharing Promo where all our minutes are shared, but also, all incoming local calls are free. Looking at our usage, that would be HUGE.

But the $30/month thing irks me. Just because it was like a week ago that the deal was different. But the Telus rep is playing hardball. Also says he can't give any extras like a car charger, case, etc. Best is 50% off Telus branded accessories. He says he can only get freebies for NEW customers. I really have zero leverage since the Business Share Promo blows Bell and Rogers out of the water.

I don't have the phone yet. Probably next week.

Hi outinthornhill! I've got the HTC s720, which has been good, no major or minor hickups yet. I'm also on the $15 unlimited web and e-mail. I noticed you mentioned the google maps... I was interested in throwing that on my phone, but have you noticed any extra charges after you use it, is its use covered under our plan?

If you have the unlimited "web", that means everything but connecting your phone to your laptop to use as a modem (tethering). So, you can be surfing the web all day and night on your cell.

Hi outinthornhill! I've got the HTC s720, which has been good, no major or minor hickups yet. I'm also on the $15 unlimited web and e-mail. I noticed you mentioned the google maps... I was interested in throwing that on my phone, but have you noticed any extra charges after you use it, is its use covered under our plan?
No issues - or extra charges - for me with Google Maps and Navigator. After two months I enjoy looking at the MyTelus airtime/data usage report and seeing all those "$0.00" days.

Enjoy.