Thanks for the speech. I appreciate your point of view. However, this topic is not to debate what point of view is better. I have given my brief. Now kindly be a good sport and make suggestions based on that brief. I want a phone that gets the job done out of the box, and my brief reflects this.

For your convenience, a recap:

1. …an up-to-date smartphone (preferably released in the last 15 months)
2. a good hardware QWERTY (accelerometre-driven touchscreen QWERTYs have a mind of their own)
3. a large landscape display
4. an above-average web browser out-of-the-box
5. has good multi-tasking abilities out-of-the-box
6. handles Gmail without issues out-of-the-box
7. mobile OS platform, even non-smartphone, is irrelevant

If you can put on the table a phone that meets the above brief (not your own brief) but costs much less than N80,000, you will be helping this fellow, and I will buy it in a heartbeat.

But if you want to preach and rant, this is the wrong place and time to do it. Appreciating your suggestions in advance. Cheers!

ANIGBOGU O ANIGBOGU

The level of service you get from a device is a combination of the outofthebox facilities AND the array of apps available for that device. That is why it is vitally important to note carefully the platform on which your device runs. It goes without saying that it MUST be a smartphone.

Kay123 could not have put it better and more succintly.

Why spend (waste?) N80k on a top of the range phone if you can buy a far cheaper phone that will give (close to) the same level of functionality with the right software (especially if you are technically minded?)

Many of the outofthebox functionalities are actually software solutions.

There are things that software can not do on a phone (poor battery life, a poor camera, low memory, poorly designed keyboard, poor display), but there is PLENTY that software can adequately address!

In looking for the right phone (especially if I am a geek), I would follow Kay123’s suggestion. It is a masterpiece of brevity Then get educated as regards whether there are apps to take care of the little dysfunctionalities in your lessthanperfect phone. The perfect phone (for every body) does NOT exist…

I have nothing against 3rd party apps. I use them where it makes sense to, but I believe that as much as possible, 3rd party apps should not be used to replace core phone functionality.

I do not believe that it makes sense to pay N80,000 for a device only to need a 3rd party app (free or paid) to do something that a device of N25,000 does well out of the box.

If a device is marketed for its email or web capabilities, I should not require a 3rd party app for email or web on that device.

But then, maybe its just me

With regards the Jet/Omnia II, it is not quite the keyboard that is the problem. The problem is this crazy accelerometre thing that rotates the display even when you would prefer it in landscape. With a hardware keyboard, usually the display stays in landscape so long as the keyboard is slid out. The hardware keyboard gives me control over the display layout. I need that control.

The Omnia II would be a logical upgrade. I’m just tired of touch displays that have a mind of their own.

Yomi, since you went sans physical keyboard with Samsung Jet, I really thought you’ll naturally progress to the bigger Samsung Omnia II. Did you really miss the physical keyboard?