If I had a dollar (or Euro) for every time I've been asked "What are you using at the moment?" or "What do you recommend?" then I'd be a wealthy man. Alas, I usually end up giving away the advice for free, so this time I thought I'd spread the load and ask a bunch of luminaries from the smartphone world which devices they'd swear by if they were forced to use just the one for the next year, money no object.
And yes, there's a slight Symbian bias in who I ended up asking, but I can't help my contacts, so you'll have to either make allowances or enjoy the bias 8-) Here we go!
Phil Schwarzmann (S60):
Nokia N95: "Amazing 5mp camera. Stereo bluetooth for my jogging. Handy GPS. S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 extends my device to endless amounts of applications. It's everything I want and need in one little device. "
Shaun McGill (PDA247):
HTC S620: "Small, great design, incredible battery life, never crashes, very fast, near perfect screen. I have owned over 50 PDAs and smartphones and this one tops the lot by a country mile!"
James Burland (CreativeLife):
Nokia N95: "Whilst the iPhone possesses huge potential, the N95 is delivering the good stuff right now! Whether it's taking spectacular photos or connecting me to my Jaiku buddies, the N95 is a real performer."
Marc Pell (MSMobileNews):
HTC Touch: "It features the Windows Mobile operating system which is great for business (PIM synchronisation and mobile email) and pleasure (loads of games available, mobile internet, audio and video playback and camera functions) and is the best looking, feeling and proportioned Pocket PC on the market in my opinion."
Ricky Cadden (Symbian Guru):
Nokia E90: "I've always liked the Communicator form factor, and this one has a camera that is up to par, and it fixes the 2 problems I have with my N95, battery and RAM."
Attila Katona (AAS):
Nokia E90: "I would pick the E90 because it seems like a device that will not need to be replaced for more than just a year. Huge internal screen is the best option for work and emulators, no RAM issues, option to go one or two handed modes, radio, and the size is well inside my pocket limitations.
Krisse (AAS):
Nokia 6120 Classic: "It's (as far as I know) the smallest smartphone in the world right now, but it has S60 3rd FP1, Bluetooth stereo and 3.5G. It doesn't look nerdy or attract muggers."
Stefan Constantinescu (IntoMobile):
Nokia E90: "with its 3.2 megapixel camera, GPS and, best of all, that 800 pixel wide screen, makes me weak in the knees."
Asri al-Baker (i-Symbian):
Sony Ericsson P1i: "It's business and leisure features suit my demanding indoor and outdoor use. The combination of 3.2mp camera, touchscreen, qwerty thumbkeyboard, UIQ 3 and huge RAM are perfect!" [Hey, that's cheating, the P1i's not even out yet! - Steve]
Darla Mack (Mobile Diva):
Nokia N95: "...because it performs all of the functions that I need in my day to day life"
Ewan Spence (Podcast pioneer and general entrepreneur):
Nokia 7650/Nokia N95: "Given cost is no object, I'm going to hire someone to take the guts of the N95, and put it in the case of the 7650 to create my favourite hardware shell with my favourite innards. It looks futuristic, and retro, it's not going to attract too much attention, and it'll be a genuine geeky talking piece." [Trust you to be different! - Steve]
Andy Betts (editor, PDA Essentials magazine):
HTC S710: "Functional enough to overcome its limitations (no 3G, mainly), superb design, and surprisingly fun to use, which is no mean feat for a business-oriented smartphone"
Teo (Symbian Freak):
Nokia N95: "Supported with SU-8W of course, I have two keyboards and one is always in my car, actually, combination of the Nokia N95 in my pocket and laptop in my car meets all my needs at the moment, it's simply a killer combination for me!"
Steve Litchfield (Smartphones Show):
Nokia E61i: "It's small enough (just) to be taken anywhere, allows serious work, has no slidey bits to wear out - remember that this device has to be used for an entire year, the battery life is awesome and it also has music and (just about good enough) camera functions."
I guess the top spots for the Nokia E90 and N95 were fairly predictable, but the other choices above demonstrate that one size doesn't fit all, even among the illuminati, and that everybody's needs are slightly different!