New cell phone needed (not iPhone!)

[Pluckie]

Hi all,

I'm looking for recommendations for a new cell phone. Although I love the iPhone, it's well out of my price range. I'm looking for something in the $200-$300 range. What is most important to me is a phone that is good at making calls and has a nice, intuitive interface. I'd rather it be smaller than loaded with gadgets. The slimmer the better. I'd like it to sync with my mac.

I was thinking about the new SE k550i (I really like the SE interface). I was also thinking about a smart phone (it'd be nice to have a good calendar / smart phone), perhaps the Blackberry Pearl. Problem is that I don't need (or want to pay for) the push email service. Would a pearl be worth it if I'm not using push email?

I need suggestions for a good phone! Thanks.

 

[kajitox]

I love my Sony Ericsson W810i. It's small, but very powerful with a 2 megapixel camera with video (that takes really great pictures) and a decent built in Walkman that I can't say i really use all the time, but it's nice for the songs (under 30 sec) that you can move onto your phone from your computer. I never get dropped calls, and I have actually been using other people's phones and had to call them back with mine since it gets such good reception. The fact that its not a flip phone isn't a big deal to me, and I abuse the hell out of this thing but it still looks like it's in great conditions. The only problem that I can think of is that when the light is shining on the screen, it's tough to see...but that's never been a huge issue for me.

I ended up getting it for 25 bucks with a new plan.

Also, I have heard other Ericsson models are also very good phones, though I can't say anything since I haven't tried any of them out myself.