My Karma is losing charge more and more quickly, I'm not going to change battery as I shagged the last one I opened up. My phone is needing replacement too, so I'm on the lookout for a smallish phone (smaller than Samsung Galaxy/iPhone) that will hold at least 16GB of mp3s and might do (not imperative) emails.

Looks like most phones nowadays are huge to accommodate their big touchscreens, I just want something easy to pocket.

You realise that the iPhone 4 is 33% smaller in volume, 8% narrower, 25% thinner and 6% shorter than the Samsung

I realize this is heresy in some circles, but what you really want is an iPhone. Like their computers, the iPhone just works. It's a brilliant piece of design and just a joy to use. The iPhone is the first device that captured that feeling I had in 1984 upon seeing the first Mac. There are other phones that do the "same thing", just like Windows 3.1 did the "same thing" as the Macs, or a 1971 Gremlin will do the "same thing" as a 2010 BMW 750i. Yep, it's more expensive, yep, it's still tied to AT&T, yep it doesn't have flash. And it's worth it in spades.

I have the iPhone4 and the stupid clamor about the antenna spot is exactly that -- stupid. Yes, you can touch this spot and affect the signal, but it is very easy to hold the phone even in the left hand such that you don't do this. You can get a free case that eliminates the issue entirely if you can't manage to avoid touching a small spot that is clearly marked on the phone.

The display on the iPhone4 alone is worth the price of admission. I have extremely high resolution vision (20/10 corrected), and I can't make out the individual pixels except in rare situations. It's possible to read extremely small type on the device because the rendering is so clear.

I've used all the others, and while you can make them work, why would you bother? Don't buy yourself a 1971 Gremlin. If you use the device half as often as I do (probably as much as my laptop, or even more), then suck it up and get the best one.

Jim

I really object to that. I love my iPhone 4 and I agree with everything else that you said.

It may be easy for you to hold it securely in your left hand and not trigger the antenna problem. For me however I cannot find a way to hold it avoiding the spot without ending up holding it in a uncomfortable and insecure grip.

Thankfully touching the spot in good signal areas isn't much of a problem and I don't exactly make many calls anyway. But if i was the sort of person who spends all day on the phone then it would be a real issue.

But I do object to being called stupid because my phone doesn't fit my hand as well as it clearly fits yours !

I am an Android fanboy, love my Nexus One to death, and would never trade it for any other phone currently on the market or coming down the pike.

You want an iPhone.

Really, what other music phone is there?

Oh my! I didn't mean that you were stupid, or that someone who hard trouble holding it was stupid! I'm sorry if I came across that way. I meant that the ridiculous media frenzy around this relatively minor thing was stupid.

Anyhow, my apologies. I'll post a picture of how I hold it in low signal areas.

Jim

Fair enough. For the record I have had other people online call me stupid for this very reason, so I may be a little sensitive over it...

I have to say that I just walked in to the O2 shop last time that I was due a free upgrade and asked for a phone with a 3.5mm jack, got a bog atandard Nokia and put in a larger mini SD card, which I now use with a nice set of Sennheisers and otherwise plug in to the car stereo.
This seems to meet all tahir's specification in a very compact package. Mind you some months pass when I've made or received no phone calls.

N.B. the manual says itdoes emails, but I've never tried!

Basic Nokia? I hadn't even considered that. I'll try my missus (6303 I think). My nephew's got an iPhone 4 and it's just too big to put in my jean's back pocket and sit down. Front pockets are full of keys, can't use shirt pocket cos I normally wear a t or sweat.

That, and every time you bend over it falls out of your pocket onto the hard concrete. This I know from experience.

This is by far the best solution I have found. They will shortly have a new headphone designed for the new 4th generation Shuffle, which has reverted to a form factor similar to the 2nd generation Shuffle.

tanstaafl.

That is going to be challenging for tahir to make and receive calls on

Yup, but the problem I have is that it just isn't comfortable in my back jeans pocket. Maybe I should get a case that attaches to a belt (is there one?)?

I've had people call me stupid for all sorts of reasons. Finally, something I'm good at.

That's what mine is, I also have a nifty little nylon case, which attaches to either a key ring or belt and came the whole way from Hong Kong for £2.99.
I've only put a 4 gig mini SD card in, it works fine.

I'll give it a go as soon as I get a cahnce

Ah, sorry, I just checked, a 4gb. SD card is the maximum that it says it supports - so it's well off your 15gb. spec.- otherwise it would be fine.