Nokia N900 (unlocked)

Pros: Full web browsing experience, currently the only flash compatible smartphone, multitasks with ease, beautiful 3.5
" 800x480 screen

Cons: Ovi store for Maemo 5 not online, everything thing except for the phone is limited to landscape mode, no MMS, a little on the thick side

Summary: It took months of research and a great deal through Dell on this phone for me to ultimately go with the N900. This is my first foray into the smartphone world and I couldn't be happier with the decision.

I've had the phone for a couple of weeks now and have gone through just about every function at this point. The web experience is the same as any of my computers at home or work. In fact, the phone has saved me from booting up my home computer when wanting to look something up or just vege out online.

The call quality is good and the speaker phone works great. My last phone was a 4-5 year old Nokia clamshell. Being a fan of Nokia and their user interface was another deciding factor for me. Obviously the n900 UI is completely different than their cell phones, but I have to disagree with CNET on this point. I found the UI very intuitive and easily customizable. There wasn't a moment of confusion or frustration in it for me. And again, this is my first smartphone--though I have played around a lot with the mytouch3g and iphone. I am also a bit computer/tech savvy, so it might be more difficult for the tech novice than an iphone or android device. Another piece of anecdotal information, I let my friend (an iphone enthusiast) play around with my phone for a bit last week and after 30 seconds he was sold on it.

As for the negatives, almost all of them will not exist within a month or two. The ovi store is coming soon, and while I doubt it'll ever match the marketplace offered by android and apple, this phone is powerful enough to not require most apps--at least the ones meant to streamline the web experience for the mobile user, since this phone doesn't need it. I don't plan on playing many games, using my phone as a light saber, or using as an odorless fart factory. A fart without an odor is like a featherless chicken without a beak. MMS will supposedly come in an update soon, but since I've probably sent and received 4 or 5 MMS messages in the past 5 years, it's not a big deal for me... especially since I've synched the phone with my gmail and can send all of my pictures, etc with ease through that. The phone is thick and that's not going to change, but it's a good trade off for a solidly constructed phone with removeable battery, storage, and full qwerty.

I guess this phone should be looked at as a mobile computer with phone capabilities, than just your average smartphone. I'll agree with Nokia's marketing on that point, and additionally point out that there's nothing in either equation except for the minor things mentioned above.