Choosing a new phone

[Radiance]

My over 2 year old Motorola cliq is dying.
The screen gets possesed and it doesnt hold more than 5 hours without being plugged in.
I know having cell phones is not exactly frugal, but hopefully I can get some mercy if you consider my other ntertaiment expense setup:

1) I have a $50 plan unlimited everything (voice, text and data), no contract
2) I dont have cable, or netflix or a phone at home, that is frugal, righ?

Anyway, I took note of the ways I use my phone and I wanted to ask you which phone do you recommend for:
1) Make phone calls
2) Text - Ideally a QWERTY keyboard, I do much more texting than talking (300 min talk vs. 5000 text)
3) Data plan: Google maps, check email, facebook
4) Decent Camera/video: To share at facebook
5) Applications: Calendar, note taking, music, timer, unit conversion, meetup, weather, youtube

What do you recommend? thanks

[uRabbit]

I have to recommend iPhone, because the learning curve and overall user-friendliness of Androids is far inferior. However, iPhone is about $80/mo.

If you want cheap, go for Blackberry or a Windows Mobile 5/6 phone. I have had all, and iOS and Blackberry are by far my favourite. RIM is a dying company, but they still make quality devices, and always have.

Check Craigslist. For the love of all that is, check craigslist. Great deals on there, and it is near impossible for a seller to hide any defects that a cell phone may have. There is one exception - whether or not it can be used with your network. So keep in mind that CDMA phones (Verizon/Sprint) and GSM phones (AT&T/T-Mobile) only work on their respective networks, unless you get a world phone.

Good luck!

[disneysteve]

We love our iPhones and everyone we know who has one loves it as well. It only costs an extra $15/month if you already have service with AT&T (not sure about Verizon's pricing) and it might not even be that if you already had a data plan on your phone. But the phone is tremendously versatile and allows you to do so many things that you already do and many that you can't currently do. You can get a brand new one for $49 so the phone itself is cheap.

[Frugal]

I use Droid. It has its flaws, and overall, I would go with the IPhone I had before if I could.

[Radiance]

Iphone plans are too pricey, I believe. My current one at 50 per month is the max I want to pay for monthly service. I might look at the virgin at $35, but I dont like sprint's coverage...