Cell 'Faux'ne

I'm in the market for a new cell phone. It will be my 3rd phone ever, excluding the one I used in Germany for three months. I'm changing services for the first time too- going from Sprint to Cingular. This time I'm going to get a phone I really like. The choice is all mine, so I want to get one that has a good grouping of features and won't be obsolete once i get out of the store.

The problem I'm having is that I can't quite find a phone that has the features I want and still functions as a phone. Today's cell phones have cameras and mp3 players packed in so tight that there's barely room for a functioning battery.

I'd prefer if the R+D money was spent not on video recorders, but instead on giving me a stronger signal or longer battery life. I don't understand why I can take pictures with my phone, yet can't get signal inside my own house. I seldom use the camera function on my current phone, and I doubt I'd ever use an MP3 feature, because I have an iPod.

I understand, accept, and look forward to when the cell phone becomes the all-in-one pocket item that does anything you need. But I don't think the technology is quite there yet. So many phones are trying to accomplish that feat now instead of waiting until its affordable to have a 4MP camera and a 2GB MP3 player inside a phone. When that day does arrive, however, I'll certainly jump on that bandwagon. I'm sure those days aren't too far ahead.