[markponcelet]

After years of posting answers for newbie Mac users, I finally get to ask a n00b question of my own!

When it comes to cell phones, I'm completely clueless. In ten years, I've used only mobiles given to me by my employers, who are always interested in giving me the worst phones on the planet. But now I have to get a cell of my own. My only limiting factor is that it has to be with AT&T, since I plan on buying a second-generation iPhone someday. (This January? )

After taking into consideration the talk in cell phone recommendations to go with Macbook, I wanted to see what sort of recommendations you'd make for the hard-core Mac enthusiast who just wants a simple, Mac-friendly phone.

I know that the only way I'm going to get the Mac user experience is to get an iPhone. But what would you recommend as the highest quality stand-in while I save money?

[CharlesS]

Well, if you want Mac-friendly, avoid LG and Samsung. Those two don't support iSync, and consequently you won't be able to sync your contacts or calendars. What you want is either a Motorola, a Nokia, or a Sony Ericsson.

People love to bash Motorola on here, but the V3xx has the reputation of being the best phone for reception on AT&T, according to HowardForums. However, it's not quad-band, which is one drawback.

Nokia makes some very nice phones, but lately they have had a reputation of having extremely poor battery life.

There are a ton of people that swear by Sony Ericsson phones. However, I tend to avoid them on principle, because their proponents are loud and obnoxious. Also, since it's Sony, the battery will probably explode.

[analogika]

The Sony-Ericsson k610i is really, really nice. Small, full-featured, and plays well with the Mac.

There are a couple of interface details that really drive me up the wall, but that appears to be par for the course on ALL mobile phones.

The least aggravating phones I've had were both Siemens phones, but that was a while ago and is no longer an option.

[f1000]

I also recommend that you stay away from the Korean-branded phones. Koreans tend to make good products on spec, but when they have to come up with the specs themselves, the results are crappy. Even worse, Korean phones and some non-Korean ones as well, will contain a whole bunch of hardware capabilities that look good on paper, but have very poor software and user-interface support. I've got an LG CU500 that is buggy and full of vaporware. It's basically crippled due to really bad software; for example, the phone will shut down whenever an alarm I set on it goes off. Ridiculous! And that's just the least of its little annoyances.

If you'd like to use your cell phone as a digital modem, then get an HSDPA phone (one step beyond plain UMTS). EDGE phones, including the iPhone, are slow as molasses compared to HSDPA phones. On the otherhand, the iPhone is going to be the most Mac-friendly cell phone on the planet, and this is only going to become truer as Apple provides software updates...something LG has never done, despite promises, for the LG CU500.

Bottomline, beware of useless specs when buying a cell phone. If a feature isn't properly implemented by the time you purchase a cell phone, then it probably won't ever be properly implemented.

[ajprice]

Sony Ericsson K610 : seconded