Need some technological advice.

[A Little Weird]

59. People tend to get downright evangelical about their phones

I'll bet your friends would let you take a look at their phones to get a feel for them. Nothing like getting a first hand look.

Smartphones plans are crazy expensive! If you're not really that big of a phone user and are not really into the apps then you might be better off to get a dumb phone and a Garmin GPS for your car. For a long time, I had a dumb phone and an iPod Touch. The Touch could run most of the iPhone apps but I could only use it with wifi. I did eventually get an android smartphone but I still sometimes (every month when I pay the bill) think it was a mistake to go that route.

If you want to go for the smartphone - I've tried the iPhone and it is pretty cool - easy to use app store with huge selection. But I absolutely despise the on-screen keyboard and the autocorrect. I decided to go for an android phone with a slide out keyboard (Samsung Captivate Glide). It is much easier for me to type on. It still has good apps, it just might take a little more research to figure out which ones to get.

Good luck!