Hi! Total newbie here! I've lurked this forum on a number of occasions, but have decided to come out of hiding to get some opinions from those in the know.

I need to buy a new smartphone, and I'm currently trying to decide between five different phones:

Blackberry Tour 9630
Blackberry Curve 8330
HTC Touch Pro 7279
HTC Touch Pro2
Palm Treo Pro

I've cut and pasted the questions listed in the rules thread, and have answered them as best as I could.

1. What PDA and/or mobile phone do you use today?

Currently using a Samsung Omnia i910 (for about two months), which I loathe. I've heard so many glowing reviews about it, but frankly, I can't stand it for a number of reasons:

1) I thought I could get away from having a dedicated keyboard, but I was wrong (not the fault of the phone, I know).

2) The lack of having a stylus slot is killing me. Having that thing dangling all the time (can't wait to see what happens if/when the cord breaks) is driving me completely crazy. I tried detaching it, and carrying it separately, but it usually ends up getting lost (or rolling onto the floor) the moment I need it.

3) I find the whole phone to be incredibly sluggish. I'm used to having a few seconds of response time, but it takes almost twice as long (if not longer) for the Omnia to respond (IF it responds - I've had to literally touch/tap something 2-3 times before anything happens, at times). I've turned off the fancy widget screen, and that seemed to improve performance, but not to an extent I'm happy with. I also find that when I'm tapping out a text message, and I do tap firmly, it still won't register many of the characters, and I'm doing a lot of backspacing. My mobile provider says there's nothing wrong with the phone, and there's nothing to fix.

Before the Omnia, I was using an HTC P4000, which I loved; the only downside was that it didn't have GPS capabilities or a 3.5mm headset jack (and, after two years, the keyboard started to die). Prior to that, a Palm Treo 700Wx, which I also loved, but again, no GPS.

2. Are you locked into a mobile carrier (i.e. Verizon Wireless, Sprint PCS, etc.), or do you prefer a particular carrier? Do you know if one carrier has better coverage in places that you need to be? (PLEASE SEE THE CARRIER NOTE BELOW)

I'm in Canada, and locked into Telus Mobility. The phones I've listed above are all available through my carrier. No problems with the carrier itself, have been with them forever.

3. Where are you based? Do you stay in one place or travel a lot? Do you travel internationally... how much and where? Do you intend to use your PDAPhone there?

99% of the time, I'm in my home area or close to it, and I travel very infrequently. Have never travelled internationally yet, although I do spend a week in the US once every year or two. I know the Blackberry Tour is an 'international' phone, but I'm looking at the other features moreso than the international capabilities.

4. Do have a preference of Palm, Pocket PC, Symbian, Smartphone OS, Blackberry, etc.?

No preference. Open to all suggestions. I learn very quickly when it comes to technology.

5. Are you likely to run it the way it came out of the box, or do you intend to load a whole lot of extra applications and stuff on it? Do you know of anything now that you will need to run?

Almost out of the box. I've installed Evernote and Google Maps. That's it. I've been considering installing some sort of Twitter app, but haven't, as of yet.

6. How important is wireless data access, and for what would you use it? (i.e. Web browsing, VPN, Remote terminal Access, Instant messaging, etc)?

I do a ton of web browsing, and use GPS navigation. Data access is imperative. I don't do any private networking, don't use Remote Terminal Access, and rarely do any IMing.

7. Will you need to view Microsoft Office documents on the PDAPhone? Will you need to edit them?

I've used Office on my mobile before, but not often, and I could live without it.

8. Will you need access to an email system?
a)Is it corporate (Exchange, Groupwise,Lotus, Other?) What Version? Do you want email wirelessly or do you want to do it in the office with a sync cable/cradle? Can you get your Corporate email configured for mobile access or do you need to run a desktop redirector?
b)Is it Pop3/Imap? Who is the service provider?

I only use Gmail on my mobile. No corporate mail servers to worry about, and I usually stay away from carrier-specific email addresses. Gmail/POP3 capability/access is a requirement.

9. Do you do SMS messaging a lot (telephone to telephone messaging)?

Yes, every day.

10. Do you want to use a GPS with the PDAPhone for mapping and navigation?

Yes. I'm currently using Telus Navigator, which is standard on all phones I've listed above.

11. What is your size preference.. very close to the smallest cellphone, or you don’t care.. function over size?

Couldn't really care less about the size. It's all about function. I don't need anything dainty.

12. How will you carry it... pocket, belt, purse, etc.?

Inside pocket or belt case.

13. Do you prefer a particular form factor… flip-phone, candy bar, etc?

Either bar or slider. Not crazy about flip phones.

14. Do you prefer a QWERTY keyboard, numeric dial-pad, or stylus?

Must have a dedicated keyboard! I can live with on-screen dialing, but I prefer to type messages with my thumbs on real buttons, and not a stylus. But, if the phone is touchscreen, must have a stylus, and a slot for said stylus.

15. Do you want to play a lot of video games on the PDAPhone? What kinds - puzzles, strategy, action adventure, etc.?

I've been known to play Bubble Breaker and Solitaire out of boredom on rare occasions, but probably wouldn't miss them. No other games will be installed. I save my gaming sessions for my desktop and laptop.

16. Do you want to listen to music on the PDAPhone? What kind... mp3, streamed, etc.?

I'd love to ditch my iPod and have my MP3 collection on my phone (or, part of it, at least). I don't really bother with a lot of streaming music/video, radio or TV. I might watch the occasional YouTube video, but not often.

17. Do you want a camera on the PDAPhone?

Mandatory. I do take a ton of pictures with my mobile. It would also be really nice to have the option to mail said pictures after I take them. I also would love to have a flash, since it doubles as a flashlight on rare occasions. I work in the safety industry, and have had to take spur-of-the moment pictures, and I usually email those pictures to myself (desktop account) as well as anyone else who needs them. I do have a dedicated camera for higher-resolution photos, but at times, I need to take and send some shots immediately.

18. Do you have any other hardware you intend to use with the PDAPhone? Do you intend to use any Bluetooth devices? What types of devices?

I'd really prefer to have a standard 3.5mm headset jack; I know the HTC models have the 11-pin jack, but if I recall, there's a converter I could buy for $20 or so. I do use bluetooth to transfer things from one device to the other, but I'm not fond of the bluetooth headsets.

19. What kind of battery life do you need? (Always near a charger, battery life is not an issue or Need the battery to last several days) How many hours do you expect to spend talking on the phone? How many hours of data?(Web browsing, push email, VPN, IM etc).

Standard battery life is fine. I've rarely run down a battery, and usually have a charger nearby most times.

20. What are your budget limits (PDAPhones range in price from below $100 for older used models to nearly $1000 for high end models without a carrier subisidy)?

I can afford all the models I've listed above.

Additional notes:

Although having an expansion card slot isn't mandatory, it would still be really nice, since I would like to have part of my music collection on there. I do love the amount of internal storage the Omnia gives me, but the sluggishness makes it unusable for me. If the device doesn't have a lot of internal memory, an expansion card would probably be a necessity.

Having an alarm clock and voice command capabilities would be nice, as well.

I prefer larger screens over smaller screens, but would be willing to sacrifice screen size for functionality.

Another bonus would be the capability to sync cross-platform. I have a desktop that's running WinXP, but my laptop is a MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard. I know Blackberry can sync to the Mac (an app was recently released), but not sure about the HTC models. Again, nice, but not mandatory. I can live with syncing to just my PC.

Having a java-enabled browser would also be a really big plus.

The things I do the most with my phone: Text, call, email, photos, calendar/schedule, contacts, surf, make notes, GPS.

If I missed anything, of if anyone has any further questions, please ask. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!