I've been waiting for the 'smart phone wars' to settle down and lower prices also. So far, I've just used phones for talking and txting and now that I am seeing them everywhere, I think I'm going shopping for one......but which one?/ too many to choose from....

What I am looking for is user friendliness, access to free aps, touch screen, durability and reliability, decent camera and hopefully with flash. and most importantly......decent cost [under 10kthb]

I live in CM....just outside the fringe of the 3g coverage, but it should expand{?} hopefully in the future......so I will mostly be using 'edge', correct??

That rules out 'I phone', right?

But what are the best alternatives??/ and why??

I see a lot of samsung, lg and others....which will give me the best bang for my thb and best support in LOS??....remember under 10kthb and with open sim.

And another dummie question.....with those larger screens, are they more fragile?? can you carry them in your back pocket??

About iPhone on edge it is fine for web, email, and most apps, including satnav/gps. I use an iPhone 4 on AIS unlimited data plan, 839/month, and am also currently using its personal wifi hotspot for my PC connection, fast enough for everyday things, like Thai Visa.

Samsung Galaxy Cooper S5830 .

There are a lot of smartphone threads here, some with a lot of great info. Maybe have a read through those, narrow your focus, then ask for specific recommendations?

But, what's an Iphone 4 go for here now and is it totally compatable with my pc and notebook, both windows XP? and is it open sim??

First of all I'm not going to tell you what to buy only my experience. I bought my first smartphone 2 months ago, a HTC Wildfire for 8900 baht.

It runs Android 2.2 and has an excellent selection of free apps. The camera is 5 megapixels with flash, the camera is on the back so if video calling (i.e. Skype) is something you require it won't work.

I'm very impressed with most of the package, the only problem I have is the touch keyboard because I have fat fingers, I'm currently trying other keyboards.

As for apps pretty much the same as the iphone, loads to choose from on the Android Market. I also added a 32Gb microSD card for storage, which is great because I can load lots of MP3 music and play it with the Android version of Winamp.

I am also in a non-3G area but I find Edge okay for use when outside, at home I have wireless lan setup and connect the phone to the internet via that when in range.

Battery life is good, and with the standard 3.5mm headphone jack I can use standard headphones or even external speakers.

The reason I chose Android over Apple is simple, cost, although I realize that it is possible to buy good secondhand iphones in BKK I live too far away to make it viable. Also I am a fan of Open Source and feel Apple maybe a little restrictive.

A good place to see reviews is youtube just search for the model you are interested in and there will be a number of video reviews.

a HTC Wildfire for 8900 baht.

Was considering recommending the Wildfire (900/2100 3G) or Wildfire S (newer version, 850/2100 3G), but given the smallish screen and lame-ish processor I just couldn't. HTC models in every segment seem to under-perform (or price exceed) the competition by 25%, or more.

iPhones are like 20,000, not sure why they're even mentioned given the OP's primary price point?

If daring, go for the WellCom A99.