opinions on camera phones?

I get to upgrade my cell phone this week. Because I swill at Verizon's teat, they give me $100 toward one of the phones they're promoting. I really really want to get a camera phone but as usual am having trouble wandering the sea of features and price points. So I turn to you, my loyal readers, for any experience you've had with any of these phones.

My number one issue is price. We're on a severely tight budget, so I don't want to spend money out of pocket if at all possible. Other issues are relative. e.g. obviously I'd prefer a phone with a really awesome camera, but as I already have a pretty snazzy camera this is just for convenience and not worth spending lots of money on. I mean, I'd love to get a Treo but I don't think I can get a special deal out of Verizon for one. :-)

Here are my options as I understand them:

phone	camera	price	comments
Audiovox CDM8910	310Kpix w/flash	$80
LG VX6100	640x480 camera w/flash	$100
Samsung SCH-a670	"VGA" 640x480 camera w/flash	$100	no analog roaming
Motorola V265	"VGA camera", no flash?	$120
Motorola V710	1.2Mpix w/flash	$300	bad reviews
LG VX7000	300Kpixel	$150
Kyocera KX2	1.2Mpix	$220	also reviewed at http://www.livingroom.org.au/cameraphone/archives/kyocera_koikx2.php

(The prices are as listed on Verizon's web site -- I should get $100 off those prices.)

Anyone have any direct experience with these phones? I'm kinda thinking the LG VX6100 looks like the best set of features for the money, but if that one's a real lemon or if one of the others is really fabulous I want to know about it.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

lhn.livejournal.com

The startup and shutdown tones can be (and on my phone, are) turned off. And I like the blinking lights and scrolling graphics. :-) I haven't seen any problems with the user interface, which is at least better than the Kyocera and Motorola I had before it. (My closest approach to Nokia was when my wife had one three years or so ago.)

ronebofh.livejournal.com

Well, let me put it this way: i've never had to crack open a Nokia's manual to figure out how to do something. I could not figure out how to shut off the startup and shutdown tones in either the Moto or LG phones. The "hello moto" default ring makes me want to kill (OK, so does the default Nokia ringtone, but even that's not as jarring as "hello moto").

Nokia's menu hierarchy is simple. I don't remember the Moto's setup, but the LG's was a bloody nightmare. It helps that i've been using Nokias for five years, sure, but i consider a cell phone a simple device and its operation should be, well, simple.

On my LG, it's Settings->Sounds->Power On/Off Tone, which strikes me as pretty straightforward. But as a general rule, I'm not terribly sensitive to UI issues, so I make no claims either way as to how well LG handles it.

I'll admit to already being aggrieved by the Motorola that, by the time i got the LG, my patience had worn thin for shiny shenanigans.

topaz

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