Still stuck on phones...

So, my contract ended 2 months ago, and I'm still paying the £40 a month because I'm unsure what to do.

I'd quite like a new fancy phone, but I can't see anything overly appealing. After spending hours looking at new phones and what they can do i'm none the wiser, and quite confused.

Until now every phone i've had has been a clear upgrade, but I can't see one now. Maybe it's because the "upgrades" are mostly touchscreen and I can't see why that's worth it.

I've been looking at the HTC Hero, the iPhone and the Pre Palm. Unless I was just looking at the wrong picture, I was instantly put off the Pre Palm due to the keys it had, I've had a look at Blackberrys before, and those small qwerty keyboards seem horrible, maybe i've just got fat thumbs but I could never use them.

While I don't use the camera loads on my phone I do listen to music with it. I'm under the impression you're best using iTunes for music on an iPhone, which I'd never do. But I also like the option of using the camera, so going from a nice 5 megapixel camera to a 3, or to one without a flash just seems like a downgrade.

It seems internet is a major selling point, but I don't know if it's just because of the network i'm on, or if the N95 isn't great at it, but I've always been disappointed with the internet. Either things don't load fast enough, or they don't load at all. I've got a YouTube application on there, and it'll lose connection half the time when trying to load videos, and half the time it does load videos the sound and picture are out, sometimes by 2 or 3 seconds.

Addons seem to also be a major selling point, which is why the HTC and iPhone make a shortlist, since Nokia's Ovi service is reportedly rubbish, and I have no idea what you'd get on a Samsung or any of the "what's that called again?" instantly unrecognisable makes.

After being disappointed by the camera and music options from HTC and iPhone I did have a quick look at Nokia and Samsung, and couldn't see any vast improvements. While a better camera would be nice, the one on the Nokia is good enough for me, and to be honest the camera on the N73 I had was quite good as well, but the N95 one lets me get bigger pictures at the same quality, which is great for when I'm going to crop the edges. True I can get more space on the phone, but unless I decide to put my entire music collection on the thing, 8gig is enough, although putting my entire music collection on the thing is appealing.

So it does appear to me that my options of phone I have to choose to keep the same music and camera quality I already have (slight improvement) or have access to some cool gadgets. And while I do like cool gadgets I can't seem many of them being cool enough for the cash.

If I stick with my current phone, I can probably get a contract for around £10 / £15 a month to bail on when something ground breaking comes along, or get some sort of £30 a month contract, put that sim in my phone then sell the new phone and get an instant £200 / £300. All of which sounds alot better than keeping the shiny £300 and wishing I still had my Nokia to take photos.

I'm probably just being thick, but how can the camera on a phone be such a low priority? Two years after getting my phone it's still practically the best you can get. You might argue that I should have a seperate camera, or a seperate MP3 player, or a seperate laptop for internet...

While it does seem to me that the HTC Hero is the best choice for me if I do go that route, I can't decide if the additional benefits out weigh the losing of the camera in flash situations, and the fact I'd be tied to an 18 month contract for probably around £30 / £35...