What should I buy for my next cell phone?

I bought my Motorola V551 cell phone in December of 2005. That is almost five years ago as I write this today.

It's pretty beat up. It has bounced across parking lots, skidded along sidewalks, been dropped hard enough to knock the battery loose, been left outside in the rain and of course has been used and used and used for all that time.

Its only real problem is that it has problems charging. When I stick in the charging connector, whether it is one of the two 110V chargers I keep in the house or the cigarette lighter version that I keep in the car, I usually have to slap it around a bit to get it to start charging. Why that is, I do not know, but it has been like that for some time and persists in that stubborn resistance even after I kindly bought it a new battery a year and a half ago. I feel silly abusing my cell phone, but that's what it takes to keep it charged.

In November of 2008, I did try replacing it with a newer model. This was an ill fated effort.

The problem was mostly that I didn't know what new cell phone to buy, and still don't.

Oh, I know what I want, or more accurately what I do NOT want.

Not a Troglodyde

I know what you are thinking. No, I am not some troglodyte who is going to complain about cameras, internet access and text messaging being spawned by the Devil and not needed by old geezers like me. No, I have need for those things just like everyone else. I may use my iPad and my real camera more often, but now and then I need these on the phone.

Cell Phone Features

Rugged

I wasn't kidding about throwing my phone across parking lots. It's not on purpose, it's that sometimes I throw open my car door too enthusiastically and the phone goes flying out of my hand and bounces away. I am always surprised and grateful to find it still working after that.

Last year in Boston I managed to drop my phone and then did a Chaplinesque hat-kicking routine with it down Boylston street. I am quite sure Johnny Depp was inspired by my performance.

So, my next phone can't be some cheap bit of plastic that will fall apart at the first fumble. I want a tank phone or something very close!

Connectivity

Yes, of course I want Bluetooth. I want Internet, too (but see my comments on Data Plan below).

USB? Fine, if that's what it takes. I'd rather it could just get a wireless DHCP address from my network and share itself, but no harm in USB too, I guess.

I want to be able to transfer photos from my phone to my computer without paying extra to email them. I can do that with my Motoola now, but I have heard of too many people who cannot do this simple task.

I don't NEED the phone to be able to serve as an access point, but if it can do tethering (being able to get Internet access for your computer through your cell phone), that's good because you never know when you might need it.

Data Plan

I don't want to get locked into a data plan.  That is what has kept me from buying an iPhone - well, the price is a bit steep too, but it's the data plan that really turns me off.   I would rarely need it, especially if the phone could do local wireless like my iPad.  

So, no required data plan.  

GPS

Sure, fine.  I already have a GPS but if you can give me better GPS features and a way to mount this in my car, that would be great.

Charging

I don't want to have problems like I have now. I believe that the reason is poor design; my charger is at the left in the photo here and you can see that it uses prongs. My wife's phone charger plugs in - much harder for that too loosen up over time with use and wear.

As I mentioned earlier, in 2008, I briefly tried a LG CU515 model. One of the things I immediately hated was the charger. It looked like a USB connector and went into the side edge of the phone, but first you needed to pry off a little plastic cover with your fingernails. That cover looked cheap, was very hard to get off(especially with short fingernails) and I felt it would soon loosen up, fall off and disappear forever, leaving the port open to collect dirt. I want better than that.

.

Battery and Smart Chip

These need to be reasonably easy to remove and install. No, it is not something you do every day, but I couldn't even open that LG CU515 at all!

There's no evil magic here. It's just like many other cell phones: a little bump you push down on and then slide the cover off. But it would not budge, no matter how hard I tried. I even had my wife try it in case I was just doing something dumb, but no luck. That was the final straw for me - I called AT&T and asked for an RMA to return the phone. They sent one immediately by email,  and I sent back that piece of frustration that very day.

Shopping Obstacles

You can't get information about things like ease of replacing the battery when shopping on line, but the stores don't necessarily have the model variety and choice.  I am feeling frustrated and locked into impotent immobility with regard to purchasing a new mobile phone.

I have looked at friends phones, but I often find them stuck as I am - they found something they liked years ago, but it may not be available today.  This is very annoying.

I would be happy to hear your thoughts on cellular phones, especially if you know of something that might meed my criteria.