Motorola A630 (Unlocked)

I understand this A630 model is no longer available - but if you can find it, get it, provided these are the features you would want:

I keep my phone on 'vibrate' and it alerts me to incoming emails. That is a service I need, and the A630 is the best of any I've seen. You will like the keyboard - with keys far enough apart to type with the side-tips of your thumbs, at least - And if you are barbie doll high, you can use it as a regular keyboard. But at that height, you don't know what a regular keyboard is.

There are some compromises with the A630: It is, for me, like talking into a potato. I wish that it was more stylish, but it isn't. I'm getting a Bluetooth thingy to descretly stick on my ear, without (hopefully) looking like those dunces who seem to want to look like a motion picture director who has fallen off a sound stage someplace.

But the size of the A630 phone and I have come to a peaceful place. When you open the phone, the size is an advantage - and it feels sturdy. The phone, with T-Mobile's service, will do anything. Stocks, weather, movies, and even maps (although small) - are a great comfort, knowing you can look up that information. But I know you can probably do that with almost any device today.

It's the way A630 does email that finds its place in my heart. I can click open my little phone and it transfers into a computer-look. With only another click or two, I'm writing mail, but you'll stumble around trying to get used to it - like getting a new car with toys - until you finally have a system.

Being able to reply within SECONDS of getting mail is like hitting a good golf shot. You get a free smile, knowing you didn't keep the sender wondering. Nor waiting. And your day is more springy, knowing you don't have to race home to see if there's a problem waiting in your inbox. Okay, "golf shot" wasn't the phrase to use. Sorry. I just like golf and don't hit good golf shots so how did I know.

There may be other phones that give all of this email comfort - I like the looks of some, such as the Treo, but the keys are too close and small. The Sidewinder is like carrying a laptop. The Blackberry has the looks of a Walgreen's plastic calculator. And tell me how you can talk into any of those without looking like Get Smart talking into his shoe. Or a paperback novel.

And with my A630, the keys are hidden. I like surprises. Even though as a phone, it still has the class of a potato, but it's a nice potato. And it stands out like a bug becoming a butterfly when you open it.

Future of the world by me: What needs to happen is the Motorola RAZR designers need to walk into the room and put a keyboard under that RAZR phone. I can see those people without a moment's rest from their familes, who have to be asking for a way to read the tiny letters on that phone.

At the time of this writing, Motorola is coming out with a "Q" - which seems to look like a Treo with Motorloa written on it. I'd stay away from that until the Motorola RAZR designers come back from vacation and spend some time in the design lab looking at the "Q" -

Bottom line summary (didn't think it would ever happen, eh?) Look for a Motorla A630. Buy it and write often to your frineds. Like a garden, friendships need constant attention or they can disappear. This way, when you have a fun meal - take a picture (A630 is a camera phone, too) and attach it to an email, and laugh with your friends. Who knows, they might call you, and you can talk into your potato.