First off, read this book by design guru Donald Norman and you'll know why I was so deeply saddened by the demise of my good friend, the LG VX3100L. For years I resisted the lure of the cell phone and watched smugly as most of my friends got one, each of them felled by a technolust that would end up jeopardizing their last vestige of freedom--namely, time away from the phone.
But then I fianlly broke down and got one... nothing fancy, mind you, just a basic flip-phone with a monochrome display and a very basic OS, but I grew to love it. The form factor was great--it fit perfectly in my hand, felt solid, and it had a faux-leather accent on the top that had a nice tactile quality to it. But like all things we love, it eventually bit the dust. A genetic design flaw, if you will: the hinge broke.
Recently, I was charged with the unpleasant task of replacing my friend, and so on to the Internets went I, and I found my rebound ph0ne, the Sony Ericcson t610. An older phone, i got a used one on ebay, replaced the beat-up housing, and pronounced it "ALIVE!" for about US $40. This time, no flippity form factor. It's a small candy bar that fits in my hand quite comfotably, plus it's got a lot of bells 'n' whistles that appeal to my inner geek (bluetooth, camera, web/email capabilities, etc.). Let's see how long I can keep this one alive.