In my previous cell phone post I listed some of the details of my current cell phone situation. This time I would like to go over what I’m looking for this time around. I think another bulleted list is in order.

What I’m looking for

• I would like to keep my current plan. As I said before, I get 600/5000 per month now for $39.99. Cingular’s current $39.99 plan only offers 450/5000.
• Although we currently have identical phones, this time I’m looking for something a little more “advanced”.
• A decent camera for those spur of the moment type pictures.
• Possibly video recording functionality.
• I’m not a bit texter so a full qwerty really isn’t necessary I don’t think.
• The ability to play MP3′s in some form or fashion would be nice.
• Some phones have an FM radio tuner. How well do those work?
• Bluetooth capable.
• Speakerphone.

Those are some of the high points on the list as far as the features I’m looking for. Now I want to cover the sites that I use when I’m researching my cell phone purchases. First up is Phone Scoop. This is a really good site for reading user submitted reviews of almost every phone on the market and even some that aren’t yet. You can search by carrier, manufacturer, or even using a feature checklist. In addition to the reviews there are forums available to discuss the phones as well. Highly recommended site.

Next is HowardForums.com. This is an absolutely huge site. It is a forum that has category listings for every carrier, manufacturer, and pretty much every individual cell phone. It’s not as easy to find individual reviews for specific phones here but you can read all the discussions, or even submit your own question if you’re having a problem.

Two other sites I want to quickly mention are CNET.com and Amazon.com. CNET has been around forever and they post one or two minute videos with a quick description of a lot of the current cell phones on the market. This is a good way to see what the phone looks like in someones hand without having to go to your local store. (I know what you are thinking, and no there isn’t a referral in that Amazon link.) I only mention it because of the user submitted reviews. Go check those out as well before buying that new toy. These are some of the tools I will be using before making my purchase. Hope you get some use out of those. If you have some other sites you like to use submit them in the comments.