Sure S^3 wont be cutting edge. But it will be on touchscreen only phones. This was my point. I guess people fall into 2 categories. 1- if you believe that S60v3 is still around in 3 years then it will HAVE to be on non touch screen devices. 2- you believe that S60v3 is not going to be around, then S^3 or something else would be on Nokia's mid to low range phones and all of Nokia's phones would then be touch screen only. I fall into category #1.
I've carried my n82, n97, and now my n86 in my pocket, with nothing but a screen protector. All are, or were in excellent condition. How do you carry a phone of that size when your wearing jogging shorts or a swimsuit. You must be one of those guys that wears a belt to the gym or pool???
I was just pointing out in my original post, my hope that things would trickle down to mid/low range phones. The N95's camera was one of the best cameras out there. That camera module will show up in more and more mid priced phones in the future. Simply because the "cutting edge" will have an 8 or 12 mp camera w/HD video recording. I remember having a 2gb card in my Tmobile SDA and thinking that was great. When I had my N97 w/16gb micro sdhc card, I had 48gb's of memory available. Now that memory is cheaper, I can see all phones in the future having some type of built in storage. 4gb or 8gb minimum.
I spent the last year trying out different phones. Some were decent, some were awful. But, the one thing I learned about all of it, is I just wanted the phone to work. I wanted it to do the things I needed it to do, when I needed it. When I really broke it down, most of the phones out there are filled with stuff I dont need.
I don't need a 4" screen. (or a 3" or 3.5")
I don't need a qwerty keyboard (T9 may not be perfect, but it gets the job done)
I don't need hdmi output.
I don't need 12 mp camera (really 5mp is enough. lets perfect that)
What I need is:
A phone that makes and receives calls. (clearly)
A phone that can merge my mp3 player, camera, and gps into one device.
A phone with a battery that can last a day, or at least have a battery I can swap out during the day.
A phone thats not so large, I can carry it in my pocket at any time, with any attire.
A phone that allows me to communicate via email and twitter easily. But doesnt need to take the place of my laptop or desktop.
A phone that does all of these things, without slowing down. With enough processor speed and memory to make me forget that I'm using a cell phone to do these things.
Thats all I want. and I think I have a better chance of getting it in the next 3 years, than I do chasing all the shiny new toys that come out every few months.