I, too, am looking for a smartphone

[Cres]

Hello,
I'm guessing this is a pretty common topic here, yet i'd really appreciate it if someone could help me figure out which smartphone can suit my needs the best.
Originally, all I cared about was for the OS to be Android. I surfed the web searching for recommended phones, and I read about two issues which made me think I should actually wait and not buy a phone yet - those are the transition into dual core cell phones (which is only starting now), and the release of Android 2.3. I'm not really sure whether Phones which run Android 2.2 can upgrade (or will be upgraded) to 2.3, but for that matter if they do, I wouldn't mind having 2.2 "for the moment" - but it seems like this upgrade is pretty cruicial, so I wouldn't want a phone which won't be able to upgrade.

Besides the OS and having dual core (which also seems like a 'major' leap which i wouldn't want to miss out on), I only care about having a 'good' video camera (Something with relatively good FPS and resolution..)

another thing is, the phone can't be attached to one specific carrier.. I mean to buy it abroad and then use it in my home country, which is not the states.

I'm guessing my price range is about 400-600$..? I wouldn't mind going higher for the right phone. It's just that so far I could barely find any dual-core smartphones..

I read about the LG Optimus 2, which is said to have a flakey software (what does that mean exactly? Do the various critices refer to the OS or something else..? I don't fully understand that..). And I also saw Motorolla Atrix, but I dispise Motorolla, so I'd really rather avoid that.
From what I've read, HTC seems to be the most popular manufacturer, so I definitely wouldn't mind having one of theirs.

umm well that all the info I have to give away. I realize there might not be any cell phones in the market which fit my request, but if you happen to know of one which is supposed to come out in the future, i'd appreciate that information too.

Thanks,
Cres

[LandSurveyor]

It would help to know which country and what carrier you would use there. Devices normally only operate on certain frequencies for data.
I assume a GSM device would be the most likely choice for a "world phone." But that still leaves the question about data. For example, one can buy an unlocked GSM phone here and use it on either the T-Mobile USA network or on AT&T but since they use different data transmission frequencies, you would, at best, be able to use EDGE technology on both.

I don't know if CDMA phones for the US market can use any of the CDMA markets in places like Australia or China.

[Cres]

Well, I'm not really too knowledgeable about the different networks you just named, and I have no idea which one my carrier uses..
I live in Israel, and my carrier is "Orange" (/"Partner"), if that's any help..
I think they use "normal 3G" networks.. "GSM" definitely sounds familiar..

Thanks again.

[LandSurveyor]

Well, Orange in Israel is definitely 900/1800 GSM but I can't seem to find out which bands are used for data.

If you didn't have it already, here is their website:
http://www.orange.co.il/he-il/cellular/

Of course it's in Hebrew, which I can't read but maybe it will have more information. If not directly about their network, many times the specs on the phones theselves will give this information.

I hope this is some help.

[orca3000]

850 Mhz and 2100 Mhz UMTS.

http://www.gsmarena.com/network-band...Country=ISRAEL