Hi Tom.
that's fair as regards price, indeed I've chosen not to upgrade my windows for similar reasons as you know, sinse right now that would cause more trouble for me than not.
With the Iphone however, for me buying android would! be a denial. I debated an accessible phone for a long while, but didn't ever get one because I simply carry a laptop with me most places I go indeed I'm on a train using my laptop right now!
thus, I have access to E-mail, the internet etc without trouble at all, indeed for standard writing as well as playing books and music my laptop is superior to many devices, sinse I'd also need a bleutooth keyboard and most phones and such don't have as much hd space or in the case of the Iphone a convenient way of transferring stuff.
My mobile phone was I said a standard, twenty quid nokia, albeit one with alsightly retro style and actual buttons, (it isn't one of those large button phones, but neither is it one with those undefigned buttons either).
on it I could quite happily call people and get messages, indeed I kept my monthly mobile bill down by not! having the internet or text messages, (indeed most of the time for me text messages would serve little purpose anyway sinse why text when i can E-mail?).
when I finished my phd however, I wanted something fun to do, and I can't deny that a good few iphone games and gamebooks have greatly interested me.
There are also some specific things that, while I can do without them, or could likely find another way of doing, an Iphone would make easier.
for example, I've used a parrot voicemate for the last 10 years as a general personal organizer and phonebook. It's a great little machine, produced as it was back in 2002 before the days when accessible phones with their mighty phonebooks were known. However, i can't deny the machine is getting somewhat worn out, and it would these days be easier for me to use a phone's actual os for my numbers, contacts etc the way everyone else does than make an audio note and have the number or address spoken.
Another thing is a speaking Italian dictionary!
Sinse finishing my phd, I've started learning spoken italian, mostly to improve my singing of Italian opera, but also partly jjust for interest's sake and because it's good to know another language. Having supernova read in! italian would be very easy, however having it read both italian and! english as would be necessary to read a dictionary is a more difficult question.
Braille might work, but it'd be a very slow method, and Furthermore I don't actually want to write! in italian or worry about wonky spelling, speaking it will be enough for me.
So, when i learnt the Iphone can translate spoken phrases, I thought this would be a perfect solution, sinse if I understand the rules and gramar of the language I can simply say what word I want in italian translated, and then construct the sentences myself.
Again though, for that I'd need an Iphone, ---- indeed I've not looked into this yet but I think I might even need siri specifically.
So for me, even though i am fully cognicent of apple's general evilness, I have gone for the Iphone for what it can do. an android phone would do less, just as any system other than xp at the moment would do less, whatever I might think of linux.
I would personally recommend the Iphone on the basis of what it does, indeed even more so now I've actually got it doing! what I want it to, but if someone has other requirements, price not the least, fair enough.
With our dreaming and singing, Ceaseless and sorrowless we! The glory about us clinging Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing; O men! It must ever be
That we dwell in our dreaming and singing, A little apart from ye. (Arthur O'Shaughnessy 1873.)
the ability to make/recieve calls and send text messages. in that regard, nokia is as good as any other.and that's all I use my phone for. so if it proves to be that I can not buy and play games,alas.
this is a bit confuseing that's all. why the hell not have just a centralised store where people can buy apps from. 
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