I'm looking for a recommendation for a good, solid phone- last time I went for the looks but boy i regretted it right away.

When my Motorola V66 died I went to a Sony Ericsson T610 over a year ago- and it's been annoying the heck out of me! The noise transmission through my phone is incredible- it amplifies the background noise like a bad hearing aid. For anyone I talk to on my pretty phone the surrounding city noises are so loud that it hurts.
Although the camera in my T610 is underwhelming I did get hooked on the camera feature.

Here is what my new phone should have:
- a phone book with multiple entries per person
- a camera with better res. and better low light capabilities than my T610
- enough memory to let me keep some pics and sms
- no noise issues
- ideally it would let me do sms text-entry in German but it's not a necessity
- any additional features are welcome but not a requirement

I'm also contemplating to change from T-Mobile to Verizon because their coverage is supposed to be better- but they don't operate with SIM cards which seems sort of odd... (well, I like being able to take out my SIM card and replace it with a prepaid when i go to Germany). I live in CA, USA
I also read about Verizon that they replace some/all? phone menus with their own not- so- great software?

Opinions, advice, help...
any input from someone who loves their phone is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!!!

› See More: In search for a solid phone