For after sales support, I agree. Apple is tops and this I know from einerxepce. But for hardware that’s tough. The iPhone 4 is a magnificent piece of kit (as I believe you Brits say) and elegant all around, problems notwithstanding. But I’ve always been impressed with the quality of Nokia phones, even though I can’t stand the Symbian software. HTC seems to run the gamut from Mercedes to Yugo, but their Mercedes class stuff is 1st rate. The only Samsung phone I ever owned was the Focus I owned briefly, but other than the gorgeous screen, I wasn’t much impressed by its build quality. Sony also tends to make some stunning hardware look at how impressed you are with the from of the Arc and I find my Xperia X10 to be a quality piece of work. Actually, I am thinking that building quality hardware is relatively easy if a company wants to put the effort into it. But after-sales support is where most companies fall on their faces and I truly don’t recall having having seen any company get that as right as Apple does. Not that they don’t have their fails they sure do as any company that large will. But walk into an Apple store and go to the Genius Bar and there’s a far better chance you’ll walk away impressed than not. (I can’t speak to phone support as I’ve never used it).