Getting a smartphone: Nexus S vs HTC Panache. Mobilicity?

Korlash

Hey there,

I'm looking to buy a smartphone right now. I'm living in Toronto for the next 6 years and I was planning on going with Mobilicity. The two high end android smartphones they offer are the Nexus S and the HTC Panache. Can anyone with experience with these two phones offer me some advice? It seems the Panache has better hardware, but the Nexus S has better software (and a better screen), from what I've been reading.

I understand that the Nexus S will receive free android updates. Is that also the case for the Panache? Do these updates really make a difference?

By the way, what are people's experiences with Mobilicity? Is the call quality good in Toronto? Is the data service good? I live in downtown Toronto and I don't intend to do too much travelling, so the restricted coverage doesn't really affect me (also, I figure 20 cents per minute is not so bad). I know nobody in Toronto right now, so it's not like I need one million minutes, but Mobilicity seems to offer the cheapest way to get a phone with a good data plan, which could be really handy for exploring the city and making sure I have internet flowing straight to my veins 24/7. Is there a better carrier out there for my needs? I'd appreciate any advice on this. I'm not too fond on paying full price for the phone, but I figure the phone will pay for itself soon with the cheap plan.

Does smartphone technology move too fast for me to be able to reasonably hold on to this phone for 3+ years and still do fine?

EDIT: Just wanted to mention that the HTC Panache is known as the Mytouch 4G in the states.

Ryna

LOVE my Nexus S. Coming from a Sony x10, whose time and media scape I disliked, and previously from HTC, whose Sense OS I loved, I was a little skeptical with a basic Android OS system, but with customization through the Android market I've made it my own. I can take the best stuff from HTC Sense and add other features to make it what I want, while still keeping up with the latest OS updates independent from Samsung/HTC like I had not been with my other phones. I guess the Camera could be better (my Sony had 8 mega pixel), but compared to that and others I tried out everything seems ... so smooth.

The only irks I have is that it has no indicator light (to tell you you have waiting messages/emails), and it is kinda 'plasticy', something you wont see from HTC..