I'm actually with Master Hak on this one; the only phone i've really owned is a Motorola T720, which is old as hell but works like a charm.
On my birthday this year, I got a new phone, an LG Shine, but the LCD screen died just a month and a half later. Luckily I kept old faithful, so I still had a phone.
Just today though, i had to commence reconstructive surgery on the battery protective cover, because the tape used to repair an old injury was getting old, brittle and simply wearing off.
I accidentally dropped this phone from the top bunk of a bed, causing an interior component of the cover which keeps the cover on the phone to break off.
Another reason why I needed to do this operation was becasue every time I got a text message, the phone vibrates (rather violently may I add) to the point where it was capable of knocking the sim card inside loose, partly because of the loosened cover.
However, from a purely visible point of view, the phone looks pretty good. I havn't decided whether I wanted to retape the phone yet or leave it in it's current condition, but this is how it currently looks;
If you ask me, stick with the old phone models as long as you possibly can; this guy has served me for many years, and has taken several beatings and drops; the phone battery still lasts approximately 5 days before it needs a recharge.