htc desire works fine for me, get a decent flip or silcone case and will protect against most knocks, water is a different thing
battery useage is a minus, so second battery is ideal
the plus for me, free entry into geocaching, can also use "glympse" to email/text contacts i have found a cache and attach picture in sat or map view
plus all the web based info is on the phone, not sure what gps would have all the same functions and what price
the ideal would be to have both