My current Samsung d900i has email functionality, but I find the menus a bit confusing and the options are too restrictive.

So it looks like I need a new phone. Unfortunately I know veeery little about mobile tech, so what I'm after is a mobile phone capable of checking my email every 5 minutes, and optionally sound an alarm based on the email header/subject or senders address.

Would anyone recommend any particular model for this usage? My budget would be £50 to £80 or so (2nd hand models in this range would be ok). The only other functionality required would be basic phoning / sms usage

At that price range I would recommend a second hand Nokia E series handset, say an E61 or E51. You will have a choice of email programs, but may well find the in-built client sufficient.

hiya thanks for the info, I'll have a look into those models on eBay and see what I come up with