Getting a Camera?

I've been wondering for quite some time now, whether should i get myself a decent camera. Well, some of my friends argued that investing in a camera phone would solve the problem, as my current phone does not have auto focus & flash, though its still a 2.0 mp camera phone.

Typical me, the moment i browse through the latest gadgets across the market, i couldn't resist the temptation. Of course i don't want to burn my wallet on the other hand. I'm still struggling between necessity and desire.

A compact camera would definitely do the trick. Easy to carry around, affordable price (compare to SLR cameras), but do i really need it? I would consider a SLR just to learn photography... oh well...

Can anyone help me? please.....