Smart/Cell Phones
Top 5:
1. Apple iPhone 3GS – 32GB – black (AT&T)
The good: The iPhone 3GS finally adds common cell phone features like multimedia messaging, video recording, and voice dialing. It runs faster; its promised battery life is longer; and the multimedia quality continues to shine.
The bad: The iPhone 3GS’ call quality shows no improvements and the 3G signal reception remains uneven. We still don’t get Flash Lite, USB transfer and storage, or multitasking.
The bottom line: The iPhone 3GS doesn’t make the same grand leap that the iPhone 3G made from the first-generation model, but the latest Apple handset is still a compelling upgrade for some users. The iPhone 3GS is faster and we appreciate the new features and extended battery life, but call quality and 3G reception still need improvement.
2. Motorola Droid (Verizon Wireless)
The good: The Motorola Droid boasts a gorgeous display and the benefits of Android 2.0, including a faster Web browser, Google Maps Navigation app, and better messaging and contact management. It also offers excellent call quality, long talk time, and improved speed over previous Android devices.
The bad: The QWERTY keyboard feels flat and the dialpad control is restricted to the home screen. Music and video capabilities still trail behind the competition. Dual-mode functionality for world-roaming capabilities would have been a nice addition. The Droid does not support Bluetooth voice dialing.
The bottom line: Despite some design issues and a couple of missing features, the Motorola Droid is the most powerful and fastest Google Android device to date. It fully embraces the openness of the Android platform and offers Verizon customers a smartphone that certainly rivals the other touch-screen devices on the market.
3. HTC Nexus One by Google (unlocked)
The good: The Nexus One has a gorgeous display, a lightning-fast processor, and a loaded feature set. The enhanced voice capabilities worked flawlessly, and the phone delivers solid performance.
The bad: Like other Android phones, the Nexus One forces you to store apps on the internal memory. The media player remains average, and it’s missing some wanted features like hands-free Bluetooth dialing. Currently, Outlook Calendar syncing is not available.
The bottom line: It doesn’t have all the features we’d like, but the Nexus One greatly enhances the Google Android family with a fast processor, good call quality, and improved voice control features. What’s more, we love that all versions of the phone will be unlocked.
4. RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 (T-Mobile)
The good: The RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 boasts a sleeker design that includes an optical trackpad, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a brilliant display. The smartphone is 3G capable and offers Wi-Fi with UMA support, Bluetooth, and GPS. It also gets a faster processor and updates to BlackBerry OS 5.0.
The bad: The BlackBerry browser doesn’t compare to the competition. The handset’s compact size results in a smaller display and keyboard, but they aren’t deal-breakers.
The bottom line: The RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 brings T-Mobile its first 3G BlackBerry and improves on its predecessor with a sleeker design and more power. We only wish it had a better browser to complete the package.
5. Palm Pre Plus (Verizon)
The good: The Palm Pre Plus offers double the storage capacity and double the RAM of the Palm Pre. The smartphone also ships with an inductive back cover for Touchstone tcharging and features an improved QWERTY keyboard.
The bad: Speakerphone volume is too soft. We’d like to see a landscape keyboard and camera editing options. No support for V Cast Music or Video. The phone can run a bit hot.
The bottom line: The Palm Pre Plus earns its place as the top WebOS device, improving on the Pre with a better design and performance, and upgraded features. Verizon customers looking for a versatile smartphone to balance their personal and work lives will be well-served by the Pre Plus.
Others:
Samsung Instinct HD SPH-M850 (Sprint)
The good: The Samsung Instinct HD offers a sleek design with an attractive user interface and a brilliant display. Its HD-capable camera is one of the best around, photo and video quality are sharp, and the loaded feature set includes Wi-Fi.
The bad: The Samsung Instinct HD was sluggish at times, and call quality isn’t the sharpest. The Opera 9.7 browser takes some getting used to, and the memory card slot is located behind the battery cover, which is inconvenient. It’s also quite expensive.
The bottom line: The Samsung Instinct HD packs a lot of features and decent performance into an appealing design. But even with all it has to offer, we’d prefer to pay less and get a full smartphone.
Samsung Memoir T929 – black (T-Mobile)
The good: The Samsung Memoir has a handsome and slim design with a styling that makes it look like a camera. The TouchWiz interface makes navigation a breeze and we love that you can upload your photos directly to online sharing sites. The photo quality is top-notch, and the overall feature set is very impressive. It has great performance as well.
The bad: The Samsung Memoir lacks Wi-Fi, its Web browser is not the greatest, and the touch-screen interface takes some acclimation. You are limited to preloaded TouchWiz widgets.
The bottom line: If you don’t mind the price, the Samsung Memoir lives up to its promise as a top-notch camera phone.
Casio Exilim C721 (Verizon Wireless)
The good: The Casio Exilim C721 is slim and stylish, yet it’s military-certified to withstand the elements. It also has an innovative rotating display that makes it look and feel like a camera. The 5.1-megapixel camera takes great pictures. Features include EV-DO Rev. A, GPS, and a HTML Web browser. Call quality is great as well.
The bad: The Casio Exilim C721 requires a dock to sync with the PC, the Web browsing experience is a little clunky, and it’s quite pricey.
The bottom line: If you don’t mind its expensive cost, the Casio Exilim C721 is a sleek yet durable phone with a great megapixel camera and plenty of high-end features.
Sony Ericsson Aino – black (Unlocked)
The good: The Sony Ericsson Aino has a beautiful display, an intuitive interface, great multimedia features, Remote Play compatibility, Wi-Fi, GPS with Google Maps and geotagging, and good call quality. We also like that it comes with a desktop charging dock plus a stereo Bluetooth headset.
The bad: The Sony Ericsson Aino’s touch-screen interface is limited to the media browser, it has no 3.5mm headset jack, and the navigation keys are a little small. Some may find the price tag a little steep.
The bottom line: The Sony Ericsson Aino’s luscious display and multimedia offerings make it one of the better unlocked phones we’ve seen this year.
RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 (AT&T)
The good: The RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 features a sleeker design than its predecessor and adds a 3.5mm headphone jack, a responsive optical trackpad, and an extra-sharp display. The smartphone is fast and offers the full range of wireless options and robust messaging capabilities.
The bad: The BlackBerry browser lags behind the competition in terms of usability and features. You can only download apps to the phone’s main memory.
The bottom line: Though Web browsing is not its forte, the RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 is one of the most powerful and best messaging smartphones in AT&T’s lineup.
Samsung Omnia II (Verizon Wireless)
The good: The Samsung Omnia II boasts a spacious and sharp AMOLED touch screen. Samsung’s TouchWiz 2.0 user interface gives the Omnia II great customization options and is easy to use. The Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone also has advanced multimedia features, Wi-Fi, 3G support, Bluetooth, and GPS.
The bad: Omnia II is a bit bulky; Swype keyboard takes some acclimation; can occasionally be sluggish.
The bottom line: While not the most powerful smartphone on the market, the Samsung Omnia II features an improved user interface and a richer multimedia experience to make it a worthy upgrade over its predecessor and one of the best Windows Mobile devices on the market.
HTC Touch Pro2 (Sprint)
The good: The HTC Touch Pro2 for Sprint offers a gorgeous touch screen, a spacious keyboard, and a 3.5 millimeter jack. The Windows Mobile device also features world-roaming capabilities, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.
The bad: The device is bulky in size and also expensive. GPS acquisition was a bit slow in our tests and ideo streaming wasn’t the smoothest.
The bottom line: Despite the jaw-dropping price tag, the HTC Touch Pro2 is a powerful smartphone that delivers in performance and features to make it one of the best devices for Sprint’s business customers.
Nokia 5800 Xpress Music (Unlocked)
The good: The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic offers a sharp touch screen and compact design, it also features a 3.2-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G support.
The bad: The user interface needs some work including the input and navigation methods. The Nokia Music Store is not yet available in the United States.
The bottom line: The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic offers an attractive design and feature set, but the touch-screen phone has some shortcomings compared with the competition.
