Samsung OMNIA, Iphone 3G

APPENDIX A 8 iPhone Killer Alternatives : iPhone Killer Page 1 of 7

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By admin on Jul 21, 2008 in Blackberry Bold 9000, Garmin Nuvifone, HTC Touch Pro, LG Dare, LG Voyager, Nokia N96, Samsung Instinct, Samsung OMNIA, iPhone 3G

Information Week has list of 8 iPhone Killers that are alternatives to the iPhone 3G.

Their list goes like this

1. Blackberry Bold

2. HTC Touch Pro

3. LG Voyager

4. LG Dare

5. Nokia N96

6. Samsung OMNIA

7. Samsung Instinct

8. Garmin Nuvifone

All of these phones can be found on this website for additional information and we even have many of the phones they don’t know about.

The original post can be read here.

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http://www.iphonekiller.com/2008/07/21/8-iphone-killer-alternatives/ 1/29/2009

Nokia 5800 ExpressMusic reaches 1M shipments : iPhone Killer http://www.iphonekiller.com/2009/01/24/nokia-5800-expressmusic-reach...

iPhone Killer

Most comprehensive iPhone Killer information site

Home About iPhone Killer Advertise Ringtones Sitemap Nokia 5800 ExpressMusic reaches 1M shipments

By admin on Jan 24, 2009 in Nokia 5800

1 of 7 1/28/2009 1:32 PM Nokia 5800 ExpressMusic reaches 1M shipments : iPhone Killer http://www.iphonekiller.com/2009/01/24/nokia-5800-expressmusic-reach...

Who would’ve thought that this first iPhone Killer from Nokia has already reached 1M shipment in just few short months? The original iPhone took almost a year before it had 1M shipment.

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Palm Unveils Its Long-Awaited Smartphone, the Pre Video: Hands-On With the Palm Pre New WebOS Is Palm's Secret Sauce Up Close and Personal With the Palm Pre

Stumble 5 points 15 diggs Yahoo! Buzz ShareThis

Finally, a phone that is SO much better than the iPhone! I can't wait to upgrade from my current palm phone, the Samsung i500, to the Palm Pre.

Posted by: Tomster | Jan 12, 2009 3:44:33 PM

Lets see a GSM unlocked version and the price before we all start drooling over it. Ok - noone has used the phone or its music or video and yet there's so much gushing - lets see the real thing in action and I'll believe...

Posted by: AM | Jan 12, 2009 3:52:54 PM

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2009/01/five-reasons-wh.html 1/29/2009

Seven features that make the Palm Pre better than the iPhone - Boing Boing Gadgets Page 1 of 16

SUGGEST A LINK ARCHIVES SUBSCRIBE JOEL JOHN ROB MODERATION POLICY

Seven features that make the Palm Pre better than the iPhone POSTED BY JOEL JOHNSON, JANUARY 8, 2009 5:52 PM | PERMALINK

There was a glow on the face of every Palm employee we saw today, and deservedly so: the new Palm Pre is a hail mary product. It's probably going to save the company.

And it is, in many ways, better than the iPhone.

Brownlee and I got a little guided tour of a Pre by a beaming executive this evening. (We filmed it; Xeni, Derek, and Wes

from the Boing Boing video team are working on it as I write.) But I'm so excited about the product that I wanted to share my enthusiasm before I forgot all the details about why I am so into it in the first place.

• It feels small and pleasant in the hand. Much smaller than the iPhone, but inexplicably the screen seems big enough. Part of that is the lovely interface that Palm has created that echos a little bit of the old Palm OS in font choice and such, but feels wholly new.

It's a little bit longer than a Treo when the keyboard is extended, but the curving bit makes it seem a nice size.

• It runs Linux. SQLlite is the built-in database. Developers will have to use "web technologies" to make most of the apps, but it sounds like there may still be ways to use closer-to-the-metal languages.

• The animations and interface are gorgeous. They are in many ways busier than the iPhone's animations, and clearly largely cribbed from the bouncy, lively way the

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/01/08/six-features-that-ma.html 1/29/2009 Seven features that make the Palm Pre better than the iPhone - Boing Boing Gadgets Page 2 of 16

iPhone OS moves around, but they look really nice when switching from app to app.

• It has the coolest menu bar I've ever seen. The touchpad actually extends about half an inch below the screen, and to bring up the ever-present menu bar, you push up from below to smoosh it onto the screen, where it rests under your thumb like a Gummi worm. It looks really great and really useful. It is the first clear "impress your friends" feature.

• Integration with Facebook and Gmail looks top notch. Here's the part that got me: if you choose to, you can make your contacts list pull live from Facebook, including their selected profile picture, which means every time your friends call you their image will be their latest Facebook profile picture. Not a huge deal, of course, but a wonderful touch.

• There will be an official app store, but you can still load other apps. Probably. Palm isn't quite sure how syncing with a PC will work, but it sounds like you'll be able to load apps from a variety of sources as well as buying them over-the-air from the Palm application store.

• It's got multitouch, Apple patents be damned. We asked if they were afraid of Apple's claimed protectionist patents for multitouch. They would only respond with a confident smile.

What a pleasing thing it is to see a company that had been all but counted out of the smartphone game come storming back into what I suspect will be the lead.

Update: Oh, one more thing: It has system-wide cut-and-paste.

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#1 POSTED BY COOKEGAWD , JANUARY 8, 2009 6:05 PM

Waitaminute... so you're saying something is better than an apple product? Which is to say something consisting of more good than something which passed through Steve's mighty hand and was therefore blessed? Sacrilege!

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/01/08/six-features-that-ma.html 1/29/2009

Five Reasons BlackBerry Storm Is An iPhone Killer - The Channel Wire -... http://www.crn.com/retail/212100030?cid=ChannelWebBreakingNews

This year's study examined six peripherals categories with the help of 774 North American solution providers. Here are some things to remember when taking aim at peripherals business this year. 20 Strategies To Stay Afloat In Retail This Year Representatives from everyone from Best Buy and The Home Depot to major research houses and financial experts gathered in New York for the National Retail Federation Convention & Expo. Here's a sampling of their advice. Nortel's Decline: A Timeline Nortel Networks filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Here is a timeline documenting Nortel's fall. >>More Slide Shows INSIDE CHANNELWEB Top 25 Executives State of Tech: Storage Tech Innovator Awards Fast Growth Awards Annual Report Cards Tech Encyclopedia State Of Security CRN Fast Growth 100 Marketing Support Services Emerging Vendors VARBusiness 500 Partner Programs Guide Financial Center Salary Calculator Vendor Content Community Solution Provider Locator Lead Generator White Paper Library Blogs Site Map BLOGS The Channel Wire November 14, 2008 Five Reasons BlackBerry Storm Is An iPhone Killer With the BlackBerry Storm, Research in Motion (RIM) Ltd.'s first-ever, touch-screen device, set to hit stores on Friday, Nov. 21, there are bound to be a lot of comparisons with the Apple iPhone as the two touch-screen titans battle it out for smartphone dominance. Both handsets carry the same price: About $200 with a two-year contract. And each operates on its respective carriers' high-speed 3G network -- the Storm on Verizon Wireless and the iPhone on AT&T.

But when it comes right down to it, the BlackBerry Storm will be the superior mobile device and represents a true iPhone killer.

Here are a few reasons why:

1. It has a better camera.

The iPhone 3G comes to the table with a puny 2 megapixel camera and, at the moment, doesn't offer video capture. The BlackBerry Storm, however, features a 3.2 megapixel camera with video capabilities, variable zoom, auto focus and a flash that has the ability to provide continuous lighting while recording video.

2 of 8 1/28/2009 1:45 PM Five Reasons BlackBerry Storm Is An iPhone Killer - The Channel Wire -... http://www.crn.com/retail/212100030?cid=ChannelWebBreakingNews

For many smartphone buyers, a decent camera is becoming a more important component. And the BlackBerry Storm does it right. In the day and age of content sharing, the Storm makes it easy to snap and upload high-quality photos while also sharing video -- a win-win.

2. BlackBerry set the gold standard for corporate e-mail.

While the iPhone is capable of making e-mail look and work pretty much exactly as it does on a home computer and supports e-mail from Yahoo, Gmail and AOL, along with most IMAP and POP mail systems, it's BlackBerry that takes the biggest piece of the e-mail pie.

The Storm continues BlackBerry's 10-year legacy of mobile e-mail, working with BlackBerry Enterprise Server for Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino and Novell GroupWise. It also ties in e-mail access for consumers with most popular personal e-mail services. While the iPhone does now integrate with Microsoft Exchange, it doesn't have the proven track record of corporate e-mail greatness that BlackBerry brings to the table.

3. BlackBerry offers easy access to view and edit corporate documents.

The BlackBerry Storm comes preloaded with the DataViz Documents to Go suite for editing Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files from the handset. For mobile workers, this capability has become a must. The iPhone, however, offers document viewing, but not editing for Microsoft Office applications, though there are downloads available that will enable editing.

Still, having that capability out of the box puts the BlackBerry Storm one more notch above the Apple iPhone 3G.

4. The Storm's touch screen is "clickable."

Maybe a minor feature, but the BlackBerry Storm's "clickable" touch screen could be a deal breaker when considering what smartphone to buy. Sounds a bit petty, but you know you want to check it out -- it's the world's first.

The clickable display responds like a physical keyboard and supports single-touch, multitouch and gestures. The BlackBerry Storm's clickable touch screen depresses slightly when the screen is pressed, allowing users to feel the motion, and is released with a click, similar to that of a physical keyboard or mouse button. The clickable screen gives users confirmation that they have made a selection.

Certainly, someone at Apple central will devise an application that makes the screen clickable, but having the first device with that feature will make it a draw.

5. BlackBerry is launching its own take on the App Store.

Last month, RIM unveiled plans to launch its own application store, similar to the AppStore for the iPhone and the Android market for the Google Android-based T-Mobile G1.

BlackBerry's Application Store Front will enable users to find and download applications to their smartphones. It's set to launch in March 2009. The storefront will let developers set their own prices for applications, similar to Apple's AppStore, and developers will retain 80 percent of the revenue their applications bring in. BlackBerry users will be able to buy directions directly from their smartphones and pay for them through eBay-owned online payment service PayPal.

Apple's AppStore caught flack for offering dozens of applications deemed as useless and unproductive. While there's no proof yet that BlackBerry's application store won't fall into the same hole, BlackBerry has said it

3 of 8 1/28/2009 1:45 PM Five Reasons BlackBerry Storm Is An iPhone Killer - The Channel Wire -... http://www.crn.com/retail/212100030?cid=ChannelWebBreakingNews

plans to allow companies with BlackBerry Enterprise Server or BlackBerry Professional Software have control over which applications users can download and use.

Posted by Andrew R Hickey at 3:12 PM >>More on The Channel Wire

4 of 8 1/28/2009 1:45 PM

Why BlackBerry Storm Is An iPhone (and G-1) Killer Page 1 of 3

Why BlackBerry Storm Is An iPhone (and G-1) Killer Jim Courtney | Wednesday, October 29, 2008 | 12:00 AM PT | 75 comments

Having followed activity in the BlackBerry ecosystem over the past few weeks, I have come to the conclusion that BlackBerry Storm should be called BlackBerry Stealth. Why? With little media coverage, its forthcoming launch is the sleeper play in the smartphone market; it is poised to make major market penetration on its launch later this fall. Let’s look at the reasons:

The carriers: BlackBerry Storm was designed for two major carriers, with proven 3G network performance, who aren’t able to carry the iPhone: Verizon and Vodafone (also coming to Canada on Telus and Bell). This opens up access to several large existing customer bases (70 million at Verizon) with strong presence in both consumer and enterprise markets. For roaming outside North America, the Storm for Verizon/Bell/Telus includes the appropriate European/Asian- supported GSM bands.

A smarter touch screen: It employs new “haptic” touch keyboard technology with three keyboard options: QWERTY in landscape mode, SureType and Traditional 12-key in Portrait mode. Kevin Michaluk’s “First Impressions” review talks about his user experience with the keyboard and its unique features. One example: Hover on a letter and you’ll get other language options for the letter such as “é”. This YouTube video demonstrates the dynamic nature of the Storm’s keyboard.

Enterprise ready: IT managers already supporting BlackBerry within their IT infrastructure will readily accept the Storm as simply one more BlackBerry device. There is a legion of stories building about IT managers’ refusal of employee requests for iPhone support. With its multimedia features, including syncing to iTunes, Storm presents an opportunity to have a touchscreen smartphone that easily meets both business and personal needs.

A BlackBerry App Store is coming: Last week, RIM held its first BlackBerry Developer Conference, at which the 700 attendees learned about the BlackBerry App Store opening March 2009. Unlike Android Market, struggling to get to 100 applications, there currently exist more than 4,000 applications available via various web-based stores. The BlackBerry App Store makes it much easier to purchase applications directly off the device, both existing apps, as well as new ones that will appear as a result of developer support announced during the conference. Some developers will be backed by the $150 million BlackBerry Partners Fund.

Major general-purpose applications appearing for BlackBerry: Several applications I have been using on a Nokia N95 are now becoming available for the BlackBerry. Last week, I saw a demonstration of

http://gigaom.com/2008/10/29/blackberry-storm-should-be-blackberry-stealth/ 1/28/2009 Why BlackBerry Storm Is An iPhone (and G-1) Killer Page 2 of 3

SlingPlayer for BlackBerry (still in pre-alpha, not yet released) on a Bold. Yesterday, there were two announcements: an alpha release of the popular “live-to-Internet” video recording application Qik became available and Truphone Anywhere for BlackBerry became available.

Background processing: While the Storm brings a different user interface, its underlying operating system is still the traditional BlackBerry O/S. I have been using a Bold for the past eight weeks and an iPhone for about three months. One key differentiator is BlackBerry’s ability to handle true background processing of data-based applications. For instance, you can run IM applications, such as Skype IM, via iSkoot, in the background, keeping you up-to-date on IM messages in real time while performing other data applications such as web browsing or checking your email concurrently. On the iPhone, you can make voice calls and play iTunes while looking at an application; otherwise, applications stop running until you return to it. Full background processing on the Storm, as on all recent Blackberry models, not only brings a significant productivity benefit to users but also allows notification and delivery of time sensitive information in real time.

What does it lack? Wi-Fi support. Probably because Verizon does not support UMA/GAN. Yet Wi-Fi is becoming important for creating additional access points in places such as warehouses or high rise buildings, where cell phone signals can become too weak.

Bottom line: Combining the Storm’s feature set and its carrier customer base, along with AT&T’s forthcoming Nov. 4 launch of Bold, BlackBerry Storm is lining up to be the “stealth” contributor to sustaining BlackBerry in its smartphone market leadership position, with a low-key, performance-based approach to the market.

Disclosure: The author has held a minuscule number of RIM shares since 1998.

http://gigaom.com/2008/10/29/blackberry-storm-should-be-blackberry-stealth/ 1/28/2009

Verizon sells 1 million BlackBerry Storms | BlackBerry Cool http://www.blackberrycool.com/2009/01/verizon-sells-1-million-blackbe...

Spotlights

Verizon has done an amazing job of selling the BlackBerry Storm with over 1 million units sold between the November 21st launch and the end of January. This should be an example of how an effective Internet marketing hype campaign can really help boost sales when a device launches. During the days before the Storm, we were privy to countless “leaks” which really helped remind everyone that a cool device was on its way so save your pennies. Perhaps there were other factors at work here too.

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Related Posts: Verizon BlackBerry Storm gets firm release date: November 4th? Verizon BlackBerry Storm to launch November 24th? BlackBerry Storm launch roundup ANOTHER Verizon ‘leak’ points to a possible November 1 BlackBerry Storm release Verizon now sending out BlackBerry Storm emails

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2 of 10 1/31/2009 2:24 PM

Why The T-Mobile G1 Is Better Than The Apple iPhone - The Channel Wi... http://www.crn.com/retail/210603888

This year's study examined six peripherals categories with the help of 774 North American solution providers. Here are some things to remember when taking aim at peripherals business this year. 20 Strategies To Stay Afloat In Retail This Year Representatives from everyone from Best Buy and The Home Depot to major research houses and financial experts gathered in New York for the National Retail Federation Convention & Expo. Here's a sampling of their advice. Nortel's Decline: A Timeline Nortel Networks filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Here is a timeline documenting Nortel's fall. >>More Slide Shows INSIDE CHANNELWEB Top 25 Executives State of Tech: Storage Tech Innovator Awards Fast Growth Awards Annual Report Cards Tech Encyclopedia State Of Security CRN Fast Growth 100 Marketing Support Services Emerging Vendors VARBusiness 500 Partner Programs Guide Financial Center Salary Calculator Vendor Content Community Solution Provider Locator Lead Generator White Paper Library Blogs Site Map BLOGS The Channel Wire September 25, 2008 Why The T-Mobile G1 Is Better Than The Apple iPhone All the hype came to its crescendo this week as T-Mobile, Google and HTC jointly released the T-Mobile G1, the first commercially available mobile device based on the open source Linux Google Android operating system.

The touch screen G1, known to some as the HTC Dream, bears some similarity to the Apple iPhone, which saw amazing uptake with the release of its 3G model. Even the original iPhone, released 15 months ago, still garners a great deal of hype.

And while it's uncertain whether the T-Mobile G1 and Google Android will unseat the iPhone for smart phone supremacy, the G1 is better than the iPhone, though it might not be as pretty.

At the G1's official launch on Tuesday, the main focus was on Google Android's openness and its work with the Open Handset Alliance. Along with unveiling the physical device itself, the Google and T-Mobile teams also launched the Android Market. Similar in concept to the Apple AppStore, Android Market enables third-party application developers to offer their apps to be used on the device.

The Android Market, simply put, is better than Apple's AppStore.

2 of 6 1/28/2009 1:18 PM Why The T-Mobile G1 Is Better Than The Apple iPhone - The Channel Wi... http://www.crn.com/retail/210603888

Google's hands-off approach means there will be no whining about what applications do and don't get picked up. Essentially, a developer can offer his or her application on the market without fees, review or even Google's stamp of approval. With Apple keeping a tight grip on the apps offered in its AppStore -- anyone remember IAMRICH? -- Android Market will be a breath of fresh air.

The G1 may earn a leg up on Steve Jobs' baby because T-Mobile is a better carrier than AT&T. It might come as a surprise, considering T-Mobile currently doesn't support 3G in every major metropolitan area, but the G1 will also support Wi-Fi and 2G networks until T-Mobile gets its high-speed 3G initiative fully up and running. Many potential iPhoners have been put off by the AT&T mandate, which is now in place until 2010, often complaining about the data plan pricing and unsatisfactory service.

While T-Mobile is bound to offer a few dead zones of its own, it has set reasonable pricing on its plans, offering a limited plan for $25 and an unlimited Web and messaging plan for $35. It's estimated that over a two-year period a voice and data plan for the G1 could save consumers nearly $400 compared to similar service for an iPhone. Plus, the G1 comes in around $20 cheaper than the cheapest iPhone model with a two-year contract.

Where the iPhone is sleek and slender, the G1 comes with a little more girth and weight. But the extra fractions of an inch and added ounces are worth it for the physical full QWERTY keypad. Similar in style to T-Mobile's now-iconic Sidekick line, the G1's screen slides up to reveal a full keyboard, with enough short cuts to ease Web surfing and make messaging simpler -- without relying just on a touch-screen keyboard to get the job done.

The G1 also offers multimedia messaging, copy and paste, voice dialing and a removable battery, which the iPhone notably lack.

And for those who buy devices for looks more than functionality, the G1 comes in three colors, while the iPhone hits just two: black and white. The G1 adds brown to the mix.

Both devices also offer a host of similar features and functions. Both have a music player, Bluetooth, GPS, GoogleMaps with Satellite View and Traffic and POP3 and IMAP email. The G1, however, relies on Amazon's MP3 store and the iPhone on Apple iTunes for music. The G1 also wraps into GoogleMaps Street View and a compass mode that orients the screen as the user moves, features the iPhone is missing. No, the G1 currently doesn't support Microsoft Exchange for email, which the iPhone does, but it does offer push Gmail and the device's makers anticipate someone will create an Exchange application for it soon and offer it in the Android Market.

Oh, and the G1 has a 3.2 megapixel camera, a touch higher than the iPhone's 2 megapixels.

Will these reasons be enough to propel the G1 past the iPhone? That remains to be seen. Research firm Strategy Analytics is predicting that the G1 could sell 400,000 units by year's end, accounting for roughly 4 percent of the smart phone market. While analysts at Piper Jaffray have predicted that Apple will have sold 5 million iPhone 3Gs in the past quarter. Surely, Google and T-Mobile have an uphill battle, but its strong feature set and subtle differences could be the boom the smart phone market needed for Apple to find its true rival.

Posted by Andrew R Hickey at 11:03 AM >>More on The Channel Wire

3 of 6 1/28/2009 1:18 PM

Five Things To Like About The HTC G1 Google Phone - Google Blog - In... http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/09/five_thing...

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Five Things To Like About The HTC G1 Google Phone

Posted by Eric Zeman, Sep 23, 2008 01:20 PM

The G1 is an interesting device from smartphone maker HTC. Here are five things about it that are really cool.

1. Capacitive touch screen: The G1 has a capacitive touch screen just as the iPhone does. This means it is very responsive when you touch it. It also has haptic feedback, to let you know you've performed certain actions.

2. Easy-to-Use Interface: The user interface was intuitive at first blush, and didn't leave you wondering, "Why did they do that?" The layout was easy to understand, and simply made sense.

3. Great Google services integration: Seriously, it couldn't be any more tightly knit together. Gmail, Google Map with Street View, Google Search, YouTube, and others are built into the UI and work great.

4. Having a keyboard: I like my iPhone, but typing on it can be a serious pain. The G1 has a real, physical keyboard for typing out e-mails, instant messages, and test messages.

5. Upgradability: The Android UI is open source, and can be upgraded and added to over time. Google, T-Mobile, and HTC pretty much promised as much.

Stay tuned for five things not to like about the G1.

« G1 Phone Arrives; See My Android Phone Photos | Main | Google's Android: A Quiet Revolution »

1 of 3 1/28/2009 1:04 PM

A First Look at Google’s New Phone - Pogue’s Posts Blog - NYTimes.com http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/a-first-look-at-googles-new-...

SEPTEMBER 23, 2008, 2:52 PM A First Look at Google’s New Phone Today in New York, Google and T-Mobile took the stage to unveil the first Android cellphone.

The G1 cellphone from T-Mobile. Enlarge This Image Android, of course, is Google’s new cellphone operating system, which over 30 phone companies and carriers have said they’ll adopt. I’ll have a full review when the time comes—I had only a few minutes to try the phone—but here are some first impressions. Above all, feature-listers will be in heaven. The G1 with Android is clearly intended to be an iPhone knockoff—with all the chronic complaints addressed. Here’s your black slab, touch screen, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, slide your finger to unlock, icons on Home screen, over-the-air downloadable App store and music store, Google Maps, full-screen Web browsing, accelerometer that rotates the screen when you turn the phone 90 degrees, etc. Yet here are the elements some people miss on the iPhone: a physical keyboard (hidden underneath the screen; you flip it out when necessary). A memory expansion card slot. A removable battery. Voice dialing. They’ve even added a feature to Google Maps: in Street View (photos of actual locations taken from ground level), you can hold the phone perpendicular to the ground—and as you turn your body, the photo rotates, too, like a photographic compass, so that it matches what you’re seeing with your eyes. It’s amazing and actually useful, especially when you emerge from the subway and have no idea which way you’re facing. At the same time, the G1 is not an iPhone. More features means more complexity; the G1 has five physical buttons on the face, not one. It’s got a trackball, arrow keys and the touch screen, too. It’s not a multitouch screen, so you lose all those niceties like pinching to zoom in and out. That keyboard and removable battery make the G1 a lot thicker and homelier than the iPhone. And, of course, it’s not an iPod. It plays music, but doesn’t play video at all [UPDATE: except YouTube videos], let alone capture it, and there’s no way to buy TV shows or movies even if the phone could play them. Finally, the G1 comes from T-Mobile. You complain about AT&T’s 3G network? T-Mobile’s 3G network covers only 19 cities so far, compared with AT&T’s 280. But here’s the thing: Android, and the G1, are open. Open, open, open, in ways that would make Steve Jobs cringe. You can unlock this phone after 90 days—that is, use any SIM card from any carrier in it. The operating system is free and open-source, meaning that any company can make changes without consulting or paying Google. The App store is completely open, too; T-Mobile and Google say they won’t censor programs that they don’t approve of, as Apple does with the iPhone store. Yes, even if someone writes a Skype-like program that lets people avoid using up T-Mobile cellular voice minutes. Android is not as beautiful or engaging as the iPhone’s software, but it’s infinitely superior to

1 of 2 1/30/2009 10:04 AM A First Look at Google’s New Phone - Pogue’s Posts Blog - NYTimes.com http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/a-first-look-at-googles-new-...

Windows Mobile—and it’s open. The G1 is only the first phone to use it, the first of many; it’s going to be an exciting ride.

2 of 2 1/30/2009 10:04 AM

State of the Art - A Look at Google’s First Phone - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/technology/personaltech/16pogue.ht...

October 16, 2008

STATE OF THE ART A Look at Google’s First Phone

By DAVID POGUE

The Google phone is real, and it’s finally here. Stand clear of popping corks.

Actually, to be completely accurate, there isn’t anything called “the Google phone.” You can’t buy “the Google phone,” any more than you can buy “the Windows PC.” Google makes the software (called Android), and it’s up to the phone manufacturers to build cellphones around it.

What has its debut on Oct. 22, therefore, is a Google phone, the very first one: the T-Mobile G1 ($180 with two-year contract). Others will follow in the coming months.

The G1 is quite obviously intended to be an iPhone killer. Assessing its success, however, is tricky, because it’s the sum of three parts. Google wrote the software, HTC made the phone and T-Mobile provides the network. What you really need is separate reviews of each.

The software. The Android software looks, feels and works a lot like the iPhone’s. Not as consistent or as attractive, but smartly designed and, for version 1.0, surprisingly complete. In any case, it’s polished enough to give Windows Mobile an inferiority complex the size of Australia; let’s hope Microsoft has a good therapist.

The Home button opens a miniature computer desktop, with a background photo of your choice. A sliding on-screen “drawer” contains the icons of all of your programs; you can drag your favorites onto the desktop for easier access, or even into little folders. You can park playlists, single-purpose “widgets,” Web pages or address-book “cards” there, too, just as on a real computer (which this is).

The Home screen scrolls sideways to reveal more desktop area. You’ll need it once you start downloading programs from the online Android Market.

Like the iPhone store, this market is a gigantic development, rich with possibilities; as programmers everywhere create new programs, mostly free, this “phone” will turn into something vastly more flexible — and patch many of its feature holes.

Better yet, Google insists that its store will be completely open. Unlike Apple, it will not reject software submissions if they don’t serve the mother ship’s commercial interests. For example,

1 of 4 1/30/2009 10:06 AM State of the Art - A Look at Google’s First Phone - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/technology/personaltech/16pogue.ht...

Apple rejects programs that would let you make phone calls over the Internet, thereby avoiding using up cellular airtime. Google and T-Mobile swear they would permit such a thing.

One crucial improvement over the iPhone: a Menu button. It summons a panel of big buttons for functions related to what you’re doing. It’s the equivalent of right-clicking a computer mouse.

This panel offers commands like Hold, Mute and Speaker when you’re on a call; Archive and Delete when you’re working with e-mail; or Rotate and Share when you’ve taken a photo. If you can just remember to tap that Menu button, you’ll rarely flounder trying to find your way around.

Android comes with built-in programs like Contacts, Calendar, Calculator, Music, Google Maps, a YouTube module and chat and text-messaging programs. The Web browser uses the entire, glorious, 3.2-inch screen (480 by 320 pixels); unfortunately, it offers no Flash video. Worse, you have to do a lot of zooming in and out, and the onscreen + and - buttons are much fussier to use than pinching on the iPhone’s multitouch screen.

There are a bunch of minor glitches. For example, you have to deal with two different e-mail programs: one for Gmail accounts, one for other accounts. The Gmail program can view Microsoft Office attachments; the other one can’t. And when you’re using the non-Gmail mail program, hitting Reply puts the cursor in the To box (which is already filled in), rather than the body of the message.

You can’t get from one message to the next without returning to the Inbox list in between. There’s no Visual Voicemail (voice mail messages appear in a written list) or Microsoft Exchange compatibility, either.

Where Android really falls down is in the iPod department. There’s no companion program like iTunes to sync your photos, music and videos to the phone; you’re expected to drag these items to the phone manually after connecting via USB cable to your Mac or PC. More time-consuming fussiness.

Nor is there an online store for music, TV and movies. T-Mobile has worked out a deal with Amazon’s music store, which is a start, although you can download songs only when you’re in a Wi-Fi hot spot. Out of the box, Android can’t play videos at all, although a video-playing program is available from the Android Market.

Some of the goodies in Android will reward the iPhone holdouts: voice dialing, picture messaging, built-in audio recording and the ability to turn any song into a ring tone are all included — no charge.

Those who are Google haters won’t want an Android phone. A Gmail account is required and your calendar and address book don’t sync with anything but Google’s online calendar and address book services.

2 of 4 1/30/2009 10:06 AM State of the Art - A Look at Google’s First Phone - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/technology/personaltech/16pogue.ht...

The phone. The G1 has Wi-Fi, GPS (but no turn-by-turn directions) and a mediocre camera (for stills — no video recording). The dedicated Send, End and Back buttons, and the tiny trackball for scrolling, make the G1 more flexible than the iPhone, but also more complicated.

The big news is the physical keyboard. As on a Sidekick phone, the screen pops open with a spring- loaded click to reveal a tiny thumb keyboard underneath, much to the relief of people who can’t abide on-screen keyboards.

It’s not pure joy, though. The keys don’t click down much. Worse, you have to keep turning the phone 90 degrees from its customary vertical orientation every time you need to enter text. That gets old fast.

There’s also a removable battery. Good thing, too — when all the G1’s guns are blazing (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and so on), the juice is gone in about 3.5 hours of continuous use.

Unfortunately, the keyboard and the removable battery make the phone a lot thicker, heavier and homelier than the iPhone. Nobody looks at G1 and says, “Ooooh, I gotta have that.”

And it’s bizarre that, even though the phone contains a tilt sensor like the iPhone’s, it’s not hooked up to the screen. Turning the phone 90 degrees to get a wider look at a photo or Web page doesn’t rotate the image. You have to do that manually, using a menu or by popping open the keyboard, which makes no sense.

Finally, there’s no headphone jack. (Hello?!) If you want to use headphones, you have to buy and carry a special adapter that connects to the USB jack.

The G1 has very little built-in storage for photos, music and programs. Instead, it requires a MicroSD card (it comes with a 1-gigabyte card). To match the storage of the base-model $200 iPhone, you need an 8-gig card (about $30); to equal the storage of the 16-gig iPhone, well, you’re out of luck.

The network. G1 plans start as low as $55 a month for unlimited Internet use and 300 minutes of calling.

But T-Mobile also has one of the weakest networks. You iPhoners complain about AT&T’s high-speed 3G Internet network? T-Mobile’s fledgling 3G network covers only 19 metropolitan areas so far, compared with AT&T’s 320. And outside of those areas, Web surfing on the G1 is excruciatingly slow — we’re talking minutes a page.

(Then again, the Android mantra — “open”— may yet be the G1’s savior. After 90 days, you can request a T-Mobile unlock code that lets you use it on any GSM network, like AT&T’s or the ones in Europe.)

3 of 4 1/30/2009 10:06 AM State of the Art - A Look at Google’s First Phone - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/technology/personaltech/16pogue.ht...

So there’s your G1 report card: software, A-. Phone, B-. Network, C.

But get psyched. Although the ungainly T-Mobile G1 is the first Android phone, it won’t be the last; Android phones will soon come in all shapes and sizes, and on all kinds of networks.

With so many cooks, it’s unlikely that any of them will achieve the beauty, simplicity and design purity of the iPhone. And it’s certain that none of them will inspire the universe of accessories — car adapters, cases, speaker systems and so on — that makes the iPhone fun to own.

Even so, Android itself is very successful. Clearly, there’s a sizable audience for phones that have the touchy, easy-to-navigate fun of an iPhone, without such an extreme philosophy of feature minimalism. If that’s you, then you should welcome the Android era with open eyes and ears.

E-mail: [email protected]

4 of 4 1/30/2009 10:06 AM

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NOVEMBER 24, 2008, 11:21 PM Omnia Lean and Mean — On Paper

By ROY FURCHGOTT Going by the spec sheet, the new Samsung Omnia is a lean, mean machine. The compact 4.25- by 2-inch phone runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, has both Internet Explorer and Opera 9.5 browsers, a 5 megapixel camera, an optical mouse, stereo Bluetooth, true GPS, Wi-Fi, and it supports DIVX video, which it can play to your TV. The bright touch screen has a tab bar with icons that you drag to the center screen when you want to use them, and the phone gives off a reassuring vibration to let you know that you finger has made contact with an icon. But there are a lot of kinks to iron out. I can’t recall a more challenging keyboards to type on. You have to push a button to call up the keyboard, then if you turn the Omnia, the keyboard disappears and has to be re-summoned. The keys work best when using a stylus, which slows typing to a slug’s pace, and I had to find work-arounds to defeat the predictive speller (eventually I reset it to a friendlier configuration). How much I like a device is directly proportional to how many functions I can run without consulting the directions. The Samsung Omnia needs some work there. But for people who especially love the Window Mobile’s easy integration with their Windows desktops, the Omnia can’t be dismissed.

1 of 1 1/30/2009 10:27 AM

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Mobiledia editors see a lot of phones. And every quarter, they ask Free Cell Pho themselves, "What cell phones would we want to slip in our own Free Camera pockets?" Scouring the latest mobile devices on the market, Free Smartp special attention was paid to design, features, functions, as well as value. What they came up with in the end was the Mobiledia Best Cell Pho Editors' Choice Award for best overall cell phones. Editors' Choi Not every cell phone is right for everyone, and that's why the Editors' Choice list is so Most Popular diverse. Considering a wide variety of demographics, the best devices were chosen in a Best Sellers broad range to ensure everyone can find a cell phone that best fits them, from the businessman on the road to the party animal in the club.

Cell phones chosen for the Editors' Choice Award were selected from devices at the time of Cell Phones B release. Thus older phones may be lacking compared to newer devices. Please make note of AT&T Phones the release date. Nextel Phone Sprint Phone Upcoming Current Discontinued T-Mobile Pho Verizon Wire

Cell Phones B Manufacturer

Apple Phone HTC Phones LG Phones Motorola Pho Nokia Phone Palm Phones Pantech Phon HTC Fuze HTC Touch HD HTC Touch Pro RIM Phones Samsung Ph Sanyo Phone

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Sony Ericsso Sprint / Verizon AT&T International Vertu Phones Wireless

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2005 Q1 2004 Q1 2003 Q1 2002

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Samsung Behold Samsung Epix Samsung (T919) (I907) Highnote (M630)

T-Mobile AT&T Sprint

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Sony Ericsson Sony Ericsson Samsung Z700 C905a W760a

Nextel International AT&T

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HTC Touch T-Mobile G1 Apple iPhone 3G Diamond

T-Mobile AT&T Sprint

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Sony Ericsson Sony Ericsson LG enV2 F305i W980i (VX9100)

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Nokia N78

Nokia 5320 LG Vu Nokia N78 XpressMusic

AT&T International International

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Samsung Glyde Samsung Sony Ericsson (U940) Instinct (M800) Z750a

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Best 5 cell phones

(Jan 29, 2009)

You carry your phone almost everywhere, so it's important that you find the model that's right for you and one that works with your carrier. Fortunately, Kent German CNET is here to help. We've chosen five handsets that Senior Editor we think are the top cell phones right now in any Print E-mail Share Yahoo! Buzz category. If you'd like to drill deeper, follow the links

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at the left for our favorite cell phones in several categories. These lists change frequently, so check back often.

Apple iPhone 3G

Apple's iPhone sets a new benchmark in the race to combine a cell phone and media player into one device. And with the added features of the 3G, model it keeps getting better. Its sleek and user-friendly design, solid feature set and great media performance are sure to please demanding cell phone users. It's missing a few important offerings and the call quality can be variable, but on the whole it's a solid device. Price: Sorry, pricing not available Filed in: Best MP3 phones, Best video phones , Best AT&T phones Read full review

HTC Touch Diamond

The HTC Touch Diamond has an impressive compact design and flashy TouchFlo interface. However, the Windows Mobile smartphone offers more than good looks. It's stocked with wireless options, multimedia features, and productivity tools. Sprint customers looking for a smartphone to balance work and play will be well-served by the Touch Diamond. Price: $199.99 - $199.99 (check prices) Filed in: Best smartphones, Best Sprint phones Read full review

LG Dare

The appropriately named LG Dare presents a few tricks we haven't seen before in the touch-screen phone genre and it has one of the most advanced cameras we've seen. We certainly wouldn't want to call this an iPhone killer since it doesn't have features such as Wi-Fi, and its Web browser and media player aren't as good. However, the Dare is a very appealing alternative for Verizon customers who want a touch-screen phone with a difference. Price: $129.99 - $599.99 (check prices) Filed in: Best Verizon Wireless phones Read full review

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RIM BlackBerry Bold

For those who waited, the RIM BlackBerry Bold won't disappoint. The Bold has an impressively brilliant display, enhanced productivity tools, and excellent multimedia performance to deliver a more powerful and well-rounded smartphone to mobile professionals. Price: $659.99 - $659.99 (check prices) Filed in: Best smartphones, Best AT&T phones Read full review

Sony Ericsson W760a

The Sony Ericsson didn't let us down in the slightest. It first captured our eye at CES 2008 where it was a finalist in the cell phones category for CNET's Best of CES. At the time, we admired its slick design and its laden feature set, which includes a motion sensor, an accelerometer, and support for three UMTS/HSDPA bands. And now it finally has landed at a U.S. carrier (AT&T), we can report that this super world phone offers so much to like that it earned our Editors' Choice Award. If you want a Walkman phone you can't do better. Price: Sorry, pricing not available Filed in: Best MP3 phones, Best AT&T phones Read full review

All top products Best 5 cell phones Best camera phones Best basic phones Best smartphones Best MP3 phones Best video phones Best AT&T phones Best T-Mobile phones Best Sprint phones Best Nextel phones Best Verizon Wireless phones Best Alltel phones Best Bluetooth headsets

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Home Reviews Cell Phones Best smartphones

Best smartphones

(Jan 23, 2009)

You're intelligent enough to know that carrying around a cell phone and a PDA is inefficient. Lighten your load by picking up Bonnie Cha an all-in-one device. Whether you use it as Senior Associate Editor an organizer, an e-mail device, a cell phone, Print E-mail Share Yahoo! Buzz or all of the above, getting a smartphone is a

1 of 5 1/29/2009 6:40 PM Best smartphones - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/best-smartphones/?tag=nav

smart move. Here are our top five picks for these phone-PDA hybrids; we've picked one for each major carrier, as well as one unlocked smartphone. This list will be updated regularly, so sign up for our On Call newsletter. To find ringtones and accessories for these phones, plus advice and tips on how to use them, check out our cell phone ringtones, accessories, and help page.

RIM BlackBerry Bold

For those who waited, the RIM BlackBerry Bold won't disappoint. The Bold impresses with its brilliant display, enhanced productivity tools, and excellent multimedia performance to deliver a more powerful and well-rounded smartphone to mobile professionals. Price: $659.99 (check prices) Review date: Oct 30, 2008

4 stars

Excellent Read full review

Nokia E71

Mobile professionals who need a powerful but sleek messaging- centric smartphone will be well-served by the Nokia E71; just be prepared to pay a price. Price: $390.42 - $464.15 (check prices) Review date: Jul 3, 2008

4 stars

Excellent Read full review

Samsung Omnia

Though slightly more expensive, Verizon customers looking for a touch-screen smartphone will get a better user experience and faster performance from the Samsung Omnia than the RIM BlackBerry Storm. Price: $199.99 (check prices)

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Review date: Nov 25, 2008

3h stars

Very good Read full review HTC Touch Diamond

The HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint brings some nice additions and improvements over the unlocked GSM version--most notably to performance. It's best suited for first-time smartphone buyers or light users, while business customers should wait for the Touch Pro. Price: $199.99 (check prices) Review date: Sep 12, 2008

3h stars

Very good Read full review

Palm Centro

The Palm Centro isn't the innovative product we were looking for from the company, but with its slimmer size, ease of use, and affordable price tag, the Centro is a good option for those looking for their first smartphone. Price: Sorry, pricing not available Review date: Oct 11, 2007

3h stars

Very good Read full review

All top products Best 5 cell phones Best camera phones Best basic phones Best smartphones Best MP3 phones Best video phones Best AT&T phones Best T-Mobile phones Best Sprint phones

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Best camera phones

(Jan 23, 2009)

With a camera phone, it's, well, a snap to share vacations, fun moments with friends, and family outings. Of course, the quality of these on-the-fly shots Kent German is not always good enough to print, but with today's Senior Editor 3-megapixel shooters, that's beginning to change. Here Print E-mail Share Yahoo! Buzz are our favorites. This list will be updated regularly, so

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sign up for our On Call newsletter. To find ringtones and accessories for these phones, plus advice and tips on how to use them, check out our cell phone ringtones, accessories, and help page.

Motorola Zine ZN5

The Motorola ZN5 is the best camera phone we've seen so far. But it doesn't stop there, as it's a good phone, too. Price: Sorry, pricing not available Review date: Nov 2, 2008

4 stars

Excellent Read full review

Sony Ericsson K850i

Though its navigation controls and keypad aren't up to par, the Sony Ericsson K850i is one of the finest camera phones we've seen. Price: $284.99 - $449.99 (check prices) Review date: Apr 28, 2008

4 stars

Excellent Read full review

Samsung Innov8

If you want a camera phone that will blow almost every other handset out of the water, look no further than the Samsung Innov8. Design complaints aside, it's a powerful and eye-catching device that performs well as a phone, too. Price: Sorry, pricing not available Review date: Oct 16, 2008

4 stars

Excellent Read full review

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Samsung Omnia

3h stars

Very good Read full review

Nokia N79

The Nokia N79 might not be the star of the N series devices, but it still shines as a great multimedia smartphone with plenty of features and fast performance. Price: $370.97 - $549.99 (check prices) Review date: Jan 22, 2009

3h stars

Very good Read full review

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Home Reviews Cell Phones Best video phones

Best video phones

(Jan 23, 2009)

Cell phones that play video are becoming increasingly popular. Almost all the major carriers now have 3G networks, which let you to stream video to your phone Kent German through a wireless broadband connection. Quality can Senior Editor vary, so we'll save you the trouble of testing the phones Print E-mail Share Yahoo! Buzz by listing our favorite models here. But 3G isn't the

1 of 5 1/29/2009 6:42 PM Best video phones - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/best-video-phones/?tag=rb_content;contentNav

only way to enjoy video on your handsets. Some handsets can play real television programming, while others can play videos stored directly on the phone. This list will be updated regularly, so sign up for our On Call newsletter. To find ringtones and accessories for these phones, plus advice and tips on how to use them check out our cell phone ringtones, accessories, and help page.

Apple iPhone 3G

The iPhone 3G delivers on its promises by adding critical features and sharper call quality. The iTunes App Store is pretty amazing, and the 3G support is more than welcome. Critical features still are missing, and the battery depletes quickly under heavy use, but the iPhone 3G is a big improvement over the original model. Price: Sorry, pricing not available Review date: Jul 11, 2008

4 stars

Excellent Read full review

LG Vu

Despite a few quibbles with the touch screen, its full features and excellent performance make the LG Vu one of the hottest phones this year. Price: $299.99 (check prices) Review date: Apr 30, 2008

4 stars

Excellent Read full review

RIM BlackBerry Bold

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Price: $659.99 (check prices) Review date: Oct 30, 2008

4 stars

Excellent Read full review Samsung Instinct

The Samsung Instinct stands out as one of Sprint's finest devices to date. It's just too bad its call quality could use some improvement. Price: $99.99 - $599.99 (check prices) Review date: Jun 6, 2008

4 stars

Excellent Read full review

Motorola W755

The Motorola W755's design looks way too familiar, but its solid feature set, ergonomic controls, and enjoyable call and video quality make it a reliable Verizon Wireless handset. Price: $79.99 - $399.99 (check prices) Review date: Jul 2, 2008

3h stars

Very good Read full review

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Best MP3 phones

(Jan 23, 2009)

Looking to add some music to your mobile? Start with these, the best cell phones available with a digital-music player. Besides offering cool designs and Kent German great performance, these handsets give you an Senior Editor excellent way to take your tunes on the go. We'll be Print E-mail Share Yahoo! Buzz refreshing the list as new music phones arrive, so sign

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up for our On Call newsletter to keep tabs on new models. To find ringtones and accessories for these phones, plus advice and tips on how to use them, check out our cell phone ringtones, accessories, and help page.

Apple iPhone 3G

4 stars

Excellent Read full review

Sony Ericsson W760a

The Sony Ericsson W760i is the best Sony Ericsson Walkman phone we've seen, by far. It corrects one of Sony Ericsson's usual design pitfalls while offering a generous feature set and satisfying performance. We can suggest a few tweaks that should make it a winner. Price: Sorry, pricing not available Review date: Aug 6, 2008

4 stars

Excellent Read full review

LG Chocolate 3

The LG Chocolate 3's design doesn't quite match up to its predecessors, but upgraded features like a built-in FM transmitter makes it a worthy music phone purchase. Price: $79.99 - $399.99 (check prices)

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Review date: Jul 15, 2008

3h stars

Very good Read full review Nokia 5310 Xpress Music

The Nokia 5310 continues the fine Xpress Music tradition by offering a satisfying blend of features and performance in an attractive design. Price: $49.99 (check prices) Review date: May 30, 2008

3h stars

Very good Read full review

Motorola Rokr E8

The Motorola Rokr E8 is a top choice for a T-Mobile music phone, if you can master the phone's novel, though slightly quirky, controls. Price: $199.99 (check prices) Review date: Jun 26, 2008

3h stars

Very good Read full review

3 of 5 1/29/2009 6:42 PM

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Apple iPhone 3G (16GB, black) comparison

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CNET editors' 4.0 stars 3.0 stars 4.0 stars 3.5 stars 3.5 stars rating

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2 of 7 1/29/2009 6:07 PM Compare Apple iPhone 3G (16GB, black) to most popular products - CNET Reviews. http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/apple-iphone-3g-16gb/4540-6452_7-33054209-4.html?ta...

features and sharper call The Bold additions and quality. The Verizon Wireless impresses with improvements iTunes App subscribers its brilliant looking for a over the Store is pretty wanting a touch display, touch-screen unlocked GSM amazing, and the screen similar to enhanced smartphone will version--most 3G support is the Apple productivity get a better user notably to more than iPhone. tools, and experience and performance. It's welcome. However, there excellent faster best suited for Critical features are bugs and multimedia performance first-time still are missing, performance performance to from the smartphone and the battery issues that deliver a more Samsung Omnia buyers or light depletes quickly prevent the powerful and than the RIM users, while under heavy use, Storm from well-rounded BlackBerry business but the iPhone delivering its full smartphone to Storm. customers 3G is a big potential. mobile should wait for improvement professionals. the Touch Pro. over the original model.

Similar Compare more Compare more Compare more Compare more Compare more Products products products products products products

Features

Packaged Holster Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable contents Stereo headset

RAM Info unavailable 128 MB Info unavailable 128 MB Info unavailable installed size

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GSM 850/900 /1800/1900 GSM 850/900 WCDMA (Quadband) / /1800/1900 (UMTS) / GSM GSM Band / mode UMTS 2100 / (Quadband) / Info unavailable 850/900 900/1800/1900 CDMA UMTS 850/900 /1800/1900 800/1900 (Dual /1900/21000 Band)

Cellular WCDMA Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable technology (UMTS) / GSM BlackBerry BlackBerry Microsoft Microsoft OS provided Apple MacOS X Handheld Handheld Windows Mobile Windows Mobile Software Software 6.1 Professional 6.1

Talk time Up to 600 min 330 min Up to 270 min Info unavailable Up to 252 min

Flash memory form Info unavailable Info unavailable Integrated Info unavailable Info unavailable factor 32-bit (128K 16-bit (64K 16-bit (64K Color support Info unavailable 262K color colors) colors) colors)

Clock speed Info unavailable Info unavailable 624 MHz Info unavailable Info unavailable

Weight 4.7 oz 5.5 oz 4.8 oz 4.34 oz 0.3 lbs

Height 4.6 in 4.4 in 4.5 in 4.4 in 4.0 in IEEE 802.11b Wireless IEEE 802.11g Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable Interface Bluetooth 2.0 EDR

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Input device Keyboard Trackball Touch-screen Touch-screen Keyboard type Touch-screen Keyboard

Service ATT Info unavailable ATT Verizon Wireless Sprint Nextel Provider

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Verizon E-mail me Wireless when this Verizon $199.99 | In Best Buy Sprint product is Wireless stock: Yes $659.99 | In $199.99 | In available $199.99 | In stock: Yes stock: Yes stock: Yes Buying Best Buy choices Find Apple $599.99 | In Price from 1 Price from 1 iPhone 3G Price from 1 stock: Yes CNET Certified CNET Certified (16GB, black) CNET Certified store store from our store Prices from 2 auction CNET Certified partner, eBay stores

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Home Reviews Smartphones Research In Motion Ltd. smartphones RIM BlackBerry Storm (Verizon Wireless)

RIM BlackBerry Storm (Verizon Wireless)

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1 of 13 1/29/2009 6:23 PM RIM BlackBerry Storm (Verizon Wireless) Smartphone reviews - CNET... http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/rim-blackberry-storm-verizon/4505...

Product summary

CNET editors' The good: rating: The RIM BlackBerry Storm features an innovative touch screen 3.0 stars that provides tactile feedback to confirm your selection. The Storm Good offers dual-mode functionality for world-roaming capabilities as well Detailed editors' rating as EV-DO Rev. A and UMTS/HSDPA support. Other highlights Average user rating: include GPS and a 3.2-megapixel camera. 2.5 stars out of 560 reviews The bad: See all user reviews The Storm's SurePress touch-screen takes some acclimation and the onscreen keyboard is a bit cramped. The smartphone can be sluggish and buggy even after the firmware update.. Speakerphone quality was a bit choppy The bottom line: The RIM BlackBerry Storm may blow in a frenzy for Verizon Wireless subscribers wanting a touch screen similar to the Apple iPhone. However, there are bugs and performance issues that prevent the Storm from delivering its full potential. Specifications: OS provided: BlackBerry Handheld Software ; Installed RAM: 128 MB ; Band / mode: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband) / UMTS 2100 / CDMA 800/1900 (Dual Band) ; ; See full specs

Price range: $199.99 - $599.99

2 of 13 1/29/2009 6:23 PM RIM BlackBerry Storm (Verizon Wireless) Smartphone reviews - CNET... http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/rim-blackberry-storm-verizon/4505...

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: Bonnie Cha Reviewed on: 11/19/2008 Updated on: 12/12/2008 Released on: 11/21/2008

Editors' note: We have updated the review since its original publish date to include changes to performance after installing the official firmware update for the BlackBerry Storm released by Verizon Wireless on December 5, 2008.

The RIM BlackBerry Storm brewed up a lot of hype and excitement as the first touch-screen BlackBerry. The touch capabilities were news enough alone but add to that Research in Motion's SurePress functionality (the technology that makes the screen clickable), an impressive feature list, and the competitive $199.99 pricing, and there were a lot of expectations for the BlackBerry Storm to succeed. However, when the Storm finally blew into town, it was a definite letdown because of the phone's sluggish performance and bugginess.

Verizon Wireless has since released a firmware update that improves some of the issues but not completely. The Storm is a faster, better device after the upgrade, including the responsiveness of the accelerometer, and improved battery life. However, the phone still has various bugs and just doesn't feel quite like final product. There may be subsequent updates that resolve all the problems, but we would have preferred RIM and Verizon waited a while longer to make sure the BlackBerry Storm was stable and solid before releasing the device, even if it meant missing the holiday rush.

Design In terms of form factor, the RIM BlackBerry Storm doesn't stray far from the other full touch- screen smartphones on the market today, including the Samsung Omnia and Apple iPhone. Sporting a black casing with silver accents, the handset is a bit blocky and heavy at 4.4 inches tall by 2.4 inches wide by 0.5 inch deep and weighs 5.6 ounces, so it feels a bit wide when you hold it in your hand and it'll make for a tight fit in a pants pocket. That said, the Storm is a well-constructed smartphone. It has a nice, solid feel and the edges have a soft-touch finish to provide a better grip.

3 of 13 1/29/2009 6:23 PM RIM BlackBerry Storm (Verizon Wireless) Smartphone reviews - CNET... http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/rim-blackberry-storm-verizon/4505...

The RIM BlackBerry Storm is a bit shorter and heavier than the Apple iPhone.

While the Storm's design might not be the most inspiring, the smartphone's display is another story. Obviously, the fact that the Storm is the first touch-screen BlackBerry is news enough, but its 3.25-inch VGA glass display also demands attention for its sharpness and brightness, showing 65,000 colors at a crisp 480x360-pixel resolution. We weren't as impressed with the Storm's screen as the BlackBerry Bold, but it's still beautiful. You can also adjust the backlighting, font size, and type. The Storm is also equipped with an accelerometer, so the screen orientation will switch from portrait to landscape mode when you rotate the phone from a vertical position to a horizontal one, left or right.

Moving onto the touch-screen capabilities, the BlackBerry Storm uses SurePress, so that when you select an application or enter text, you actually push the screen down like you would any other tactile button. You can see a bit of a gap at the top and bottom of the screen, which but makes the phone. In terms of text extry, the BlackBerry Storm features a SureType keyboard when the smartphone is in portrait mode and then switches to a full QWERTY keyboard in landscape mode (See Performance section for more information). When using the keyboard or selecting applications, you do a simple finger touch over the item until it's highlighted and then you press down on the screen to register the action.

The Storm's SurePress touch screen and onscreen keyboard takes some acclimation.

4 of 13 1/29/2009 6:23 PM RIM BlackBerry Storm (Verizon Wireless) Smartphone reviews - CNET... http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/rim-blackberry-storm-verizon/4505...

In addition to the SurePress technology, you can also use a number of finger taps or swipes to perform certain actions. For example, you can tap on the screen twice to zoom in on a Web page or map, or do quick finger swipes to scroll though a page. Also, to copy/paste text, you just touch the screen at the start of the text and then with a second finger, touch the end of the block of text you want to copy. You can adjust the tap interval, hover point, and swipe sensitivity in the Options > Screen/Keyboard menu.

While the SurePress technology is cool, it definitely takes some acclimation. It's not a natural feeling to physically push down on the screen, and we often found ourselves forgetting to actually press down; instead just tapping or double tapping on the letter button or link. You do get used to it after a while though, but as far as e-mail creation or text messages, we missed having a tactile keyboard. We couldn't comfortably type long messages as fast as we wanted and when we tried, the message was riddled with errors. The keyboard buttons are just a bit too small and cramped. If I had problems with my small hands, I can only imagine it would be worse for users with larger thumbs.

You get some standard controls below the display, but we missed having the trackball navigator.

Below the display, you do get a set of tactile navigation controls that consists of Talk and End/Power buttons, a Menu key, and a clear button. Unlike other BlackBerry models, there is no trackball navigator and we have to admit that we missed it. It may be that we're just used to having the trackball, and often we found our thumb automatically looking for the control while trying to scroll through pages and menus. However, even beyond that, we think it wouldn't hurt to have a trackball navigator since it allows for easier one-handed operation. Also, you wouldn't always have to rely on the touch screen and it would be useful for certain operations like for selecting links on a Web page.

5 of 13 1/29/2009 6:23 PM RIM BlackBerry Storm (Verizon Wireless) Smartphone reviews - CNET... http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/rim-blackberry-storm-verizon/4505...

On the left side, there's a user-programmable shortcut key and a micro USB port, while the right spine has a 3.5mm headphone jack, a volume rocker, and another customizable button, which is set as the camera activation/capture key by default. The camera lens and flash are located on the backside, and behind the battery cover, you'll find the microSD/SDHC card holder and SIM card slot. Finally, though not readily apparent, there is a device lock and mute button on the top edge of the Storm.

Behind the battery cover, you'll find the Storm's SIM card and microSD expansion slot.

Verizon Wireless packages the RIM BlackBerry Strom with healthy set of accessories, including a travel charger with various adapters, a USB cable, an 8GB microSD card, a SIM card, a wired headset, a software CD, and reference material. For more add-ons, please check our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and help page.

Features While the RIM BlackBerry Storm might be the first touch screen for Research in Motion, the company wanted to make sure the smartphone offered the same feel and functionality of previous and current BlackBerrys. The Storm runs the latest BlackBerry OS 4.7, bringing an updated user interface much like the BlackBerry Bold and the BlackBerry Pearl Flip. You now get DataViz Documents To Go Standard Edition, so you can now edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files as well. If you want the capability to create new documents, you will have to upgrade to the Premium Edition. We had no problems opening and working on Word and Excel documents, but we can't imagine doing more than minor edits on the Bold or any other smartphone for that matter. Other PIM applications include a Calendar, a task list, a memo pad, a voice recorder, a calculator, a password keeper, and more.

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Home Reviews Smartphones Research In Motion Ltd. smartphones RIM BlackBerry Storm (Verizon Wireless)

RIM BlackBerry Storm (Verizon Wireless)

review user reviews specifications compare shop Manufacturer: Research In Motion Ltd. Print E-mail Share Yahoo! Buzz Part Number: Storm (Verizon)

1 of 8 1/29/2009 6:22 PM RIM BlackBerry Storm (Verizon Wireless) specs and Smartphone specific... http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/rim-blackberry-storm-verizon/4507...

Telecom

Email protocols supported POP3 , IMAP4

Data services MMS , SMS , WWW , E-Mail , Yahoo! Messenger , AOL Instant Messenger , Windows Live Messenger

Modem Integrated Wireless cellular modem

Cellular enhancement GSM , EDGE , GPRS , HSPA , protocol UMTS , CDMA 2000 1X EV-DO Rev. A

General

Dimensions (W x D x H) 2.4 in x 0.6 in x 4.4 in

Weight 5.5 oz

Built-in devices Camera , Music player

Operating System / Software

OS provided BlackBerry Handheld Software

Software included Microsoft Outlook , Web Access , Microsoft Exchange , IBM Lotus Domino , Novell GroupWise

Memory

Installed RAM 128 MB

Flash memory installed 1 GB

2 of 8 1/29/2009 6:22 PM RIM BlackBerry Storm (Verizon Wireless) specs and Smartphone specific... http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/rim-blackberry-storm-verizon/4507...

Input Device

Input device type Keyboard, Touch-screen

Cellular

Band / mode GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband) / UMTS 2100 / CDMA 800/1900 (Dual Band)

Digital Player / Recorder

Digital audio standards MP3 , MIDI supported

Display

Display type TFT active matrix

Color support 16-bit (64K colors)

Max resolution 480 x 360

Power

Battery installed ( max ) 1 Lithium ion

Max supported batteries 1

Talk time 330 min

Standby time 360 h

Power supply device Power adapter

Expansion / Connectivity

3 of 8 1/29/2009 6:22 PM RIM BlackBerry Storm (Verizon Wireless) specs and Smartphone specific... http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/rim-blackberry-storm-verizon/4507...

Wireless connectivity Bluetooth 2.0

Port / Connector 1Headset Type:Interface

Expansion slot(s) total (free) 1 MicroSD

Where to buy

RIM BlackBerry Storm (Verizon Wireless): $199.99 - $599.99

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$199.99 Yes

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HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint)

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Home Reviews Smartphones HTC America Inc. smartphones HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint)

HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint)

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1 of 12 1/29/2009 6:32 PM HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-touch-diamond-sprint/4505-645...

Product summary

CNET editors' The good: rating: The HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint offers better performance 3.5 stars and supports Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A network and multimedia Very good services. The Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone also features the cool Detailed editors' rating TouchFlo interface and has integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. Average user rating: 3.5 stars The bad: out of 60 reviews While performance is greatly improved over the unlocked See all user reviews Touch Diamond, there's still some sluggishness. The virtual keyboard is cramped and may give some users problems. The Touch Diamond also doesn't offer an expansion slot. The bottom line: The HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint brings some nice additions and improvements over the unlocked GSM version--most notably to performance. It's best suited for first-time smartphone buyers or light users, while business customers should wait for the Touch Pro. Specifications: OS provided: Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 ; Band / mode: GSM 900/1800/1900 ; Wireless connectivity: Bluetooth ; See full specs

Price range: $199.99

2 of 12 1/29/2009 6:32 PM HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-touch-diamond-sprint/4505-645...

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: Bonnie Cha Reviewed on: 09/12/2008 Released on: 09/14/2008

The HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint showed up a little early to the CTIA Fall 2008 party, after a certain news outlet leaked the information prematurely. However, our concern wasn't so much over the broken news but, rather, Photo gallery: would Sprint's version be better than the unbearably slow unlocked Touch HTC Touch Diamond we reviewed back in late June? And the answer is yes. The Sprint Diamond Touch Diamond is noticeably snappier, though the Windows Mobile 6.1 (Sprint) smartphone can still get bogged down when too many applications are running. You do get the boost of Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A network and wireless options aplenty, with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS. There's plenty to keep you entertained, too, with support for the carrier's multimedia services and a dedicated YouTube application.

Now, whether we like it or not, the Touch Diamond will and already has drawn comparisons to the Apple iPhone. Is the Touch better? Well, it has many good points. The TouchFlo 3D interface is cool and helps make the Windows Mobile device more intuitive, but you still can't beat the iPhone's ease of use and Web browsing. That said, for Sprint customers looking for a smartphone to balance work and play (serious business users may want to hold out for the HTC Touch Pro) and want more functionality than the Samsung Instinct can provide, the Touch Diamond is a good choice. The HTC Touch Diamond will be available for pre-order starting September 14 and will cost $249.99 (after rebates and discounts) with a two-year contract.

Design By name, the HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint is the same as the unlocked GSM version. However, a number of design changes inside and out make the Sprint model almost like a new device. First, the smartphone has more rounded edges and gets a splash of color with a burgundy back cover that features a smooth soft-touch finish. We were a little torn since we liked the cool prism effect of the GSM version, but also liked the color and feel of the Sprint model. Obviously, style is subjective so your preference may differ, but in general, we'd say both are attractive devices.

3 of 12 1/29/2009 6:32 PM HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-touch-diamond-sprint/4505-645...

The Sprint HTC Touch Diamond's design differs slightly from the unlocked GSM version. The edges are more rounded and it features a burgundy backplate with a soft-touch finish.

The Sprint Touch Diamond is slightly thicker and heavier than the current GSM Touch Diamond, but overall it's still a very compact smartphone, measuring 4 inches tall by 2 inches wide by 0.6 inch deep and weighing 4.1 ounces. It feels solid and comfortable to use, and you should have no problem slipping the handset into a pants pocket or purse.

That said, we recommend using some kind of carrying case in order protect the gorgeous 2.8-inch VGA that dominates the front of the smartphone. The touch screen displays 262,000 colors and has a 640x480 pixel resolution for an extremely vibrant and crisp screen. It was definitely easy on the eyes whether we were viewing images, e-mails, or Web sites.

Of course, the allure of the Touch Diamond is the 3D TouchFlo interface. In general, it works the same way as the unlocked Touch Diamond. There is a toolbar along the bottom of the screen that lets you scroll left to right and launch applications with one touch. In several of the programs--more specifically e-mail, the camera, and music--you can go through your files and messages by swiping your thumb/finger up or down the screen, all with a cool animated 3D effect.

4 of 12 1/29/2009 6:32 PM HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-touch-diamond-sprint/4505-645...

The Touch Diamond's 3D TouchFlo interface and Home screen are customized for Sprint.

The Home Screen and interface has been tweaked and customized for Sprint. You still get the larger clock and you can view such information as upcoming appointments, missed calls, and new messages. The toolbar icons are slightly different, a little more aesthetically pleasing in our opinion, and you also get a dedicated Sprint TV shortcut. As far as ease of use, there's a slight learning curve to the TouchFlo interface. Basic navigation is pretty simple to master, but once in other applications, it can be confusing as to how to return to the previous screen or which swipe motions apply to the specific app.

As for text entry, you can use the onscreen keyboard, which you can switch from full QWERTY to compact QWERTY to phone keyboard or other formats, depending on your preference. Most of the time, we used the full QWERTY mode. It's pretty cramped; we had a number of mispresses and we weren't able to fire off text messages or e-mails with as much confidence or as fast as we could with a tactile keyboard. The other nuisance is when you have the keyboard open, it takes up about half of the screen, so if you're entering text into any field on the bottom half of the screen, it's covered up and you have to use the scroll bar to get back to the section.

Below the display you get some tactile controls, including Talk and End buttons, a Home shortcut, a back key, and a directional keypad with a center select button. The latter is also touch sensitive in certain applications. For example, you can use your thumb or finger to make a clockwise or counterclockwise circle to zoom in/out of Web pages. In addition, you can press the navigation keypad up, down, left, and right.

On the left spine, there is a volume rocker, while the mini USB port and stylus holder are located on the bottom. A power button is located on top of the unit and on the back you'll find the camera lens. We think there are a couple of flaws. First, the USB port serves as the audio jack and though Sprint includes an audio adapter in the box that has a 2.5mm and a 3.5mm headphone jack, we'd rather have the 3.5mm jack just built into the device. Also, like the unlocked GSM version, the Sprint Touch Diamond is not equipped with an expansion slot. True, there's 4GB of internal memory, but for those who have large multimedia libraries, this might be an issue.

Sprint packages the HTC Touch Diamond with an AC adapter, a USB cable, a wired headset, a headset adapter, a belt holster case, an extra stylus, a software CD, and reference material. For more add-ons, please see our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and help page.

Features With the flashy TouchFlo interface, HTC Touch Diamond doesn't seem like your typical Windows

5 of 12 1/29/2009 6:32 PM HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-touch-diamond-sprint/4505-645...

Mobile smartphone, but if you dig deeper you'll find the usual suspects. The Touch Diamond runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition with the full Microsoft Office Mobile Suite for editing native Word and Excel documents, and viewing PowerPoint presentations. In addition, the phone features Windows Live integration, and while you can use Internet Explorer Mobile, Sprint's Touch Diamond also ships with the Opera Web browser, which many argue is a superior mobile browser than IE. Other PIM tools include Adobe Reader LE, a Zip manager, a voice recorder, a calculator, a notepad, and a task manager (located at the upper right-hand corner of the screen) to help optimize CPU and memory usage.

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Showing 3 of 60 user reviews See all 60 user reviews 5.0 stars 27 out of 29 people found this review helpful "cnet can't review phones" by cardfan1212 on September 13, 2008 read more

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Home Reviews Smartphones HTC America Inc. smartphones HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint)

HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint)

review user reviews specifications compare shop Manufacturer: HTC America Inc.

Part Number: MP6950SP Print E-mail Share Yahoo! Buzz Telecom

1 of 7 1/29/2009 6:31 PM HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint) specs and Smartphone specifications - CN... http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-touch-diamond-sprint/4507-645...

Data services SMS , E-Mail

Cellular enhancement GPS protocol

General

Dimensions (W x D x H) 2.0 in x 0.6 in x 4.0 in

Weight 0.3 lbs

Built-in devices Camera , Digital player

Operating System / Software

OS provided Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1

Software included Microsoft Office programs , Microsoft Windows Live , Microsoft Windows Media Player 10

Memory

Flash memory installed 4 GB

Input Device

Input device type Keyboard

Cellular

Band / mode GSM 900/1800/1900

2 of 7 1/29/2009 6:31 PM HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint) specs and Smartphone specifications - CN... http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-touch-diamond-sprint/4507-645...

Display

Display type 2.8 in TFT active matrix

Color support 262K color

Max resolution 640 x 480

Power

Battery installed ( max ) Lithium ion

Max supported batteries 1

Talk time Up to 252 min

Expansion / Connectivity

Wireless connectivity Bluetooth

Where to buy

HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint): $199.99

store price in stock? rating

$199.99 Yes

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3 of 7 1/29/2009 6:31 PM

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Home Reviews Smartphones HTC America Inc. smartphones HTC Touch Pro (Sprint)

HTC Touch Pro (Sprint)

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Product summary

CNET editors' The good: rating: The HTC Touch Pro offers a full QWERTY keyboard and a 3.5 stars gorgeous touch screen. The Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone also Very good offers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and EV-DO Rev. A support as well a Detailed editors' rating nice mix of productivity and multimedia features. Average user rating: 4.0 stars The bad: out of 186 reviews The Touch Pro is sluggish at times. The smartphone is bulky, See all user reviews and there's no standard headphone jack or dedicated camera key. The bottom line: Despite some performance issues, the HTC Touch Pro is one of Sprint's most feature- packed and powerful smartphones for business users. Specifications: OS provided: Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional ; Installed RAM: 288 MB ; Processor: QUALCOMM 528 MHzMSM7201A ; ; See full specs

Price range: $299.99 - $749.99

See all products in the HTC Touch Pro series

CNET editors' review

2 of 12 1/29/2009 6:35 PM HTC Touch Pro (Sprint) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-touch-pro-sprint/4505-6452_7-...

Reviewed by: Bonnie Cha Reviewed on: 11/04/2008 Released on: 11/02/2008

After a slight delay, the HTC Touch Pro for Sprint has reported for duty. Described by the carrier as "the sophisticated approach to business," the Touch Pro mostly delivers on that claim. The overall look of the device and Photo gallery: HTC 3D TouchFlo interface is definitely sophisticated, and there's plenty of HTC Touch Pro features to keep the mobile professional happy--Windows Mobile 6.1, EV-DO Rev. A, Wi-Fi, GPS, just to name a few things . The Windows Mobile smartphone also expands on the capabilities of the HTC Touch Diamond with a full QWERTY keyboard, an expansion slot, and a couple of extra business tools.

Of course, it's not all roses and peaches. There are some design issues, and the smartphone can feel underpowered at times, but we'd say the pros outweigh the cons. It's one of the most feature- packed and powerful smartphones in Sprint's lineup, and offers business users a device that can keep you productive and entertained on the road. The HTC Touch Pro is available now for $299.99 with a two-year contract (after rebates and with a $25-or-higher data plan).

Design From straight on, the HTC Touch Pro looks much like its sibling, the HTC Touch Diamond, with its sleek, smoky mirrored face, rounded edges, and attractive silver trim. Of course, the big difference is the addition of the slide-out QWERTY keyboard, which is a boon for messaging fanatics but also consequently adds some bulk to the smartphone. At 4 inches tall by 2 inches wide by 0.7 inch deep and 5.3 ounces, the Touch Pro is thick and heavy, making for a pretty tight fit in a pants pocket, but it's a more compact device compared with the HTC Mogul. The handset has a solid construction and features a soft-touch finish on back for extra texture. However, instead of a burgundy cover like the Touch Diamond, the Touch Pro has a silver back, which is somewhat plain but a more safe color for the corporate-centric smartphone.

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The slide-out QWERTY keyboard adds extra thickness and weight to the HTC Touch Pro, making it a slightly bulky handset.

The Touch Pro features the same 2.8-inch, 262,000-color touch screen and 3D TouchFlo interface as the Diamond. With a 640x480 pixel resolution, everything looks incredibly sharp and vibrant on screen. The touch screen is responsive and works well with the 3D TouchFlo interface. There is a toolbar along the bottom of the screen that lets you scroll left to right and launch applications with one touch. In several of the programs--more specifically e-mail, the camera, and music--you can go through your files and messages by swiping your thumb/finger up or down the screen, all with a cool animated 3D effect. While the Home screen is set to the Sprint theme by default, you can choose from others in the Settings menu as well as add items to the Today screen and change the background image.

On top of all this, the Touch Pro is also equipped with an accelerometer, so when you physically rotate the phone (left or right), the screen orientation goes from portrait mode to landscape mode. However, there are a couple of caveats. First, the accelerometer only works in certain applications, such as pictures, video, and Web browsing, but not for others like Office documents, Calendar, or e-mail when the phone is closed. We also found that at times, it takes some time for the screen to switch, and the delay was long enough to make us wonder whether the system froze. This was never the case, but the lag got to be pretty annoying. There is a utility called G-Sensor, which you can find in the Settings menu that lets you recalibrate the screen if you think it's off.

The Touch Pro's QWERTY keyboard features large buttons, but they're a bit stiff to press.

The screen also changes to landscape mode when you slide open the keyboard, and you get a

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new menu layout of eight shortcuts (E-mail, Messages, Bookmarks, Web search, Calendar, Tasks, Notes, and Contacts), rather than the TouchFlo interface. To access the keyboard, you just slide the screen to the right, but we found the sliding motion wasn't the smoothest. There's a bit of friction that makes it feel like the front cover is grating against something. However, the phone feels sturdy enough to endure multiple openings and closings, and the screen securely stays in place. The Touch Pro keyboard features large buttons with a matte finish, giving it a nice nonslip texture. That said, we found them a bit stiff to press and again, we noticed a slight lag between the time we hit a button to the time it registered onscreen. We were still able to write e-mails and text messages with minimal mistakes, though not quite as fast we like, and we're pleased that there's a dedicated number row. In addition to the QWERTY keyboard, you get other input options, including an onscreen keyboard (full and compact QWERTY), block recognizer, and transcriber.

Below the display, you'll find some phone controls, including a navigation toggle that's both touch-sensitive and works as a traditional directional keypad.

Below the display you get a navigation array of Talk and End buttons, a Home shortcut, a back key, and a directional keypad with a center select button. In addition to pressing the latter up, down, left, or right, you can use your thumb or finger to make a clockwise or counterclockwise circle to zoom in/out of pages since the control is touch-sensitive.

On the left side, there's a volume rocker and a power button on top. The camera is located on the back, and unlike the Touch Diamond, there is a microSD expansion slot, though you have to remove the back cover to get to it. There's a mini USB port and a reset hole on the bottom of the phone. Unfortunately, like the T-Mobile G1, the USB port is the only option for connecting a headset. There is an audio adapter included in the box, but we'd rather just have the 3.5mm headphone jack built natively into the device. Hopefully, HTC will start doing this in future products. Also, of note, there's no dedicated capture button, which we missed while trying to take

5 of 12 1/29/2009 6:35 PM HTC Touch Pro (Sprint) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-touch-pro-sprint/4505-6452_7-...

pictures.

Sprint packages the HTC Touch Pro with an AC adapter, a USB cable, a 1GB microSD card, a wired headset, an audio adapter, a carrying case, a software CD, and reference material. For more add-ons, please check our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and help page.

Features Billed as a business device, the HTC Touch Pro is fully stocked with productivity and communication options, as well as plenty of diversions for after work hours. Starting with phone features, the Touch Pro offers a speakerphone, voice dialing and commands, speed dial, and text and multimedia messaging. The address book is only limited by the available memory and you can store multiple numbers for a single entry, as well as home and work addresses, e-mail, IM screen name, birthday, and more. For caller ID purposes, you can pair a contact with a photo, a caller group, or one of 59 polyphonic ringtones. The smartphone also has Bluetooth 2.0 that supports mono- and stereo-Bluetooth headsets, hands-free kits, file sharing, dial-up networking, and more. If you want to use the Touch Pro as a modem for your laptop, you will need to sign up for a Sprint Power Vision Modem Plan, which runs $39.99 per month for 40MB or $49.99 per month for unlimited.

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User reviews Average user rating: My rating: 4.0 stars 0 stars out of 186 reviews Write review

Showing 3 of 186 user reviews See all 186 user reviews 4.5 stars 34 out of 45 people found this review helpful "Sprint's Touch Pro is a winner!" by chris1683 on October 26, 2008 read more

50 t

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HTC Touch Pro (Sprint)

review user reviews specifications compare shop Manufacturer: HTC America Inc.

Part Number: PPC6850SP Print E-mail Share Yahoo! Buzz Telecom

1 of 8 1/29/2009 6:34 PM HTC Touch Pro (Sprint) specs and Smartphone specifications - CNET Re... http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-touch-pro-sprint/4507-6452_7-...

Data services MMS , SMS , WWW , E-Mail

Modem Integrated Wireless cellular modem

Cellular enhancement GSM , EDGE , GPRS , HSDPA protocol , HSUPA

General

Dimensions (W x D x H) 2 in x 0.7 in x 4 in

Weight 5.8 oz

Operating System / Software

OS provided Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

Memory

Installed RAM 288 MB

Installed ROM 512 MB

Processor

Processor QUALCOMM 528 MHzMSM7201A

Input Device

Input device type QWERTY keyboard , TouchFLO 3D touch-screen

2 of 8 1/29/2009 6:34 PM HTC Touch Pro (Sprint) specs and Smartphone specifications - CNET Re... http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-touch-pro-sprint/4507-6452_7-...

Digital Player / Recorder

Digital audio standards AAC , AMR , MP3 , WAV , supported WMA , MIDI , AAC +

Display

Display type 2.8 in TFT active matrix

Max resolution 480 x 640

Power

Battery installed ( max ) 1

Talk time Up to 419 min

Standby time Up to 462 h

Power supply device Power adapter

Expansion / Connectivity

Wireless connectivity IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR

Port / Connector 1Video / audio / USB Type:Interface

Connector Provided 11 pin HTC ExtUSB

Expansion slot(s) total (free) 1 MicroSD

Where to buy

HTC Touch Pro (Sprint): $299.99 - $749.99

3 of 8 1/29/2009 6:34 PM

LG Dare (Verizon Wireless) Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/lg-dare-verizon-wireless/4505-6454...

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Product summary

CNET editors' The good: rating: The LG Dare has an intuitive touch-screen interface, an 4.0 stars advanced 3.2-megapixel camera, a full HTML browser, EV-DO Rev. Excellent A, and plenty of other powerful features. It also has excellent call Detailed editors' rating quality. Average user rating: 3.5 stars The bad: out of 393 reviews The LG Dare's touch interface has a slight learning curve, and See all user reviews we weren't too pleased with the handwriting interface. Also, the Web browsing experience was quite disappointing. The bottom line: The LG Dare is an innovative and feature-rich handset with several surprises that sets it apart from other touch-screen phones. Specifications: Band / mode: CDMA2000 1X 1900/800 ; Talk time: Up to 280 min ; Combined with: With digital camera / digital player ; See full specs

Price range: $129.99 - $599.99

CNET editors' review

2 of 12 1/30/2009 7:52 AM LG Dare (Verizon Wireless) Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/lg-dare-verizon-wireless/4505-6454...

Reviewed by: Nicole Lee Reviewed on: 06/27/2008 Updated on: 07/18/2008 Released on: 06/26/2008

One of the most notable fallouts of the Apple iPhone launch last year is the ever-growing trend of touch-screen phones. LG was one of the first manufacturers out of the gate with phones such as the LG Voyager and the Photo gallery: LG Vu dazzling us with features that we couldn't get on the iPhone, like live LG Dare mobile TV and 3G connectivity. Samsung then came blazing out with the Instinct, a phone that directly targets the iPhone with visual voice mail, integrated GPS, and corporate e-mail support. Yet, many of these phones still walked on familiar ground with its design and features.

LG's latest handset, however, dares to take things in a different direction. The appropriately named LG Dare presents a few tricks we haven't seen before in the touch-screen phone genre. For example, you can drag and drop icons to make your own customized shortcuts on the home screen, or you can use a drawing pad to sketch ideas or draw a map, which can then be sent via MMS to a friend. The Dare also has one of the most advanced cameras we've seen on a touch- screen phone--its 3.2-megapixel camera has settings like face detection, noise reduction, panorama photo stitching, and a SmartPic technology designed for taking photos in low light. The built-in camcorder can even record high-speed video and play it back in slow-motion, which is a first for U.S. camera phones. We certainly wouldn't want to call this an iPhone killer since it doesn't have features such as Wi-Fi, and its Web browser and media player aren't as good. However, the Dare is a very appealing alternative for Verizon customers who want a touch-screen phone with a difference. The LG Dare is priced competitively at $199 after a $50 mail-in rebate and a two-year service agreement.

Design Like all touch-screen phones, the LG Dare's design is dominated by a large display covering almost the entirety of the phone's front surface. Indeed, the only visible keys on the front are the Call, Clear/Voice command, and End/Power keys at the very bottom. The Dare is quite a bit smaller than both the iPhone and the Samsung Instinct, measuring only 4.1 inches long by 2.2 inches wide by 0.5 inch thick. It has a stainless steel border along its sides, and a black soft touch surface on the back that gives it a nice grip in the hand. It weighs about 3.76 ounces, which gives it a light yet solid feel.

The smaller size of the Dare also results in a smaller space for the 3-inch-wide display (compared with the 4-plus-inch displays on the other two phones). Though we were fine with it for most

3 of 12 1/30/2009 7:52 AM LG Dare (Verizon Wireless) Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/lg-dare-verizon-wireless/4505-6454...

applications, we'll admit that it deters us from enjoying the full HTML browser (which we'll get to in the Features section), since it means we have to do more scrolling than usual. The display supports 262,000 colors and a 240x400-pixel resolution, which results in a stunning and colorful screen with vibrant graphics and clean text. You can adjust the backlight time, the menu fonts, the dial fonts, the display theme, and even the image of the charging screen. You can also choose animated wallpaper if you like.

The LG Dare has an innovative drag-and-drop menu interface.

Along the bottom row of the display's home screen are five shortcut icons to the messaging in-box, the phone interface, the main menu, the phonebook, and a favorites menu (which is a customizable graphical layout of up to nine favorite contacts). There's also a small arrow icon on the far right of the display (about a third of the way down), which leads to a list of 11 shortcuts that you can select from 51 possible applications. You can drag and drop these shortcut icons to change the order in which they appear. However, the coolest thing is that you can also drag and drop them directly to the home screen. Simply tap on an icon and drag it toward the home screen, and let go. You can then arrange the icons anywhere on your home screen as well.

Going back to the Favorites menu, not only do you have a graphical layout of your favorite contacts, but you can also drag and drop them around the screen. After selecting a contact, you can either have instant access to a new text message or an immediate phone call. You can also edit that contact information on the spot.

Another innovative aspect of the Dare's touch screen is the option for a "scattered" menu interface layout. You can then drag and drop the scattered icons to new positions in the menu. We found this to be quite fun and intuitive, but can't help but think it's rather unnecessary. We would have been just as happy with the traditional grid menu layout (which is a menu style option as well). Throughout the menu interface, you will see a back arrow on the upper left, which will lead you

4 of 12 1/30/2009 7:52 AM LG Dare (Verizon Wireless) Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/lg-dare-verizon-wireless/4505-6454...

back to the previous screen, and a Home button, which will lead you back to the home screen.

Like the Instinct, the Dare offers haptic tactile feedback, which gives tiny vibrations when tapping on the screen. It's very helpful when selecting menu options, since it provides a physical confirmation of the selection. You can go through a calibration wizard to adjust to the screen's sensitivity, and you can adjust the vibrate type (short, double, or long) and vibrate level (low, medium, high, or off altogether). You can also turn on "vibration when scrolling," which sets off tiny vibrations when scrolling up and down lists. We actually recommend this, so you know you're scrolling through a list and not accidentally selecting something.

The LG Dare has a virtual QWERTY keyboard.

This brings us to the touch interface itself. While we largely enjoyed the touch interface experience, we have to admit there is still a slight learning curve. Often we would select something without meaning to, especially when scrolling up and down lists or dragging icons around. The touch interface is certainly more sensitive than we thought it would be, even after going through the calibration wizard. After a day or two of fiddling around with it though, we learned to adjust.

We found dialing and texting to be quite easy, even with the touch-screen interface. The phone interface consists of the standard numeric keypad, a voice command button, a handwriting button that will let you "write" the numbers instead of using the keypad, plus two shortcuts to the recent calls list and the contacts list. The keypad features nice big numbers, and after you're done dialing, you can hit either the green Call button, or the physical Talk button on the lower left. There's also a Save key for storing new phone numbers. During a call, a few shortcut icons appear to activate the speakerphone, call mute, send a text message, add a note, connect to a Bluetooth headset, and even voice record.

There are several input options for texting. You can either use the virtual T9 keypad, or you can twist the phone 90 degrees in the counterclockwise direction and a QWERTY keyboard will

5 of 12 1/30/2009 7:52 AM LG Dare (Verizon Wireless) Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/lg-dare-verizon-wireless/4505-6454...

automatically appear. We're then able to tap on each key with our thumbs. Tapping each key will magnify that key momentarily, just like on the iPhone. The keyboard has a dedicated space bar, return button, period, and alias (@) keys, plus a Shift button to switch between capital letters and other symbols. Unlike the iPhone, you can indeed copy and paste text, simply by highlighting with your fingers and hitting a Copy button. However, the Dare doesn't correct your spelling.

The LG Dare has a 3.5mm headset jack.

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User reviews Average user rating: My rating: 3.5 stars 0 stars out of 393 reviews Write review

Showing 3 of 393 user reviews See all 393 user reviews 4.5 stars 69 out of 69 people found this review helpful "Excellent Touch Feature Phone!" by Brisky86 on June 30, 2008 read more

45stars

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1 of 8 1/30/2009 7:52 AM LG Dare (Verizon Wireless) specs and Cell Phone specifications - CNET... http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/lg-dare-verizon-wireless/4507-6454...

Service provider Verizon Wireless

Vibrating Alert Yes

Voice Recorder Yes

Speakerphone Yes

Voice Mail Capability Yes

Polyphonic Ringer Yes

Alarm Clock Yes

Calendar Yes

Additional Features Touch-screen , Handwriting recognition

General

Cellular technology CDMA2000 1X

Band / mode CDMA2000 1X 1900/800

Wireless Interface Bluetooth (A2DP)

Talk time Up to 280 min

Combined with With digital camera / digital player

Digital Camera

Camera highlights With a resolution of 3.2 megapixels, this model will give you higher quality pictures than other phones.

Still image resolution 640 x 480

2 of 8 1/30/2009 7:52 AM LG Dare (Verizon Wireless) specs and Cell Phone specifications - CNET... http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/lg-dare-verizon-wireless/4507-6454...

Digital Player / Recorder

Digital player supported AAC , MP3 digital audio standards

Digital player/recorder type Digital player

Display

Display Type LCD display

Display technology TFT

Display Resolution 240 x 400 pixels

Color Support Color

Color Depth 18-bit (262000 Colors)

Messaging / Data Services

Short Messaging Service Yes (SMS)

Internet Browser Yes

Messaging / Data Features Text messages

3G Services / Included VCAST, VZ Navigator Services

Physical Characteristics

Style Candy bar

Weight 3.76 oz

Height 4.1 in

Antenna Internal

3 of 8 1/30/2009 7:52 AM

LG Vu Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/lg-vu/4505-6454_7-32815554.html?...

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Sponsored Links LG Vu - $0 Get A FREE LG Vu - New Or Current AT&T Customers, Plus Free Shipping! wirefly.com Accessories for LG Phones 80% Off Li it d Ti Cl S l F Shi i C A il bl LG Vu

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Product summary

CNET editors' The good: rating: The LG Vu is a super sexy touch-screen phone with a 3-inch 4.0 stars display and haptic feedback. Features include AT&T Mobile TV, Excellent HSDPA speeds, a 2.0-megapixel camera, a full HTML browser, and Detailed editors' rating quad-band support. Average user rating: 3.5 stars The bad: out of 119 reviews The LG Vu's camera lacks flash, and there's a learning curve See all user reviews involved with the touch screen. Streaming video was a little choppy as well. The bottom line: Despite a few quibbles with the touch screen, its full features and excellent performance make the LG Vu one of the hottest phones this year. Specifications: Band / mode: WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900 ; Talk time: Up to 180 min ; Combined with: With digital camera / digital player / FLO TV tuner ; See full specs

Price range: $299.99

CNET editors' review

2 of 11 1/30/2009 7:56 AM LG Vu Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/lg-vu/4505-6454_7-32815554.html?...

Reviewed by: Nicole Lee Reviewed on: 04/30/2008 Released on: 04/30/2008

The LG Vu has been a long time coming. Ever since we saw the LG Prada early last year, we wanted a similar handset for the U.S. market. Not soon after, we grew jealous of our international cousins for having access to the LG Photo gallery: Viewty, the 5.0-megapixel successor to the Prada available only in Europe LG Vu and Asia. Since then, we've seen the LG Voyager and the LG Glimmer come our way, but we were still waiting for a full touch screen phone from LG. Finally, at CTIA in April 2008, we had our glimpse of the LG Vu, which many have claimed to be the U.S. version of the Viewty. However, its claim to fame isn't its camera--instead, the Vu is one of AT&T's launch devices for AT&T Mobile TV, the carrier's brand new live mobile TV service launching in May 2008. Combined with its stunning design and array of multimedia features, the Vu is definitely a showstopper. The LG Vu will be available for $299.99 with a two-year service agreement after a $100 mail-in rebate.

Design At first glance, the LG Vu appears to be a grown-up version of the LG Prada. It has the same glossy piano-black finish, silver sides, and minimalist style, but it is definitely larger and a bit more rounded on the edges. Measuring 4.24 inches long by 2.16 inches wide by 0.51 inch thick and weighing 3.16 ounces, the Vu is fairly light for its size thanks to its all-plastic casing. The Vu is slim and lightweight, and it can be easily slipped in a pocket or purse without too much bulge. Bear in mind that the glossy finish attracts a lot of fingerprint smudges.

The LG Vu has a 3-inch-wide touch-screen display.

Sitting front and center of the Vu is the very generously sized 3-inch diagonal touch-screen. The

3 of 11 1/30/2009 7:56 AM LG Vu Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/lg-vu/4505-6454_7-32815554.html?...

display supports 262,000 colors and 240x400 pixels, which result in amazing-looking graphics and images that are saturated with color and detail. From the home screen, you can view the date, time, battery life, signal strength, and photo caller ID. When the touch screen is locked, you'll still be able to view the date and time. The display also acts as a viewfinder when the camera is activated. You can adjust the backlighting time, brightness, plus the size of the dialing fonts.

As you would expect, the entire phone's navigation is to be done via its massive touch screen. The touch-screen interface on the Vu mimics that of the LG Glimmer and the LG Voyager, right down to the menu structure. There are four shortcut icons along the bottom of the home screen, and from left to right they correspond to the main menu, AT&T Mobile TV, the contacts list, plus the phone function (which activates an onscreen dial pad). You can also choose to toggle on a Shortcuts Menu, which will bring up eight application shortcuts smack dab in the center of the home screen. The shortcuts correspond to Cellular Video, the music player, a new message, Bluetooth activation, instant messaging, the Web browser, the calendar, and voice command.

As with the Apple iPhone, all of the navigation is to be done via the finger and not a stylus. The navigation is definitely intuitive. It involves finger tapping to select something, and finger swiping to scroll through lists or move across a Web page. A light yet firm touch is required when navigating through the phone, but if you're still having trouble, the Vu comes with Touch Calibration software. There's even a touch-screen tutorial when you first start up the phone, which is very helpful. That said, we still had some issues when scrolling through lists--sometimes we would accidentally select something by mistake. We got used to it eventually, so keep in mind that there's a slight learning curve involved. The Vu also supports haptic feedback, which provides tiny vibrations whenever something is selected. We found this great for confirming a selection, and it is especially useful when dialing and texting.

Speaking of dialing and texting, we found the experience to be quite pleasant. Sure you won't be able to dial by feel, but the numbers on the screen are large enough to hit without too many mistakes. We especially like the texting interface, since the Vu provides an option for a full QWERTY keyboard. When the QWERTY keyboard is selected, the orientation of the screen switches to landscape mode, for easier texting. Also, whenever you tap a key on the keyboard, the key will magnify showing you selected it, much like you would see on the Apple iPhone. Similarly, you can type on the virtual QWERTY keyboard when entering URL addresses in the Web browser.

4 of 11 1/30/2009 7:56 AM LG Vu Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/lg-vu/4505-6454_7-32815554.html?...

The LG Vu has a 2.0-megapixel camera.

Underneath the display is the Call, Clear/Back, and End/Power keys, while the camera key, hold key, volume rocker, and charger/headset jack sit on the right spine. There's also an extendable antenna housed in the top right corner of the phone, which can be pulled out to get better reception on the AT&T Mobile TV service. On the back is the camera lens and self-portrait mirror. You have to remove the battery as well as the SIM card to access the microSD card slot, which we found terribly inconvenient.

Features The LG Vu's standout feature is arguably AT&T Mobile TV, AT&T's live mobile TV service. But before we get into that, let's starts with the basics. The Vu comes with a 500-entry contact list, which we found a little small, but each entry does have room for five phone numbers, two e-mail addresses, and a memo. You can organize contacts by caller groups, pair them with photos for caller ID, and any of 12 polyphonic ringtones. Other essentials include vibrate mode, a speakerphone, text and multimedia messaging, a calendar, a calculator, a tip calculator, a notepad, a world clock, a task list, a stopwatch, and a unit converter. More advanced users will like the full HTML Web browser, e-mail, USB mass storage, voice recording, voice command and dialing, instant messaging, and Bluetooth. Supported Bluetooth profiles include hands-free, headset, dial-up networking, A2DP/stereo, object push, file transfer, and A/V remote control. Though the Vu does have e-mail support for a variety of providers (BellSouth, Earthlink, and Yahoo, to name a few), it doesn't let you enter in your own POP3 address, which we found discouraging.

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LG Vu

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1 of 8 1/30/2009 7:55 AM LG Vu specs and Cell Phone specifications - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/lg-vu/4507-6454_7-32815554.html?...

Service provider AT&T

Vibrating Alert Yes

Voice Recorder Yes

Speakerphone Yes

Voice Mail Capability Yes

Polyphonic Ringer Yes

Alarm Clock Yes

Calendar Yes

Additional Features TTY compatible

General

Cellular technology WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM

Band / mode WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900

Wireless Interface Bluetooth

Talk time Up to 180 min

Standby time Up to 250 h

Combined with With digital camera / digital player / FLO TV tuner

Digital Camera

Camera highlights With a resolution of 2 megapixels, this model will give you higher quality pictures than other phones.

Still image resolution 160 x 120 , 320 x 240 , 640 x 480 , 1280 x 960 , 1600 x 1200

2 of 8 1/30/2009 7:55 AM LG Vu specs and Cell Phone specifications - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/lg-vu/4507-6454_7-32815554.html?...

Digital zoom 2

Video recorder resolutions 176 x 144 (QCIF) , 320 x 240 (QVGA)

Features Self-portrait mirror

Digital Player / Recorder

Digital player supported AAC , MP3 , WMA digital audio standards

Digital player/recorder type Digital player

Display

Display Type LCD display

Display technology TFT

Diagonal Size 3 in

Display Resolution 240 x 400 pixels

Color Depth 18-bit (262000 Colors)

Power

Battery installed 1Lithium polymer

Messaging / Data Services

Short Messaging Service Yes (SMS)

Internet Browser Yes

GPRS (General Packet Radio Yes

3 of 8 1/30/2009 7:55 AM LG Vu specs and Cell Phone specifications - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/lg-vu/4507-6454_7-32815554.html?...

Service) JAVA applications Yes

Mobile Email Yes

Messaging Services MMS , MSN Messenger , Yahoo! Messenger , AOL Instant Messenger Service (AIM)

3G Services / Included EMusic , AT&T Music , XM Services Radio streaming , AT&T Mobile TV with FLO

Physical Characteristics

Style Candy bar

Weight 3.2 oz

Width 2.1 in

Depth 0.5 in

Height 4.3 in

Antenna Internal

Where to buy

LG Vu: $299.99

store price in stock? rating

$299.99 Yes

see prices from 1 store

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Product summary

CNET editors' The good: rating: The Motorola ZN5 offers a fantastic camera with a wide range 4.0 stars of options and excellent photo quality. The plentiful feature set Excellent includes stereo Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, the design is sleek and sturdy, Detailed editors' rating and call quality is more than respectable. Average user rating: 3.5 stars The bad: out of 35 reviews The Motorola ZN5's memory card is located behind the battery See all user reviews cover. The menus can be pokey at times and the camera interface could use a refinement. Also, the ZN5 lacks video editing features and the photo uploading process had a couple of hiccups. The bottom line: The Motorola ZN5 is the best camera phone we've seen so far. But it doesn't stop there, as it's a good phone, too. Specifications: Band / mode: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband) ; Talk time: Up to 574 min ; Combined with: With digital camera / digital player / FM radio ; See full specs

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: Kent German

2 of 12 1/29/2009 6:43 PM Motorola Zine ZN5 (T-Mobile) Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/motorola-zine-zn5-t/4505-6454_7-3...

Reviewed on: 11/02/2008 Released on: 11/03/2008

Ever since the ZN5 was announced in June and then cleared the FCC the next month, we've been waiting with bated breath to get our hands on the fancy camera phone. Monday, November 3, it finally lands at T-Mobile. Photo gallery: Designed in partnership with Kodak (yes, that Kodak), the ZN5 is hardly the Motorola ZN5 first camera phone we've seen, but it's certainly stands at the top of the list. Camera options are top-notch, the photo quality is excellent, and the integrated Wi-Fi makes getting photos off the phone a breeze. Of course, it is a phone too; and on that front it succeeds by offering good call quality. Other features were generous and it's all wrapped up in a sleek and sturdy design. At times, the phone could be a little pokey, but the ZN5 is an appealing device that successfully blends "camera" and "phone." You can get it for $99 with service.

Design On the outside, the ZN5 is an attractive device with a sleek profile and an understated style. Though you might think it's related to the Motorola Krave ZN4, the two devices couldn't be more different. While the ZN4 has a touch screen, the ZN5 has a standard candy-bar design with a full set of physical controls. The dark gray color scheme is nicely offset with a couple touches of purple. The handset feels great in the hand--both sturdy and comfortable without being excessively hefty (5.65 inches tall by 1.98 inches wide by 0.47 inch deep; weighing 4.02 ounces).

The gorgeous 2.4-inch display (320x240 pixels) takes up almost half of the phone's front. With support for 262,000 colors, graphics were sharp and colors were vibrant. Menus are straightforward, as the ZN5 has the same simple, but easy-to-use interface that we saw on the Motorola Rokr E8. You can change the brightness and the backlighting time. The text size is not adjustable, but it should be big enough for most users. The display is easier to see in direct light than on many other cell phones

The navigation toggle and central OK button are raised above the surface of the phone, which gives it a nice tactile feel, even if it is just a bit on the small side. In contrast, the remaining navigation controls--two soft keys, a photo gallery shortcut, a back button, and the Talk and End/power keys--are flush with the surface of the phone, but they have a spacious arrangement. Also, tiny silver bumps like those on the Rokr E8 assist in dialing by feel. The toggle doubles as a shortcut control to four user-defined features.

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The backlighting on the ZN5's keypad changes when the phone is in camera mode.

The keypad is spacious as well. We could dial and text quickly, and the bright backlighting should help in dim situations. The alphanumeric keys also have tiny silver bumps to give them some tactile definition. And the keypad holds another surprise: like the ModeShift keypad on the Rokr E8, the backlighting on the ZN5's keypad changes when you're in camera mode. When snapping photos, you can access the photo gallery via a control between the "5" and "6" keys. What's more, when you're browsing the photo gallery, other controls appear for deleting a photo, going back to the camera mode, or accessing the photo share feature. In both environments, it's a nice touch.

From behind, the ZN5 somewhat resembles a standalone camera.

On the left side of the ZN5 are a volume rocker, a handset-locking switch, and a camera shutter key, which is purple. On the left spine, there are a 3.5mm headset jack (nice) and a micro USB port, which is used for both the USB cable and the charger. Turn the ZN5 over and you'll find the bright flash and the sliding camera lens cover. Opening the cover starts the camera automatically. There's no self-portrait mirror, which we'd complain about normally, but few standalone cameras have them either. Unfortunately, the ZN5's microSD-card slot is located in an inconvenient location--you must remove the battery cover and the battery to access it.

4 of 12 1/29/2009 6:43 PM Motorola Zine ZN5 (T-Mobile) Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/motorola-zine-zn5-t/4505-6454_7-3...

Features The ZN5 is all about photography, so we'll start there. Kodak had a hand in the inner camera workings, though both Moto and Kodak declined to state specifics. As we said earlier, the camera starts automatically when you open the ZN5's lens cover. You can shoot photos in four resolutions, from 5 megapixels down to 1.2 megapixels. As you'd expect, editing options are more than plentiful. The camera offers an autotimer, a low light setting, three focus settings (auto, landscape, and macro), five white balance settings (daylight, cloudy, tungsten, auto, and fluorescent), a multishot mode, and six shutter sounds, plus a silent option. The flash is full Xenon, so it's quite effective under almost all conditions. It has four settings: on, red-eye reduction, auto, or off. Our only complaint was that the "auto" setting appeared to be rather sensitive. It fired even when we were indoors under strong lighting, which caused our subjects to be washed out. We recommend you play around with it when shooting.

Though many camera phones--and many standalone cameras for the matter--suffer from a noticeable shutter lag, the ZN5 has a click-to-capture duration of .02 seconds. The camera is always in auto mode, so you can't set the aperture or shutter speed manually. But depending on the lighting conditions, the camera will choose an aperture of f/2.8 to f/5.6 and a shutter speed of 1/60 to 1/1,000 seconds. The ZN5's focal length is 5.56mm.

The ZN5 has a bright Xenon flash and sliding lens cover.

Taking pictures is an enjoyable and intuitive experience. The menus are easy to use, with one small exception--while the pop-up menus work only in landscape mode, the detailed submenus work only in portrait mode. It would be better if they had the same orientation. On the upside, the camera's controls are comfortably placed.

We're big fans of the nifty panorama mode. After you take the first shot for your three-shot panorama, the phone will vibrate until you move it to the correct position for the next shot. Once

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you're there, the camera will snap the next image automatically. Also, a border will direct you as you pan. Just keep in mind that you must move from left to right. It's definitely easy to use and similar to the panorama mode on the Samsung Innov8.

When finished with your shots you can choose from a number of editing options. You can crop, resize and rotate photos, choose one of six color tones, produce a mirrored image, add a tag, adjust the brightness and contrast, and alter the sharpness or blur. In the Add Elements menu you can add a graphic, a timestamp, and one of seven image borders. Furthermore, Kodak's Perfect Touch is integrated on the phone. It will detect and reduce red eye, reduce shadows, add richer detail, and make colors more vibrant. You even can change the default naming convention.

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See more CNET content tagged: Motorola ROKR, keypad, Motorola Inc., Eastman Kodak Co., camera phone

User reviews Average user rating: My rating: 3.5 stars 0 stars out of 35 reviews Write review

Showing 3 of 35 user reviews See all 35 user reviews 4.5 stars 5 out of 5 people found this review helpful "It's a nice camera with a phone and MP3 player built in" by ryman2222 on November 19, 2008 read more

4.5 stars 2 out of 2 people found this review helpful "For what I need, I'm VERY happy with my new Zine!!" by Wyldcat89 on December 20, 2008 read more

5.0 stars 2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

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Home Reviews Cell Phones Motorola Corp. cell phones Motorola Zine ZN5 (T-Mobile)

Motorola Zine ZN5 (T-Mobile)

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Part Number: ZN5BLKMOTOROLA Print E-mail Share Yahoo! Buzz Phone

1 of 8 1/29/2009 6:44 PM Motorola Zine ZN5 (T-Mobile) specs and Cell Phone specifications - CN... http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/motorola-zine-zn5-t/4507-6454_7-3...

Service provider T-Mobile

Vibrating Alert Yes

Voice Recorder Yes

Speakerphone Yes

Voice Mail Capability Yes

Polyphonic Ringer Yes

Alarm Clock Yes

Calendar Yes

Multi-language Menu Yes

Additional Features TV Link

General

Cellular technology GSM

Band / mode GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband)

Wireless Interface IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11i, Bluetooth (A2DP)

Talk time Up to 574 min

Combined with With digital camera / digital player / FM radio

Digital Camera

Camera highlights With a resolution of 5 megapixels, this model will give you higher quality pictures than other phones.

Features

2 of 8 1/29/2009 6:44 PM Motorola Zine ZN5 (T-Mobile) specs and Cell Phone specifications - CN... http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/motorola-zine-zn5-t/4507-6454_7-3...

Multi-shots , Macro function

Digital Player / Recorder

Digital player/recorder type Digital player

Display

Display Type LCD display

Display technology TFT

Diagonal Size 2.4 in

Display Resolution 240 x 320 pixels

Color Support Color

Color Depth 18-bit (262000 Colors)

Power

Battery installed Lithium ion

Messaging / Data Services

Short Messaging Service Yes (SMS)

Internet Browser Yes

GPRS (General Packet Radio Yes Service)

Mobile Email Yes

Messaging / Data Features XHTML Browser

Messaging Services

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MMS

Physical Characteristics

Style Candy bar

Weight 4 oz

Width 2 in

Depth 0.5 in

Height 4.7 in

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4 of 8 1/29/2009 6:44 PM

Nokia E71 - gray (unlocked) Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/nokia-e71-gray-unlocked/4505-6454...

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Product summary

CNET editors' The good: rating: The Nokia E71 features a slim design, while still managing to 4.0 stars have a full QWERTY keyboard. The Symbian smartphone is stocked Excellent with features, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and U.S. 3G support. Detailed editors' rating Voice, messaging, and productivity tools are also strong. Average user rating: 4.0 stars The bad: out of 36 reviews The E71 is expensive, and the display is on the smaller side. See all user reviews The keyboard is a bit cramped as well. The bottom line: Mobile professionals who need a powerful but sleek messaging-centric smartphone will be well-served by the Nokia E71; just be prepared to pay a price. Specifications: Band / mode: WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900 ; Talk time: Up to 270 min ; Combined with: With two digital cameras / digital player / FM radio / GPS receiver ; See full specs

Price range: $390.42 - $464.15

See all products in the Nokia E71 series

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CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: Bonnie Cha Reviewed on: 07/03/2008

It may be that the Nokia E series sometimes suffers from Jan Brady syndrome, as it gets overshadowed by a flashier member of its family--the Nokia N series (aka Marcia Brady). But the E series is just as bright and deserves some recognition too. Traditionally, the E series devices have been very corporate-centric and serious in design, but now Nokia is updating the line with the introduction of the Nokia E66 and Nokia E71, bringing with them a modernized look and a fresh set of features.

For this review, we took a look at the Nokia E71, which steps in to relieve the older Nokia E61i. What the company has done with the E71's design is remarkable, as it's taken the once-bulky smartphone and turned it into an incredibly sleek QWERTY device. You do lose a bit in screen and keyboard size, but we feel it's manageable. Plus, with its strong messaging, productivity, and connectivity features and solid performance, it's worth those little sacrifices. The only downfall is that it has yet to be picked up by a U.S. carrier, so your wallet will take a hit, as an unlocked version of the Nokia E71 will go for about $500.

Design The first thing you'll notice about the Nokia E71 is its design. It's noticeably sleeker and sexier than the Nokia E61i, sporting a compact frame that measures 4.4 inches tall by 2.2 inches wide by 0.4 inch deep and 4.4 ounces. The slimness is especially noticeable when you use the E71 as a phone, or just hold it in the palm of your hand. In addition, the handset has a solid construction with its steel frame. Our only complaint, and it's a minor one, is that the back gets a bit tarnished with fingerprints and smudges.

The Nokia E71 is an extremely sleek smartphone, considering it has a full QWERTY

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keyboard. Here it is next to the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8310.

On front, there's a 2.36-inch QVGA nontouch display with a 16-million-color output and 320x240-pixel resolution. The screen is a bit on the smaller size, but text and images look sharp. It also has a light sensing technology that adjusts the display's brightness depending on what environment you're in. A new feature that's not readily apparent from looking at the phone is the Business and Personal home screens. You can now toggle between two different home views, depending on whether you're at work or at home. In Business mode, you'll have immediate access to work tools, such as e-mail, the Web, and the file manager. After hours, you can switch to Personal mode and have your music and photo gallery a click away. Of course, you're not really "off" from work since you can easily switch back, but its a nice thought anyway.

Below the display, there's a standard navigation array of two soft keys, Talk and End buttons, and a four-way toggle with a center select key. In addition, there are four shortcuts to the Home screen, Calendar, Contacts, and Messages. You also get a full QWERTY keyboard. Given that the E71 is physically smaller than the E61i, the layout is a bit more cramped with less spacing between the buttons. Still, I found it pretty easy to use, though I do have small fingers. Customers with larger thumbs might want to give it a test drive. On the bright side, the keys don't have that squishy feel of the E61i; they give more of a satisfying, clicky tactile feedback.

Given the phone's smaller size, the E71's full QWERTY keyboard is more cramped than the Nokia E61i. Still, we found it easy to use.

The left spine holds a microSD slot and a micro USB port. It seems Nokia is sticking with the decision to go with the less standard micro USB port at this time. It's definitely not a deal-breaker, just a minor inconvenience since you can't use the more widely used mini USB accessories. On the right side, you have a 2.5mm headset jack, a volume rocker, and a voice command activation key. Both sides also have buttons to release the battery cover. The power button is located on the

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top, while the power connector is on the bottom of the unit. Finally, you'll find the camera, flash, and self-portrait mirror on the back.

The Nokia E71 comes packaged with an AC adapter, a USB cable, a wired headset, a 2GB microSD card, a protective pouch, a lanyard, a software CD, and reference material. For more add-ons, please check our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and help page

Features If the QWERTY keyboard didn't give it away, the Nokia E71 is a messaging-centric smartphone, though it's certainly not limited to just e-mail. The E71 works with Microsoft Exchange Server, POP3, IMAP, and SMTP accounts and has a full attachment viewer. The device is also compatible with a number of push e-mail solutions, including Intellisync Wireless E-mail, Visto, and Seven Always-On Mail. The E71 includes a new wizard to help set up your e-mail as it automatically looks for the settings needed to access your account. There are no instant messaging clients preloaded on the device, though you can certainly download software to do so. In fact, there is a download catalog right on the device where you can find such titles. We'd also suggest taking a look at CNET Download.com for more suggestions for third-party applications.

Using the new wizard, we configured our review unit to access our Yahoo Plus account by simply entering our username and password. There's also a voice aid utility that uses text-to-speech technology to read aloud not only your messages but also your call history, contacts, clock, and more. The feature worked fine in our tests, though the voice sounded quite robotic. We'd say this function might come in handy when you need to hear a message while driving; otherwise, it might just be easier to read the information off the phone.

The E71 runs Symbian OS 9.2, Series 60 3.1 edition, and comes with full support for viewing and editing Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents with the Quickoffice suite. It appears, however, that the company has done away with the Nokia Team Suite, which first debuted on the Nokia E65. The E71 comes with the Nokia Web browser with support for Flash Lite 3.0, so you're able to view and use such sites as YouTube. The smartphone does have a number of other PIM applications and organization tools, including Adobe Reader, a Zip Manager, a calendar, notes, a calculator, a clock, a voice recorder, and a currency converter. There are also a number of security features, including memory encryption and mobile VPN. There's 110MB internal dynamic memory, and the microSD slot can accept up to 8GB cards.

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Nokia E71 - gray (unlocked)

review user reviews specifications compare shop Manufacturer: Nokia Corp.

Part Number: 002F581 Print E-mail Share Yahoo! Buzz Phone

1 of 9 1/29/2009 6:46 PM Nokia E71 - gray (unlocked) specs and Cell Phone specifications - CNET... http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/nokia-e71-gray-unlocked/4507-6454...

Vibrating Alert Yes

Voice Dialing Yes

Voice Recorder Yes

Speakerphone Yes

Voice Mail Capability Yes

Polyphonic Ringer Yes

Alarm Clock Yes

Calendar Yes

Additional Features AGPS , QWERTY keyboard layout

General

Cellular technology WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM

Band / mode WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900

Wireless Interface IEEE 802.11g, Infrared (IrDA), Bluetooth (A2DP), Bluetooth 2.0 EDR

Talk time Up to 270 min

Standby time Up to 480 h

Included accessories Hands-free headset

Combined with With two digital cameras / digital player / FM radio / GPS receiver

Digital Camera

Camera highlights With a resolution of 3.2

2 of 9 1/29/2009 6:46 PM Nokia E71 - gray (unlocked) specs and Cell Phone specifications - CNET... http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/nokia-e71-gray-unlocked/4507-6454...

megapixels, this camera phone will give you higher quality Still image resolution 2048 x 1536 pictures than other phones.

Video recorder resolutions 640 x 480 (VGA)

Features Self timer

PDA Features

OS provided Symbian OS

Synchronization With PC Yes

Synchronization With SyncML , MS Outlook

Digital Player / Recorder

Digital player/recorder type Digital player

Display

Display Type LCD display

Display technology TFT

Diagonal Size 2.36 in

Display Resolution 320 x 240 pixels

Color Support Color

Color Depth 24-bit (16.7 million colors)

Power

Battery installed 1Lithium polymer

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Messaging / Data Services

Short Messaging Service Yes (SMS)

Data/Fax Capability Yes

Internet Browser Yes

GPRS (General Packet Radio Yes Service)

JAVA applications Yes

Mobile Email Yes

Supported Email Protocols POP3 , SMTP , IMAP4

Messaging / Data Features PDF support , VoIP client , XHTML Browser , Zip Manager support , Microsoft Word support , Microsoft Excel support , Macromedia Flash support , Microsoft PowerPoint support

High Speed Circuit Switched Yes Data (HSCSD)

Messaging Services MMS

Physical Characteristics

Style Candy bar

Weight 4.4 oz

Width 2.2 in

Depth 0.4 in

Height 4.5 in

Antenna Internal

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Security Features

Keypad Lock Yes

SIM Card Lock Yes

Where to buy

Nokia E71 - gray (unlocked): $390.42 - $464.15

store price in stock? rating

$399.99 Yes

$432.00 Yes

$459.99 Yes

$399.99 Yes

Trio Computers $390.42 Yes

see prices from 6 stores

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5 of 9 1/29/2009 6:46 PM

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Nokia N79 (unlocked)

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Product summary

CNET editors' The good: rating: The Nokia N79 offers a slim and attractive design and packs in 3.5 stars a load of multimedia features, including a 5-megapixel camera that Very good takes excellent photos. The Symbian smartphone also features Detailed editors' rating integrated Wi-Fi, U.S. 3G support, Bluetooth, and GPS. Average user rating:

The bad:

The N79's navigation controls and dialpad are a little cramped, Write your own review and call quality was a bit mixed. See all user reviews The bottom line: The Nokia N79 might not be the star of the N series devices, but it still shines as a great multimedia smartphone with plenty of features and fast performance.

Price range: $370.97 - $549.99

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: Bonnie Cha Reviewed on: 01/22/2009

2 of 11 1/29/2009 6:57 PM Nokia N79 (unlocked) Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/nokia-n79-unlocked/4505-6454_7-3...

Editors' note: Portions of the Features section were taken from our review of the Nokia N96, since both smartphones share a number of similar features. Photo gallery: The Nokia N79 might get overshadowed by some of its flashier N series Nokia N79 siblings like the Nokia N96 but it should not be ignored. Admittedly, there are some minor design flaws, but the pros outweigh the cons on this handset. Like the rest of the N series, multimedia is the star and the N79 stands out as an excellent camera phone, boasting high-quality images and advanced features. The Symbian smartphone also offers the full gamut of wireless options as well as a productivity suite and e-mail. It's a device that can keep up with multimedia mavens and mobile professionals alike. While not cheap, the Nokia N79 is more affordable than some of the newer N series models (while offering many of the same features) and is one of our favorites from that family. The Nokia N79 is available unlocked through Nokia's flagship stores and through online retailers for around $429.

Design The Nokia N79 might have a simple candy-bar shape, but it's quite a good-looking phone. The handset is nice and slim at 4.3 inches tall by 1.9 inches wide by 0.5 inch deep and 3.4 ounces, so it feels comfortable and light in the hand and will easily slip into a pants pocket. The attractiveness comes from the white face and chrome edges that gives the N79 a very modern and fresh look. The smartphone also ships with three interchangeable back plates (called XpressOn smart covers) in varying colors (white, red, and brown) so you can switch up the look of the phone depending on your style or mood. Even cooler, the phone's theme will change with the cover. For example, the background color will match whatever smart cover you choose.

The Nokia N79 ships with three XpressOn smart covers that you can swap out depending on your style; each cover will also change the phone's theme.

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The N79's QVGA display measures 2.4 inches diagonally and supports 16 million colors and a 320x240-pixel resolution. There's a built-in accelerometer, but it's not a touch screen so you'll have to use the controls below the display to navigate the phone, which include two soft keys, Talk and End buttons, a Menu shortcut, a multimedia key, a back button, and a touch-sensitive navigation toggle with a center select key. Navigation wheel aside, we're not huge fans of the controls, since they're small and cramped. For example, the soft keys and Talk and End buttons are tiny slivers (similar to those on the Nokia N82) so they're not very comfortable to press, and the menu and clear buttons are crammed in between them so they're a little awkward to access.

We weren't huge fans of the N79's navigation controls and dialpad since they were a bit cramped.

The alphanumeric keypad offers a slightly better user experience, though not ideal, either. You get four rows of buttons but there's no spacing between them to create individual keys. This didn't pose a problem to us, however, since the numbers were far enough from each other. What is a bit troublesome is that the rows are pretty narrow so users with larger thumbs might find themselves hitting the number above or below the intended button. That said, we do prefer the N79's styling over its predecessor, the Nokia N78.

Along the left spine, you'll find a microSD expansion slot and a micro USB port--which are both protected by an attached cover--and the power connector. Meanwhile, the right side has a volume rocker, a camera activation/capture button, and dual speakers. On top of the unit, there's a lock switch, a 3.5mm headphone/AV jack, and a power button. The camera and flash are located on the back, and the lens is protected by a sliding cover.

The Nokia N79 comes packaged with a wide variety of accessories, including the aforementioned back plates, a travel charger, a USB cable, a wired headset, a 4GB microSD card, video-out cables, a software CD, and reference material. For more add-ons, please check our cell phone

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accessories, ringtones, and help page.

Features As with all Nokia N series models, the Nokia N79 is about multimedia and being able to access and share content right from your phone. The N79 doesn't offer anything the other N series handsets don't, but that's not a bad thing since these smartphones are fully stocked and offer some advanced multimedia capabilities.

The built-in media player supports MP3, AAC, eACC, eACC+, and WMA files as well as podcasts. You can create playlists on the fly, and there's support for album art, repeat, and shuffle modes. Audiophiles will appreciate the fact that there's an equalizer to tweak sound, and we're sure everyone will be pleased that the smartphone is equipped with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and 3D stereo sound speakers. As we noted earlier, the N79 includes a wired headset, which isn't very comfortable, but it features a built-in tuner so you can use the headphones to listen to FM radio.

There are several ways to get music onto your device. When you connect your N79 to your computer via USB cable, you can choose from several modes, including mass storage, media transfer, PC Suite, and image transfer. In most of those modes, it's just a matter of drag-and-drop. There's always the option to load music via microSD card as well. While the Nokia N79 is built to support the Nokia Music Store where you can browse and purchase tracks over the air, it hasn't fully launched in the United States. We've been waiting for the U.S. store to open its virtual doors for a long time, and when asked about it at CES 2009, Nokia said it still has plans to do so but couldn't give an exact date. Too bad, since we think it'd add much more value to the N series phones.

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5 of 11 1/29/2009 6:57 PM

Palm Centro - red (Sprint) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/palm-centro-red-sprint/4505-6452_...

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1 of 11 1/29/2009 6:48 PM Palm Centro - red (Sprint) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/palm-centro-red-sprint/4505-6452_...

Product summary

CNET editors' The good: rating: The Palm Centro sheds some of the weight and bulk of Palm 3.5 stars Treo to make for a more compact smartphone. It also carries an Very good attractive price tag and offers a lot for the money, including Detailed editors' rating Bluetooth, EV-DO support, push e-mail, and a suite of productivity Average user rating: apps. 3.0 stars out of 75 reviews The bad: See all user reviews The Centro's QWERTY keyboard is extremely cramped and the hardware feels a bit toylike. The phone's speaker is on the weaker side, and it lacks Wi-Fi. The bottom line: The Palm Centro isn't the innovative product we were looking for from the company, but with its slimmer size, ease of use, and affordable price tag, the Centro is a good option for those looking for their first smartphone. Specifications: OS provided: Palm OS 5.4.9 ; Installed RAM: 128 MB ; Processor: Texas Instruments 201 MHzXScale ; ; See full specs See all products in the Palm Centro series

CNET editors' review

2 of 11 1/29/2009 6:48 PM Palm Centro - red (Sprint) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/palm-centro-red-sprint/4505-6452_...

Reviewed by: Bonnie Cha Edited by: Kent German Reviewed on: 10/11/2007 Released on: 10/14/2007

Palm has certainly come under a lot of criticism lately for its lack of innovation in the smartphone department, and rightfully so. While the HTCs and Nokias of the world continually churn out new and exciting devices, Palm Photo gallery: can only offer up its aging lineup of Treo smartphones. The company tried to Palm Centro mix things up with the Palm Foleo, but we know that failed miserably. Fortunately, we think Palm will have better luck with its latest device, the Palm Centro. It's the first non-Treo, as well as the smallest and lightest smartphone from the company. Palm hopes that it will attract a new customer base of those ready to make the jump from cell phone to smartphone. For the record, we feel like Palm tried this already with the Palm Treo 680, but there are a number of factors that make us believe the Centro will be more successful at attaining this goal, first and foremost being price.

Available through Sprint, the Centro costs $99 with a two-year contract, which is a bargain for a smartphone, especially when you consider that you get all the features of a Treo and more. It offers ease of use, so first-time smartphone buyers shouldn't be intimidated, and it also provides a nice middle ground between the really basic and youth-oriented T-Mobile Sidekick 3 and more business-featured devices like the Sprint Mogul. The Centro certainly isn't without problems. There are some major design issues; it's not the best choice for serious business users, and it certainly wasn't the type of innovation we were hoping for from the company. However, for that target group of 20- to 30-year-olds looking to make the jump to a smartphone, the Centro is an attractive option. The "black onyx" version of the Palm Centro will be available through Sprint starting October 14, while the "ruby red" version will go on sale in November.

Design We've got mixed feelings about the design of the Palm Centro. At 4.2 inches high by 2.1 inches wide by 0.7 inch deep and 4.2 ounces, the Centro is certainly smaller than the bulky Treo, and it's a nice compromise between a regular cell phone and a business smartphone like the Sprint Mogul. For comparison's sake, the device carries a similar footprint to the HTC Vox S710 and will also make for a tight fit in a pants pocket.

3 of 11 1/29/2009 6:48 PM Palm Centro - red (Sprint) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/palm-centro-red-sprint/4505-6452_...

The petite Palm Centro next to its bigger, older cousin, the Palm Treo 700p.

The Centro comes in two colors: black onyx or ruby red. (We reviewed the red model.) Palm hopes the latter option will help attract more female customers and, in fact, a female colleague passed by and said, "Oh, I like the red." So obviously, there's some logic there. That said, the design fails to impress us; shrinking the size and adding a splash of color wasn't exactly the type of innovation we were looking for. The Centro lacks the flash and "wow" factor of a device from HTC or Nokia, looking more like a toy, and in the hand, it feels, well, a bit plasticky. On the positive side, the smaller size and rounded edges make the phone more comfortable and easier to hold when held up to the ear. On front, you'll find the Centro's 2.25-inch diagonal TFT display that shows off 65,000 colors at a 320x320 pixel resolution. It's crisp and bright, and perhaps the best news of all, it's a touch screen. This is an advantage the Palm Centro has over some of its competition, such as the BlackBerry Pearl. The ability to enter data, launch apps, and navigate the device via the touch screen is a wonderful convenience.

You also have controls beneath the display to help you operate the smartphone. These include Talk and End keys, and shortcuts to the phone app, home screen, calendar, and message in-box, and a five-way toggle. With the exception of the toggle, which consists of a thin ring and a large central select button that's raised above the phone's surface, the buttons are flat and don't have the best tactile feedback, feeling a bit cheap.

4 of 11 1/29/2009 6:48 PM Palm Centro - red (Sprint) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/palm-centro-red-sprint/4505-6452_...

We weren't huge fans of the Centro's QWERTY keyboard, since the buttons are tiny and cramped.

The Centro's full QWERTY keyboard is another sticking point. Given that there's less surface area to work with, we figured the keyboard would be smaller, but we've got to say, it's pretty darn cramped. It's definitely better suited for women with smaller hands, but when we gave it to a few to try out, they remarked that it was hard to easily type messages with. Users with larger thumbs are definitely going to have problems. The individual buttons reminded us of gelatinous stickers, but tactile and well backlit. There's a ringer silencer switch on top of the unit, while you will find a 2.5mm headset jack and multiconnector port on the bottom. The left spine of the Centro has a volume rocker and a customizable launch button. The right side houses the infrared port and microSD expansion slot, which is protected by an attached cover, but we found it quite difficult to pry off. Finally, the stylus, speaker, camera lens, and self-portrait mirror are found on the back.

The Palm Centro comes packaged with just the basics, including an AC adapter, a USB cable, a desktop software CD, and reference material. For more add-ons for the Centro, please check our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and help page.

Features Despite the smaller size, the Palm Centro still manages to pack in all of the features of the Palm Treo 755p and then some. To start with the basics, the Centro runs Palm OS 5.4.9 and comes with 128MB ROM and 64MB RAM. Of course, you get the standard personal information management tools, including a calendar, a to-do list, a memo pad, a calculator, a world clock, and a voice recorder. The Centro isn't just an electronic organizer, though, as the smartphone comes preloaded with Documents to Go (version 10), so you can open, create, and edit Microsoft Word and Excel documents, and view PowerPoint presentations and PDFs.

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Home Reviews Smartphones Palm smartphones Palm Centro - red (Sprint)

Palm Centro - red (Sprint)

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Part Number: PTR690HKR Print E-mail Share Yahoo! Buzz Telecom

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Data services E-Mail , MSN Messenger , Yahoo! Messenger , AOL Instant Messenger

Modem Integrated Wireless cellular modem

Cellular enhancement HSDPA , CDMA 2000 1X protocol EV-DO

General

Dimensions (W x D x H) 2.1 in x 0.7 in x 4.2 in

Weight 4.2 oz

Color Ruby

Packaged contents AC charger , USB sync cable

Operating System / Software

OS provided Palm OS 5.4.9

Software included Memos , Phone , Tasks , Camera , HotSync , Calendar , Contacts , Bluetooth , Camcorder , On Demand , Calculator , Quick Tour , Voice Memo , Google Maps , Pics&Videos , World clock , Palm VersaMail , Astraware Sudoku , Instant messaging , Pocket Tunes Deluxe 3.0 , DataViz Documents To Go Professional Edition

Min Operating system Apple MacOS X 10.2 - 10.4.x , Microsoft Windows Vista / XP

Memory

2 of 8 1/29/2009 6:49 PM Palm Centro - red (Sprint) specs and Smartphone specifications - CNET ... http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/palm-centro-red-sprint/4507-6452_...

Installed RAM 128 MB

Processor

Processor Texas Instruments 201 MHzXScale

Input Device

Input device type Stylus, Keyboard, Touch-screen, 5-way navigation button

Cellular

Cellular technology CDMA

Band / mode Dual-band CDMA2000 EvDO

Wireless Interface Bluetooth

Digital Player / Recorder

Digital audio standards MP3 supported

Display

Display type 2.4 in TFT active matrix

Color support 16-bit (64K colors)

Max resolution 320 x 320

3 of 8 1/29/2009 6:49 PM Palm Centro - red (Sprint) specs and Smartphone specifications - CNET ... http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/palm-centro-red-sprint/4507-6452_...

Power

Battery installed ( max ) 1 Lithium ion

Talk time 210 min

Standby time Up to 300 h

Power supply device Power adapter

Expansion / Connectivity

Wireless connectivity IrDA, Bluetooth

Port / Connector 1Headset Type:Interface

Expansion slot(s) total (free) 1 MicroSD

Cable(s) included 1 x USB cable

Similar products

HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint)

RIM BlackBerry Bold (AT&T)

Samsung Omnia (Verizon Wireless)

RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330 - black (Sprint)

LG Incite CT810 (AT&T)

4 of 8 1/29/2009 6:49 PM

Samsung Omnia (Verizon Wireless) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/samsung-omnia-verizon-wireless/45...

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Samsung Omnia (Verizon Wireless)

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Product summary

CNET editors' The good: rating: The Samsung Omnia features a spacious touch screen with 3.5 stars customizable Home screen, haptic feedback, and accelerometer. The Very good Windows Mobile smartphone also offers Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and Detailed editors' rating EV-DO Rev. A support, as well as a 5-megapixel camera and robust Average user rating: multimedia features. 4.0 stars out of 225 reviews The bad: See all user reviews You're still limited to the preloaded widgets. The onscreen keyboard is a bit cramped, and the Omnia can be sluggish. The bottom line: Though slightly more expensive, Verizon customers looking for a touch-screen smartphone will get a better user experience and faster performance from the Samsung Omnia than the RIM BlackBerry Storm. Specifications: OS provided: Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional ; Installed RAM: 128 MB ; Wireless connectivity: Bluetooth ; ; See full specs

Price range: $199.99

2 of 11 1/29/2009 6:27 PM Samsung Omnia (Verizon Wireless) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/samsung-omnia-verizon-wireless/45...

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: Bonnie Cha Reviewed on: 11/25/2008 Released on: 11/26/2008

Editors' note: Portions of the Design and Features section were taken from our original review of the unlocked Samsung Omnia, since both models share a number of similarities. Photo gallery: Samsung Omnia Back in late September 2008, we reviewed the unlocked version of the Samsung Omnia and at the time, we didn't know if it would make it to the United States even with all the demand for the touch-screen smartphone. However, it looks as if Verizon Wireless is making some people's holiday wishes come true as the carrier has picked up the Samsung Omnia (SCH-i910) and will start offering it through business sales channels and online on November 26 and in stores on December 8.

Verizon's Omnia offers a lot of the same great features as the unlocked GSM version of the phone, including a large touch screen with Samsung's customizable TouchWiz user interface, a 5-megapixel camera, integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. In addition, it adds support for the carrier's EV-DO Rev. A network, which allows for faster Web browsing and downloads. Like the RIM BlackBerry Storm, the Omnia is not the best smartphone for those who need a messaging- centric device, since the onscreen keyboard is a bit cramped. However, for Verizon Wireless customers looking for a touch-screen smartphone, you'll get a better user experience and faster performance from the Samsung Omnia than the BlackBerry Storm. While slightly pricier at $249.99 (with a two-year contract and after rebates and discounts), the Omnia is worth the extra $50 and is a respectable competitor to the Apple iPhone.

Design The highlight of the Samsung Omnia is its touch screen and TouchWiz user interface. It's hard to ignore the 3.2-inch TFT screen that dominates the face of the smartphone, and with a 262,000-color output and 240x400-pixel resolution, the display is quite eye-catching. Admittedly, it's not as sharp as some of the other touch-screen devices out there, such as the HTC Touch Diamond or the BlackBerry Storm, but it's still bright and clear for viewing images and text.

3 of 11 1/29/2009 6:27 PM Samsung Omnia (Verizon Wireless) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/samsung-omnia-verizon-wireless/45...

The Samsung Omnia is sleeker and faster than the RIM BlackBerry Storm.

For text entry, you have several options, including a full QWERTY keyboard (called Samsung Keyboard), Block Recognizer, Transcriber, and more. The full QWERTY is fairly cramped in portrait mode, so you might want to switch to the keypad or use the included stylus for more accuracy. Even the full QWERTY keyboard in landscape mode isn't the most spacious, but we managed to get by OK. Obviously, it's not going to be the best device for messaging fanatics, but we were still able to compose short e-mails and text messages with fewer errors than the BlackBerry Storm even though the latter had larger buttons. The Omnia does provide haptic feedback, so you'll feel a slight vibration to confirm your action. You can adjust the intensity of the vibration in the Settings menu.

There is a built-in accelerometer so the screen orientation will rotate from portrait to landscape mode when you turn the phone left or right. We like that you get vibrating feedback when you rotate the phone to let you know it's registered the change. It's also one of the most responsive accelerometer-equipped smartphones we've tested. The screen orientation on the Samsung Omnia was always quick to change whenever we flipped the handset, unlike the Storm and the HTC Touch Pro.

What makes the Omnia unique, however, is Samsung's TouchWiz user interface. TouchWiz lets you customize your Home screen with different "widgets." There is a tray located on the left side with various applications, such as the clock, music player, photo gallery, games, and notepad. You can then drag and drop these widgets to the main screen so they're easily accessible to you every time you fire up your phone. Once you've customized the phone to your liking, you can collapse and hide the tray by tapping the arrow button. Beyond the Home screen, there's also the Main Menu page that organizes the major applications in a nice easy-to-use view--very non-Windows Mobile.

One of the complaints we had about the unlocked Omnia is that you were limited to the widgets that were preloaded on the smartphone. The same is true with the Verizon Omnia, but Samsung and Verizon have at least added a couple more shortcuts for your use, most notably an Internet browser widget. In all, you get 16 widgets to choose from, including messages, wireless manager,

4 of 11 1/29/2009 6:27 PM Samsung Omnia (Verizon Wireless) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/samsung-omnia-verizon-wireless/45...

contacts, calendar, games, and multimedia. Admittedly, the look doesn't offer the cleanest-looking layout, and if you find you're not a fan of TouchWiz interface or if you're a traditionalist, you can switch back to the standard Windows Today screen or choose from other themes in the Settings > Today menu.

Physically, the rest of the Verizon Samsung Omnia doesn't differ much from the unlocked GSM version. For more information on the smartphone's design, please read our full review of the unlocked Samsung Omnia.

Verizon Wireless packages the Samsung Omnia with an AC adapter, a stylus, a USB cable, a 3.5mm/FM radio antenna, a 2.5mm headset adapter, software CDs, and reference material. For more add-ons, please check our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and help page.

Features The Verizon Samsung Omnia offers many of the same core functions of the unlocked model, though there are some differences and new additions. Starting with the phone features, the CDMA Omnia includes a speakerphone, conference calling, speed dial, voice dialing and commands, and text and multimedia messaging. The smartphone also supports visual voice mail. The address book is limited only by the available memory, and each contact can hold multiple numbers, addresses, birthdays, notes, and more. For caller ID purposes, you can pair an entry with a picture, a group ID, or one of 22 polyphonic ringtones.

Bluetooth 2.0 is onboard for use with mono and stereo Bluetooth headsets as well as hands-free kits, object push for vCard, basic imaging, phonebook access profiles, and dial-up networking. If you want to take advantage of the DUN capabilities and use the Omnia as a wireless modem for your laptop, be aware that you will need to sign up for one of Verizon's BroadbandAccess plans, which start at $15 per month.

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Samsung Omnia (Verizon Wireless)

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Telecom

Data services SMS , MMS , HTML Browser , E-Mail , Picture messages , Instant messages

General

Dimensions (W x D x H) 2.24 in x 0.52 in x 4.4 in

Weight 4.34 oz

Built-in devices Camera , Digital Player

Operating System / Software

OS provided Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

Software included Microsoft Office , Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008

Memory

Installed RAM 128 MB

Input Device

Input device type Touch-screen

Expansion / Connectivity

Wireless connectivity Bluetooth

2 of 7 1/29/2009 6:29 PM

Samsung Instinct (SPH-M800) - black Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-instinct-sph-m800/4505-64...

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Product summary

CNET editors' The good: rating: The Samsung Instinct offers a slick, intuitive design and a heavy 4.0 stars load of powerful, innovative, and easy-to-use features. It particularly Excellent shines as a messaging and GPS device. Detailed editors' rating Average user rating: The bad: 3.0 stars The Samsung Instinct lacks Wi-Fi and instant messaging, and its out of 297 reviews call and video quality were erratic. Also, its Internet browser could be See all user reviews refined, its internal memory is small, and its camera lacks editing features. The bottom line: The Samsung Instinct stands out as one of Sprint's finest devices to date. It's just too bad its call quality could use some improvement. Specifications: Band / mode: CDMA2000 1X 1900/800 ; Talk time: 345 min ; Combined with: With digital camera / digital player ; See full specs

Price range: $99.99 - $599.99

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2 of 14 1/30/2009 8:03 AM Samsung Instinct (SPH-M800) - black Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-instinct-sph-m800/4505-64...

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: Kent German Reviewed on: 06/06/2008 Updated on: 06/17/2008 Released on: 06/20/2008

Editors note, June 11, 2008, and June 16, 2008: We updated this review to reflect further testing. On January 20, 2009 we made additional updates after testing the phone's calendar- syncing feature.

Over the last year, the collective response from most cell phone manufacturers to the iPhone has been rather muted. But now Samsung is trying a different tactic. Its new Samsung Instinct (SPH-M800) for Sprint is Photo gallery: the first cell phone we've seen that throws some direct competition Apple's Samsung Instinct way. We still dismiss the whole idea of an "iPhone killer" as ridiculous, but comparisons here are inevitable and Sprint is doing nothing to silence them.

Though the Instinct and the iPhone look about the same, and they rely heavily on touch screens with unique interfaces, there are some important feature distinctions. The Instinct offers its own brand of visual voice mail and it bests the first incarnation of the iPhone by offering 3G (EV-DO Rev. A) network compatibility, integrated GPS, and work e-mail support, just to name a few. The new iPhone 3G will be more evenly matched, but even the Instinct gets points for its multimedia messaging, voice dialing and video recording. In the important areas of usability and performance, however, the Instinct struggled on a few fronts. The Web browser wasn't quite as easy to use as we had hoped, the camera lacked editing features, and the Instinct's call and video quality were variable. However, even with those caveats, the Instinct remains a powerful, innovative cell phone with a loaded feature set and an appealing design. The Instinct is $129 with a mail-in rebate and a two-year "Simply Everything" plan. Simply Everything plans start at $70 per month.

Design By all accounts, the Instinct has an eye-catching, though not unique, design. The predominately touch-screen device sports a thin candy-bar shape that measures a portable 4.57 inches by 2.17 inches by 0.49 inch. That makes it a bit taller and fatter than the iPhone but also thinner when measured across its front face. Samsung aficionados will also notice a resemblance to the Samsung SGH-F490, which is the GSM version of the Instinct. At 4.4 ounces, the Instinct has a sturdy feel in the hand and offers a solid construction. We also liked the simple color scheme of silver and basic black.

3 of 14 1/30/2009 8:03 AM Samsung Instinct (SPH-M800) - black Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-instinct-sph-m800/4505-64...

The Instinct's touch screen dominates its real estate. With support for 262,000 colors and a 432,240-pixel resolution, the display is positively gorgeous. Colors popped, graphics were vibrant, and text was crisp. Indeed, it's one of the better displays we've seen in a while. You're offered a fair number of personalization options; you can't change the menu or texting font, but you can adjust the brightness and the backlighting time. It's worth noting that when the display goes dark, it also locks automatically.

Yet, as rich as the display is, we had a minor complaint. At 3.25 inches, it's a quarter of an inch smaller than the iPhone's display. That may not sound like a huge difference, but the display can look rather cramped when you're browsing the Web or viewing videos. We suppose you'd get used to eventually, and we recognize that it's an improvement over the Samsung Glyde's smaller touch screen, but it's a point we couldn't let pass.

The Instinct's simple menu interface is easy to use and attractive. At the bottom of the display are icons for the four menus (Favs, Main, Fun, and Web). The four-page menu design is an interesting and effective arrangement. The Favs menu (aka Favorites) is user-programmable so you can stock it with your most preferred functions. The Main menu is reserved for messaging, organizer, and GPS features; the Fun menu holds games, multimedia options, and the camera; and the Web menu shows a selection of browser shortcuts. All menus feature bright icons to represent the various features, but only the Fun and Web menus allows for any customization. The secondary menus are intuitive as well. For example, we had no problems determining how to start a new text message or move items around in a list.

The Instinct menu interface is simple, attractive, and easy to use.

The Instinct's touch screen offers haptic tactile feedback. It's a nice feature as it lets you know for sure that you're choosing a menu option. You can turn the vibration off but you can't change its length or intensity. For the most part, the touch interface is intuitive and easy to use, but we had a

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couple of observations. Though some options in the settings menu can be turned on and off by sliding a bar back and forth with your finger, other options require you to tap each side of the bar. Certainly, we prefer the former option. Scrolling through long lists or messages was a pleasure, however. Similar to the iPhone, we just had to swipe our finger up and down.

On the other hand, the Instinct doesn't suffer from the usability drawbacks that we saw on the Glyde. We rarely had to tap menu selections twice to register our choice. Also, the display recognized our selections when we touched around its edges. You can adjust the display calibration and its touch sensitivity.

Below the display are three small touch controls. There's a back button, a home key, and a calling control. Unfortunately, these keys were a bit tricky to use. On a few occasions we had to press a control twice (the Back button especially) for it to register our choice. Also, the vibrating feedback here is barely noticeable. Pressing the Home control normally will take you automatically to the Favs menu, while selecting the calling control replaces the menu icons at the bottom of the display with shortcuts for the speed dialer, your contacts menu, the recent calls list, and the dialpad.

The latter choice opens a standard numeric keypad with a large green talk button. The individual numbers are large, and we like that there's a dedicated Save key for storing new phone numbers. The save key sits just below the dialpad, next to a Pause control and a shortcut for the visual voice-mail feature. Our only gripe was that the letters on the numeric keys are tiny; users with visual impairments should test this phone before buying.

After dialing your number, you have to press the green bar to place the call. That was a bit counterintuitive to us--we wanted to press the calling touch control below the display--but once we knew what to do, it wasn't a problem. When you're on a call, a secondary menu appears on the display with a few handy shortcuts for muting the sound, activating the speakerphone, accessing your contacts list or the main menu, and placing a three-way call. To end a call you have to slide the red bar to the right. It's a convenient arrangement as it minimizes the chance that you'll hang up on someone accidentally.

5 of 14 1/30/2009 8:03 AM Samsung Instinct (SPH-M800) - black Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-instinct-sph-m800/4505-64...

The Instinct's alphabetic keyboard is easy to use.

We were very glad to see that the Instinct's alphabetic keyboard defaults to landscape mode. As a result, we were able to hold the phone in two hands and type away with our thumbs. Onscreen controls include a return button, a space bar, dedicated period, comma, apostrophe keys, a back control, and a dedicated button for accessing a secondary keyboard with numbers and symbols. Overall, the keyboard is easy to use, but we had a few gripes. The individual buttons should be big enough for most people, but users with larger hands may find the arrangement cramped. Also, while you can magnify the text to see what you've written, you must minimize the keyboard to do so, which is rather counterproductive. The Instinct does not correct your spelling like the iPhone does.

Alternatively, you can enter text with a graffiti method. You will have to switch the display's orientation to portrait using the onscreen button--unlike the iPhone, the Instinct doesn't have an accelerometer. When using graffiti mode, the Instinct recognized most of our entries without any problem. The included stylus is a big help for writing in the small space allowed, but unfortunately the Instinct doesn't include a storage slot for the stylus for when you're on the go.

On the left side of the Instinct are a camera shutter, a voice activation control, and the microSD card slot. A power/display locking control and a 3.5mm headset jack (nice!) sit on the top of the phone, and the charger port and the volume rocker rest on the left spine. The camera lens and the self-portrait mirror sit on the back of the Instinct; it's a convenient spot for taking all types of photos.

The Instinct comes with a load of accessories.

6 of 14 1/30/2009 8:03 AM Samsung Instinct (SPH-M800) - black Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-instinct-sph-m800/4505-64...

The Instinct comes with a variety of accessories in the box. Besides the requisite charger and headset, you'll also find a USB cable, a software CD, and a carrying case. There's even an extra battery with a special case. You can power the extra battery with the same charger and keep it on hand when you need emergency power. That's a nice touch.

Features The Instinct phone book holds 600 contacts with room in each entry for five phone numbers, an e-mail address, a URL, and notes. All in all, that's a fairly small set of options for such a high-end phone. On the other hand, you can save callers to groups and you can pair them with a photo and one of 27 polyphonic ringtones. That's a fair assortment, and we like the design of the settings menu, which allowed us to test one or as many tones as we'd like. The Instinct also offers a vibrate mode for when you need to keep it quiet.

The Instinct steps up the plate in a big way by offering its own version of visual voice mail. Similar to the iPhone, each message is displayed on your screen in list format along with the message sender's ID, the time received, and the length. You then can listen to messages in the order you choose. The service works just as it's intended.

Organizer features are plentiful and include text and multimedia messaging, a calendar, a notepad (you can use the keyboard or the graffiti method), a calculator, a unit converter, a tip calculator, an alarm clock, a timer, a stopwatch, and a world clock. Most of the organizer features are easy to use and we couldn't help but notice that the stopwatch and the timer look exactly as they do on the iPhone. On the downside, the calendar was a bit cramped and it doesn't offer a week view. Also, the world clock was rather buggy. Instead of typing in the city name, you have to select the exact location on the map and then touch your desired city in the highlighted area. It's a clunky and imprecise process; we kept getting Buenos Aires when we tried to touch the map near New York City. Also, you can only show four cities at one time.

Other features include full Bluetooth with a stereo profile, phone as modem supports, audible caller ID, a speakerphone, mobile syncing for stored contacts, and USB storage. The Instinct also offers an extensive voice-command feature that you can use to dial phone numbers or call contacts, address a text or multimedia message, and access information like traffic, sports, weather, or news. There's no speech-to-text support but the voice-command function does integrate with a nifty Microsoft Live Search. By speaking the name of a business or even the type of business (like "pizza"), it will use the phone's GPS connection to search your surrounding location for a match. You can then get a map and directions to the business, share it with a friend via a message, or call the location with one touch. In our tests it worked quite well. When we tried saying "Maya," we got not only a restaurant located a block away, but also a doctor in Palo Alto, Calif., with the name Maya. And when we tried saying "pizza," we got a long list of choices. This

7 of 14 1/30/2009 8:03 AM Samsung Instinct (SPH-M800) - black Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-instinct-sph-m800/4505-64...

is one of the Instinct's better features.

Messaging options are plentiful and we were surprised at the clean and intuitive e-mail integration. Text messaging and multimedia messaging options are mostly standard but the Instinct goes a step further with its texting. Like the iPhone, it displays the full thread of a text conversation so you don't have to sort through individual messages. Instant messaging was not present, however. That's a disappointing omission on a phone of this caliber.

The Instinct does an excellent job with its e-mail features. It's not quite a smartphone, but it's far ahead of most other handsets on the market, including the first iPhone. You'll find integrated support for POP3 accounts for AOL, AIM, Hotmail, Yahoo, and Gmail. We had only to enter our Yahoo account information and we were up and running in no time. You can keep multiple accounts open at once and the Instinct will let you know of new messages by showing a blue star on the Main menu icon. E-mail syncing was rather random. At times, new messages would show up in our in-box automatically, while other times we had to press the Refresh button. Either way, it's not a big deal. Just be aware that the Instinct e-mail application does limit you in a few ways. The Instinct's in-box can show a maximum of 100 messages, and you can't access individual folders inside your in-box. The latter quirk is particularly troublesome. Also, only messages sent from the phone will show in Instinct's sent box.

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User reviews Average user rating: My rating: 3.0 stars 0 stars out of 297 reviews Write review

Showing 3 of 297 user reviews See all 297 user reviews 4.5 stars 28 out of 32 people found this review helpful "Better than the iPhone and here is why" by Zenkai76 on August 20, 2008

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Home Reviews Cell Phones Samsung cell phones Samsung Instinct (SPH-M800) - black

Samsung Instinct (SPH-M800) - black

review user reviews specifications compare shop Manufacturer: Samsung Print E-mail Share Yahoo! Buzz Part Number: SPHM800ZKS

1 of 8 1/30/2009 8:04 AM Samsung Instinct (SPH-M800) - black specs and Cell Phone specifications... http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-instinct-sph-m800/4507-64...

Phone

Service provider Sprint Nextel

Vibrating Alert Yes

Voice Recorder Yes

Speakerphone Yes

Phone Book Capacity 600 names & numbers

Voice Mail Capability Yes

Polyphonic Ringer Yes

Alarm Clock Yes

Calendar Yes

Additional Features E-911 compliant , PictBridge direct printing

General

Cellular technology CDMA2000 1X

Band / mode CDMA2000 1X 1900/800

Wireless Interface Bluetooth (A2DP)

Talk time 345 min

Combined with With digital camera / digital player

Digital Camera

Camera highlights With a resolution of 2 megapixels, this camera phone will give you higher quality pictures than other phones.

2 of 8 1/30/2009 8:04 AM Samsung Instinct (SPH-M800) - black specs and Cell Phone specifications... http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-instinct-sph-m800/4507-64...

Still image resolution 1600 x 1200

Digital video formats H.264 , MPEG-4

Digital Player / Recorder

Digital player supported AAC , MP3 , WMA digital audio standards

Digital player/recorder type Digital player

Display

Display Type LCD display

Display technology TFT

Display Resolution 240 x 432 pixels

Color Support Color

Power

Battery installed Lithium ion

Messaging / Data Services

Short Messaging Service Yes (SMS)

Internet Browser Yes

Messaging / Data Features XHTML Browser

WAP Protocol WAP 2.0 Supported:WAP Protocol Version

3G Services / PCS Vision

3 of 8 1/30/2009 8:04 AM Samsung Instinct (SPH-M800) - black specs and Cell Phone specifications... http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-instinct-sph-m800/4507-64...

capable Yes

Physical Characteristics

Style Candy bar

Weight 4.4 oz

Width 2.2 in

Depth 0.5 in

Height 4.6 in

Antenna Internal

Where to buy

Samsung Instinct (SPH-M800) - black: $99.99 - $599.99

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$599.99 Yes

$99.99 Yes

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4 of 8 1/30/2009 8:04 AM

Samsung Saga (Verizon Wireless) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/samsung-saga-verizon-wireless/450...

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Samsung Saga (Verizon Wireless)

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1 of 12 1/29/2009 6:38 PM Samsung Saga (Verizon Wireless) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/samsung-saga-verizon-wireless/450...

Product summary

CNET editors' The good: rating: The Samsung Saga offers world-roaming capabilities and 3.5 stars features a touch screen and full QWERTY keyboard. The Windows Very good Mobile 6.1 smartphone also has integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, Detailed editors' rating EV-DO Rev. A support, and a 2-megapixel camera. Average user rating: 3.5 stars The bad: out of 14 reviews The Saga suffers from some slight sluggishness, and call quality See all user reviews could be a tad better. The smartphone doesn't support international 3G bands like the BlackBerry Storm. The bottom line: For Verizon's globetrotting customers, the Samsung Saga offers a sleek messaging smartphone with world-roaming capabilities and solid performance, all for an affordable price. Specifications: OS provided: Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 ; Wireless connectivity: IEEE 802.11 , Bluetooth ; Input device type: Keyboard , Touch-screen See full specs

Price range: $199.99

CNET editors' review

2 of 12 1/29/2009 6:38 PM Samsung Saga (Verizon Wireless) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/samsung-saga-verizon-wireless/450...

Reviewed by: Bonnie Cha Reviewed on: 11/24/2008 Released on: 11/14/2008

As Verizon Wireless is wont to do, the carrier is unleashing all its goodies right before the holiday season, from the RIM BlackBerry Storm to the HTC Touch Pro to the subject of this review, the Samsung Saga. Like the Samsung Photo gallery: Ace for Sprint, the Saga offers world-roaming capabilities but expands its Samsung Saga capabilities with the addition of a touch screen, optical mouse, and Windows Mobile 6.1. Plus, with its full QWERTY keyboard, sleeker design, and faster performance, it's a better fit for Verizon's globetrotting executives than the RIM BlackBerry Storm. The Samsung Saga is available now through Verizon Wireless for an affordable $199.99 with a two-year contract.

Design The Samsung Saga falls into the sleek QWERTY category of smartphones and doesn't stray far from the design of the company's other messaging-centric devices, including the Samsung Epix and the Samsung Ace. The Saga measures 4.8 inches tall by 2.4 inches wide by 0.5 inch deep and weighs 4.6 ounces, so it's a bit tall but thin enough to not be too cumbersome. It's also light and feels comfortable to hold both on a call and while composing messages. The Saga also stands out with a blue soft-touch finish, while the outer edges have a black leatherette texture similar to the back of the RIM BlackBerry Bold.

Unlike the Motorola Q Global, the Samsung Saga is a sleek and light QWERTY smartphone and features a touch screen.

Like the Epix, the Samsung Saga features a touch screen so you can select items and launch applications by tapping the screen. Unlike the Epix, there is no haptic feedback on the Saga so

3 of 12 1/29/2009 6:38 PM Samsung Saga (Verizon Wireless) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/samsung-saga-verizon-wireless/450...

you won't feel any vibrations when you touch the display. Though we like having the haptic feedback to provide confirmation that the screen has registered your touch, the lack of this feature on the Saga isn't a deal breaker. The display measures 2.5 inches diagonally and shows 65,536 colors at a 320x320-pixel resolution, so images and text look sharp and bright. You can customize the Today screen with various themes, background images, and more. The default Verizon Wireless theme provides access to a lot of information from the Today screen, including tabs for Connection, Favorites, Contacts, and Settings.

Below the display, there is a standard navigation array of two soft keys, Talk and End buttons, a Start menu shortcut, an OK button, and a directional keypad/optical mouse. Like the Epix and the Samsung Omnia, the optical mouse function places a mouselike cursor onscreen that you can maneuver by moving your finger on the circular trackpad below the display and then depressing the button selects an item. The trackpad is larger than the one found on the Epix and Omnia, so it made it easy to use the optical mouse and we found it quite a convenient way to navigate the smartphone. If you find that you don't like it, you can switch modes and use the control as a traditional directional keypad.

The Saga features an optical mouse and an easy-to-use full QWERTY keyboard.

The Saga's full QWERTY keyboard is reminiscent of the Epix. The buttons are slightly on the smaller side but there's adequate spacing between the keys. Also, unlike the BlackJack II, the keyboard isn't so stiff and hard to press, so we had a better typing experience on the Saga. We were able to compose some fairly lengthy e-mails and text messages with minimal errors. There is no dedicated number row; rather it shares space with the letter keys, but they're highlighted in white so they're easy to identify when looking at the keyboard. There are also some shortcuts on the bottom row of keys, including Messages and Music.

On the left side, there's a volume rocker and a lock button, and on the right spine, there's a

4 of 12 1/29/2009 6:38 PM Samsung Saga (Verizon Wireless) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/samsung-saga-verizon-wireless/450...

proprietary Samsung power connector and a camera activation button. The top of the unit has a 2.5mm headset jack, a stylus, and a power button. You'll find the camera, self-portrait mirror, and speaker on the back of the phone. Finally, the SIM card holder and microSD/SDHC expansion slot are located behind the battery cover, but we had an awfully hard time trying to remove the battery door.

Verizon Wireless packages the Samsung Saga with a travel charger with various international adapters, a USB cable, a SIM card, software CDs, and reference material. For more add ons, please check our cell phone accessories, ring tones, and help page.

Features The Samsung Saga brings another world phone to Verizon's smartphone lineup, joining the RIM BlackBerry Storm and the older RIM BlackBerry 8830 World Edition. The Saga's dual-mode functionality allows the phone to automatically switch between CDMA and GSM networks to offer seamless international roaming, all while keeping the same phone number. The smartphone ships with a SIM card preinstalled but note that the phone does not support domestic GSM bands, so you can't swap in an AT&T or T-Mobile SIM card. To check for international coverage and roaming charges, you can check Verizon's Web site. The carrier also offers technical support if you need help while overseas, including a 24-hour Global Help Desk that's open seven days a week and you also get a calling card for free support calls while traveling outside of the United States from any landline phone to technical support in case your Saga is lost, broken, or stolen.

The Samsung Saga ships with a SIM card and offers dual-mode functionality for world- roaming capabilities.

Other phone features of the Saga include a speakerphone, three-way calls, speed dial, voice dialing and commands, and text and multimedia messaging. The phone book is only limited by the available memory, and each contact can hold multiple numbers, e-mail addresses, instant

5 of 12 1/29/2009 6:38 PM Samsung Saga (Verizon Wireless) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/samsung-saga-verizon-wireless/450...

messaging handles, birthdays, notes, and more. For caller ID purposes, you can assign a photo, a group ID, or one of 27 polyphonic ring tones.

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User reviews Average user rating: My rating: 3.5 stars 0 stars out of 14 reviews Write review

Showing 3 of 14 user reviews See all 14 user reviews 5.0 stars 8 out of 8 people found this review helpful "The Perfect Windows Mobile Phone" by BLatSD on November 20, 2008 read more

4.5 stars 4 out of 4 people found this review helpful "Great... if you know what to expect!" by ukchemee on December 25, 2008 read more

5.0 stars 4 out of 5 people found this review helpful "iPhone destroyer" by phwtos on November 19, 2008 read more

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Where to buy

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Samsung Saga (Verizon Wireless)

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Data services SMS

General

Built-in devices Camera

Operating System / Software

OS provided Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1

Software included Windows Media Player

Input Device

Input device type Keyboard, Touch-screen

Display

Display type 2.55 in TFT active matrix

Expansion / Connectivity

Wireless connectivity Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11

Expansion slot(s) total (free) 1 MicroSD

Where to buy

Samsung Saga (Verizon Wireless): $199.99

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2 of 7 1/29/2009 6:37 PM

Samsung Innov8 Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-innov8/4505-6454_7-3323...

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Samsung Innov8

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Product summary

CNET editors' The good: rating: The Samsung Innov8 is a well-made and powerful cell phone 4.0 stars with a fantastic camera. Photo quality was excellent and the call Excellent quality delivered as well. Detailed editors' rating Average user rating: The bad: The Samsung Innov8 keypad and navigation controls are slick

and not very tactile. The camera flash is disappointing, it lacks voice Write your own review dialing, and the interface was somewhat poky. The bottom line: If you want a camera phone that will blow almost every other handset out of the water, look no further than the Samsung Innov8. Design complaints aside, it's a powerful and eye-catching device that performs well as a phone, too. Specifications: Band / mode: WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900 ; Talk time: Up to 300 min ; Combined with: With two digital cameras / digital player / FM radio / GPS receiver See full specs

2 of 11 1/29/2009 6:55 PM Samsung Innov8 Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-innov8/4505-6454_7-3323...

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: Kent German Reviewed on: 10/16/2008

It's not often that we get our hands on a high-performance camera phone. While plenty of high-resolution shooters land in the laps of our lucky colleagues at CNET Asia, we've had to settle for unlocked 5-megapixel Photo gallery: models like the Sony Ericsson K850i and the Samsung SGH-G800. And don't Samsung Innov8 get us started on U.S. wireless carriers; they can't bring themselves to offer anything more power than 3.2-megapixel models, like the LG Dare. So count us surprised and excited when Samsung graciously decided to send us a review model of its new 8-megapixel camera phone, the Samsung Innov8. Sleek, powerful, and armed with an everything- but-the-kitchen-sink feature set, the Innov8 makes even the high-quality LG Dare look like two tin cans connected by a string. Photo quality is excellent, as we expected, and the editing features rival those on a standalone camera. You still won't find an optical zoom--you'll have to head to Korea to find a camera phone with one of those--and the flash is disappointing, but the Innov8 offers just about everything else. Yet, as powerful as it is, the Innov8's photo quality is only marginally better than those 5-megapixel handsets

Fortunately, the Innov8 isn't all about its camera. It also makes calls--with good performance to boot--and it offers plenty of other goodies for both work and play. On the downside, we had some design complaints and the interface could be poky. And on a superficial note, while we get where Samsung gets the "8" in Innov8, we can't say we love the name. But then again, the model number--SGH-i8510--isn't so enticing either. Since it's only available unlocked in the United States, the Innov8 will indeed cost you--figure about $700 to $800 on average.

Design For all its functionality, the Innov8 is surprisingly compact (3.9 inches tall by 1.9 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick). Sure, it is a bit weighty (4.8 ounces), but it remains portable and small enough to fit in a pocket. The basic black color has a minimalist appeal and we like the clean lines. The extra weight gives the Innov8 a solid feel in the hand and the slider mechanism is easy to use--neither too stiff nor too loose. Yet, we couldn't help but notice that when the phone is open, the Innov8's front face shakes slightly back and forth.

The expansive 2.8-inch display shows 16.7 million colors. Naturally, it's bright and beautiful with vivid colors and sharp graphics. It is difficult to see in direct light, but that's hardly unusual for a cell phone. You can adjust the backlight time and brightness and you can personalize the display with color themes and wallpapers. Our only complaint is that the text size isn't adjustable. It

3 of 11 1/29/2009 6:55 PM Samsung Innov8 Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-innov8/4505-6454_7-3323...

should be fine for most people, but if that is a concern, you should check before buying such an expensive phone. On the upside, however, the Innov8 has an accelerometer that will change the display's orientation from portrait to landscape as you rotate the phone in your hand.

Powered by a Symbian Version 9.3 OS, the Innov8's menus are simple and intuitive; you can choose between a list and grid view. Fortunately, a lot of options are surfaced on the main menu page. As such, you don't need to drill down too many levels to find popular features. You also can activate a shortcut bar to appear on the standby screen. It offers access to a user-programmable shortcuts menu, the calendar, the music player, the FM radio, and the personalization menu. We like the convenient tabs that are at the top of the display inside the submenus.

Below the display, you'll find the Innov8's navigation array. The primary tool is a square four-way toggle with a central OK button. Both tools are raised above the surface of the phone so they're tactile and easy to grip. When you don't activate the aforementioned shortcut bar, the toggle offers one-touch access to four user-defined shortcuts. Surrounding the toggle are two soft keys, the Talk and End/power controls and dedicated shortcut keys for the multimedia gallery and the main menu. When the phone is in standby mode, the soft keys give one-touch access to two functions of your choosing. Though the navigation controls are spacious, they're also a bit slick. Also, while it's easy to spot the multimedia gallery and the main menu-shortcut keys because of their silver color (most of the array is black), they don't have a lot of tactile definition that separate them from the remaining navigation controls.

The Innov8 offers a new feature called an optical mouse, which is unique to Samsung. Don't get consumed by the name (as we did), for this is not a mouse like you'd find with a computer. Rather, the optical mouse allows you to navigate the phone's menus in a new way. By sliding your finger across the OK button, you can move up and down and side to side through menus and lists. It's innovative and cool, to be sure, but we wouldn't call it a game-changer. In fact, the feature requires an acclimation period. We preferred to turn it off.

The keypad is hidden behind the slider. It's spacious as well, and the backlighting is bright, but we don't quite approve of its design. There is little tactile definition between the individual buttons and the keypad as a whole is very slick. We didn't have problems dialing numbers, but texting felt awkward. We also didn't like that the clear control is on the top row of the keypad, which makes it inaccessible when the slider is closed. On either side of the clear button are two additional user-programmable shortcut keys.

On the left spine you'll find a volume rocker/camera zoom control, the 3.5mm headset jack, and the micro USB slot. We're glad to see the 3.5mm jack, and we commend Samsung for using a micro USB charger. On the left spine, there's the microSD-card slot and a camera control. The

4 of 11 1/29/2009 6:55 PM Samsung Innov8 Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-innov8/4505-6454_7-3323...

camera lens sits on the back of the phone just below the flash. The lens cover opens automatically when the camera is on. Like many high-end camera phones, the Innov8 is designed to mimic the ergonomics of a standalone camera. Yet, because the camera shutter and zoom control are on opposite sides of the device--we can't think of a camera with a similar arrangement--it falls a bit short of accomplishing that goal.

Features The Samsung Innov8 offers an exhaustive feature set, but for this review we'll start with the 8-megapixel shooter, which is its star attraction. The camera takes pictures in seven resolutions, from a full eight megapixels (3,264x24,448) down to QVGA (320x240). The remaining feature set is pretty lengthy, but we'll attempt to do it justice. There are four color effects, bright and white balance controls, an 8x digital zoom, a self-timer, a mosaic-shot mode, three quality settings, an adjustable ISO, exposure metering, and three shutter sounds, plus a silent option. You also get nine fun frames, but they're available only when you're shooting in the lowest resolution.

The Innov8's camera is fully equipped.

Though that's an impressive assortment already, the Innov8 doesn't stop there. You can choose from 12 "scene" settings that will automatically adjust the camera for certain shooting conditions. The choices are portrait, landscape, sports, indoor, beach, sunset, dawn, autumn colors, waves and snow, night, fireworks, and text. Wide-dynamic range will compensate for subjects with too much backlighting, while the antishake mode does exactly what you think. The smile-shot feature promises to snap a photo instantly when it detects that a subject is smiling, while the blink detection alerts you when a subject blinked during a photograph. Those features certainly sound interesting, and we'll assess them over the next few days. You also can use the camera as a smart reader for business cards; it worked pretty well in our tests.

On the downside, we weren't thrilled with the Innov8's flash, which is really a dual-LED photo light. Thought it's bright by all measures, it's not a xenon flash. As such, shots taken in low light

5 of 11 1/29/2009 6:55 PM Samsung Innov8 Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-innov8/4505-6454_7-3323...

only come out well if at close range.

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Samsung Innov8 specs and Cell Phone specifications - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-innov8/4507-6454_7-3323...

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Home Reviews Cell Phones Samsung cell phones Samsung Innov8

Samsung Innov8

review specifications compare shop Manufacturer: Samsung

Part Number: I8510INNOV8

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Vibrating Alert

1 of 8 1/29/2009 6:56 PM Samsung Innov8 specs and Cell Phone specifications - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-innov8/4507-6454_7-3323...

Yes

Voice Recorder Yes

Speakerphone Yes

Voice Mail Capability Yes

Polyphonic Ringer Yes

Alarm Clock Yes

Calendar Yes

Additional Features AGPS , TV Link , Radio Data Service (RDS)

General

Cellular technology WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM

Band / mode WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900

Wireless Interface IEEE 802.11g, Bluetooth 2.0, Bluetooth (A2DP)

Talk time Up to 300 min

Standby time Up to 330 h

Included accessories Hands-free headset

Combined with With two digital cameras / digital player / FM radio / GPS receiver

Digital Camera

Camera highlights With a resolution of 8 megapixels, this model will give you better pictures than other phones.

2 of 8 1/29/2009 6:56 PM Samsung Innov8 specs and Cell Phone specifications - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-innov8/4507-6454_7-3323...

Still image resolution 3264 x 2448

Video recorder resolutions 640 x 480 (VGA) , 320 x 240 (QVGA)

Features Multi-shots , Macro function , Video recording , Picture stabilizer

PDA Features

OS provided Symbian OS 9.3 / Series 60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2

Synchronization With PC Yes

Digital Player / Recorder

Digital player supported AAC , AMR , MP3 , Real digital audio standards Audio

Digital player/recorder type Digital player

Display

Display Type LCD display

Display technology TFT

Diagonal Size 2.8 in

Display Resolution 320 x 240 pixels

Color Support Color

Power

Battery installed Lithium ion

3 of 8 1/29/2009 6:56 PM Samsung Innov8 specs and Cell Phone specifications - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-innov8/4507-6454_7-3323...

Messaging / Data Services

Short Messaging Service Yes (SMS)

Internet Browser Yes

GPRS (General Packet Radio Yes Service)

JAVA applications Yes

Mobile Email Yes

Messaging / Data Features PDF support , Microsoft Word support , Microsoft Excel support , Microsoft PowerPoint support

Messaging Services EMS , MMS

Physical Characteristics

Style Slider

Width 2.1 in

Depth 0.7 in

Height 4.2 in

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4 of 8 1/29/2009 6:56 PM

Sony Ericsson K850i - black (unlocked) Cell Phone reviews - CNET Re... http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/sony-ericsson-k850i-black/4505-64...

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Home Reviews Cell Phones Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications cell phones Sony Ericsson K850i - black (unlocked)

Sony Ericsson K850i - black (unlocked)

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Product summary

CNET editors' The good: rating: The Sony Ericsson K850i has a gorgeous display, a wide range 4.0 stars of features, and desirable sound quality. It's also a fantastic camera Excellent phone with outstanding photo quality. Detailed editors' rating Average user rating: The bad: 3.5 stars The Sony Ericsson K850i's navigation array and touch controls out of 23 reviews take a little getting used to. Also, the keypad buttons are rather small. See all user reviews

The bottom line: Though its navigation controls and keypad aren't up to par, the Sony Ericsson K850i is one of the finest camera phones we've seen. Specifications: Band / mode: WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900 ; Talk time: Up to 540 min ; Combined with: With two digital cameras / digital player / FM radio ; See full specs

Price range: $284.99 - $449.99

See all products in the Sony Ericsson K850i series

CNET editors' review

2 of 12 1/29/2009 6:50 PM Sony Ericsson K850i - black (unlocked) Cell Phone reviews - CNET Re... http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/sony-ericsson-k850i-black/4505-64...

Reviewed by: Kent German Reviewed on: 04/28/2008

We don't get many Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot cell phones in the United States, which is unfortunate considering that they tend to be quality devices. We liked the Sony Ericsson K790a and the K800i so much that they both Photo gallery: won our Editors' Choice Award. Indeed, both handsets offered a broad array Sony Ericsson of features, good call quality, and superior photos. The newest Cyber-shot K850i model, the 5-megapixel Sony Ericsson K850i, also passes the performance test, but we had a few complaints with its design that prevented us from giving it our award. It's not a bad phone by any means; in fact there's quite a lot to like about it. But we can't discount its usability issues. The GSM K850i isn't offered by a U.S. carrier, but you can get an unlocked model for about $500.

Design Sony Ericsson excels at a lot of things, but cell phone design isn't always the company's strong point. It's not that its phones are ugly (most of the time they're quite pretty), but controls tend be too stylish for their own good. The K850i has the same problem; it's stylish and sharp, but we found its navigation array and camera controls not so easy to use. But before we get there, let's address the good stuff first.

Like most Sony Ericsson handsets, the K850i has a standard candy bar design. With its sleek black hue and green highlights, it's eye-catching without being ostentatious. At 4 inches by 1.9 inches by 0.7 inch, it has an average size though it's a bit weighty at 4.2 ounces. Sony Ericsson always does a good job with its displays, and the K850i is no exception. The 2.25-inch (320x240 pixels) screen supports a bright 262,144 colors. It shows everything well, from graphics to photos and text, and the menus are simple and easy to use. You can adjust the clock size and the brightness, but no other options are customizable.

3 of 12 1/29/2009 6:50 PM Sony Ericsson K850i - black (unlocked) Cell Phone reviews - CNET Re... http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/sony-ericsson-k850i-black/4505-64...

The K850i's unique navigation array isn't the most easy to use.

Unfortunately, now we need to address the phone's not-so-finer points. At the bottom of the display are three touch controls. The center control serves as your OK button, and the controls on either side act as standard soft keys. While the physical layout of the touch controls is straightforward, where you're actually supposed to touch isn't so clear. The sensitive areas are marked only by tiny white lines that are just a sixteenth of an inch long. You don't need to press right on the line, but sometimes we had to press a couple of times before it registered our choice. Also, it's worth noting that the display isn't touch-sensitive, so touching only the display won't register your choice.

Just below the touch controls are two silver buttons that place and end calls and open the onscreen shortcut menu. There's also a back/clear control. Though the silver buttons are raised above the surface of the phone, they're somewhat small and they're crammed next to the display. Indeed we kept pressing them when we wanted to use the touch controls. The navigation toggle is unlike anything we've ever seen before. It's neither a toggle nor a joystick, but a thin green rectangle that surrounds the 2 and 5 buttons. Though it's relatively tactile, its location was confusing. We kept pressing the 2 and 5 to keys to select choices, when in fact we had to use the touch control that sits above the toggle. Granted, you'll get used to this after you have the phone for a while, but we're not huge fans just the same. The keypad buttons are raised above the surface of the phone, but they're a little smaller than we'd prefer. On the other hand, you can dial by feel and there's a bright backlighting.

On the left spine you'll find a volume rocker, which doubles as a zoom control when the phone is in camera mode. You'll also find a camera shutter and a camera power control. Though the former is quite tactile, the latter is tiny and flush with the surface of the phone. We like the idea of a camera power control, but we wish it were bigger and easier to use. On the upside, the position of the controls on the spine gives the K850i the ergonomics of a standalone camera when you tip the phone horizontally. We also liked the convenient switch for alternating between camera and camcorder modes.

4 of 12 1/29/2009 6:50 PM Sony Ericsson K850i - black (unlocked) Cell Phone reviews - CNET Re... http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/sony-ericsson-k850i-black/4505-64...

The bottom end of the K850i turns down to expose the SIM and memory card slots.

The camera lens is on the rear face next to the flash. There's no self-portrait mirror, but the flash is bright and the lens has a sliding lens cover. There's a second camera lens just above the display that's used for video calls only. The charger port/headset jack is on the bottom of the phone. It sits on top of a cover for the SIM card and memory card slots. To access them you slide the cover down and then flip it toward you. It's an unusual arrangement, but it works quite well.

Features The K850i has a 1,000-contact phone book with room in each entry for seven phone numbers, an e-mail, a URL, a title, a company name, two street addresses, a birthday, and notes (the SIM card holds an additional 250 names). You can save callers to groups and pair them with a photo and one of 20 polyphonic ringtones. Or, for even more choices, video ringtones are available as well.

Other basic offerings include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, a speakerphone, an alarm clock, a calendar, a task list, a notepad, a timer, a stopwatch, and a calculator. But the K850i doesn't stop there. You'll also find stereo Bluetooth, e-mail, an RSS reader, voice dialing, a voice recorder, PC syncing, USB mass storage a file manager, and a code memo for storing sensitive information. You can even use the phone as a remote control for another Bluetooth- enabled device.

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User reviews Average user rating: My rating: 3.5 stars 0 stars out of 23 reviews Write review

5 of 12 1/29/2009 6:50 PM

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Home Reviews Cell Phones Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications cell phones Sony Ericsson K850i - black (unlocked)

Sony Ericsson K850i - black (unlocked)

review user reviews specifications compare shop Manufacturer: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Print E-mail Share Yahoo! Buzz Part Number: K850IBLACK

1 of 9 1/29/2009 6:53 PM Sony Ericsson K850i - black (unlocked) specs and Cell Phone specificatio... http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/sony-ericsson-k850i-black/4507-64...

Phone

Vibrating Alert Yes

Voice Recorder Yes

Speakerphone Yes

Voice Mail Capability Yes

Polyphonic Ringer Yes

Melody Composer Yes

Alarm Clock Yes

Calendar Yes

Multi-language Menu Yes

Additional Features Radio Data Service (RDS)

General

Cellular technology WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM

Band / mode WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900

Wireless Interface Bluetooth (A2DP)

Talk time Up to 540 min

Standby time Up to 400 h

Combined with With two digital cameras / digital player / FM radio

Digital Camera

Camera highlights With a resolution of 5 megapixels, this model will give

2 of 9 1/29/2009 6:53 PM Sony Ericsson K850i - black (unlocked) specs and Cell Phone specificatio... http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/sony-ericsson-k850i-black/4507-64...

you better pictures than other phones. Digital zoom 16

PDA Features

Synchronization With PC Yes

Digital Player / Recorder

Digital player supported AAC , MP3 digital audio standards

Digital player/recorder type Digital player

Display

Display Type LCD display

Display technology TFT

Display Resolution 240 x 320 pixels

Color Support Color

Color Depth 18-bit (262000 Colors)

Messaging / Data Services

Short Messaging Service Yes (SMS)

Internet Browser Yes

GPRS (General Packet Radio Yes Service)

JAVA applications Yes

Mobile Email

3 of 9 1/29/2009 6:53 PM Sony Ericsson K850i - black (unlocked) specs and Cell Phone specificatio... http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/sony-ericsson-k850i-black/4507-64...

Yes

Supported Email Protocols POP3 , IMAP4

Messaging Services MMS

WAP Protocol WAP 2.0 Supported:WAP Protocol Version

3G Services / Included Video Call Services

Physical Characteristics

Style Candy bar

Weight 4.2 oz

Width 1.9 in

Depth 0.7 in

Height 4 in

Antenna Internal

Security Features

SIM Card Lock no

Restrict Access to Phone Book no

Voice Encryption no

Where to buy

Sony Ericsson K850i - black (unlocked): $284.99 - $449.99

store price in stock? rating

4 of 9 1/29/2009 6:53 PM

Sony Ericsson W760a - black (AT&T) Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/sony-ericsson-w760a-black/4505-6...

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Sponsored Links w760a On Sale Get A Great Online-Only Deal On A Sony Ericsson w760a From Wirefly wirefly.com Sony Ericsson C905 $479 P i With C t t $339 I St k N C ll 212 561 5358 Sony Ericsson W760a - black (AT&T)

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1 of 11 1/30/2009 7:59 AM Sony Ericsson W760a - black (AT&T) Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/sony-ericsson-w760a-black/4505-6...

Product summary

CNET editors' The good: rating: The Sony Ericsson W760i has an attractive, 4.0 stars easy-to-use design with a well-stocked, music-friendly Excellent feature set. It also offers broad world phone support, an Detailed editors' rating accelerometer, and reliable performance. Aug 08 Average user rating: 3.0 stars The bad: out of 17 reviews The Sony Ericsson W760i's menus are the slightest bit sluggish, See all user reviews and some of its navigation controls were crowded. Also, it lacks a camera flash, and we're concerned about the long-term durability of its keypad buttons. The bottom line: The Sony Ericsson W760i is the best Sony Ericsson Walkman phone we've seen, by far. It corrects one of Sony Ericsson's usual design pitfalls while offering a generous feature set and satisfying performance. We can suggest a few tweaks that should make it a winner. Specifications: Band / mode: WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900 ; Talk time: Up to 210 min ; Combined with: With digital camera / digital player / FM radio / GPS receiver ; See full specs See all products in the Sony Ericsson W760 series

CNET editors' review

2 of 11 1/30/2009 7:59 AM Sony Ericsson W760a - black (AT&T) Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/sony-ericsson-w760a-black/4505-6...

Reviewed by: Kent German Reviewed on: 08/06/2008

Editors' note: The Sony Ericsson W760i is unlocked and AT&T offers the Sony Ericsson W760a. Features are similar between the two devices, but the W760a adds support for AT&T's music and video applications.

Almost three years ago we reviewed our first Sony Ericsson Walkman phone, the W600i. Since then, we've seen quite a few models pass through our hands. For the most part we've approved of the Walkman series, even if there Photo gallery: was the occasional dud. Designs are typically easy to use, features are Sony Ericsson plentiful, and performance is satisfactory. Fortunately, the latest Walkman W760i handset, the W760i, didn't let us down in the slightest. It first captured our eye at CES 2008 where it was a finalist in the cell phones category for CNET's Best of CES. At the time, we admired its slick design and its laden feature set, which includes a motion sensor, an accelerometer, and support for three UMTS/HSDPA bands. And now, seven months later, we can report that this super world phone offers so much to like that it earned our Editors' Choice Award. In the United States, the W760i is available unlocked for about $300 while the W760a is offered by AT&T for $129 with a two-year contract and after a mail-in rebate.

Design The W760i features a classic Sony Ericsson slider design that's sure to catch a few eyes on the street. The curved edges and clean lines make for a very attractive phone with some unique style touches. In particular, we liked the textured material on the bottom end of the phone and the shiny metal skin below the camera lens. Three color versions are available: fancy black, rocky silver and intense red. The black model, which we reviewed, features a bright yellow stripe across the battery cover. Though it gives the W760i a faint bumblebee impression, we approved of its overall look.

At 4.1 inches tall by 1.9 inches wide by 0.6 inch deep, and weighing 3.5 ounces, the W760i is compact and lightweight yet still has a comfortable solid feel in the hand. The slider mechanism is sturdy; you can open and close the phone with one hand, and it clicks firmly into place on either end. The 2.25-inch display is nothing short of excellent. With support for 262,144 hues, it is bright and vibrant with an intense color resolution. Everything looks great, from the easy to use menus to the graphics and photos. You can adjust the brightness and choose from a selection of menu styles.

In the past, Sony Ericsson has stumbled when designing navigation controls. Usually this has happened when the company's product design team tried to be too creative. But with the W760i

3 of 11 1/30/2009 7:59 AM Sony Ericsson W760a - black (AT&T) Cell Phone reviews - CNET Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/sony-ericsson-w760a-black/4505-6...

we were glad to see that Sony Ericsson kept things simple. The four-way toggle and surrounding buttons are spacious and tactile and we rarely had a problem navigating through menus and selecting options. The four-way toggle and central OK button double as music player shortcuts, and you can set the toggle to give one-touch access to an additional four user-defined functions. Though we'd prefer dedicated music controls, such an arrangement is common on other Walkman phones.

The two soft keys have tactile ridges, and we were glad to see Sony Ericsson break from another tradition by providing dedicated Talk and End/power buttons. Both controls are intuitive and, in an unexpected touch, they're surrounded by small speakers for the music player. Our only complaint with the W760i's controls is that the Clear key and the secondary shortcut button are a bit crowded and they lack any definition. On a couple of occasions we mistakenly hit the End key when we meant to press the Clear button.

As is the case with most slider phones, the W760i's keypad buttons are hidden by the sliding face. Of course, that also means that they're completely flush, but they make up for it by being relatively large. When texting or dialing we didn't have any misdials. What's more, the backlighting is bright, and the numbers on the keys are big. On the downside, we weren't crazy about the plastic feeling of the keys. It made us wonder about their long-term durability and whether they could crack over time, as we found on the Sony Ericsson W580i.

The W760i's memory card slot is conveniently located.

Rounding out the exterior of the W760i are a thin volume rocker on the right spine and a Walkman player shortcut on the left spine. The charger port sits just above the Walkman control, while the Memory Stick Micro slot rests in a handy location on the top of the phone. The camera lens sits on the rear face of the front slider, so you must have the phone open to snap pictures. There's no flash or self-portrait mirror; we expect both on a 3.2-megapixel shooter.

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Features The W760i has a 1,000-contact phone book with room in each entry for five phone numbers, an e-mail, Web address, job title, company name, work address, birthday, and notes. You can save contacts to groups, and pair them with a photo and one of 42 polyphonic and MP3 ringtones for caller ID. That is quite a decent selection of tones and you also can choose a video ringtone for callers. Other essentials include a vibrate mode, a voice memo recorder, text and multimedia messaging, an alarm clock, a calendar, a task list, a notepad, a timer, a speakerphone (usable after you make a call), a stopwatch, and a calculator.

But the W760i doesn't stop there. You'll also find full Bluetooth (including a stereo profile and a Bluetooth remote), e-mail support, PC syncing, a file manager, USB mass storage, and a code memo for storing sensitive information. You'll also find a selection of applications, ranging from functional to unusual. There's a tip calculator, a unit converter, two world clocks and a Rock Bobblehead app where you can make a cartoon Elvis-like bobblehead dance by shaking the phone. As we said, some apps are useful and some...not so much. Music Mate 5 takes advantage of the W760i's motion sensor, as well. When you're not using the handset as a metronome, you can play a variety of percussion instruments by shaking the W760i in various directions.

Speaking of music, the W760i's player offers the usual refinements you'd expect from a Walkman phone. Settings include an equalizer, playlists, stereo widening, and shuffle and loop modes. The interface is minimalist, but functional. The player supports album art as well, but it won't recognize every song it plays. You also get an airplane mode for listening to your tunes with the phone transmitter off. Like the W580i, the W760i's player is integrated with the "shake control" application. By holding down the Walkman button when music is playing you can advance to the next track by flicking your wrist. It works quite well and it's an attractive feature.

Loading music on the phone is relatively easy. The needed USB cable and the Disc2Phone software are included, which means you're saved the pain of shelling out more money for a music kit. The Sony Ericsson software can be a bit clunky, so we're glad that you can also drag and drop music from your PC to the W760i. Internal memory is capped at a relatively low 40MB, so it's advisable to use a Memory Stick Micro card. You also get the standard FM radio, as well as a Music ID application for identifying likable tunes you can't name.

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5 of 11 1/30/2009 7:59 AM

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Home Reviews Cell Phones Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications cell phones Sony Ericsson W760a - black (AT&T)

Sony Ericsson W760a - black (AT&T)

review user reviews specifications compare shop Manufacturer: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications

Part Number: 3020345 Print E-mail Share Yahoo! Buzz Phone

1 of 8 1/30/2009 8:00 AM Sony Ericsson W760a - black (AT&T) specs and Cell Phone specification... http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/sony-ericsson-w760a-black/4507-6...

Service provider AT&T

Vibrating Alert Yes

Voice Recorder Yes

Speakerphone Yes

Voice Mail Capability Yes

Polyphonic Ringer Yes

Melody Composer Yes

Alarm Clock Yes

Calendar Yes

Multi-language Menu Yes

Additional Features Intelligent typing (T9) , USB , Memory Stick Micro slot , PictBridge , Speakerphone , Photofix , Shake control , Modem , aGPS , Auto rotate

General

Cellular technology WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM

Band / mode WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900

Wireless Interface Bluetooth (A2DP)

Talk time Up to 210 min

Standby time Up to 240 h

Combined with With digital camera / digital player / FM radio / GPS receiver

Digital Camera

2 of 8 1/30/2009 8:00 AM Sony Ericsson W760a - black (AT&T) specs and Cell Phone specification... http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/sony-ericsson-w760a-black/4507-6...

Camera highlights With a resolution of 3.2 megapixels, this model will give you better pictures than other phones.

Digital zoom 2.5

Digital Player / Recorder

Digital player supported AAC , MP3 digital audio standards

Digital player/recorder type Digital player

Display

Display Type LCD display

Display technology TFT

Display Resolution 320 x 240 pixels

Color Support Color

Color Depth 18-bit (262000 Colors)

Power

Battery installed 1Lithium ion

Messaging / Data Services

Short Messaging Service Yes (SMS)

Internet Browser Yes

GPRS (General Packet Radio Yes

3 of 8 1/30/2009 8:00 AM Sony Ericsson W760a - black (AT&T) specs and Cell Phone specification... http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/sony-ericsson-w760a-black/4507-6...

Service) JAVA applications Yes

Mobile Email Yes

Messaging / Data Features RSS feeds , Mobile blog , XHTML Browser

Messaging Services MMS , Yahoo! Messenger , AOL Instant Messenger Service (AIM)

WAP Protocol WAP 2.0 Supported:WAP Protocol Version

3G Services / Included Video Call Services

Physical Characteristics

Style Slider

Weight 3.6 oz

Width 1.9 in

Depth 0.6 in

Height 4.1 in

Antenna Internal

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