Cell Phones & Plans

At a Glance:

What’s Good: Excellent QWERTY keypad; WiFi for Email/Web and UMA voice calling; Legendary push Email system; Trackball navigation; Media player with 3.5mm headphone jack.

What’s Not Good: No 3G data; No GPS; Web browser not on par with best smartphones; Memory card hidden behind battery.

Bottom Line: T-Mobile’s version of the Curve is one of the best smartphones around.  It lacks high speed data access data but adds WiFi for data access and unlimited UMA calling, and the inclusion of a 2MP camera with flash and standard headphone jack make this the most consumer-oriented BlackBerry ever.  All in all it’s an excellent smartphone that adds some entertainment value to BlackBerry’s renowned push Email service, and is actually a hair more responsive than AT&T’s version.

Specs:

Make/Model: RIM BlackBerry Curve (8320)
Network: GSM Quad-Band
Data: EDGE (2.5G), WiFi (802.11 b/g) with UMA support
Carrier: T-Mobile USA (Locked)
Size: 107 x 60 x - read full review

At a Glance:

What’s Good: Compact, solid flip phone with front-mounted music controls/speaker, stereo Bluetooth support and straightforward music player; Includes 1GB memory card; Good IM support; Inexpensive.

What’s Not Good: Signal strength issues; Low-res display and less-than-pretty UI; Wired headphones require use of proprietary adapter.

Bottom Line: Beat is a simple flip with a pretty good music player and low price tag.  The phone’s design didn’t do much for me, and the display is low-res, but for a basic phone with music player, Beat’s not bad.  Just make sure you can get good reception with it where you live and work.

Specs:

Make/Model: Samsung Beat (SGH-T539)
Network: GSM Quad-Band
Data: EDGE (2.5G)
Carrier: T-Mobile USA (Locked)
Size: 90 x 46 x 17.8 mm
Weight: 77 g
Form Factor: Clamshell
Display: (Main) Color LCD, 128 x 160 Resolution, 65,000 Colors; (External) Color LCD, 96 x 96 Resolution
Memory:  18 MB built-in, microSD card slot, - read full review

At a Glance:
 
What’s Good: Compact, stylish Windows Mobile 6 smartphone; HSDPA (3G) high speed data; Improved battery life; GPS; Center mounted jog wheel

What’s Not Good: QWERTY keys are a little small and a little slippery; No touchscreen; Display is smallish for a smartphone

Bottom Line: Blackjack II is a solid improvement over its predecessor.  There’s nothing revolutionary here, but faster hardware, improved battery life, and speedy 3G data make this a worthy update to the popular original.

Specs:

Make/Model: Samsung Blackjack II (SGH-i617)
Network: GSM Quad-Band
Data: HSDPA (3G)
Carrier: AT&T (Locked)
Size: 114 x 61 x 13 mm
Weight: 116 g
Form Factor: Candybar
Display: 2.4″ Color LCD, 320 x 240 (QVGA) Resolution, 65,000 Colors
Memory: 155 MB built-in, microSD card slot
Notable Features: Windows Mobile 6 Standard OS; QWERTY thumbpad; Front-mounted jog dial navigation; Integrated GPS; 2-megapixel camera; Supports AT&T Video Share - read full review

At a Glance

What is Good: Shadow is a sleek slider with a custom interface and jog dial that make it easier to use than the average Windows Mobile smartphone.  The SureType keypad fits a QWERTY layout into the space of a regular numerical keypad but has larger buttons than the BlackBerry Pearl or Samsung Blast.  Built-in WiFi and myFaves compatibility.

What’s Not Good: Not everyone will like Shadow’s keypad.  Wider than most slider phones.  Less powerful than many smartphones.  No touchscreen.  EDGE is slow for Web browsing.

Bottom Line: If you’re looking for a smartphone in a sleek disguise, Shadow is an interesting choice.  Though it runs Windows Mobile, it’s really more like a souped-up messaging phone than a smartphone.  The custom UI is a great touch.

Specs:

Make/Model: HTC Shadow
Network: GSM Quad-Band
Data: EDGE and WiFi (802.11b/g)
Carrier: T-Mobile USA (Locked)
Size: 103 x 53 x 15 mm
Weight: 150 - read full review

I first glimpsed the successor to the MOTO Q back at CTIA Orlando in April of this year. A Motorola executive seated next to me at a Smartphone Summit panel discussion pulled a pre-production Q9 from his packet and used it to check his email while I tried to sneak a look. Eventually he noticed, and after I introduced myself he let me check the device out. I remember being impressed by the new Q’s QWERTY thumbboard - the layout and individual buttons felt much more comfortable and responsive than the keys on the original Q. Beyond that, I remember thinking the Q9 looked sorta cool - well, sorta cool for a smartphone anyway - but that was about it.

After some time with the Verizon Wireless version of the Q9m, I’ve more or less come back to that first impression of the new Q. The Q9m - the consumer-targeted, music-oriented sibling of the all business Q9h - is a slightly faster, slightly more capable upgrade to the original Q. That new QWERTY board is, in fact, better than the - read full review