Posted by Ed on Oct 17th, 2008
What’s Good: Integrated WiFi for Web, Email, and HotSpot@Home UMA Calling; Trackball is easy to use; Integrated IM Clients; Second-to-None Push Email; 2MP Camera with Flash; 3.5 mm Headphone Jack; Compact Size
What’s Not Good: OS Menus and Fonts Remind me of 1989; SureType QWERTY board will be too small for some; Video capture quality is mediocre
Bottom Line: T-Mobile’s new Pearl takes a good thing and makes it better by way of integrated Wi-Fi networking for data access and T-Mob’s HotSpot@Home service. A few other minor improvements make the handset’s media player and keyboard a little bit better. Pearl’s still too small for my hands, but it packs smartphone functionality and money saving features into a great device that looks and feels like a phone — not a brick. RIM’s gotta overhaul their user interface soon, though. The icons and fonts feel more and more dated every day.
Specs:
Make/Model: RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8120
Network: GSM
Data: - read full review
Posted by Ed on Oct 17th, 2008
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
Posted by Ed on Oct 17th, 2008
What’s Good: Supports every feature Sprint offers; EV-DO Rev. A data speeds; Good touchscreen response; Bright, clear display; Excellent GPS/navigation and voice command features; Good visual voicemail feature; 3.5mm headphone jack and stereo Bluetooth; Second battery included in packaging; Excellent value at $129 retail price
What’s Not Good: “Full HTML” Web browser is disappointing; No IM support; No calendar synching; No support for user-created ringtones or background images on menu screens; No phone as modem support on mandatory Simply Everything plan
Bottom Line: Sprint’s new flagship media phone is a very good device, even if I wish they’d skipped the whole “Instinct vs iPhone” marketing campaign. The Web browser needs work and mobile IM addicts will be left in the cold by Instinct, but otherwise Instinct offers solid support across a huge variety of features and excellent implementation of GPS-based navigation and voice activated commands in particular. - read full review
Posted by Ed on Oct 17th, 2008
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 g
Form Factor: Slider
Display: - read full review
Posted by Ed on Oct 17th, 2008
What’s Good: All kinds of multimedia, Web, and location-based features; Super slim profile; Speedy EV-DO access; GPS; 106MB Internal Memory
What’s Not Good: Touch sensitive controls are very finicky; End key in an odd place; Call quality only so-so; Camera not as good as original U600
Bottom Line: Samsung brings their Ultra U600 sliderphone to the US in the form of the Helio Mysto. While Mysto’s thin profile is sexy and Helio’s myriad features are excellent, this handset’s electrostatic touch controls are more trouble than they’re worth. Helio fans may love Mysto as a companion to their Oceans, but others may look elsewhere.
Specs:
Make/Model: Samsung Mysto
Network: CDMA
Data: EV-DO (1x Rev. 0)
Carrier: Helio (Locked)
Size: 105 x 50 x 12.7 mm
Weight: 95 g
Form Factor: Slider
Display: 2.2″ Color LCD, 320 x 240 (QVGA) resolution, 262,000 Colors
Memory: 106 MB built-in, microSD card slot
Notable Features: Integrated GPS with location based - read full review