About to buy your next smartphone or cell phone? So many options, so little time!
Here’s the pick of the bunch:
Smartphones:
Apple iPhone 3GS: Featuring up to 10 hours of talk time, 16 or 32 GB memory, smudge-proof display, and weighing 4.7 ounces, the latest iPhone is available in black and white touchscreen models. This phone is an upgrade from the iPhone 3G with new features such as a 3MP camera, photo editing options, video recording, voice dialling, digital compass, the iPhone OS 3.0 (with 100 new features), and MMS. Demerits: no camera flash, unpredictable reception, and no USB storage/transfer.
HTC Hero: Apart from being extremely customizable, the Hero takes awesome pictures thanks to its 5MP camera. It has 250 minutes of talk time, a bright LCD touchscreen display, is equipped with a GPS navigator, and runs on Google’s Android OS. The phone weighs 4.5 ounces and comes with a virtual QWERTY keyboard.
HTC HD2: This stunning HTC model runs on the 1GHz Snapdragon mobile processor. It has all the usual smartphone features like Wi-fi, Bluetooth, and a 5MP camera, but the best part about this phone is its stunning 4.3” multi-touchscreen that lets you zoom in and out of websites.
Nokia E72: A solid and power packed business smartphone. Weighing 4.51 ounces, this sleek yet sturdy model runs on the Symbian OS 9.3 and has an incredible 16.7 million colour display. It has a full QWERTY keypad, quad-band world roaming, and great messaging abilities.
BlackBerry Bold 9700: With attractive features such as an optical trackpad, compact and sleek looks, and a 2.44” display, this phone has a vast fanbase. It runs on the BlackBerry OS 5.0 and has large buttons for easy messaging. Wi-fi, Bluetooth, and GPS enabled.
Nokia X6: The X6 is essentially meant for the music freak, with a 3.5mm headphone jack, 32GB memory for storing thousands of songs, and FM radio. Available in red and blue, this is a great phone with a 5MP camera, SMS/MMS capabilities, video recording, Nokia Ovi Suite, and the Symbian S60 5th Edition OS.
Palm Pre: This phone is for the multi-tasker. Weighing 4.8 ounces, the Palm Pre is a slider phone that runs on the Palm webOS and comes with an 8GB memory. You also get to take great pictures with this phone thanks to its 3MP LED lit camera. The Palm Pre has a 3.1” LCD display and is especially well known for its multimedia integration.
Nokia N97: Another winner from Nokia, the N97 has a full QWERTY keyboard, 32GB memory, a 5MP camera, and is Wi-fi, Bluetooth, and GPS enabled. Although the phone is powerful and feature-laden, it is quite chunky.
Samsung i8910 Omnia HD: Arguably the phone with the most breathtaking screen and display, the i8910 Omnia HD is equipped with an 8MP camera, HD video recording, and is also Wi-fi, Bluetooth, and GPS enabled.
Sony Ericsson Satio: Featuring a rich and vibrant 3.5” display and an impressive 12.1MP camera, the Satio supports both the Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 OS. Equipped with 128 MB memory, a virtual keypad, MP3 playback, Walkman player, speakers, and FM radio.
Cell Phones:
Sony Ericsson W995: Available in black, red, and silver, the W995 is an extremely good looking phone. It also comes with an 8.1MP camera and stereo and Bluetooth, apart from being equipped with GPS and 3G. It’s a quad-band GSM slider phone and comes with the popular Walkman 3.0 media player. But the screen is not very big and the resolution could have been better.
Sony Ericsson C905 Plus: This innovative phone has a lot going for it, such as an 8GB memory, the BBC iPlayer app, a 2.4” display, Wi-fi, Bluetooth, an 8.1MP camera (with flash). The camera features the cool Smile Shutter technology – you can programme it to click a picture automatically when the subject smiles!
Nokia N86 8 MP: This stunning phone (available in white and indigo) is hugely popular for its OLED display and smooth glass front. If you’re big on taking pictures, this is the phone for you. It has an 8MP camera with auto focus, dual LED flash, and a Carl Zeiss lens. The integrated GPS lets you geotag your pictures and also upload them to Ovi and Flickr.
BlackBerry Curve 8520: An excellent phone from BlackBerry, the Curve 8520 is a dream to use with its dedicated media buttons and optical trackpad. Packing all the usual features (Wi-fi, Bluetooth, 2MP camera), this 3.7 ounce phone is sleek yet solid and has a full QWERTY keypad.
Samsung Jet: This is predominantly a multimedia phone equipped with a 3.1” OLED WVGA display and a TouchWiz 2.0 touchscreen. It has a virtual QWERTY keyboard, a 5MP camera (with zoom), and up to 3 hours of talk time. Other cool aspects include the motion induced Etiquette Pause and Speaker Call. However, the Jet does not have voice control or GPS.
Samsung Pixon 12: This is a high-end 8MP camera phone with a virtual and physical QWERTY keypad! With its GPS feature, you can geotag pictures, and flick through them using your fingers. Also featuring a 200MB memory, Bluetooth, SMS, and MMS capabilities.
Nokia 6303 Classic: Weighing a paltry 96 grams, the 6303 Classic is a cute and versatile Nokia offering. Equipped with Bluetooth, seven hours of talk time, a 2.2” QVGA screen, 3.2MP camera, and 17MB memory.
Samsung Star: The Star from Samsung is a handsome touchscreen (3”) phone. With a 3.2MP camera, quick links to social networking sites, and numerous widgets, the Star is good value for money and is easy to use. However, it lacks 3G and Wi-fi connectivity.
Sony Ericsson W705: Essentially a phone for the music lover, this slider phone comes with cute headphones, 4GB memory, FM radio, and a delightful music menu. The phone is definitely good looking, available in a red/silver brushed-metal finish, featuring a 2.4” screen, and a 3.2MP camera.
Nokia 5130 XpressMusic: This snazzy phone from Nokia is sure to get you compliments. Built for the music aficionado, this compact phone is equipped with a 30MB memory, MP3 playback, FM radio, dedicated music controls, and lets you play up to 21 hours of music! It has a 2” display and a 2MP camera.