Welcome to Cell Phone Reviews, a part of infoSync Reviews. Here you'll find in-depth cell phone reviews from AT&T Wireless, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile. From time to time we also offer cell phone reviews of unlocked phones. If you don't find what you're looking for here, please check out the following resources: Resource Center for Cell Phones, Ask The Editors and Expert Guides.
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| HP iPaq Glisten |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 With the HP iPaq Glisten, we wonder if HP has been paying attention to the phone market for the last couple of years. The phone is the most basic, barebones Windows Mobile 6.5 device you could imagine, with almost no extra software or convenient tweaks to improve the user experience. Business users will enjoy the tight integration with Microsoft Exchange and the solid build quality. The phone also packs a large battery and can hold a charge through a busy day's use. Plus, the keyboard is nice and large for easy typing, definitely a solid competitor to RIM's BlackBerry Bold 9700. But beyond the basic business features, the phone comes up short. As more business users rely on a single device for their work and personal lives, the HP iPaq Glisten performs poorly at Web browsing, multimedia functions, taking pictures and just about anything other than serious work. The interface is difficult to use by touch alone, which is why most manufacturers, like HTC with their Tilt 2 on AT&T, improve it with some sort of enhancements. But with the HP iPaq Glisten, all you get are the basics, and that might not be enough for many users. Release: December 2009. Price: $180.
Pros: Solid build quality. Great battery life. Large, easy full-QWERTY keyboard.
Cons: Barebones set of Windows Mobile features. Web browsing, multimedia and camera features all below average. Interface still not entirely touch friendly.
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| Samsung Omnia 2 |
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 The Samsung Omnia 2 is an impressive phone on paper. It packs some great features, so in theory it should be a top notch business phone with a lot of multimedia power thrown in. DiVX playback, for instance, is still unheard of on most phones, and movies looked great on the Omnia 2's AMOLED screen. But Samsung has gone so wrong with the interface that it's difficult and frustrating to use, and impossible to enjoy. The TouchWiz interface is just horrible, a hodgepodge of problems and ugly interface decisions that make the phone look unpolished and unprofessional. Plus, the Samsung Omnia 2 suffered from performance problems that made the interface sluggish, and the resistive touchscreen often failed to register our touch. It even had trouble when we broke out the included stylus. It isn't all bad. The Omnia 2 has fast networking and good call quality with a large battery. It uses Opera's Web browser, which is a capable client, and it’s the first phone we've used with a Swype keyboard, a surprisingly quick and fascinating keyboard design that we'd like to see on other (better) phones. But none of that matters because the interface design is ugly at best and unusable at worst. If you're a complete DiVX addict, the Samsung Omnia 2 can get the job done, but most buyers looking for a business tablet with a cool interface and good multimedia features would be much better served by the HTC Imagio, a phone that hits the target where the Samsung Omnia 2 misses the mark. Release: December 2009. Price: $200.
Pros: Solid features, including DiVX playback, 5-megapixel camera and more. Colorful AMOLED screen.
Cons: Unresponsive touchscreen coupled with a poorly designed interface make using the phone a hassle. Poor performance, even in High power CPU mode.
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| HTC HD2 |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 With its massive, high resolution screen and the polished HTC Sense interface running, the HTC HD2 is clearly gunning for top billing in the smartphone world. It represents the best that HTC can accomplish, and HTC makes the best smartphones on the market right now (to check out reviews of our favorites, click here), with one possible exception. Outside and in, the phone is packed with innovative features and great performance, including some things we've never seen before, like Wi-Fi network sharing and the blazing, battery hogging Snapdragon 1GHz processor. If you're thinking of importing this phone, beware its limitations, like the lack of U.S. 3G support and onboard Instant Messaging apps. Plus, while HTC's TouchFLO 3D hides Windows Mobile as much as any phone can, we still prefer the HTC Sense concept on Android devices like the HTC Hero and Droid Eris, where you get far more customization options and active homescreen widgets. That large screen simply dominates the HD2 experience, and it's great for watching videos and daily use if you spend a lot of time staring at your mobile. Windows Mobile doesn't quite seem ready to handle the capacitive touch technology, and some links in the Web browser or Twitter app were unresponsive as we tapped away, but for the most part using the HD2 was lots of fun, and it was even better for keeping tabs and getting work done. If the phone fits your network, your budget and your hands, pick one up, it's a definite pleaser. Release: November 2009. Price: $800.
Pros: Huge, capacitive touch display. Innovative features, like Wi-Fi network sharing and deep GPS integration. Fantastic interface, especially for Windows Mobile.
Cons: Windows Mobile isn't ready for capacitive touch, gave us trouble in Web browser and other apps. Lacks IM clients on board. Carry a spare battery.
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| Samsung Behold II |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 With the Samsung Behold II, Samsung tries to make Android better by using the TouchWIZ interface, but in stead the phone's performance takes an obvious hit compared to other Android devices we've reviewed. Samsung has also redesigned many of the system menus and apps on the phone, but we think the original Android approach is better. We had hoped to see improved multimedia and video playback on the Behold II, but yet again we've seen standard Android phones performing better. All that said, if you're looking for a mix of great battery life, call quality, camera, GPS navigation and Web browsing in an all-touch phone, the Samsung Behold II will not let you down. But beware that obvious "multimedia cell phone" footprint, as there's little here that deals with the latest trends in social network integration or the latest and greatest in messaging trends. Release: November 2009. Price: $230.
Pros: High-quality OLED screen looks great.
Cons: Samsung's TouchWIZ interface hurts Android experience. Keyboard is cramped and difficult.
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| RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 The BlackBerry Bold 9700, especially the T-Mobile version we reviewed, is the quintessential modern BlackBerry. It does everything right that BlackBerry fans love, but it doesn't improve on the formula one bit. Calling, messaging and business features are top notch. Besides the superlative battery life for which BlackBerry devices are known, the BlackBerry Bold 9700 is T-Mobile's first 3G smartphone with UMA calling, which means you'll always have good reception if you have a Wi-Fi network nearby. If you don't mind digging through the BlackBerry App World (and digging FOR the App World), you'll find great social networking apps for keeping up with Facebook, uploading photos to your favorite sites and more. But if RIM wants the BlackBerry to stay competitive, it's time to get serious about the Web browser, a feature that has lagged behind for years now. Plus, when you're using the BlackBerry Bold 9700's aging, menu-heavy interface, it's too easy to be reminded of the phone's pager heritage. Worst of all, RIM's flagship BlackBerry Bold 9700 doesn't bring anything new to the party. It does everything well that we've already seen a BlackBerry do, and now we'd like the phone to learn some new tricks. Release: November 2009. Price: $200.
Pros: Great battery life. Well organized inbox aggregates all incoming messages. UMA calling is very convenient.
Cons: Interface still bland, poorly organized. Web browser lags behind competition.
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