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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| Motorola Droid |
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 The Motorola Droid is a fascinating device, and a great addition to Verizon Wireless' lineup. It's the exact opposite of the Motorola CLIQ. While the CLIQ provides an innovative and deeply integrated social networking platform on top of a shoddy piece of hardware, the Motorola Droid is one of the most solid phones we've used, but it adds little to Google's own innovation. That's fine with us, since Google has added plenty of cool new features to Android 2.0 that will change the smartphone market for the better. Google Maps now includes a great, free turn-by-turn navigation system, and the interface gets improvements like a dedicated in-car mode that make us wonder why nobody else thought of this. The Droid hardware is rigidly constructed and loaded with high-end features. We especially liked the dazzling screen that packs more pixels than any other U.S. carrier phone, the 5-megapixel camera (though our unit's camcorder feature was bonked) and the fast processing that kept the system at a steady sprint. Even battery life was great on this phone, a rarity among Android devices. If Verizon Wireless and Motorola really want to dethrone the Apple iPhone 3GS, they'll have to significantly improve the music and video players, and we're hoping to see Flash 10 support in the Web browser sooner rather than later. But in the last couple months, Motorola has made a significant turnaround, and we're pleased to be able to highly recommend a Moto phone once again. Release: November 2009. Price: $200.
Pros: Excellent build quality. High-end features, especially the large display. Google Maps with Navigation is fantastic and free.
Cons: Verizon Wireless didn't add much to Google's stock interface. Camera was disappointing. Most features were superlative, but nothing unique.
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| Samsung Moment |
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 The Samsung Moment is a solid piece of Android hardware with some specs that put it at the top of the pack. That AMOLED screen, for one, is the best of any Android phone we've seen, and you'll love watching movies or just flicking around the interface on the sharp, rich display. The phone lacks the heavy customization and extra features of other new Android phones, especially the Motorola CLIQ and HTC Hero on Sprint, but the secret to Android is that, if you're willing to do a lot of research and digging through the Android App Market, you can find almost all the features you're missing, often for free. If anything, we miss great video support the most, especially with that large, sharp display, and we'd like to see more apps and widgets to bring our favorite social networking services up to the desktop, and into our address books and calendars. But the Moment is still a solid piece of hardware, and even if it doesn't match the others in interface design, it sets a new bar for speed and hardware features on Android. Release: November 2009. Price: $180.
Pros: Great AMOLED screen makes videos and Web pages look sharp. Android is a highly customizable and extensible OS.
Cons: Very large device. Lacks many necessary apps, though most can be found in Android App Market.
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| RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 |
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 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. Lacks some necessary software, including turn-by-turn GPS navigation.
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| RIM BlackBerry Storm 2 |
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 If you are already decided on the BlackBerry Storm and you've only been waiting for RIM to fix the long list of problems with the first model, fear not, because the BlackBerry Storm 2 addresses almost all of the complaints buyers had with the original. The BlackBerry Storm 2 is faster, more responsive, built better and more feature-packed than the first Storm. Even so, the interface was wildly inconsistent, as if the phone could never remember when you're supposed to press and when you're supposed to lightly tap; when you're supposed to swipe or when you should just point. Sometimes, it simply didn't work. Sometimes, the interface design was so counterintuitive that we decided to give up. Even with the improvements, and they are significant, using the BlackBerry Storm 2 was a real chore, as the extra pressure required to 'click' makes every action a bit harder compared to other touchscreens. The interface design was continually frustrating, even while newer phones, like the HTC Hero on Sprint, manage to surprise and delight with clever and adaptive touchscreen interface ideas. All the basic BlackBerry features are present in the Storm 2, like the great integrated messaging inbox, the deep access for IT managers, and newer features like the BlackBerry App World and the tightly integrated Facebook app. Plus, the screen on the Storm 2 is one of the best we've seen on a phone, and it's great for watching movies and videos. But if you want BlackBerry features, buy a classic BlackBerry with a keyboard, and if you want a touchscreen phone, there are much better options on the market. Release: October 2009. Price: $180.
Pros: Faster, more responsive than original BlackBerry Storm. Fantastic display quality, great for movies. Well-organized messaging.
Cons: Interface design is frustrating and cumbersome, even when SurePress works well. Browser still lagging. Some features could use a serious graphical boost.
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| Motorola Cliq |
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 The Motorola CLIQ is the perfect phone for the true social networking junkie. If you like being bombarded with information from your friends, followers and favorite Web sites, the Motorola CLIQ does the best job keeping you in touch with everything. It can be daunting at times, with faces on your desktop changing at random and text bubbles popping up from everywhere. You can customize, since this is Android, but Motorola hasn't done much beyond the deep social networking integration. Besides the frenetic status updates, it's a fairly basic Google Android system, and a disappointing piece of hardware, as well. The phone design lacks any of the tight fitting lines and striking angles of Motorola's RAZR legacy, and instead feels wobbly and cheap, a real disappointment. The Motorola CLIQ isn't as refined as other modern smartphones, notably the HTC Hero or Palm Pre, but it's the perfect phone for a real social networking fiend, and we think that's a growing audience. Release: October 2009. Price: $200.
Pros: Keep all your status updates for all your networks and feeds up top. Easy to update multiple networks at once. Great custom widgets for Android.
Cons: Wobbly hardware design made touchscreen use frustrating. Phone was a bit buggy or unresponsive at times. Battery life poor. Multimedia experience sub-par on Android.
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