 |
|
|
|
| Samsung Airave |
| Full review » Gallery » |
 There is no doubt that femtocells will be an important part of the future of cellular networks, and the Samsung Airave on Sprint is a great first step. For users in remote cabins in the woods of Maine with absolutely no cell phone service in sight, the Airave will be a blessing, and will be worth the extra fees. But if you simply run out of bars in our kitchen, you might not be so willing to cough up the extra $5-25 per month, depending on your plan, to get what Sprint has been promising anyway: reliable service. The Airave won't make your phone faster or improve call quality, unless you were already having reception trouble, and then it will help your phone live up to its potential. Release: September 2008. Price: $100.
Pros: Improves, or even creates, reception for Sprint users. Wide range. Easy setup, if you can get a GPS signal.
Cons: Limited number of phones allowed at once. Pricey service plans required. Requires a GPS signal to work.
| Poor |
Mediocre |
70%
GOOD |
Very good |
Excellent |
|
|
| Verizon Wireless Blitz |
| Full review » Video » Scoreboard » Specs » Gallery » |
 The Verizon Wireless Blitz is designed around one feature: messaging. Unfortunately, the phone gets this feature wrong in almost every way. The dedicated messaging key is hidden among a jumble of small keys. The messaging apps themselves are wildly inconsistent, very basic and lack the advanced features that the intended audience will really use, like Facebook or MySpace integration. Typing is not only difficult, the keyboard actually works differently depending on which messaging app you're using. Instead of redeeming this phone with a good music player, a competent Web browser or a fun, effective camera, the phone is strangely a great navigator, which is probably the only feature the tweenage audience won't be craving. The price is right, but the phone is large and difficult to use, so we'd recommend looking elsewhere, like the LG enV2. Release: August 2008. Price: $50.
Pros: Good GPS navigation services. Inexpensive.
Cons: Messaging apps are sloppy and inconsistent. Keyboard keys are too small, while the device is too large. Slow networking, lousy browser, sub-par camera, basic music experience.
| Poor |
Mediocre |
51%
GOOD |
Very good |
Excellent |
|
|
| Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ10 |
| Full review » Video » Scoreboard » Specs » Gallery » |
 The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ10 doesn't take the best pictures of all the cameras we've seen in its class, but it does offer loads more flexibility, and it comes packaged in a nice, functional design. Images could be a bit noisy and blurry, lacking in subtle details, especially as the light began to fade, and at the longest zoom range, we didn't get the sharp images we were hoping for. Still, the camera gives the user as much control as a prosumer DSLR, and there were so many preset options, even the scene modes had scene modes. We would recommend this camera for casual shooters who already know enough about photography to really benefit from the aperture, shutter and other exposure controls that we found on the LZ10. Release: February 2008. Price: $210.
Pros: Lots of manual options, even within the usually locked preset modes. Design is very functional, if not very pretty. Takes AA batteries.
Cons: Images weren't the best quality, especially not at full zoom or under dim lighting. No panorama or other fun in-camera modes.
| Poor |
Mediocre |
70%
GOOD |
Very good |
Excellent |
|
|
| Canon PowerShot SD890 IS |
| Full review » Video » Scoreboard » Specs » Gallery » |
 We've been using Canon's digital ELPH shooters since the beginning, and while we're glad to see them step away from the staid, box-of-cards form factor, we're always concerned when design changes make a camera more difficult to use. It was tough to keep a grip on the Canon Powershot SD890 IS, and even tougher to use the scroll wheel to switch between menu options. Images looked pretty good, regardless, so we were happy with the camera's performance, and we always love playing with Canon's innovative color-enhancing features. Still, as shooting got more difficult, with subjects that were farther away or under more complicated lighting conditions, picture quality dipped from "very good" to "above average". Image stabilization helped a lot, but we wonder if this camera wouldn't be better off sacrificing the extra zoom for some extra wide, and opening up the aperture a bit more. Release: April 2008. Price: $300.
Pros: Good all-around camera for portraits. Packs a bit more zoom than most compacts. Nice color features make for fun, artistic shots.
Cons: Design problems make shooting, adjusting settings difficult. Lacks wide range of scene modes. Panorama not as robust as we like.
| Poor |
Mediocre |
72%
GOOD |
Very good |
Excellent |
|
|
| Motorola Adventure V750 |
| Full review » Video » Scoreboard » Specs » Gallery » |
 Verizon Wireless doesn't leave much choice when it comes to PTT phones. Either you go rugged and waterproof with the G'zOne Boulder, or you go rugged and stylish with the Motorola Adventure V750. The Adventure V750 is a better phone all around, though that doesn't mean it's perfect. But though the lack of waterproofing might mean improved call quality and better reception on this phone, we think this tough RAZR-like phone would be a real winner if it could take a swim from time to time. Still, the phone packs real multimedia features and impressive hardware into a fairly attractive (yes, we know it looks like a RAZR) shell. We would like to see Motorola break out a bit from the stodgy Verizon interface design and really bring this phone's media features up to speed, and then it would be a more compelling device for any audience. Release: August 2008. Price: $100.
Pros: RAZR-like design is still new to the PTT world. Very good call quality and calling features. Great navigation options. Very fast networking.
Cons: Speaker is clear, could be louder. Messaging and 3G multimedia features come up short. Waterproofing would make this a killer device.
| Poor |
Mediocre |
61%
GOOD |
Very good |
Excellent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Archive