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| LG Incite |
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 LG has mostly missed the target so far with touchscreen phones, never coming close to what Apple has achieved on the iPhone, and even lagging behind native rival Samsung on all-touch devices. Is it a coincidence that in the same week Samsung brought their all-touch, Windows Mobile-powered Samsung Omnia to Verizon Wireless, LG dropped the LG Incite on AT&T? Who knows. But even with all the problems we had with Samsung's device, the LG Incite suffers even more under the crushing weight of Windows Mobile, an interface that was not remotely designed for touch. LG has added a menu atop the professional interface, but hasn't extended any style or ease-of-use beyond the menu screens. This would be injury enough, but to add insult, the LG Incite is just not a responsive touchscreen device, and that's what's most important to us. Throw in the boxy styling and cheap build quality, and it's easy to see how LG missed again with this device. Release: November 2008. Price: $200.
Pros: Good connectivity, with 3G networking and Wi-Fi. Web browser does an acceptable job.
Cons: Cheap design and build. Unresponsive touchscreen. Sluggish performance. No improvements to Windows Mobile beyond the main menu screens.
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Mediocre |
61%
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| Samsung Eternity |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Specs » Gallery » |
 The Samsung Eternity is a phone that zigs nicely, but we really wanted it to zag. Features for which we didn't have high hopes, like the onscreen keyboard or the GPS navigation, actually performed much better than we expected, while some of the key features for this device, like the AT&T Mobile TV service or the Web browser, fell flat. The phone was nice and responsive, whether we were moving widgets around on the screen or switching the screen orientation as we rotated the phone, and though we think Samsung needs to take the TouchWIZ interface back to the drawing board, once we dug past the standby screen to reach the real features on this phone, it was easy to come away pleased, if not impressed. Release: November 2008. Price: $150.
Pros: Responsive touchscreen. Good music player. Menus and interface are all polished, ready for touch.
Cons: TouchWIZ interface is nearly useless thanks to lack of screen real estate, cramped widgets. Lacks some necessary calling and messaging features. Mobile TV a letdown on this device.
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66%
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| HTC Fuze |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Specs » Gallery » |
 While this phone draws its most recent comparisons with the HTC Touch Pro on Sprint, since the devices are nearly identical in features, the real question might be whether the HTC Fuze is a worthy successor to the AT&T Tilt. In that respect, the HTC Fuze is the new super-phone on AT&T, and it is a much more polished and advanced phone than the Tilt was. It says more about the smartphone market these days that we can look at the HTC Fuze and lament its performance flaws, even while we marvel at the cutting-edge screen resolution and huge, roomy keyboard. We'd also like to see HTC break out and try something snazzy and colorful to complement the VGA display, instead of the static grey and black of AT&T's TouchFLO 3D theme. Overall, though, this phone-that-does-everything is a market-leader in terms of features and style, and if you can stand a little lag from time to time, it's a top-notch business device. Release: November 2008. Price: $350.
Pros: High-end hardware with all the trimmings. Great screen, nice interface design. Good call quality.
Cons: Some performance issues kept the phone from being as responsive as we'd like. Camera is sub-par. Windows Mobile lurks beneath the surface.
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Good |
77%
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Excellent |
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| RIM BlackBerry Bold 9000 (AT&T) |
| Full review » Video » Scoreboard » Specs » Gallery » |
_it00.jpg) The RIM BlackBerry Bold 9000 on AT&T is a phone that leaves us vexed. Of course it's a very good phone, it's a BlackBerry. It made calls that sounded great and it has one of the best displays on the market, which compliments the updated user interface and the fantastic video performance. We liked the music player as well, and even the apps that frustrated us still functioned nicely, we just feel like they could look much better. The BlackBerry OS, despite the obvious surface improvements in the BlackBerry Bold, is in need of some deep scrubbing, and even on this impressive multimedia device, it still looks a lot like the interface of a two-way pager. The messaging app makes even e-mail look more like text messaging (and vice versa), and the Web browser still can't manage to load up our own homepage. True BlackBerry fans will ignore these issues and simply appreciate the update, which makes for an impressive music-playing, video watching device. But to compete with the newest smartphones on the market, RIM will have to dig deeper and create something truly new for the BlackBerry OS. Release: November 2008. Price: $300.
Pros: Fantastic screen, complimented by a dark, colorful new interface theme. Great music and video playback. Loads of connectivity options. Nice keyboard.
Cons: Visual polish on menus doesn't go nearly deep enough. This OS needs a makeover. Messaging options surprisingly lacking and dated. Sub-par camera and Web browser.
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74%
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| Samsung Rugby |
| Full review » Video » Scoreboard » Specs » Gallery » |
 The Samsung Rugby occupies a prime spot in AT&T's Push-to-Talk lineup. Unlike every other major PTT provider (Sprint, of course, and also Verizon Wireless), AT&T has focused primarily on smartphones for walkie-talkie use, including the Palm Centro, the AT&T Tilt and every model of BlackBerry device. The Samsung Rugby is the carrier's only real rugged phone, and this phone is indeed quite rugged. We washed the Samsung Rugby under a faucet, hit it with a motorcycle (check out our video of the incident, filmed up close and in slow motion with the Casio Exilim EX-FH20), and obnoxiously abused it, and the phone held on like a champ, though our small bike did dent and scratch it a bit. We were surprised to find the phone runs nearly the same multimedia interface as the Samsung Propel we recently reviewed, and we think it could use more of a corporate or workforce update to focus on features that walkie-talkie users prefer, like contact list with synchronization and corporate e-mail support. Instead, the phone has AT&T Music and a few e-mail presets, and even these are buried under the aging menus. It's a fine phone for calling and walkie-talkie use, but we think its time for AT&T to re-imagine their interface as they branch out into new phone categories. Release: October 2008. Price: $130.
Pros: Very rugged. PTT offers unique calling features. Good GPS service, surprisingly adequate Web browser.
Cons: We'd like to see more corporate and on-site features, like corporate e-mail and contacts sync. Multimedia features so buried, why bother?
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Mediocre |
61%
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Excellent |
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