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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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Excellent |
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| Samsung Saga |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Specs » Gallery » |
 The Samsung Saga may not be the powerhouse update to the Samung BlackJack II that we saw in the Samsung Epix on AT&T, but its still a likeable phone nonetheless, and in a couple surprising ways it actually trumps its GSM brethren. The Saga is actually larger than the Epix, but it's styled better, with a nicer paint job, a wider, circular optical mouse and a great QWERTY keyboard. We were especially fond of the messaging features, though some of these come at a premium. The Samsung Saga is one of the few dual-mode phones on Verizon, so if you must use The Network, with the Saga you can use it abroad. It's also one of the few Verizon Wireless phones with Wi-Fi, which it uses well with the Opera mobile browser. There wasn't much to alleviate the pains of Windows Mobile on this phone, but for WinMo fans, this phone is a-ok. Release: November 2008. Price: $200.
Pros: Nice design, with a larger optical mouse than other Samsung phones. Great keyboard. Opera mobile browser is top-notch.
Cons: Nothing added to make Windows mobile easier to use. Web browser is nice, but why no add-on media player, or Instant Messaging apps?
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Mediocre |
67%
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Very good |
Excellent |
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| Samsung Omnia |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Specs » Gallery » |
 The Samsung Omnia is the latest in Samsung's TouchWIZ phones for the U.S. market, and also the most advanced, as that TouchWIZ interface here runs atop Windows Mobile 6.1 instead of a standard carrier OS. This idea of creating an overlay to improve Windows Mobile is all the rage right now, but instead of making things easier, the Samsung Omnia is more confusing and difficult to use. There are a few things this phone does well, including DivX movie playback and Web browsing, courtesy of Opera. But for the most part, there are better all-touch smartphone options for Verizon Wireless. All in all, we think the concept of TouchWIZ on multimedia phones works better than using the widget-based UI to turn a Windows Mobile phone into a multimedia powerhouse. There's no doubt about its potential, but eventually the overall experience left us feeling seriously annoyed. Release: November 2008. Price: $270.
Pros: Good Opera Web browser with cool 'upshifted' navigation. Fine camera with auto focus and loads of pixels.
Cons: TouchWIZ experience disappoints when running atop Windows Mobile. Confusing redundancies in the interface.
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Mediocre |
64%
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Very good |
Excellent |
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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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Mediocre |
66%
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Excellent |
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| RIM BlackBerry Storm 9530 |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Specs » Gallery » |
 The BlackBerry Storm offers a surprising amount of innovation and usability for a touchscreen business phone, and it couldn't come at a better time for RIM or Verizon Wireless. The clickscreen navigation setup works very well, and deftly solves the problem of dealing with RIM's long menus on a touchscreen phone. The phone could use a bit of a power boost, as it was sluggish opening and closing apps, or moving between functions. But the screen was gorgeous and plenty responsive, and typing on the BlackBerry Storm's keyboard is better than typing on any other touchscreen. We still think there's room for improvement, especially polishing up the calendar and address book to make them look as crisp and modern as the main menus and media player apps. But even with these minor complaints, we have no trouble declaring the BlackBerry Storm the most compelling BlackBerry phone to date. Release: November 2008. Price: $200.
Pros: Great clickable screen helps add tactile feel to touch interface. Best software QWERTY keyboard we've seen. Solid set of messaging apps. Loads of features.
Cons: Interface is still sluggish, a bit buggy. Screen scrolls responsively, but everything else moves slowly, including response to hardware buttons. No Wi-Fi. Mediocre camera. Lousy Web browser.
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Mediocre |
Good |
80%
VERY GOOD |
Excellent |
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