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| Samsung Saga |
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 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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67%
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| Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Specs » Gallery » |
 The Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 doesn't quite live up to the hype, but given some serious effort on Sony Ericsson's part to dramatically improve and fortify the Panels interface experience, this could be a much better device in the future. Right now, the panels are useful, but spare, and the best panel, the multimedia panel, is really just a way of accessing what would be a menu on another S/E device. We want Panels with cool features; Panels that actually do stuff, not just goldfish swimming around. Beyond the Panels, though, there is mostly a very plain build of Windows Mobile, with a few surprises, especially in the multimedia department. The phone is still a very nice device, with a top-notch Web browser, great productivity apps and the best hardware specs around. But it could have been designed better, and it could have come to market with so much more. Release: November 2008. Price: $800.
Pros: Great screen. Fast networking. Excellent multimedia experience, from the menus to the players. Great traveling companion, even abroad.
Cons: Panels interface leaves us wanting much, much more. Lacks robust messaging options. Hardware design lacking.
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76%
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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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77%
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| HTC Touch Pro (Sprint) |
| Full review » Video » Scoreboard » Specs » Gallery » |
_it00.jpg) Our Sprint contract is up soon, and we were thinking about buying the HTC Touch Pro as an upgrade to our Palm Treo 755p, but after using the phone for a little while, we're going to hold off. HTC has some great design ideas, and a week ago we would have claimed that a QWERTY keyboard is all the HTC Touch Diamond needs to be a killer phone. That would have been true, if this phone performed as well as the Touch Diamond we reviewed. Instead, it was unresponsive, felt buggy at times, and needed some serious polish. We've seen this from HTC before, and the company has a history of releasing updates that dramatically improve their device performance. But until we're sure this will be the case with the HTC Touch Pro on Sprint, we would recommend that buyers know what they are getting into. Without these usability issues, the phone still has the highest-resolution screen on the U.S. market, and a snazzy, useful interface that manages to bring most of our favorite features to the surface so we don't have to submerge ourselves in the Windows Mobile pool. If HTC and Sprint could just iron out the kinks, we would be ready to take the plunge. Release: October 2008. Price: $400.
Pros: Large keyboard. Fast networking. Interface looks dazzling on VGA screen. Opera browser one of the best for phones. Good camera. Great productivity apps built-in.
Cons: Phone felt unresponsive. Interface lagged, system sometimes didn't respond to buttons, overall disappointing performance. Needs more messaging, media options.
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77%
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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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