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| Samsung Behold |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 The Samsung Behold reminds us quite a bit of the Samsung Instinct. It's not quite smart enough to be an iPhone clone, but it's still a good phone in its own right. In fact, in terms of call quality and calling features, it's a great phone. But Samsung still hasn't nailed the touchscreen interface. In some areas, like the QWERTY keyboard, they've done a great job, and it works well. In others, like the home page widgets and the problems we had with scrolling and moving through lists, the problems make using the phone a real chore. The phone has a very nice music player, but lacks a standard headphone jack, which seriously hobbles its potential. It uses fast networking on T-Mobile's new 3G network, but the Web browser lacks the deeper options needed to unleash its full potential. It's a flawed device, but not fatally flawed, and hopefully Samsung will work out most of these TouchWiz UI kinks as more of these phones come to market. Release: November 2008. Price: $80.
Pros: Responsive screen. Great call quality and calling features. Fine music player.
Cons: Scrolling issues hurt using the interface. Widgets might not work at this size. Web browsing and video player both mediocre.
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63%
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| T-Mobile G1 |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 The T-Mobile G1 may not have the visual panache and artistry of Apple's UI, but in terms of navigating the phone's myriad and diverse feature set, Google has created an interface in Android that is fun, intuitive and quite powerful. The new Google Android 1.5 "Cupcake" update brings even more parity with the iPhone, and some cool new tricks to the party as well. The phone offers convenience beyond belief without redundantly stacking menu items on top of each other. The apps included with the device, and some of the apps we've downloaded from the Google Market, are fresh and in many cases surprisingly unique. From the Google Maps Street View that creates a virtual world with the built-in compass and accelerometer to the Amazon MP3 store that offers DRM-free downloads to the Compare Everywhere app that scans barcodes and finds local deals on popular products, the T-Mobile G1 offers capabilities and developer access beyond any handheld device we've seen. The new Cupcake update might not push potential customers over the edge, but existing users will be delighted with the onscreen keyboard, the new video recording capabilities and clever UI enhancements, like the desktop folders and the improved look all around. The Google Android OS and the T-Moblle G1 aren't perfect, but they're better than most systems out there, and for an open source OS, they're a fun way to experience what's to come in the world of multimedia smartphones. Release: May 2009. Price: $180.
Pros: Excellent, fun and intuitive new interface design from Google. Solid messaging and Web browsing options. Surprisingly good camera.
Cons: Dull hardware design. Serious reception problems hurt voice quality. Lacks many necessary options, including business e-mail and video player.
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74%
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| RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 With the BackBerry Pearl Flip 8220, RIM has another winner on its hands, and after spending some time with the new polished interface on this lightweight flip phone, we have to say we like it even more than the standard candybar Pearl, which is a tall order. The phone isn't the prettiest, in fact we found the shell to be a bit goofy looking. But as soon as we turned it on and so the rich contrast on the bright screen, as soon as we typed on the wider, more solid SureType keypad, we knew that this would be a compelling device. The interface is still bogged down with long, textual menus, and the Web browser won't win any iPhone converts, but T-Mobile has endowed this phone with a great feature list, including Wi-Fi calling and more messaging options than you'll find almost anywhere else. Plus, it upholds the BlackBerry's great battery life reputation, though we would have given up an hour or two of talk time for some 3G networking. Release: October 2008. Price: $50.
Pros: Great new BlackBerry user interface. Lightweight phone. Good battery life. Great messaging features, especially for IM fans.
Cons: Interface improvements don't go deep enough (especially in the calendar). Poor Web browser for a modern smartphone. Call quality could be better.
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71%
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| Nokia 6301 |
| Full review » Video » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 For all its flaws, the Nokia 6301 is still a deceptively nice phone. Under the best conditions, at a Wi-Fi hotspot, calls sounded excellent, and the HotSpot @Home service worked well. We're big fans of this UMA service, as it could save customers a lot of money and provide better reception than normal cellular service. The phone also includes a robust music player with a 512MB microSD card as a bonus, and even some nice messaging options. Unfortunately, the fact that it doesn't use Wi-Fi for data keeps it from being more of a messaging and Web browsing powerhouse, and the tiny keys kept us from carrying on long, textual conversations. The menu also kept many of the best in hiding. Overall, this feels like a low-end phone with a few high-end features stuck on, but for the bargain-hunting HotSpot @Home crowd, those high-end features will simply be a nice bonus, anyway. Release: June 2008. Price: $130.
Pros: Calls sound great under Wi-Fi and when reception was strong. Lots of features for a simple calling phone. Included charging dock.
Cons: When reception was weaker, calls sounded bad or dropped out altogether. Small keys made typing difficult. Lousy camera.
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49%
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| Nokia 5310 XpressMusic |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 The Nokia 5310 XpressMusic is a music phone that makes us happy for a number of reasons. This isn't an iPhone competitor, which makes sense, considering the low, $50 price tag. But it is far better than most other so-called music phones on the market, and includes many features that should set the standard. We like the 3.5mm headphone jack, the included 1GB memory card, and the two-stage stereo headphones a microphone. We also liked this phone for regular calling, and found call quality and even its messaging capabilities were surprisingly good. There are phones at four times this price that don't have all these features, and though the phone lacks 3G networking and the accompanying services, when we focused simply on the music abilities, we were happy with what we heard. Release: May 2008. Price: $1.
Pros: Slim design keeps the dedicated music keys, adds a 3.5mm headphone jack. Surprisingly robust messaging clients.
Cons: No 3G networking means slow Web browsing, no advanced services. Transfer software needs a serious update to bring it in line with iTunes.
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70%
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