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| Nokia E75 |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 The Nokia E75 is more than a slider version of the Nokia E71 (or Nokia E71x on AT&T). Many of the problems we had with the latter phone have been worked out, leaving us with a more polished and pleasant device. In fact, the Nokia E75 is our new favorite among Nokia's Eseries business phones, and it's one of the best business-focused phones on the market. For features and productivity software, the E75 can't be beat, with advanced Office editing tools that beat similar Windows Mobile devices, and a better Web browser, camera and multimedia kit than most BlackBerry phones. The design is slim and solid, and we think it will appeal to buyers who don't want an obtrusive QWERTY slab up front, but would rather have a stylish phone with a hidden, sliding keyboard. Plus, the keyboard itself is wide and comfortable to use. The aging Symbian S60 interface drags the phone down a bit, and some of the signature features, like the Business / Personal switch, didn't live up to our expectations. Still, we think this phone should have appeal beyond the unlocked market, and serious business users tired of the same old touchscreen tablet or QWERTY slab would do well to give this phone a look. Release: May 2009. Price: $380.
Pros: Sleek, slim design with a full QWERTY keyboard and solid materials. Loaded with great features for business and personal use.
Cons: Symbian OS is ugly and not intuitive. Interface in every app could use polish and modern look. Camera lags behind better Nokia phones.
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| Nokia N97 |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 The Nokia N97 wouldn't be such a disappointing device if it weren't supposed to be the flagship multimedia smartphone for the largest handset manufacturer in the world. It has some great specs, including that impressive 32GB of storage (expandable to 48GB), a solid, smart design, and hefty battery power. However, the touchscreen interface seems more like a few touch controls laid atop a standard Symbian S60 interface. When the Nokia N97 gets things right, they are right indeed. We thought the build quality, especially the hinge mechanism, was superlative, and most of the external design was spot-on. The keyboard was cozy, even with its unique layout, and our biggest problem was the lack of onboard apps to support the messaging features. In the end, we'd recommend a Nokia Eseries for serious messaging and business users, and a Nokia N85 for camera and multimedia enthusiasts. For true touchscreen fans, we'd look somewhere else. Release: June 2009. Price: $650.
Pros: Great hardware. Superior specs, including massive storage and great connectivity. Good keyboard. Long battery life.
Cons: Mediocre touch interface design. Apps not optimized well for touch. Camera, media playback features underpowered.
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| Sony Ericsson W995 |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 The Sony Ericsson W995 gets things right in a few key ways that its primary competitors miss. As an unlocked multimedia super-phone, the real competition for the Sony Ericsson W995 is Nokia's Nseries, and in terms of the Walkman music player with the Media Go software, the W995 proves itself a capable Walkman (to check out recent Sony Ericsson Walkman phones, click here). Since it isn't a smartphone, Sony Ericsson can keep a clean menu design in a way that Nokia cannot. In addition to the music features, the phone also gets Web browsing and Wi-Fi, but though the speeds are impressive, the Access Netfront browser found in this phone isn't. We think the 8.1-megapixel camera is overkill though, and image quality can't compete with Nokia's best offerings, like the Nokia N85. Release: July 2009. Price: $500.
Pros: Great music features, with an improved interface and management software. Surprisingly robust GPS features.
Cons: Doesn't quite measure up to similarly-equipped smartphones. Camera and Web browsing features come up short. Call quality and battery life disappoint.
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| HTC Touch Diamond 2 |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 Thanks to its dazzling, responsive interface that almost completely hides Windows Mobile 6.1 from view (the worst parts of it, anyway), the HTC Touch Diamond 2 has sprung to the top of the pack as our favorite Windows Mobile touchscreen phone on the market. The phone isn't just superfast, it's also packed with intelligent new features, like the great calling features that aggregate useful information to make business conversations more informed. There is still room for improvement. Multimedia was a mess, a real shame on a phone with a hi-res screen like this one. Also, some apps we might expect from a U.S. carrier phone, like turn-by-turn navigation and a proper IM client, were missing on this unlocked, import version. Still, we had fun with the camera features, found Opera Mobile to be a capable, speedy browser, even over the slower network connection (here in the States, at least), and overall enjoyed our time with the HTC Touch Diamond 2. Release: April 2009. Price: $575.
Pros: Fast, responsive interface and hi-res touchscreen. Great calling features put useful info at fingertips. Solid camera and Web browsing features.
Cons: Multimedia functions were buggy, underpowered. Onscreen keyboard a bit small, though smart. Lacks some apps a U.S. carrier would include.
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| Nokia 5800 |
| Full review » Features » Gallery » |
 Besides some quirks and strange choices, the Nokia 5800 is actually a nice phone. Calls sounded good, and battery life was strong. The phone has solid music, video, Web browsing and GPS features, and even though none of these are exceptional, they're all robust and quite capable compared to other multimedia phones out there. On the other hand, we had hoped to see a more polished interface design, better camera and an overall multimedia performance that could match the N series smartphones, but it seems like we'll have to wait and see if the Nokia N97 can work some real magic there. In our opinion, Nokia also needs some new ideas about finger controls. Attaching two different styli to the phone just won't cut it, especially when remembering that Windows phones with only one stylus attached are already in trouble. Release: March 2009. Price: $320.
Pros: Music sounds good. Microsoft Exchange support for e-mail, contacts and calendar. Solid Web browser. Responsive touchscreen.
Cons: Mediocre camera performance. Too many hardcoded onscreen keyboard options. S60 5th Edition doesn't provide the real XpressMusic experience.
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