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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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| 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: $320.
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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64%
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| RIM BlackBerry Storm 9530 |
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 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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80%
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| Samsung Sway |
| Full review » Video » Scoreboard » Specs » Gallery » |
 The Samsung Sway continues Samsung's newest tradition of stealing phone designs from LG. The phone looks decidedly like the LG Shine, especially the slider version on AT&T. If you like the look of this phone, more power to you, because its shiny, brushed metal look and thin shell are this phone's upside. What really disappointed us, however, was an inefficient menu structure and less than great call quality. Furthermore, the phone didn't allow us to multi-task at all, denying us access to for instance text messaging while listening to music. The camera and Verizon Wireless' GPS navigation showed some signs of decent performance at advanced tasks, but with the lack of high-speed networking there are no other multimedia features of significance to be found, other than a mobile browser. Release: October 2008. Price: $70.
Pros: Nice design. Slim, tight slider shell. Camera was better than we expected.
Cons: Call quality suffered. Inefficient menu structure.
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49%
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| Motorola Krave ZN4 |
| Full review » Video » Scoreboard » Specs » Gallery » |
 The Motorola Krave ZN4 has some great hardware, with a cool flip shell and a very responsive touchscreen interface. Unfortunately, the user interface that hardware supports is something of a letdown, with an inconsistent design and some aging apps, like the V Cast Music Store and the OpenWave Web browser, that haven't gotten better with time. In this way, the Motorola Krave ZN4 is like the opposite of the LG Dare on Verizon Wireless, which was a phone that had a unique and modern interface, but lacked the hardware to keep up. Of course, both of these phones borrow liberally from the Apple iPhone 3G's playbook, but neither of them come close to measuring up to AT&T's multimedia smartphone. We liked the cool, clear flip and the V Cast Mobile TV capabilities, but even the advanced TV features gave us trouble, and for the severe starting price, we'd have to recommend buyers look elsewhere. The Motorola Krave ZN4 feels like the first version of a phone family that might someday be great, and we'd stick with the look and feel, but everything else on this phone needs an update. Release: October 2008. Price: $150.
Pros: Responsive touchscreen interface. Cool design with the clear flip and invisible wiring. Great navigation features.
Cons: User interface feels half-baked. Some static during calls. Reception problems with V Cast Mobile TV service. Lousy Web browser with strange pointer tool. Aging messaging and music playback apps.
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Mediocre |
62%
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Excellent |
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