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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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61%
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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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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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| Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 |
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 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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Excellent |
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