LG GD910 Watch Phone
 The LG GD910 Of all the new phone designs we saw at CES 2009, there was one that made us feel we had to have it. For most gadgeteers, the watch phone represents one of the ur-gadgets, a gadget that inspired gadget dreams. Surprising that the closest a major manufacturer has come to a real, inspired watch phone on the market has been Sony's clunky Bluetooth watches. For that reason, we were very impressed with LG's touch-senstive, 3G watch phone. The interface looked simple and easy to use, and the phone went beyond simple calling functions to multimedia and even some Web tasks. We could see this phone becoming a regular second in our phone lineup, if it performs as well as we hope. Unfortunately, LG hasn't announced plans to bring the LG Watch phone stateside, but support for U.S. networks means it might be a hot import around father's day (hint-hint).
Palm Pre and the Palm WebOS
 Regardless of our Dick Tracy fantasies, the Palm Pre and the new Palm WebOS stole the show this year. The phone itself is an exercise in simplicity, and with the right combination of capacitative touchscreen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard, we can't help wonder if Palm didn't just beat Apple at their own game. It's got a superior feature set inside and out, with the first TI OMAP3 chipset to market in a smartphone, and all the bells and whistles you could hope for, including fast networking, GPS, Wi-Fi, an accelerometer plus a proximity sensor and an ambient light sensor. Basically, everything the Apple iPhone 3G has and more. Plus, we haven't even scratched the surface with the Palm WebOS, which is a slick-looking touch interface that retains Palm's minimum-clicks appeal while taking full advantage of the phone's hardware. Hopefully we'll see this device on the market sooner rather than later, as it looks like it could be a winner, and Palm could use a real winner right now.
Motorola's Recycled W233 Renew and Opulent Aura
 Motorola hit both ends of the spectrum this year at CES. On the one hand, the manufacturer released the first carbon neutral phone for a U.S. carrier, the Motorola W233 Renew on T-Mobile. The phone is made out of recycled plastic bottles, and the company claims it has a carbon neutral manufacturing footprint. It was also great to find Motorola's proven CrystalTalk noise reduction technology built into this phone. We've had good experiences with CrystalTalk phones, and the improved call quality should make this a nice option for simple folks looking for a simple phone that doesn't harm the environment and sounds good.
 But if you're not a simple folk, Motorola has something shiny up its sleeve. The Motorola Aura reminded us more of a Rolex Submariner than a Moto RAZR, especially with that sleek, sapphire crystal face. The perfectly smooth, rounded screen seems to bubble out of the phone, and the interface is designed to take advantage of the striking, circular form. The phone feels heavy and luxurious in the hand, and swings open with the smoothness of a Ferrari changing lanes. Of course, the phone costs $2,000, which makes it something like the antithesis of the more contemporary-minded Motorola Renew, but for the luxury crowd, it's certainly a design worth showing off.
RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900
_it00.jpg) We can gush about the rich screen on the RIM BlackBerry Bold 9000, or debate the merits of the innovative click-screen on the RIM BlackBerry Storm. But in the end, most people who buy a BlackBerry device buy a BlackBerry Curve. It's got the right combination of size and full-QWERTY keyboard features. So, we were happy to see that the new BlackBerry Curve basically takes most of the best new BlackBerry features, like the new modern look and the improved interface design, and brings it to the slimmest full-QWERTY BlackBerry design yet. We're disappointed this phone lacks 3G, though T-Mobile's 3G network is still spreading itself around. Still, if history is any guide, this phone is going to be popular, and RIM has crafted a stylish update to entice BlackBerry fans and new users alike.
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