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Home / Cell phones
BlackBerry clone business phones ready global assaultBy Jørgen Sundgot, 4 May 2006
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Sony Ericsson M600i
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Sony Ericsson M600i
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Sony Ericsson M600i
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Sony Ericsson M600i
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Sony Ericsson M600i
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Sony Ericsson M600i
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Business phones from veteran maker RIM have won the hearts and thumbs of road warriors everywhere; fresh entrants from Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Palm want in on the action.

Being on top has its price - which RIM, maker of the popular BlackBerry series of thumbboard-equipped business phones with always-on e-mail, is about to find out. Although several attempts have been made at replicating its unique functionality over the past few years, only now are contenders who mean - pardon the pun - business lining up for introduction. Assimilating not only the form factor, but also the feature set (and, in some cases, more) of BlackBerries everywhere, the following contestants from around the globe aim to put the squeeze on RIM now and in months to come.

Palm Treo 700w    Similar models »
Score: 87% When: January 2006 Worth: $250 - $500 Carrier: Verizon Wireless
Palm and Windows Mobile? Say it ain't so! The EV-DO-equipped Treo 700w politely disagrees, and Larry Garfield takes a look and finds there are benefits to playing both sides.
Read »   Gallery »
Palm Treo 700w
Motorola Q    Similar models »
Score: 60% When: May 2006 Worth: $150 - $300 Carrier: Verizon Wireless
After almost a year, the sleek and slim Q – the thinnest smartphone on the market with a QWERTY thumbboard – has finally arrived. Was it worth the wait?
Read »   Gallery »   Features »   Side-by-side »
Motorola Q
Nokia E61

Score: 79% When: May 2006 Worth: €450

Nokia E61

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Read the full article » The E61 does what Nokia does best: connects people. Its all-encompassing connectivity setup is exploited in full by a broad line-up of quality messaging, office and browsing applications which run in tandem with a superb screen and more than decent thumbboard. Granted, it's not among the most powerful business phones nor does it fare well in the department of synchronization - but the latter is at long last addressable by several third party solutions. Sprinkle with handy utilities, attention to detail, good battery life and a compact form factor, and you end up with a very solid business phone contender indeed. Read the full article »
Sony Ericsson M600i

Score: 84% When: July 2006 Worth: €500

Sony Ericsson M600i

Image gallery »
Read the full article » Quite possibly the ideal size for a business phone, the Sony Ericsson M600i is but a hair's width from scoring full marks in the messaging, productivity and browsing departments, hampered only by the smaller-than-the-competition sizes of its otherwise excellent touch screen and thumbboard. It also delivers a solid impression in every other department, with the near-sole disappointment being its lack of a bundled USB cable and USB charging support. Add good battery life and nice touches such as a scroll wheel, stereo Bluetooth audio and a clever, agenda-style standby screen, and what emerges is a winning recipe. Read the full article »
Samsung SGH-i320

When: August 2006 - €500

Samsung SGH-i320

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Read the full article » Powered by Windows Mobile 5.0, the Samsung SGH-i320 takes a cue from the Motorola Q with its slim and narrow form factor, integrated thumbboard and landscape high-resolution display. Read the full article »
Best Business smartphones
Name Score Price Carrier
C
HTC Touch Pro (Sprint) 77% $400Sprint
HTC Fuze 77% $300AT&T
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 76% $800Unlocked
HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint) 76% $350Sprint
Nokia E71x 76% $100AT&T Wireless
RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 (T-Mobile) 75% $200T-Mobile
RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330 (Sprint) 74% $200Sprint
RIM BlackBerry Bold 9000 (AT&T) 74% $300AT&T
Nokia E71 73% $500Unlocked
Nokia E66 72% $500Unlocked
Click here to see full and advanced chart »
 
 
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