At Sprint's technology summit, WiMAX wasn't the only topic of discussion. Sprint was also quietly displaying some of their upcoming phones. All of these should be released by the end of 2007, and some, like the new Motorola RAZR, should be here quite soon. Unfortunately, Sprint didn't allow us to photograph any of the phones, so we're providing our best hands-on impressions and links to our previous stories about and reviews of these devices.
The Motorola RAZR 2
We haven't seen the RAZR 2 in person at many events, so we're always surprised not only by how heavy it is, but also how cool it looks. The hinge design on the new RAZR is more elegant, and the entire phone is nice and flat, but with a satisfying heft to it. We can confirm haptic feedback on the Sprint version of the RAZR 2, and were pleased that the vibrating feedback was more of a strong 'ping' than a half-hearted buzz. We also watched some Sprint TV content, which Sprint is actually routing through the generous, 2-inch external display. Touch controls also worked well. The RAZR 2 should land on Sprint on August 24.
The Motorola Q9
The Motorola Q9 is another phone with which we're familiar, but haven't had much face time. Honestly, it makes less of an impression than the RAZR 2. It has rounded corners, but we weren't delighted by the keys. And, when you start the device, you're greeted with Windows Mobile 6, which may be a lovely OS, but somewhat diminishes the 'newness' of the Q9. We'll have to spend some quality time with it to see if improvements have been made in terms of processor speed and battery life, two issues we had with the older Q.
The HTC Touch
Sprint is getting an HTC Touch (read our full review). No word on whether it will keep HTC's moniker or branding, but it will be the same device. In fact, giving the Sprint model a quick run-through, we had an even easier time getting the touch-sensitive overlays to activate. These gave us problems on our unlocked version of the device. Sprint has also added its own useful overlay menus, and will be incorporating its signature content, like the Power Vision media content and OnDemand. Otherwise, the device looks very familiar.
LG Rumor
We didn't get to spend much time with the LG Rumor, but it isn't a hard device to imagine. A QWERTY-slider like HTC's many Windows Mobile devices, such as Sprint's own Mogul, the LG phone is slimmer and more playful looking, a slider version of Verizon Wireless' LG enV, rather than a serious smartphone. Buttons were small, as was the single LCD screen on the candy bar face. Hopefully some good messaging options will give Sprint a contender in the consumer messaging space.
Palm Centro
The biggest surprise of all was the appearance of the Palm Centro, a device who's existence and code names have been leaked and rumored ad nauseum, but which we had never seen in person. Described as a smaller, thinner Palm with all the capabilities of Sprint's Palm Treo 755p, we were admittedly disappointed to turn on the small, pill-shaped device and see the familiar Palm application screen. We were hoping for a stylish update to the OS to accompany the new phone.
The device itself is much smaller and thinner than the 755p, with rounded corners and a band of buttons that stretches across the middle like a fashion accessory. It has a much more playful look than prior Treo devices, and seems to fit Sprint's purported aim to target new smartphone users in a younger demographic.
When will they be available?
The only one we know about for sure is the Motorola RAZR 2, for which Sprint has already announced an August 24 ship date. Inquiries about all the other phones were met with a standard "by the end of the year" response. We're guessing the Q9 could be available any day now, since the phone has been widely publicized by Motorola and shown repeatedly. The LG Rumor and the Palm Centro would fit nicely into a "Back to School" type of promotion, so our best guess would be late September or early October. The HTC Touch we saw clearly needed some tweaking, so we're betting that's a later entry than the others.
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