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Home / Cell phones / infoSync 2008 Awards
Best High-Speed Phones of the YearBy Philip Berne, 22 December 2008
Do you feel the need for speed? We take a look at the fastest phones we've tested all year, and recommend some devices for a speedy getaway.

Multimedia Smartphone: Nokia N95 8GB NAM

We've seen newer and cooler Nseries devices this year, but back in April Nokia finally imported their flagship Nokia N95, with 8GB of storage and full support for AT&T's HSDPA network, and we haven't seen a faster Nseries device since. The phone managed downloads in the megabit range, and it uses the great Nokia Web browser, which makes all that speed worthwhile. Even better, the phone has plenty of multimedia features to take advantage of the fast network, like a detailed GPS map application and plenty of media upload features. We think Nokia has a great stable of fast multimedia phones, and we only wish that U.S. carriers would pick them up and cut the prices with subsidies.

All-Touch Smartphone: HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint)

The HTC Touch Diamond impressed us quickly in our Web browsing tests when its fast Opera Mobile 9.5 browser beat our Apple iPhone 3G's safari browser every time. Whether we were using Sprint's fast, EV-DO Rev. A network or just the phone's built in Wi-Fi, the HTC Touch Diamond on Sprint was always quicker on the draw. This also helped with music downloads, as Sprint is still offering the best music store with $0.99 downloads direct to the phone. Streaming video could be better, but clearly Sprint has something powerful going on in that Rev. A network.

Windows Mobile Superphone: Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

For all of the issues we had with the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, the phone's networking speed was inarguably impressive. This is the fastest phone we've ever clocked in the U.S. The Xperia X1 uses the Windows Mobile Internet Sharing app, which made connecting to our Windows laptop a breeze. It can reach potential speeds of 7.2Mbps, though AT&T's network maxes out at half that. In reality, we saw tethered downloads in excess of 1.8Mbps, which is twice as fast as we usually see on AT&T's network. Of course, this speed also helped out with the Web browser, the great Opera Mobile browser we're seeing on most high-end Windows Mobile phones these days. AT&T should leap to pick up this phone, as it would benefit from a carrier subsidy and some great 3G carrier services, and it already outpaces every phone the network sells.

Multimedia feature phone: Sony Ericsson W760 (AT&T)

It's a wonder that Sony Ericsson doesn't offer more phones in the U.S., as all of their high-speed phones on AT&T are winners. The best of the bunch is the Sony Ericsson W760 Walkman phone. We were already impressed by the super-fast Web browser (another phone that beat the Apple iPhone 3G side-by-side). When we got to the tethered modem support, we were blown away. Tethered to our laptop using the Sony Ericsson PC Suite, the S/E W760 turned in download speeds of almost 1.7 Mbps, a record that was only recently beaten by Sony Ericsson's Xperia X1. For a carrier-supported feature phone, the Sony Ericsson W760 is an all-around good choice.

Android phone: T-Mobile G1

It wasn't exactly the networking speed that had us convinced the T-Mobile G1 is a winner. It does use T-Mobile's newly-unwrapped HSDPA network, making it one of T-Mobile's first 3G phones. What we like about the T-Mobile G1 is the unparalleled access that developers have to the fast network, compared to other carrier phones. Very little is off-limits, so we get apps like the Amazon download store, which wouldn't be possible on Verizon Wireless' locked-down network, or AT&T's service. We get more possibilities from the Android Market, and we think there will be loads more to come once T-Mobile figures out a good way to help the developers make some money selling at the market. It's a fast phone, though not the fastest, but it's the openness of the T-Mobile G1 that earned its place on this list.
Best Cell Phones
Name Score Price Carrier
C
Nokia N86 82% $500Unlocked
Nokia N85 81% $350Unlocked
Samsung Moment 78% $180Sprint
Nokia N79 76% $350Unlocked
Motorola Cliq 76% $200T-Mobile
Sony Ericsson W995 73% $500Unlocked
Nokia 5800 73% $320Unlocked
Sony Ericsson W760 72% $100AT&T
LG enV Touch 72% $100Verizon Wireless
Nokia Surge 71% $80AT&T
Nokia 5310 XpressMusic 70% $50T-Mobile
LG Voyager 70% $80Verizon Wireless
LG Versa 70% $200Verizon Wireless
LG Chocolate 3 69% $80Verizon Wireless
LG Lotus 69% $100Sprint
Samsung Instinct S30 69% $130Sprint
Sony Ericsson C905 68% $180AT&T
Samsung Rant 68% $50Sprint
Samsung Highnote 68% $100Sprint
Samsung Impression 68% $200AT&T Wireless
LG enV3 68% $80Verizon Wireless
Nokia 5610 XpressMusic 67% $100T-Mobile
Motorola Zine ZN5 67% $100T-Mobile
Samsung Eternity 66% $150AT&T
Samsung Memoir 66% $250T-Mobile
Click here to see full and advanced chart »
 
 
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