Windows Mobile Superphone: HTC Touch Pro
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Basically the same phone as the HTC Touch Diamond, the HTC Touch Pro is a great improvement simply because it adds a keyboard to the all-touch mix. The phone we saw underperformed a bit, but we think HTC can work out some of those issues with updates down the road. Even so, with a VGA screen, fast networking with EV-DO Rev. A and Wi-Fi, a great Web browser and solid messaging and productivity capabilities, the HTC Touch Pro almost redefines the idea of a smartphone. The advanced features and the innovative and useful TouchFLO 3D interface make this family of devices the best Windows Mobile phones on the market.
BlackBerry for Everybody: RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330
_it00.jpg) There's a reason why the BlackBerry Curve is one of the most popular phones on the market. It's got a full-size keyboard to appeal to business users and serious messaging addicts, but it's packed into a small size that appeals to new smartphone buyers. Best of all, Sprint's version updates the Curve with fast, 3G networking, GPS navigation, and great extra apps, including Gtalk for IM. There's admittedly a whole new family of BlackBerry devices appearing on the market, and we suspect a Curve update could be around the corner, but that might make the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330 on Sprint an even better bargain, for a little while.
All-Touch Phone: Samsung Instinct
 It's been a few months since the Samsung Instinct was released, but Sprint hasn't been neglecting this phone, and its seen some subtle improvements even since our original, positive review. It's not a smartphone, so there won't be much of an App Store, but that doesn't mean the Instinct lacks for features, and it leverages some of the best of Sprint's services, including the Sprint Music Store and Sprint Navigator, both of which offer capabilities the Apple iPhone 3G can't yet match. It isn't as polished and responsive as Apple's phone, but it is a good phone, nonetheless, with plenty of speed and cool features to take advantage.
Consumer QWERTY Messaging: Samsung Rant
 Most of what we like about the Samsung Rant is in Sprint's new One Touch interface app. It's a great-looking, capable interface, and it far surpasses the boring icon-grid interface that the other major carriers slap onto their phones. While the LG Lotus uses One Touch in a wider, full-QWERTY shell, we couldn't help but prefer the Samsung Rant. It has great build quality and an efficient, yet compact QWERTY keyboard. Plus, when you consider all of the features this phone gives you for the price, it's a bargain that you won't regret when this economic downturn finally ends. This phone just seems to fit the current cell phone market like a glove.
Rugged Walkie-Talkie Phone: Sanyo Pro 700
 There's nothing like a phone you can throw down a flight of stairs. Sprint isn't abandoning the Nextel walkie-talkie service. In fact, the service has expanded onto the new, high speed EV-DO Rev. A network. That means that the Sanyo Pro 700 gets all of the push-to-talk features that Nextel users expect, including the rugged exterior and the loud speaker; and in addition, there are also some advanced 3G options, including a selection of e-mail messaging presets and turn-by-turn GPS navigation. We wish that call quality was a bit better, but for a walkie-talkie phone, it wasn't bad, and the phone performed very well in our PTT tests. It's a bit of modern and a bit rugged, and it was our favorite walkie-talkie phone on Sprint this year.
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