RIM BlackBerry Storm 9530
 The RIM BlackBerry Storm 9530 was, without a doubt, the most daring move in the phone industry this past year. It's no secret that Verizon Wireless passed on having an Apple iPhone exclusive, and The Network has been looking for a replacement ever since. Now, RIM and Verizon have created a unique touchscreen experience, and it may not be for everyone. We really liked the Click Through screen, especially while typing on the onscreen keyboard, but found some of the buggy issues in the interface to be troubling, especially since they haven't been much improved by the end of 2008. It's the most innovative ideas for touchscreen phones and for BlackBerry devices, and that makes it one of Verizon's best of the year.
LG Chocolate 3
 The LG Chocolate 3 has gotten a little less playful since the last version of this phone, but that just means it's a more serious device for music and multimedia fans. Verizon Wireless scores another hit with one of the few phones on the market with an FM transmitter, so if you don't want to listen to the phone with your own headphones (thanks to the standard headphone jack), you can broadcast to a nearby car stereo. All that, plus 1GB of onboard memory, means this phone comes with everything we like to see on a music phone.
Samsung Saga
 This phone is a bit underpowered compared to its big brother Samsung Epix on AT&T (get it? Epix Saga? Yeah, us neither), but we still like the Samsung Saga because it manages to get some of the details right. It's a nice business phone with a sporty look, and it feels smaller in the hand than the boxier Epix. We never liked the optical mouse on any of Samsung's other examples (the Epix and the Samsung Omnia), but the large size of the optical button on the Samsung Saga made using it a breeze. Plus, the phone packs fast networking, a great Opera Mobile browser, and it's one of the few Verizon Wireless phones with Wi-Fi. A solid mid-range business phone.
LG Decoy
 The LG Decoy is a phone that was simply begging to be built, and we're glad a major manufacturer stepped up to the plate. The phone uses a clever trick of piggy-backing the Bluetooth headset onto the back of the phone, and it's a trick that proves as useful as it seems. What's most important, though, is that the LG Decoy is still a good phone on its own, Bluetooth gimmicks aside. The phone had a nice design, solid GPS performance, and plenty of multimedia features. Another unique exclusive for The Network.
Samsung Omnia
 Samsung released a slew of touchscreen phones this holiday season, including the Samsung Behold and Samsung Eternity, but these were but imperfect copies of the Samsung Omnia, Verizon's Windows Mobile all-touch superphone. The Omnia is loaded with features, from the 8GB of internal memory and improved media playback software to the blazing fast EV-DO Rev. A networking, Wi-Fi and the great Web browsing. There are still problems we'd like to see ironed out, with the hardware, with the TouchWIZ interface and, of course, with Windows Mobile. But the Samsung Omnia is still an impressive phone, and one of Verizon Wireless' best.
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