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Home / Cell phones / infoSync 2008 Awards
Best Verizon Wireless PhonesBy Philip Berne, 29 December 2008
The Network had some interesting exclusives this year from Samsung and LG, as well as the most anticipated BlackBerry of all time. See what tops our list of Verizon Wireless' best phones.

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.
Best Cell Phones
Name Score Price Carrier
C
Nokia N86 82% $500Unlocked
Samsung Moment 78% $180Sprint
Motorola Cliq 76% $200T-Mobile
Sony Ericsson W995 73% $500Unlocked
Nokia 5800 73% $320Unlocked
LG enV Touch 72% $100Verizon Wireless
Nokia Surge 71% $80AT&T
Nokia 5310 XpressMusic 70% $1T-Mobile
LG Versa 70% $200Verizon Wireless
LG Chocolate 3 69% $80Verizon Wireless
LG Lotus 69% $100Sprint
Sony Ericsson C905 68% $180AT&T
Samsung Impression 68% $200AT&T Wireless
LG enV3 68% $80Verizon Wireless
Samsung Instinct HD 68% $250Sprint
Samsung Memoir 66% $200T-Mobile
Motorola RAZR VE20 64% $100Sprint
LG Rumor2 64% $30Sprint
T-Mobile Sidekick LX 2009 64% $250T-Mobile
Samsung Behold 63% $80T-Mobile
Sanyo Katana Eclipse 63% $50Sprint
Samsung Solstice 63% $100AT&T
Samsung Reclaim 63% $50Sprint
Motorola Krave ZN4 62% $180Verizon Wireless
Nokia 7205 62% $100Verizon Wireless
Click here to see full and advanced chart »
 
 
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