January 17th, 2006

Dialed In: Best Cell Phones

Sr. Assoc. Ed. Grace Aquino

What a year it has been for cell phones: They've transitioned from
relatively simple voice and text messaging devices to gizmos capable
of nearly everything a PDA can do, including instant messaging
(typically on AOL or Yahoo's IM services), playing music (primarily
MP3 and AAC files), displaying snippets of TV shows, capturing
1-megapixel photos, and running complex games.

Of course, not all phones and services are worthy of our
admiration--or our cash. But several products truly stand out from the
rest.

For starters, there are reasons why people keep talking about
Motorola's Razr V3 and Palm's Treo 650: They do their jobs and they do
them well.

I reviewed the Razr V3 when it first came out in 2004:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/artic...,tk,box,00.asp

My colleague Denny Arar reviewed the Treo 650 at about the same time:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/artic...,tk,box,00.asp

PC World gave both the Razr V3 and the Treo 650 World Class Awards in
2005, citing their solid performance and versatile features:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/artic...,tk,box,00.asp

Nearly all major carriers offer the Razr and the Treo, but if you want
something different, it would be a good idea to check out models that
might only be available on one carrier. For example, from Alltel, I
like Kyocera's Slider Remix KX5. Thanks in part to an easy-to-navigate
pinwheel menu, it's user friendly; and the 1.3-megapixel camera, music
player, and support for wireless Bluetooth headsets are nice bonuses.
We reviewed it back in July:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/artic...,tk,box,00.asp

Cingular's Best

Cingular sells a couple of handsets that impressed me this year,
starting with the Samsung P207:
http://www.cingular.com/p207

This compact clamshell phone responds to voice commands--such as "Dial
a number"--and accepts speech-to-text dictation for SMS text messages,
so you don't have to punch keys. Other phones now offer this feature,
but the P207 was the first to have it.

Although a bit late to the push-to-talk party, Cingular finally has a
nationwide PTT service. The LG Electronics F7200 and the Samsung
SGH-D357 are both compatible with Cingular's Push to Talk.

One major caveat about PTT: Although PTT is offered by most major
nationwide carriers, you can use the service only with phones that are
on the same network provider; PTT does not work across different
carriers. For example, a Cingular customer can't use the walkie-talkie
function with someone on Verizon's PTT service and vice versa.

Of the two PTT handsets, the Samsung SGH-D357 has a few more high-end
communications features--namely, compatibility with Bluetooth and
Cingular's EDGE network (a faster data service than the older GPRS
technology supported by the LG phone), and support for the GSM 1800
voice frequency used in parts of Europe, Asia, and Australia. (Note
that if you want to use a phone overseas, you must subscribe to
Cingular's international calling plan.) The LG F7200, however, saves
you a few bucks and has 64MB of internal memory for storing messages.

LG Electronics F7200:
http://find.pcworld.com/51352

Samsung SGH-D357:
http://www.samsung.com/Products/Mobi...D357MSACIN.asp

For a PDA phone, consider the BlackBerry 8700c. It's a tad smaller and
thinner than older BlackBerrys, has a brighter screen, and supports
the EDGE network for relatively speedy Web connections. We reviewed it
in November:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/artic...,tk,box,00.asp

Sprint Nextel Champs

Sprint Nextel carries a great mix of handsets with multimedia features
inherited from the Sprint side of the merged companies and rugged
phones from the new company's Nextel roots.

For starters, I like the new Samsung SPH-A900, which competes directly
with the Motorola Razr, mimicking its slick, ultra-slim design and big
LCD:
http://www.samsung.com/Products/Mobi...A900ZKSXAR.asp

Since the SPH-A900 is a relatively new model, it has more powerful
features than the Razr, including a 1.3-megapixel camera and support
for a user-friendly music service. Samsung's SPH-A900 works with the
Sprint Music Store, which lets you buy and download songs over the
air--and later transfer the downloaded tunes to a computer. (Many
music phones only let you acquire favorite tunes from a PC, using a
USB cable.) The SPH-A900 comes with a 2.5-millimeter headset for
listening to your tracks in stereo sound quality. Plus, you can use
the handset as a modem: Connect it to a computer either wirelessly via
Bluetooth or through the included USB cable.

For photo fanatics, Sprint Nextel offers the Samsung SPH-A800:
http://www.samsung.com/Products/Mobi...A800ISSXAR.asp

Its 2-megapixel camera is capable of taking slightly sharper pictures
than competing camera phones with resolutions of 1 megapixel or lower.
Its built-in MicroSD memory card slot allows additional
storage--another handy feature for shutterbugs. Sprint Nextel supplies
a 32MB memory card to get you started, but if you want to take
hundreds of photos, consider buying a higher capacity card; MicroSD
cards currently go up to 512MB. For more on this technology, read
"Smaller SD Memory Card Coming Soon":
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/...,tk,box,00.asp

Both the SPH-A900 and the SPH-A800 support PictBridge, a
photo-printing standard that lets you send files from the handset to a
compatible printer without installing any special software; you simply
connect the devices using a USB cable. Another handy feature on both
handsets is speech-to-text input: You dictate your SMS text messages
into the phone instead of punching keys.

If you want a rugged phone with push-to-talk capability, consider the
Sanyo RL-4930:
http://www.sanyo.com/wireless/handse...productID=1219

This candy bar-style phone supports Sprint Nextel's nationwide PTT
service. The phone's rubberized edges protect against rough usage. The
RL-4930 accepts voice commands: Speak the name of the contact in the
phone book and the phone dials the number automatically.

If you want to use PTT with coworkers and family in Canada, some
countries in Europe, and parts of Mexico and Central America, consider
one of Nextel's handsets such as the Motorola i710 and i860:
http://nextelonline.nextel.com/NASAp.../DisplayPhones

As I mentioned above, PTT won't work across different carriers. You
can link only with users on your network.

T-Mobile Options

T-Mobile customers can choose from a few phones that no other carriers
offer, including the new Motorola Pebl, the new Samsung SGH-T809, and
the Sidekick.

Motorola Pebl:
http://find.pcworld.com/51354

Samsung SGH-T809:
http://www.samsung.com/Products/Mobi...T809OKATMB.asp

We reviewed the Sidekick II when it came out in 2004:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/artic...,tk,box,00.asp

The Pebl works in many countries, including parts of Europe, Asia, and
Australia. To use the phone overseas, you must subscribe to T-Mobile's
international calling plan. You can use a wireless Bluetooth headset
with the Pebl. It includes a camera, and it looks more stylish than
most phones, bearing a black rubber casing and a self-opening
mechanism that opens the cover when you flick the top right or left
corner of the unit.

If you like thin camera phones, consider the Samsung SGH-T809. It's a
tad thicker than the Motorola Razr, comes in a black finish, and
slides open. I like the big LCD and the global roaming capability,
which lets you use the phone in many countries in Europe and Asia. The
SGH-T809 is solidly built and has 70MB of internal memory, a MicroSD
card slot, and an included 32MB memory card.

The Sidekick II is a pleasure to use for messaging thanks to its
rubber QWERTY keys, conveniently located navigation buttons, and
scroll wheel. Yet another plus: Danger, Inc. (the company that helped
develop Sidekick) has released an update to its operating system that
supports JavaScript, a common Web language that enables special
functions on certain sites.

Verizon Wireless Winners

Verizon Wireless users can select from a variety of versatile phones
from LG Electronics. But my current favorite is The V (also known as
the VX9800). Although very bulky, the handset offers several features
that make its size a fair trade-off, including a relatively
easy-to-use QWERTY keyboard and support for Verizon's VCast
entertainment services. In addition to instant messaging, the keyboard
works for other functions, including Web browsing and picture taking.
In comparison, competing keyboard-enabled phones work only in IM and
SMS text messaging modes. For more details, read my November review of
The V:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/artic...,tk,box,00.asp

Meanwhile, BlackBerry fans should check out the 7130e, the first
BlackBerry that works on Verizon's fast EvDO data network:
http://www.discoverblackberry.com/de...rry7130e.shtml

The 7130e combines numeric and alphabet keys onto one keypad; the
handset automatically recognizes when you're in messaging mode so you
can use the alphabet keys instantly (this function is available on
other BlackBerry 7100 series phones from Cingular and T-Mobile). The
large screen makes Web browsing a pleasure, too.

Finally, if you want to use the carrier's nationwide push-to-talk
service, you can choose among three phones: the Kyocera KX444, the
Motorola T300p, and the LG VX4700. These phones lack a camera--a plus
if your employer does not allow cameras in the workplace

Kyocera KX444:
http://www.kyocera-wireless.com/kx440-phone/

LG VX4700:
http://find.pcworld.com/51356

Motorola T300p:
http://find.pcworld.com/51358

For even more cell-phone reviews, plus related news, visit our Info
Center:
http://www.pcworld.com/resource/info...,tk,box,00.asp

Have a question or comment? Write to Grace Aquino:
dialedin at pcworld.com

Read Grace Aquino's "Dialed In" columns:
http://www.pcworld.com/resource/colu...5,tk,bo,00.asp

===
"Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don't need to be done."
-- Andy Rooney
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