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Cell phone sequels
Jessica Dolcourt
Senior Editor November 17, 2010
Judging by some of the ridiculous names cell phone manufacturers trot out for their phones (remember the :), anyone?), it's no wonder they sometimes revisit past identities when making simple design updates.
Samsung is a big fan of this practice, releasing in the past year sequels like the Intensity II, and Gravity 3. Unfortunately, many of the sequel phones we see refresh the look but rehash the plot. Such is the fate of the Solstice II and the Eternity II, the latter of which even takes a step back by downgrading the camera from 3 megapixels to just 2 megapixels. The Flight II was sluggish and outdated, and we have yet to see if the Messager III is anything other than a rebrand.
Two recent smartphone updates have been more successful. The Motorola Droid 2 improves everything from the keyboard to the processor, and it ships with the most modern Android operating system at the time, version 2.2 (Froyo). The T-Mobile G2, on the other hand, is a complete overhaul of the world's first Android phone. With the G2's premium look and feel, good keyboard, and 4G-like speeds, it's a very worthy tribute indeed.
| Product name | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Check Prices | $69.99 | $115.25 | $165.00 | Check Prices |
| CNET editors' rating | |||||
| Average user rating | |||||
| Release date | August 09, 2010 | August 12, 2010 | October 06, 2010 | November 07, 2010 | |
| The Bottom Line | The Samsung Flight II may have decent multimedia features, but its overall sluggishness keeps us from recommending it. | With a dated design and average performance, the Samsung Eternity II doesn't give us reasons to buy it over the original Eternity. | The Motorola Droid 2 offers a number of improvements that make it a worthy upgrade from the Droid and certainly a top choice for those who want a smartphone with a physical keyboard. | Some minor issues aside, the T-Mobile G2 is one of the carrier's top Android smartphones, offering an excellent QWERTY keyboard, speed, and plenty of features. | The Samsung Solstice II is a solid midrange touch-screen feature phone that offers good value if you can look past a few inconveniences and variable call quality. |
| Features | |||||
| Weight | 3.5 oz | 5 oz | 5.96 oz | 6.5 oz | 3.35 oz |
| Wireless Interface | Bluetooth 2.1 | Bluetooth 2.1 | Bluetooth 2.1 EDR IEEE 802.11b/g/n | Info unavailable | Bluetooth 2.1 EDR |
| Service Provider | AT&T | AT&T | Verizon Wireless | Info unavailable | AT&T |
| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
| Buying choices | |||||
