Stretch your tech $$$ at Dell.com
Bonnie Cha,
Senior Associate Editor
April 6, 2009
Just like fashion, the world of cell phones and smartphones is a very design-driven industry. You've got the superstylish for fashionistas, and the colorful and the unusual for those who dare to be different. While cell phones have been adventurous in form factor, smart phones tend to be more conservative and limited in design, because a) they largely cater to a business crowd and b) there's only so much a manufacturer can do with the handset without sacrificing features and usability. That doesn't mean we're stuck in the age of blocky, brick-like smartphones, however. The latest style to saunter down the smartphone runway is the sleek, full-QWERTY cell phone that, whether you love it or hate it, was spurred by the Motorola Q. Frankly, they're all starting to look alike, with the trend toward black casing, but we're not complaining; black rules the night. Here are six of the latest models, each flaunting a slim profile for easy portability and a full QWERTY keyboard for all your messaging needs. Read our reviews to see if you should try one on for size.
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| Price | $199.99 | $299.99 to $659.99 | Check Prices | $399.99 to $479.99 | $300.00 to $432.00 | Check Prices |
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| Review date | November 24, 2008 | October 30, 2008 | September 16, 2008 | August 27, 2008 | July 03, 2008 | October 24, 2008 |
| The Bottom Line | For Verizon's globetrotting customers, the Samsung Saga offers a sleek messaging smartphone with world-roaming capabilities and solid performance, all for an affordable price. | For those who waited, the RIM BlackBerry Bold won't disappoint. The Bold impresses with its brilliant display, enhanced productivity tools, and excellent multimedia performance to deliver a more powerful and well-rounded smartphone to mobile professionals. | The Motorola Q Global brings an updated look and the latest Windows Mobile operating system to the messaging-centric smartphone. | The Palm Treo Pro offers significant improvements in the design and features department, but the smartphone doesn't offer anything revolutionary and costs more than its competitors, which will make it a hard sell. | Mobile professionals who need a powerful but sleek messaging-centric smartphone will be well-served by the Nokia E71; just be prepared to pay a price. | While not a must-have upgrade for Samsung BlackJack II owners, the Samsung Epix expands the capabilities and usability of the messaging-centric smartphone with the addition of a touch screen, optical mouse, and Wi-Fi. |
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| Features | ||||||
| Weight | 4.59 oz | 4.8 oz | 4.7 oz | 4.7 oz | 4.4 oz | Info unavailable |
| Talk time | Up to 300 min | Up to 270 min | Up to 540 min | Up to 300 min | Up to 270 min | Up to 420 min |
| Built-in devices | Camera | Camera Digital player | Camera Digital player XM radio | Camera | Info unavailable | Camera Digital player |
| OS provided | Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 | BlackBerry Handheld Software | Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional | Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional | Info unavailable | Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional |
| Band / mode | CDMA EVDO Rev A/1x 800/1900 and 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS Digital Only Wireless Protocol: CDMA | GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband) / UMTS 850/900/1900/21000 | GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband) / 3G 850/900 | GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband) / UMTS 850/1900/2100 (Triband) | WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900 | GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband) / UMTS 850/900/1900/2100 (Quadband) |
| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
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