Down the line: Smartphones

Bonnie Cha, Senior Associate Editor July 25, 2008

iPhone, schmiPhone. Now wait, don't go calling me an iPhone hater because I'm not. I'm just saying that there are a lot of other hot smartphones out there that deserve as much attention as Apple's starlet, and here are five examples. This group represents some of the most popular and highly anticipated smartphones this year, and I get a lot of reader e-mail wondering about their availability date, pricing, and so on. Unfortunately, I don't have as much information as you might want. The manufacturers aren't saying much other than what's already out there, but here's what I do know and I've provided my educated guess on when or if we might see these hot numbers here in the States.

RIM BlackBerry Bold: It's confirmed that AT&T will be the first U.S. carrier to sell the Bold with availability scheduled for some time this summer. We prodded for a more specific time frame, but got the same generic answer, though some sources say that it will be released in mid-August. Pricing is expected to be in the range of $300 to $400. Once released on AT&T, I'd expect the BlackBerry Bold to make its rounds to the other carriers as well by the end of the year.

Nokia N96: A Nokia representative only confirmed what we already learned at GSMA: It will be available in third quarter of the year for an unlocked price of about $780. No plans yet for a North American Edition, though I suspect, as with the N95, the more demand from U.S. customers, the more likely the chances of a NAM version. Sadly, I wouldn't really bet on a U.S. carrier picking the N96 up.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1: One reader asked if the Xperia X1 has been axed (since there hasn't been any news in a while), and goodness, I hope not. As far as I know, the Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone is still expected for the second half of the year. I'd guess the X1 will be a late release (around the holidays and end of the year) and AT&T is the rumored carrier.

HTC Touch Diamond: I took a look at the GSM version of the Diamond and wasn't very impressed. However, HTC plans to release a U.S. version sporting the latest firmware update. The smartphone, as well as the HTC Touch Pro, have passed FCC tests and looks like they will head to Verizon Wireless or Sprint. I'd expect pricing to be about $250 to $350 with a two-year contract and all that jazz.

Samsung Omnia: Unfortunately, a Samsung representative told me there are no current plans to bring this Windows Mobile smartphone to the United States. She said this could change if a U.S. provider decides to pick up the device, but I'm not sure what the chances are of that. You can, of course, buy an unlocked version when they become available. Some online retailers are taking preorders now but hope you're saving your pennies as the phone costs about $1,000.

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