E-mail to go: Best smartphones for e-mail

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Bonnie Cha, Senior Associate Editor May 29, 2009

In today's fast-paced work environment, being at your desk all day is rare, so how do you stay in touch with colleagues when you're away from your computer? Easy: a smartphone. But not so fast--not all smartphones are created equal, and some of these PDA/cell phone combos have more e-mail prowess than others. Here we've gathered some of our favorite smartphones for messaging. What makes them special? Well, they all offer real-time e-mail delivery, support for various and numerous accounts, and feature some of the better QWERTY keyboards we've tested. Read our reviews to see if one is right for you.

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Editors' top smartphones,

Cell phone buying guide,

Product name

Nokia E71x - black (AT&T)

RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 (T-Mobile)

Samsung Saga (Verizon Wireless)

HTC Touch Pro (Sprint)

RIM BlackBerry Bold - black (AT&T)

Nokia E75

Price $349.99 $149.99 to $649.99 $99.99 $299.99 $199.99 $369.99 to $569.99 CNET editors' rating

3.5 stars

3.5 stars

3.5 stars

3.5 stars

4.0 stars

3.5 stars

Average user rating

Review date April 30, 2009 January 27, 2009 November 24, 2008 November 04, 2008 October 30, 2008 June 04, 2009 The Bottom Line Affordably priced, the Nokia E71x for AT&T is an incredible value for business users and consumers looking for a robust messaging smartphone. We're disappointed by the lack of 3G, but the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 is a solid update to the Curve series, bringing a better design, improved features, and faster performance and is one of T-Mobile's top smartphone offerings. 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. Despite some performance issues, the HTC Touch Pro is one of Sprint's most feature-packed and powerful smartphones for business users. 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 Nokia E75 is a nice alternative to the current crop of slate QWERTY messaging smartphones, offering a compact design without sacrificing the keyboard or e-mail capabilities. However, without carrier backing, the unlocked phone is a bit expensive. Similar Products Compare more products Compare more products Compare more products Compare more products Compare more products Compare more products Features Cellular technologyWCDMA (UMTS) / GSM
Info unavailableGSM
WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM
WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM
WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM
Weight4.4 oz
3.87 oz
4.59 oz
5.8 oz
4.8 oz
4.9 oz
Talk timeUp to 270 min
Info unavailableUp to 300 min
Up to 419 min
Up to 270 min
320 min
Wireless InterfaceIEEE 802.11b
IEEE 802.11g
Infrared (IrDA)
Bluetooth 2.0 EDR
Info unavailableBluetooth
IEEE 802.11
IEEE 802.11b
IEEE 802.11g
Bluetooth 2.0 EDR
IEEE 802.11a
IEEE 802.11b
IEEE 802.11g
Bluetooth 2.0
IEEE 802.11b
IEEE 802.11g
Bluetooth 2.0 EDR
Band / modeWCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900
Info unavailableCDMA EVDO Rev A/1x 800/1900 and 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS Digital Only Wireless Protocol: CDMA
WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900
WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900
WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900
Full specifications Full specifications Full specifications Full specifications Full specifications Full specifications Full specifications Buying choices

Best Buy

$349.99

In stock: See Site

Price from 1 CNET Certified store

T-Mobile USA

$149.99

In stock: Yes

Best Buy

$649.99

In stock: See Site

Prices from 2 CNET Certified stores

Verizon Wireless