Cell phones of the year: CNET's top mobiles of 2006

Kent German, Senior Editor December 20, 2006

Over the past year we've seen a wide range of new cell phones hit the market, from basic handsets to full-fledged smart phones. During 2006, music and photo mobiles were big, 3G continued to proliferate, Bluetooth entered the stereo age and even found its way into low-end phones. And of course, the thin design inspired by Motorola remains the trend that just won't die. So now in the closing weeks of 2006, we submit to you the best cell phones of the year. A few were chosen by CNET editors and a few were chosen by you, the readers, in our recent Make the Call forum. The unlocked GSM Nokia 5300 and the unlocked GSM Sony Ericsson K790a are at the top of our list, each having won our Editors' Choice award. The 5300 is the readers' choice for music, and the K790a is a top camera phone. Cingular's Sony Ericsson W810i elegantly combines a music player and a phone, while the LG VX8300 for Verizon subscribers offers great performance all around. LG manages to score another 2006 winner with its CU500 for Cingular Wireless; it remains the carrier's best 3G phone. And finally, though it's not flashy by any means, the Nextel Motorola i580 is a workhorse of a phone. For more mobile highlights (and lowlights) of 2006 check out Bonnie Cha's list of the best smart phones of the year and Nicole Lee's list of the worst cell phones of the year.

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