Touch-screen cell phones: More than just the iPhone

Much of the hoopla surrounding the Apple iPhone has centered on its touch screen. As the iPhone has only one menu button, its touch screen serves as the interface for doing everything from typing text messages to surfing the Web. We admit that we had our reservations, but it turned out to be easier to use than we expected. Yet even with all the attention surrounding it, the iPhone is not the first cell phone to rely so heavily on a touch screen. The LG Prada was one of the first to feature a touch-screen user interface and has a style and elegance that fits its designer branding. Soon after, Samsung followed suit with the Samsung Armani, a touch-screen fashion phone that gives the Prada a run for its money. For a different take on touch screens, we saw the Neonode N2 make its debut this year, a tiny little phone that relies on a series of finger sweeps to navigate its interface. If you still insist on a keypad of some kind, the LG Glimmer combines both a full touch-screen interface as well as a regular number dial pad. Last, but not least, LG wows us yet again with the LG Vu, a phone with a 3-inch-wide touch screen. It's also the first phone to support AT&T Mobile TV, AT&T's new live mobile TV service.