CTIA 2006

CTIA 2006 cream of the crop
By Kent German and Bonnie Cha

CTIA has never been for groundbreaking announcements, and the 2006 show here in Las Vegas was no exception. Although we saw a lot of cool new phones and services, we haven't come away wowed by one thing, especially in the accessory department. For the most part, manufacturers stuck to already established trends in design (think music) and features (think thin form factors). Motorola continues to capitalize in its success with the Razr by introducing new variations, and Sony Ericsson pumped out a new Walkman phone. Samsung unveiled a solid assortment of phones, such as the slim SGH-T509 and the Wi-Fi/UMA SGH-T709, while LG, in addition to promising a U.S. version of its hyped Chocolate handset, announced a varied crop of mobiles, from the low-end LG 225 to the flashy LG 8300 to the attractive LG 550 music phone. Kyocera departed from its long-held theme of simplicity with a selection of midtier phones that incorporate Bluetooth and digital media players. Nokia, however, played it low key; the company rolled out just four CDMA models. Even though we're leaving Las Vegas without being totally amazed, a few things caught our eye.

Coolest phone: Sony Ericsson K790a
When you pack too much into a cell phone, there's always the danger of overreaching. Not only is it detrimental if fancy features such as a camera and an MP3 player don't work well, it's also not good if all those extras get in the way of making calls. At the end of the day, a cell phone is meant for making calls, and if it can't perform that duty, it's not worth much of anything. Sony Ericsson, however, has developed a knack for not falling into the trap. Last year, we named the W800i to our CTIA cream of the crop, and this year, we have to award the company again for its K790a Cyber Shot-branded phone. Like the W800i, it's attractively designed in a sleek candy bar package. But more important, it has a lot of features, and it seems to do all of them well. With a 3.2-megapixel camera, the K790a's image functionality is impressive, with autofocus, a xenon flash, video recording and playback, a 16X digital zoom, and red-eye reduction. Getting your shots off the phone should also be easy, as the phone comes with PictBridge for photo printing, and its BestPic technology is integrated with Google and Blogger. Inside, you'll find Bluetooth; an infrared port; 64MB of internal memory; a Memory Stick slot (expandable up to 1GB); USB 2.0 mass storage; a digital music player; instant messaging; text and multimedia messaging; e-mail support; PC syncing; a full Web browser with RSS readers; Java (J2ME) for 3D games; a speakerphone; and basic PIM functions. Full availability is scheduled for the second quarter of this year.

Coolest smart phone: Samsung SGH-T719
It would be easy to pick the Nokia E series or the Motorola Q as the coolest smart phone of CTIA 2006, but we've seen these mobiles in the past, and all this waiting has made us look at alternatives. And we certainly found a worthy competitor in the Samsung SGH-T719. The SGH-T719 is the first flip phone with support for RIM's BlackBerry Connect e-mail capabilities. It's ultrasleek and lightweight (3.5 ounces), and it boasts a beautiful 262,000-color internal display. To complement its e-mail prowess, the handset features a SureType keyboard, much like the one found on the BlackBerry 7100 series, where two letters are assigned to each key and predictive-text technology aids with word entry. And if that isn't enough, the EDGE-enabled, quad-band smart phone also has a speakerphone, Bluetooth, and a 1.3-megapixel camera with video-recording capabilities. Needless to say, we're looking forward to checking it out. The SGH-T719 is expected to ship in Q3 2006, but pricing and carrier information have yet to be announced.

Coolest service: Disney Mobile
Although we're not sure that tweens and the middle-school set need a cell phone in the first place, we admit that some parents appreciate being able to get in touch with their tykes in an emergency. We've seen some cell phones, such as the Firefly, try to address this niche, but many kid-friendly handsets can have significant drawbacks. The parental controls are a great way to teach cell phone responsibility, but the Firefly in particular is sorely lacking in features and is saddled with a cheap, unappealing design. Disney, however, has unveiled a viable and attractive alternative. Disney Mobile is a new MVNO running on Sprint's network, and it's designed for the whole family. The first two handsets, the LG DM-L200 and the Pantech DM-P100, come with a wealth of features, including a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, a speakerphone, and voice dialing. This means parents can take advantage of the high-end feature while Junior isn't stuck with a dinky phone that everyone at school will tease him for. And to help kids learn to use those features responsibly, parents can set when the phone is used and which numbers it can call, determine spending allowances for both calls and messages, locate their kids with GPS capabilities, and send family messages. The controls can be set through an online interface or on their child's handset. To top it off, the handsets feature access to Disney content and a Disney-designed interface, while the DM-L200 comes in an eye-catching candy-apple red. Pricing plans are still under development, but the service will launch in June.

Honorable mention: Jitterbug and GreatCall
At the other end of the population spectrum is a group that's received far too little attention from the cell phone industry. Seniors want cell phones, too, but they have specific needs that should be addressed. In particular, they want simple, easy-to-use handsets that lack fancy features but have large displays and buttons to aid those with poor vision. At CTIA, GreatCall, a new MVNO aimed at seniors, introduced two handsets that incorporate much of the above. The Jitterbug Dial has large, brightly backlit keypad buttons, a basic interface, and a utilitarian design. Since it has a full keypad, the Dial is meant for users who will make calls regularly. Alternatively, for emergencies only, the Jitterbug OneTouch ditches the standard keypad in favor of three one-touch buttons that connect the user to a carrier operator, emergency services, and a user-programmed contact. Both are white flip phones with bulky but lightweight form factors designed by Samsung. Exact pricing and plans will be announced later, with service expected to start this summer.