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Cream of the
crop 2004
By Joni Blecher, Kent German, and Pat Houston
(March 24, 2004) |
At every trade show, there are undoubtedly a few products that outshine the others, and CTIA is no exception. While many of the phones and the services introduced this year are packed with all the latest features, these showstoppers are the items we can't wait to try out for ourselves.
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Camera phone: LG 8000
We knew phones with integrated megapixel cameras were going to be big news this year, and just about every handset manufacturer had an announcement to that effect. Featuring a 1.3-megapixel CCD camera with a 10X zoom, a built-in flash, and a video-recording function, the LG 8000 clearly stands out from the rest. In addition to its impressive list of photo features, it also sports internal and external 262,000-color displays and works with 3G 1xEvDO (DSL speeds) networks. Pricing with service will be determined when the unit becomes available late this summer. |
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Service: Verizon's BroadbandAccess 1xEVDO network
At the show this year, we were able to take Verizon's high-speed 1xEVDO network for a test-drive. The service consistently came through with speeds of more than 1MB wirelessly, and we can't wait for it to come to San Francisco. Speeds slow down when more people use the network, so it may not deliver data that quickly when it's rolled out nationwide, but it will offer DSL-like wireless connections, and Verizon will roll out the service to a third of its network by the end of the year. It's already available in the Washington, D.C., and San Diego areas, at a flat rate of $79.99 for monthly access with a one-year contract. |
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Accessory: Logitech's Mobile Bluetooth Headset
Plenty of new Bluetooth headsets were announced at the show, but it was a product from a fairly new player in the headset arena, Logitech, that wowed us. The company's Mobile Bluetooth Headset offers two impressive capabilities: a whopping 7 hours of talk time, and the Wi-Fi-friendly Adaptive Frequency Hopping--a feature that takes advantage of all available 2.4GHz frequencies to ultimately offer better transmission quality. The headset is available now for $99.95. |
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Business phone: Samsung i550
When the Samsung SPH-i500 came out in the summer of 2003, it was extremely well received. We think the next evolution of that product, the i550, for CDMA networks will be just as popular. The coolest enhancements include an external OLED color display that really pops, an internal touch screen, Palm OS 5.2, and an SDIO slot for adding more memory. Pricing with service will be determined when the i550 becomes available late this summer. |
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Innovation: Nokia 7610 and Lifeblog
Nokia is quickly becoming known for its interesting keypad layouts, and the 7610 is no exception. But that's not what caught our attention. For us, it was the combination of the GSM phone's features (a 1-megapixel camera and video recorder, an external 64MB MMC card for added memory, and Bluetooth, to name a few) and the company's new Lifeblog application. Essentially, you can use them to sync all the images, messages, and videos on your phone with your PC. The information is then organized for you chronologically, turning that content into a multimedia diary that you can save on your PC and, thereby, freeing up the memory on the phone. |
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Honorable mention: Kyocera Koi
A recurring theme at the show this year was cell phones with swivel displays, whether the handset designs were modeled after Samsung's A600 and A610 designs or swung open to reveal a keypad. Among them, the Kyocera Koi sported the sturdiest form factor. Plus, it had pleasing details, such as the sliding cover for the 1.2-megapixel camera lens and flash, as well as the Wheel of Fortune-style menu system. When the CDMA phone becomes available this summer, pricing with service will be determined. |
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