The Nokia N96 is an impressive smartphone that offers 16GB storage. It costs $776 for the unlocked version and offers advanced multimedia highlights that are enough to replace your portable video or MP3 player. Not only this, but the N96 also offers full wireless capabilities, GPS, 3G support, and productivity suite. It looks like its predecessor the Nokia N95 and keeps similar candy-bar and dual-slider design. The N96 is similar to the HTC Touch Pro in size. We like that the Nokia has employed few tweaks to the overall profile of the N96. You can slide down the phone to access the alphanumeric keypad. On sliding the screen at other side, the N96 will reveal the media playback controls. The screen rotates from portrait to landscape on accessing these keys, but it does not orient back to portrait mode automatically. It is quite annoying that you have to slide up the screen and down back for the same. On the down side, the N96’s performance is a bit sluggish and it froze occasionally.

Not only the LG has manufactured a lot of high-end smartphones including the Expo, but it also provides entry-level handsets to capture the complete mobile market. The company had release the LG Wine for U.S. Cellular last year. It was a good cell phone with a megapixel camera, solid alphanumeric keypad and dedicated shortcut keys. Now, the company has launched LG Wine II UN430 that has glossy plastic shell. It does not remind us of any wine bottle, but still retains a professional folder-type design. The Wine II features dual color display (external and internal), stereo Bluetooth, an FM tuner, music player, and 2-megapixel camera with video recording. It costs $49.95 with two-year contract after a mail-in-rebate of $50. On the downside, it does not come with any preinstalled email app or browser. Also, the Wine II has 2.5mm headset jack rather including a standard 3.5mm jack. We will definitely recommend the LG Wine II if you need an entry-level handset. Design The  [...]

The Samsung had quietly released the Samsung SPH-M240 for Sprint on the same day of launching the Samsung Rogue. The M240 looks like the Samsung SGH-T329 and the SGH-A237. However, the SPH-M240 lacks the color accents like previous handsets. It is completely centered towards simple communication. It costs $19.99 with a service agreement, but does not feature Bluetooth. The battery cover on the back is textured. The plastic skin cannot withstand the bumps, but the hinge is sturdy enough. You will find the 2.5mm headset jack and standard micro-USB port on the right side; while the volume rocker is on the left side. We like that the SPH-M240 has vertical external display similar to that on Samsung SGH-T239. It displays numerical caller ID and date/time. As the M240 is not a multimedia phone so there is no camera and 3.5mm headset jack. You can flip open the phone to access the internal color display and alphanumeric keypad. If your office does not allow for camera phone, then the SPH-M240  [...]

Like other N-series smartphone, the Nokia N79 definitely has excellent and advanced multimedia features including 5-megapixel camera with dual LED flash. It uses the Symbian operating system and offers complete wireless options, nice email feature and productivity suite. The N79 comes unlocked and available for $429 from the Nokia store and online retailers. The smartphone ships with three XpressOn covers (back plates) in red, white and brown colors. This gives freedom to personalize the N79’s overall look. However, the Nokia N79 suffers with some drawbacks including non-touch display, cramped dial-pad and navigation controls. It is important to mention here that the both N79 and the N96 shares most of the features. If you can work without a touch-screen, then the N79 is a good smartphone to buy. 2.4 inches display of the Nokia N79 has 320×240 pixels resolution that supports 16 million colors. It features inbuilt accelerometer to rotate the display on tilting the phone. The navigation  [...]

The Nokia 7705 Twist has a strange swivel design. The Sony Ericsson W600i also had swivel design that remained fine for some time and then flew apart after continuous usage in one month. However, Nokia had improved the design for its 7705 Twist handset. You can open and close it using one hand and move it from center to a corner.  This mechanism feels sturdy, but the long-term durability is on doubt. The Twist has minimalist and clean profile, but is a bit new wave. It will get appearance on the streets. The 7705 Twist offers comfortable keyboard and a good range of features. You can buy it for $99.99 with Verizon Wireless agreement after a $50 mail-in-rebate. However, the volume remains low during call and the captured photo quality is poor. The overall design looks polarizing with small display and 2.5mm headset jack. We will prefer the Nokia to include a 3.5mm headset jack and universal standard charger jack in further models. The new addition is contact ring on the pivot point that  [...]

LG continues to launch the messaging phones for Verizon Wireless. Recently, the company has release the LG Voyager and the enV for the Verizon. Now, the company shows off the LG Cosmos for the same carrier. It looks like the LG Rumor 2 as both has candy bar design, same dimensions, and slides out at the right side to reveal the keyboard. The Cosmos costs $29.99 with two-year Verizon contract after a mail-in-rebate of $50. It features spacious QWERTY keyboard, 1.3-megapixel camera, GPS, excellent call quality, and Bluetooth. However, it lacks corporate email support and EV-DO network. You have to pay additional $5 to access the Web mail services like Hotmail or Gmail. There are pre-entered numbers for social networking Web sites including MySpace, Twitter, and Facebook, at which you can send messages to update your account. It is not a groundbreaking feature; still remains good to update the messages and pictures at above Web sites in seconds with few clicks. The Cosmos does not support  [...]

Samsung is one of the famous messaging phone manufacturers in the United States. It previously launched the Samsung Messager, the Gravity, and the Rant. Now, the company has launched the Samsung Intensity SCH-U450 for Verizon Wireless. It continues to have the candy bar design like the Gravity and the Rant. The SCH-U450 costs $29.99 for its charcoal gray version. Surprisingly, its flaming red version comes free with a service agreement from Verizon’s online store. Turn the phone to 90 degree anticlockwise and then slide it down to reveal the full QWERTY keyboard. Noteworthy that arrow keys on the keyboard are mixed with L, N, M, and period keys. The Intensity SCH-U450 has mobile email – a downloadable application to access the POP3/IMAP4 accounts and the mobile Web email – to access the Web email via browser. However, its navigation array is a bit cramped and it does not support EV-DO network. Therefore, you cannot download the on-the-air songs through V Cast Music. The phone is free,  [...]

The messaging phones become a trend previously and LG is making such handsets with full QWERTY keyboards. It has manufactured the enV and the Voyager for Verizon; while LG Rumor and the Rumor 2 are for Sprint. Now, the company has launched the latest – LG Rumor Touch. It costs $79.99 with two-year Sprint’s contract and has a design quite similar to the LG Xenon. The Rumor Touch features excellent call quality, EV-DO Rev. 0 network support, GPS, 3.5mm headset jack, 2-megapixel camera, and touch-screen. On the dark side, its picture quality and QWERTY keyboard layout needs improvement. The main highlight of the Rumor Touch is the Hello User Interface that provides great experience to organize the contacts. The touch screen is quick responsive even being resistive. Its mobile email supports Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, Windows Live Mail, Gmail, and AOL mail. You will also get the instant access to MySpace, Twitter and Facebook through their respective applications. More to like – the Touch also  [...]

The Sprint is offering its first Android smartphone – HTC Hero. At the time of launch, it was the latest Google Android device available. It looks like its GSM counterpart of Europe. It features multi-touch screen, 3.5mm headset jack, Outlook contact and calendar synchronization, Wi-Fi, 5-megapixel camera, 3G support, GPS, and Bluetooth. The HTC has also added the Sense user interface and redefined the hardware for better performance. However, the Hero smartphone suffers with some faults as well. Its performance is a bit sluggish and still we would like to see some improvements by adding file management and media sync system. It does not have a great appeal like the Apple iPhone and the Palm Pre. The Hero is available for $179.99 with two-year Sprint contract after a mail-in-rebate of $100. It is important to mention here that you have to sign up for unlimited data plan additionally to take all the benefits from the Hero. More to like – it looks better than T-Mobile MyTouch 3G and the  [...]

The HTC Touch Pro2 is available in the U.S. through T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless. The Verizon version of the Windows Mobile smartphone is not different at all from other models. The carrier is providing the Touch Pro2 for $199 with two-year contract, which is $150 less than its competitors. However, you have to sign up for data and voice plan additionally with the Verizon. It is noteworthy that the Verizon is providing less features and services than Sprint’s model. As expected, most of the features and the design of Verizon model are quite similar to that of other versions. The HTC Touch Pro2 for Verizon Wireless offers EV-DO Rev. A support, GPS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. For a change – the Verizon has worked with HTC to add some different features like Sleep button on the top, world map pattern at back speaker, and more shortcuts on the QWERTY keyboard. What’s more – the Verizon has announced to provide the Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrade to its consumers. However, the both Verizon  [...]