HTC Touch2 is not a new phone, it has been there for a while but still I am covering it here in this review since my e-mail inbox is flooded with requests for review of this gadget. HTC Touch2, when released, was one of the first smartphones to ship with Windows 6.5 OS which brought a host of new features. Hence, the new OS became an instant hit amongst the masses. Some said that is didn’t have any major updates over its predecessor but I think there were some new welcome additions. I read on the Internet that the primary reason why Microsoft released the new update was because it wanted to create a more touch friendly interface. They wanted to make it more appealing to the consumers. HTC Touch2’s Today screen is a lot like Microsoft Zune, which is really like. There is a slide bar which lets you scroll up and down through the various apps on the phone. Sliding sideways on a particular app gives you more information about the app. For instance, if you swipe the calendar  [...]

It has almost been a year since Samsung brought their first Android phone, Samsung Moment to the market. Since then, the company has been making a lot of Android phones. The display of this handset is 3.2 inches big but it is not AMOLED screen. The text seems a bit fuzzy but that is not a big issue. The phone has a responsive and smooth capacitive touch screen display and the pinch to zoom feature works really well, courtesy of Android 2.1. The gesture will be really useful when you will use the Web browser. The accelerometer is also there but you don't get it in all the applications. However, you will it for apps like photo gallery and browser. Beneath the display, there are Android sensor hot keys which are laid out in a row. They relate to search, back key, home and menu. Long press of the home button gets you the task manager and it shows you the apps that are running. You can also easily handle your multitasking work from here. But, I found that there was a lot of lag when I closed  [...]

The name of this phone is quite awkward even considering the haphazard model names that manufacturer’s are giving to their products these days. This handset is made for entry level users and the feature set is quite basic. I am not so enthusiastic about such low end handsets since I am a tech freak and yearn for high end gadgets. But I have been getting a lot of e-mails asking for the such basic phone reviews too so I am blogging here about them. There are people who don’t need a smartphone and are just looking for an entry level handset for making phone calls. PCD CDM8635 is made for such people. It is targeted more towards the senior citizens; the phone has feature inside for them. Thinking from an entry level phone users point of view, the hardware and software features of this phone are quite impressive, you get every thing that you want. The phone has a clamshell design and there is a display on the lid too. It is bigger than what you normally get on such entry  [...]

When it comes to prepaid phones, we usually assume that they are going to be simple low end handsets with barebone features. But we were pleasantly surprised when we saw the Motorola i1. This device is available with prepaid carriers. For Boost Mobile, this is the first phone based on Google Android and this is also the first Google Android phone to run on the Nextel's iDEN network. The phone has a touch screen display but it still feels pretty rugged. It is the only Android device in the market which supports push-to-talk. There are a few disappointments though, this phone is running on Android 1.5 which is an outdated version and iDEN network's speeds are not fast enough. Motorola may give software updates in the near future so things are not that bad as they look. We wont say that this is the best Anroid phone ever but you certainly won't get a better handset in the market if you are a iDEN fan. This phone costs $349.99 which is a lot of money but you don't have any contract obligations.

Alltel is the latest carrier to get HTC Snap. This handset is available from a lot of other service providers like Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile. This phone is message centric and it also has the HTC Inner Circle feature which lets you prioritize your e-mail with just a button press. This handset also offers dual mode functionality along with world roaming capabilities. Looking at the price, we would recommend this phone as a nice alternative to BlackBerry phones from the same service provider. This phone is yours for $79.99 and you have to sign a one year service agreement after a $70 mail in rebate. Compare this to Alltel BlackBerry 8830 which costs $249.99. The manufacturer gives this phone with reference manual, software disc, audio adapter, USB cord, wired stereo headset, power adapter, and 4 international adapters. This phone has a good QWERTY keyboard and our fingers didn't feel any fatigue even after we typed on it for a lot of time. Other features worth  [...]

When Samsung came up with Blue Earth, it became one of the few manufacturers to jump on eco friendly bandwagon. It had solar panels on the back. Then the company came out with Samsung Reclaim which was partially made up of recycled materials. Restore is Reclaim's successor but with a different look. This handset is made up of 27 percent recycled material and 77 percent of its parts can be recycled, if you decide to throw it. There are no hazardous materials used in this phone, like PVC and the packaging is made up of recycled paper. Finally, the charger is Energy Star certified. Apart from those 'green' features, this is a pretty normal handset made for messaging enthusiasts. It has stereo Bluetooth, 2.0 megapixel camera, music player, EV-Do, GPS and full sized QWERTY keyboard. The cost of this phone is $49.99 and you have to sign a two year contract  [...]

LG Vu was launched some time ago and it was one of the first phone to come with AT&T's live mobile TV service. The gorgeous three inch screen made watching videos fun but we didn't like the antenna sticking out for the TV signal. The design issues have been taken care of now, the antenna has disappeared on the predecessor – LG Vu Plus. The mobile TV service is still there and this phone now has a slide out QWERTY keyboard. The camera too is upgraded along with HSDPA/3G speeds. This device will cost you $149.99 and you have to sign a two year contract with the service provider. The display is 3 inches big and it is capacitive one so you will have an iPhone like experience on it. You get a 240x400 pixels resolution along with 262k color support. Our only gripe is that the display has a plastic surface instead of sturdier glass material which is seen in quite a lot of phones. The phone gives haptic feedback to your touches. You can change the intensity and length of  [...]

This is not a new phone in our labs, we previously reviewed the RIM BlackBerry Bold 9650 from Sprint. But now we got a Verizon Wireless handset in our labs and thought of doing a separate review since the service provider gave it to us in our labs. There are no drastic changes done to this phone but some subtleties are apparent like Wi-Fi, optical touch pad and more internal memory. We have written this review for Verizon's model only and we will feature on the performance and features by the service provider. If you are looking for a detailed review, check out our Sprint's RIM BlackBerry Bold 9650. Verizon Wireless is selling this phone for $149.99, it comes with a 2 year contract and after $100 mail in rebate. This smartphone now offers world roaming capabilities and you can also unlock the SIM card. The design of the phone makes it comfortable to hold in the hand. There are a few downsides though, the browser is not that good. BlackBerry phones have never been browsers,  [...]

LG Imprint MN240 looks a lot like Kin One with regards to design. Just like LG Remarq, the Imprint has a leaf shaped speaker on the back and the handset's charger too is Energy star rated. MetroPCS, the service provider is not advertising this handset as an eco friendly product. May be that is because Imprint doesn't have soy ink packaging (unlike the Remarq) and the body is not made up of recycled plastic either. The phone has an appealing design and it will certainly go well with youngsters. They always yearn for a compact phone which can be easily placed in to their jeans pocket. Another thing that we liked about the phone was the spacious QWERTY keyboard which makes typing easy. If you are the kind of person who types a lot on cellphones then we will recommend you this handset. Other than that, the LG Imprint also has a music player for listening to tracks while on the move. However, we expected a 3.5 mm headphones jack since it would have let us plug in any standard headphones in to  [...]

Samsung makes a lot of phones just for small service operators like MetroPCS and U.S. Cellular and this latest phone by this company is another example of that. Both this and the Messager II are entry level phones and the design is quite similar to Rant, also by the same company. Rant had a slide out QWERTY keyboard along with external number keypad. But Messager Touch does something different; it has a full sliding keyboard, touch screen coupled with the trademark Samsung TouchWiz feature. The look is sleek as compared to its predecessors. This is a pretty decent phone for people who message a lot. The cost of this handset is $49.99 with mail in rebate and after a two year contract. Samsung Messager Touch SCH-R630 has a 2.6 inch display with resolution of 240x320 pixels and supports 262,000 colors. You can change the dial font size, backlight time, lock screen font color. The phone has a resistive touch screen so don't expect an iPhone like experience on the screen. You will have to press  [...]