Smartphones have seen an incredible rise since 2007 and HTC is not stopping anytime soon with the HTC Touch Pro2. Like the Sprint version, the Verizon Wireless HTC Touch Pro2 features a brilliant touch screen and one of the best QWERTY keyboards on the market. With incredible performance, and a lot of features to supplement the need for savvy tech lovers beyond design, the HTC Touch Pro2 is a simple investment well worth the price.

HTC’s Touch Pro2 model comes bundled with immense features such as the HTC’s Straight Talk Technology for conference call management, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a 3.2-megapixel camera, and a 3.5 mm audio jack. All of these features offer a lot of the same core functionality of the Sprint model, including HTC’s Straight Talk Technology, Wi-Fi with GPS, and Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition. Applications come bundled with Messaging which supports all E-mail Protocols (SSL, POP3) while G-Sensor makes touch-screen effective and easy.

Powered by a 528MHz processor by Qualcomm in the MSM7200A model, makers of the earliest W-CDMA standard for the ITU and IMT-2000 family standard packet interface, the HTC Touch Pro2 performed fairly well. There is some lag, however, with general applications not to mention the amount of loading time it takes for WM 6.1 Professional to load up. The HTC Touch Pro2 features a 1500mAh lithium ion battery with a talk time of 4 hours with 14 days of standby. We performed several benchmarks as part of our routine battery drain tests which revealed the smartphone to deliver near 6 hours of continuous talk time.  In our battery drain tests, the smartphone delivered 5.65 hours of continuous talk time.

The HTC Touch Pro2 is well worth every penny for someone looking to keep up with multimedia with HSPA and HSPA+ data connections while maintaining the 3G telephony link. Unfortunately, a lot of lag due to the minimal memory capacity presents a problem but it is not a big issue when it comes to the amount of processes this smartphone performs for 2008-2009 generation of phones.

The BlackJack II has been out for a while, and it seems like the Samsung Epix is revolving around the same design and features. Is this one actually any different?

Sure. While the two smartphones look largely similar on the surface, the Epix steps it up with a touch screen and optical mouse. It also ships with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition and adds integrated Wi-Fi. We wouldn’t call it a major overhaul, but the new design features add great value and provide a good user experience; plus, the smartphone offers solid performance. It’s a great messaging-centric smartphone for mobile professionals, but current BlackJack II owners could probably wait till they’re due for an upgrade (no need to pay full retail price) to switch to the Epix, especially since you can download a Windows Mobile 6.1 software update for your device. The Samsung Epix is available now from AT&T for $199.99 with a two-year contract and after rebates and discounts.

Design

At first glance, the Samsung Epix simply looks like an evolution of the Samsung BlackJack II but there’s more than meets the eye. First, the smartphone measures 4.6 inches high by 2.4 inches wide by 0.5 deep and weighs 4.4 ounces. It’s slightly thicker than the BlackJack II but the Epix houses a larger battery, so there’s good reason for the extra thickness and weight.

Features

The Samsung Epix isn’t a major overhaul of the BlackJack II, but there are a couple of additions in the features department. First, the smartphone now ships with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition, bringing the full Microsoft Office Mobile Suite for editing native Word and Excel documents, and viewing PowerPoint presentations; better Calendar management; better page navigation in Internet Explorer Mobile; and more. Other PIM tools include Picsel Viewer, a notepad, an alarm clock, a stopwatch, a calculator, a conversion calculator, a voice recorder, and a task list. A Task Manager is also available to help optimize CPU and memory usage; the Epix comes with 256MB internal ROM and about 150MB or internal RAM. The microSD expansion slot can accept up to 32GB cards.

Overall, the Samsung Epix is a great phone, but not really worthy of a $210.00 MSRP price tag. Does it work? Sure. Is it worth $200? Not close.

Apple released its first version of iPhone with a great amount of features to keep phone lovers on the edge. Now, with access to a faster 3G wireless network, Microsoft Exchange server e-mail, and support for a staggering array of third-party software from the iPhone App Store, the new handset is the iPhone everyone should upgrade to ASAP. It still lacks some basic features but when compared with what the original model was year ago, this device sets a new benchmark.

With the iPhone 3G, Apple appears to have fixed some call-quality performance issues we had with the previous model–in our initial tests, the volume is louder with less background buzz than before. The 3G reception could be improved, however. Music and video quality were largely unchanged, but we didn’t have many complaints in that department to begin with.

Price may well remain our largest concern. New AT&T customers and most current AT&T customers can buy the iPhone 3G for $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model. If you don’t qualify for that price–check your AT&T account to find out–you’ll pay $399 and $499 respectively. Either way, you’ll pay $15 more per month ($74.99 total) for a plan comparable with the original iPhone ($59 per month). So, while you’ll pay less outright to buy the handset, you’ll make it up over the course of a standard two-year AT&T contract.

So should you buy an iPhone 3G? If you haven’t bought an iPhone yet, and have been holding out for a new model, now is the time. If you’re a current iPhone owner and you’re yearning for a faster cellular network, then you should take the plunge. But if you’re an iPhone owner who won’t use 3G (or can’t; check your coverage at AT&T), then you should stick with your current model. The iPhone 2.0 software update provides Exchange server support, third-party apps support, and many new features without the added cost.

Design

You’d be hard-pressed to notice any design differences on the front of the iPhone 3G. The minor changes–the silver rim is thinner and the silver mesh behind the speaker–are so minimal we didn’t notice them for a few hours after picking up the device. Turn the phone on its side, however, and you’ll see more changes. Apple has replaced the aluminum silver back with a plastic face in either white or black.

Features

The iPhone 3G hangs on to all the original iPhone features and throws in a few more, so we’ll concentrate on what’s new. Lucky for first-gen iPhone owners, most of the impressive array of additions–save 3G support and enhanced GPS–come along with the free 2.0 software update.

App Store

When you select the iTunes Store, you’re taken to the App Store main menu, which somewhat resembles the mobile iTunes store in design. You search applications by name and category and you can browse through the lists of Featured applications or the Top 25. There also is a feature for seeing if your purchased applications have any updates.

We’ve mentioned already that Apple has left out multimedia messaging, stereo Bluetooth, and video recording. But we also wish we’d gotten a landscape keyboard for messaging, cut and paste, voice dialing, Flash support for the Web browser, tactile feedback for the touch screen and a memory card (or at least a 32GB model). Hopefully, Apple will add these features in time —hopefully

The N78 has a heavy focus on multimedia, boasting a 3.2-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, the ability to record video at VGA quality, an MP3 player, and an FM transmitter that allows you to stream tunes to an FM radio. The N78 is also outfitted with GPS, and what’s really cool is that the smartphone’s GPS and imaging capabilities work together so you can geotag your photos. It’s also well connected, as the quad-band phone offers Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), and HSDPA support. Can this phone beat the curve?

Clearly, it’s well-stocked in the features department, but how does it perform? Overall, we’d say fairly good. The GPS and geotagging capabilities were definitely the highlight; the tracking abilities were impressive and being able to geotag your photos was a feature we came to love. That said, we were disappointed that the picture quality wasn’t the greatest and call quality could have been better. Still, we imagine many gadget hounds will clamor to get their hands on this high-end multimedia phone. The Nokia N78 is expected to be available online and at Nokia flagship stores starting next week for around $550 unlocked. Also, be sure to get the Nokia N78-3 model as this version supports U.S. 3G bands.

Features
As an N series device, multimedia is, of course, at the top of the highlight reel but one of the other main attractions is integrated GPS, which you can use navigation purposes or to geotag photos. The assisted GPS allows you to get real-time position tracking and the N78 comes preloaded with the Nokia Maps application. The navigation software offers plenty of tools, including satellite and hybrid maps, pedestrian and bicycle modes, and the ability to send your location to others via multimedia message or Bluetooth. Now typically, for turn-by-turn directions, you would have to pay $125.77 for a one-year license or $13.96 a month right off the bat, but with the purchase of the N78, you get a three-month complimentary subscription.

The Nokia N78 is a phone. Yes, behind all the flash of the entertainment features, the N78 is a competent phone, offering quad-band world roaming, a speakerphone, speed dial, conference calling, voice-command support, a vibrate mode, and text and multimedia messaging.

Nokia has unveiled three new additions to its E series of business-centric smart phones at the 3GSM World Congress a while back. As with all of Nokia’s cell phones and smart phones, the U.S. availability of the models was up in the air, but we just got our hands on one today. It’s an upgrade to the Nokia E61/Nokia E62, but don’t expect any revolutionary changes. Instead, you get some minor design improvements and the addition of a camera as well as Nokia’s Team Office business application. Disappointingly, support for our 3G networks was not added and unlike the E62, the Nokia E61i doesn’t have the backing of a U.S. carrier so you’ll pay around $400 for an unlocked version of the phone. That said, business users will be well served by the solid performance of the E61i’s messaging and productivity capabilities.

Design

The biggest changes between the Nokia E61i and the Nokia E62 are in design, and the changes are not mind blowing. The first thing you may notice is the E61i has less stuffy silver-and-mocha brown color scheme. There are some controls and components of the phone, such as the power button and volume rocker, that are made out of a grayish-white plastic that seem out of place and detracts from the overall attractiveness of the E61i. As far as size, the smart phone carries the same large footprint as its predecessor at 4.6 inches tall by 2.7 inches wide by 0.5 inch deep, but it’s a tad heavier at 5.3 ounces (vs. 5 ounces). The aluminum chassis gives the handset a solid construction, but it’s a bit awkward to hold and use as a phone since it has a wider body, like that of a PDA.

Features

Packed with powerful productivity apps and wireless options, the Nokia E61i is sure to be a corporate crowd pleaser. The E61i runs Symbian OS 9.1, Series 60 third edition, and comes with full support for viewing and editing Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents with the Quickoffice suite. We used the included USB cable to transfer all three types of files to the E61i and had no problems opening them; we were pleased that little, if any, formatting was lost. In particular, we were pleased to find we could edit the documents, including the PowerPoint presentations, which is a feature you won’t find on too many devices. If that’s not enough, there’s a Screen Export function that allows you to display the E61i’s screen via a compatible projector.

The Nokia E61i has a lot of support, but also lacks when it comes to applications on 3GSM networks. It’s just not supported and there’s such a level of negativity there that is a little upsetting. Despite this, the phone is still a great phone that does many things that a lot of consumers want. It might not be worth shelling out the big bucks for, but it does has advantages that come with the price tag as can be seen.

The Nokia N95 is quite possibly thee most robust and well-deserved phone we have ever come across in our reviews of cell phones. The N95 contains an integrated GPS receiver which is located below the 0 key on the keypad and comes with Nokia Maps, a free software that is designed for over the air data packet network use. The voice quality in the N95 is simply superb, and the web features and QWERTY are spaced just right enough to consider this a high quality phone.

Functions

The N95 isn’t an iPod but it’s a great music player. It supports MP3, WMA, RealAudio, SP-MIDI, AAC+, eAAC+, MIDI, AMR and M4A. Its two-way slider, when slid towards the keypad, allows access to its media playback buttons. A standard 3.5 mm jack is located on the left side of the phone and allows the user to connect any standard headphones to the unit; a user can also use Bluetooth for audio output using A2DP. The device features built-in stereo speakers. The N95 is also capable of playing videos through the included RealPlayer application. Videos can also be played through the TV-out feature. TV-out is a special graphics chip and companion utility that allows users to connect the smartphone using the supplied composite cable to any TV or audiovisual device, a great addition to mobile telecommunications and audio/visual data.

Design

The overall design is simple. It feels very comfortable and solid in the hand, and it cradles the head well. Nothing more to say on that.

The N95 has a 5 MP camera that just works wonders. With a great design, 3G support on the UMTS and HSDPA and many more: this phone is a must buy.

Sony is the largest entertainment industry leader in the world, and has been the only leader in the cell phone market without a true carrier for a long while. But does that stop them from producing quality products in comparison to more sleek styles? Nope.

Design & Influence
Sony has always hunned the industry’s major trend–skinny phones–in favor of high-featured, well-performing models. Both the Sony Ericsson W800i and W600i fit this bill, and the company now introduces America to its third Walkman phone, the W810i. Encased in an eye-catching black, the W810i offers all its predecessors’ high-end, powerful features, such as a high-resolution camera, Bluetooth, and a media player, while making a number of design changes. Overall, it’s a quality phone despite some minor performance issues, but it’s not a huge upgrade over the W800i. Both of Sony’s W800i and W600i Walkman phones came in orange skins, as did the Walkman music player interface. For the Sony Ericsson W810i, however, the company took a slightly different track and dressed the phone in basic black. Sure, the Walkman interface is still the color of the Florida-grown citrus fruit, but the black exterior provides a nice contrast. At 3.9 by 1.8 by 0.8 inches and 3.5 ounces, it’s exactly the same size as the W800i, and it retains the solid, comfortable feel in the hand. Surpassing many other cell phones in quality, the rich, vibrant display supports 262,144 colors and measures 1.8 inches diagonally (176×220 pixels). It’s fantastic for scrolling through the menus, viewing pictures and videos, and playing games, but it’s harder to see in direct light, and it goes completely dark when the backlighting is off.

More to know

The Sony Ericsson W810i has a rated talk time of eight hours and a promised standby time of 14.6 days. In our tests, however, we got a little more than six hours of talk-time battery life and 12 days of standby time. According to the FCC, the W810i has a digital SAR rating of 1.04 watts per kilogram.