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LG Incite (AT&T) Rated 3.5 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News Review of ReviewsThe LG Incite is a touchscreen smartphone that has many more features than the popular LG Vu but is as shiny as the LG Shine. The best capabilities of the LG Incite, according to reviewers, are fast 3G access, Wi-Fi, external microSD slot, standard headphone jack and good call quality. Reviewers noted that the web browsing on WAP sites was fine, the auto-rotate for portrait/landscape was sluggish, and the mirror-like finish was so shiny it showed smudges.
The LG Incite packs the power of a business smartphone using the Windows Mobile operating system. You can sync your calendar and contacts from your PC in Microsoft Outlook and copy/paste, view or edit Microsoft Word files (these functions are not possible in the LG Vu.) It has email capabilities and handwriting recognition via a finger or stylus. Other neat features include voice dialing, voice commands and built-in FM radio.
Reviewers wrote that the onscreen keyboard works, but takes up most of the touchscreen. The multimedia functions of the LG Incite were not rated highly, with dim photos/video and music playing not as good as an MP3 player.
The LG Incite has been temporarily out of stock for the past few weeks online at the AT&T Store. We think it has to do with the excellent value because AT&T is selling the LG Incite for $99 after a rebate with a contract. When you add the the Wireless and Mobile News' $50 Off on AT&T phones or accessories with a plan
To see summaries of the reviews we reviewed continue reading.
Wireless and Mobile News is dedicated to helping our readers sort out all the information about smartphones out there. At year end, many publications name their top, best, coolest, hottest or perfect smartphones of the year. Just like in our Review of Reviews for cell phones and smartphones, we reviewed top sources and summarized the findings here. We took all the data from eight publications to research what the consensus is for the best smartphones in 2008.
First place is no surprise with many editors and writers pointing out the popularity of the Blackberry Storm, iPhone 3G and T-Mobile G1. Keyboarded smartphones came in second and a dual entry phone in third.
It is interesting to note that although the Sony Xperia had been recalled, many pundits still put it on their best reviewed lists.
HTC and BlackBerry Top Manufacturers
As far as manufacturers go, BlackBerry had two winners under its name while HTC has two smartphones under its name and also makes the Xperia, and G1 making the top maker of the winners.
Wireless smartphone shoppers please note some of the winning smartphones are now appearing discounted during after-holiday sales including the iPhone 3G and BlackBerry Storm.
HTC Fuze (AT&T) Rated 3.5 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News Review of Reviews
The HTC Fuze from AT&T is full-featured Windows Mobile smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard that lacks the number row. Although most reviews thought it was bulky, they praised the email and messaging capabilities along with its full features. The neatest untested feature of the Fuze is the ability control the music player by shaking the phone.
Other good features of the HTC Fuze are Wi-Fi, multimedia, Bluetooth and GPS. The HTC Fuze also has an OCR business card reader application.
The browser is snappy and worked well in most cases. The TouchFLO interface on the touchscreen can be used with fingers but once it switches to Windows Mobile mode, you can only use a stylus. The camera with LED flash took good photos. All the reviewers commented that the HTC Fuze does not have a standard headphone jack and requires an adapter or special headphones.
Reviewers found the video to be sluggish, speakerphone weak and call quality decent. One reviewer noted that the HTC Fuze was snappier than the Sony Xperia X1 which is recalled until January.
Reviewers also commented that AT&T price of $299 at its release date to be too expensive for its features. New AT&T customers can get the HTC Fuze
cheaper at Wirefly with a two-year contract for new customers at $174.99 with a rebate at the time of this writing. To read summaries of the reviews, reviewed continue reading.
Our original RoR of the BlackBerry Storm was based on the early first-looks. Now that the full new reviews are in, we decided to update the survey.It's always hard to find the truth when there is so much hype. Reviewers tend to put down devices if they get too much media and start niggling over problems. Since the touch screen is new, they find that it takes time to get used to it, while one notes that he loves it. One reviewer lost patience and said that although he was excited about the BlackBerry Storm, it has too many bugs and buyers should "wait out the storm."
They mention and like the brilliant beautiful screen, push email capabilities, and call quality. The compatibility with Microsoft Office products and ability to copy and paste are seen as useful. The speaker phone, multimedia capabilities, sideloading of music, and camera were all well-rated.
So even though the BlackBerry Storm has more features than the iPhone, it hasn't gotten a "wow" coolness reception, yet. It's like a new flavor of ice cream, it will take getting used to. The original reviewers we cited in the first Review of Reviews of the BlackBerry Storm has gone from hot to luke-warm. Since there is a shortage of the BlackBerry Storm, there is no rush to buy it, unless you decide you must have it.
BlackBerry Bold (AT&T) Rated 4 out 5 by Wireless and Mobile News' Review of ReviewsThe reviews of the BlackBerry Bold range from loving it entirely to calling the BlackBerry Bold an enterprise keyboard choice. Most reviewers commented that the BlackBerry Bold was worth waiting for and that it works very well with AT&T's 3G network. Almost all noted that the 2.75 inch 480x320 screen shows 65,000 colors and is great looking, gorgeous, sharp, brilliant and the best they have seen on a smartphone.
Reviewers also found the multimedia player and capabilities of the BlackBerry Bold great, wonderful and impressive. The luxurious leatherette exterior was praised.
The BlackBerry Bold has excellent push email for both enterprise and personal email. Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents can be edited in DataViz Documents to Go. The camera with LED flash was seen as better than the iPhone camera. Call quality was good and the speaker phone was very loud and clear. The keyboard was easy to use.
Although the web browser was referred to as the best BlackBerry browser so far, some reviewers said that it slowed down and didn't render everything well. Applications additions are not as easy as other iPhone or Android Apps.
The reviews of the HTC Touch Pro are gaining momentum with some reviewers absolutely loving it. The HTC Touch Pro has been called the "most advanced Windows Mobile phone" by one reviewer. It's similar to the HTC Touch Diamond except it has a QWERTY keyboard with a dedicated number row which reviewers called excellent. It does have the TouchFlo 3D interface which gives appealing access to multimedia that has been well-liked in the the HTC Touch Diamond. Syncing with Microsoft applications is where it has its most appeal.The HTC Touch Pro has the kinds of features power users like, including, accelerometer to change from portrait to landscape, 2.8 inch display, 3.2 megapixel camera, and fast 3G access via Sprint's EVDO Rev. A network. The touchscreen uses a stylus or stylus and works well. Video capture also works well even though there isn't a dedicated video capture key. Data can be stored on a microSD card which requires the case to removed to change.
Wireless and Mobile News has updated our Review of Reviews of the Andriod T-Mobile G1 Google smartphone.The reviewers have had more time to look in depth at the features. They have high hopes for the Android Apps store even though there are not that many apps available as of today.
They are rating the T-Mobile G1 with Google in the range around 3.5 out of 5. The best features include the syncing with Google apps, Google maps and a a fast web browser. The phone does cause some reviewers to sing the old Peggy Lee song, "Is that all there is?" because the T-Mobile G1 with Google lacks some features, some people can not live without.
To read the full Review of Reviews of T-Mobile's G1 click here.
Wireless and Mobile News' Review or Reviews of the Motorola Krave ZN4 from Verizon Wireless.Almost simultaneously with its release, reviews are available for the Motorola Krave ZN4 from Verizon. This phone really looks like a Star Trek communicator and boldly goes where no touchscreen phone has gone before because it has a clear flip cover, that doesn't have to be opened to make the Krave ZN4 work.
Reviewers found the design innovative and the touchscreens on the outside and inside accurate. Where the Krave ZN4 excels is as mobile TV device and real conversation piece. The screen is clear and vibrant. For iPhoneaholics this phone will not fulfill those who crave Wi-Fi.
Some reviewers noted that the touchscreen required acclimation, while others found it awkward. CNET loved the user interface while PC Magazine's Sacha Segan thought it was "stale." Reviewers were mixed about the web browsing that was clunky at times. Currently, the Motorola Krave ZN4 lacks full IMAP 4 support making it poor choice for enterprise users. POP3, however was easy to setup and use.
As with all cell phones, your choice depends on what you need and if you personally can use the phone. Star Trek fans will want flip the Krave ZN4 open at the next Star Trek Convention while other humanoids may want to try it out first. For summaries of the reviewers who did and did not crave the Motorola Krave ZN4 continue reading.
RIM hopes that the BlackBerry Storm takes the enterprise market by storm and the reviewers,
so far, are amazed with the new click-screen. There's suspension under the display so you feel like you are acutally pushing keys on a keyboard. The most positive reviewer called the BlackBerrry Storm "drop-dead gorgeous." The BlackBerry Storm has some features the iPhone does not have, strong compatibility with business documents, the ability to "copy and paste," turn-by-turn directions and the 3.2 megapixel camera, has video recording capabilities which appear to work well. The 480 x 360 3.26-inch display was called stunning and beautiful. The screen auto-adjusts to light.
The user-interface has been enhanced for touch navgation with some neat mutli-touch features such as the ability to highlight text. The BlackBerrry Storm has all the features needed for enterprise business users including the ability to view and edit documents in Word, Excel and Powerpoint. In the US it will only be available on the Verizon network which may be a factor in buying decisions.
To read summaries of the reviews we reviewed, continue reading. You may want read the earlier BlackBerrry Storm announcement with photos.
T-Mobile G1 with Google Android Phone - Rated 3.5 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News Review of ReviewsThe reviews of the T-Mobile G1 with Google, phone the first Google Android phone, are positive and peppy for the great responsive display. Kudos were given for the 360 degree street views and 3 megapixel camera.
We reviewed the top reviews of the T-Mobile G1 with Google Android phone formerly know as the HTC Dream.
The T-Mobile G1 syncs with all Google apps, calendar, contacts and Gmail well. The web browser based on Chrome is fast and renders Java Script well and was called "the best" by two reviewers. The call quality was terrific. The keyboard has received mixed reviews. Two reviewers noted that the G1 lacks a video player and video recorder. However one of readers notes that there is now a video player on the Android Market. The bottom of phone juts out making it hard to hold. Functions that the T-Mobile G1 has that the iPhone 3G does not are "copy and paste," Goggle Street View, multimedia messaging, replaceable battery, voice dialing and an expansion slot.
Wal-Mart is selling the T-Mobile G1 for $148.88 with an upgrade or two-year contract.
The first SNAFU could be that there is currently no desktop-synchronization software with the phone, making contact syncing a pain. If you have all your contacts in Gmail it's not a problem. Another problem was that the T-Mobile unlimited web/data plan was capped at 1 Gigabyte. (Maybe that's why they called it the G1) The cap was removed due to bad PR.
A slight security flaw has been found in the browser, which was fixed by an update on October 31.
HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint) Rated 3.5 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile NewsThe most liked feature of the new HTC Touch Diamond from Sprint by reviewers was the TouchFlo 3D user-interface on top of the Windows Mobile operating system. Reviewers found the multimedia features of the HTC Touch Diamond appealing including the speedier Sprint network, fast web, easy push email/syncing.
The 262,000 color 640x480 pixel screen is extremely vibrant and crisp. The battery life, call quality, multimedia capabilities were all well-rated.
The screen keyboard was found small and cramped by most of the reviewers. Only one reviewer did not like the user-interface.It comes with a stylus.
HTC Touch Diamond, Review of Reviews: Not iPhoney Enough? Beauty and the BeastThe HTC Touch Diamond is due from Sprint and reviewers are already talking about it, commenting on the Windows Operating System calling it "out of date,' making and it a beast while others find it a beauty.
The TouchFLO 3D interface along the bottom of the screen allows for one-handed touching of the screen to move through menus. The HTC Touch Diamond is packed with lots of features. It was called "beautiful and fun to learn" and a "slab of sculpted elegance."
Many more reviews were written since we first wrote this article therefore we created a new "Review of Reviews"
The Peek is simply for email. The Peek keyboard was called "one of the best QWERTY keyboards we've ever tried" by CNET, while some reviewers say it lacks a stylus but not style.Peek's user interface, keys and jog wheel were all liked by reviewers and email from services like gmail, Yahoo mail and Hotmail were all easy to master and set up. The reviewers, who are used to rating cameras and MP3 players rolled into smartphones think that for a one function device, the Peek is too expensive. The no-contract $19.95 a month service plan doesn't compete with some of the wireless carriers email only plans that go on top of calling plans.
Ladies with long nails will rejoice, however, because it has been noted that Peek's keyboard is roomy enough to accommodate long nails, which the iPhone does not do.
So even though, there are few reasons for Peek-a-yays (like the keyboard) the Peek received more Peek-a-boos for the price and lack of Wi-Fi from the peak-reviewers. To see summaries of the reviews continue reading.
Palm Treo Pro Rated 4 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News Review of Reviews
Palm has been losing market share recently reviewers are testing the new Palm Treo Pro for strengths and weaknesses. Palm Treo Pro's strengths are it's design, powerful business apps, large screen, push email and unlocked world access, Reviewers refer to the Palm Treo Pro as the best Windows smartphone yet and mostly liked the navigation, except some found the QWERTY keyboard cramped. The screen is bright and sharp. Although the finish looks cool it's prone to smudging.
Some reviewers found the Palm Treo Pro to be "sluggish' and web browsing to be a "mixed-bag." The places where the Palm Treo Pro shines is business enterprise and the ability to push MS Exchange email and edit Microsoft documents.
Almost all of the reviewers commented that the current suggested price of $549 is too high in comparison to competitors.
Please note: The Palm Treo Pro is an unlocked GSM handset and will work with a GSM SIM card. 3G aata connection will work on AT&T's network but not for the T-Mobile frequency.
To see summaries of the reviews revied, please continue reading.
Today we added more sources to the ""Samsung Omnia Review of Reviews." The Samsung Omnia was launched on the same day as the iPhone 3G. When more reviews appear, we will update the "Review of Reviews"
New reviews of the Samsung Omnia(which means everything in Greek) are coming out daily. MobileTech Review notes that it looks beautiful! "Cross the great looks of the Samsung Tocco or LG Prada with the brains of Windows Mobile and you've got some device."
Mobile News reports "that all in all, the i900 is packed full of top-end features and presented to the user in a very good package...its specification is superior.(to the iPhone) My money would certainly go onto the i900 rather than the 3G iPhone."
Chris Davies at Slash Gear wrote, "There's a lot to like about the Samsung i900 Omnia. The GPS and high-resolution camera both work well, battery life is good and it's undoubtedly a handsome phone...but you will have to live without 3G(in the US) and it's no iPhone Killer." He noticed that the accelerometer auto rotation is not fast enough which can be annoying. Sound quality was excellent and phone voice quality was god. He suggested that the 5-megpixel Camera with auto focus a bright LED flash, put it ahead of the competition.
Auditory research authority, Dr. Jozef
Zwislocki, Professor Emeritus at
LG Decoy Rated 3.5 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News Review of Reviews
The concept behind the LG Decoy is very handy, kind of like when they put special compartments in purses for cell phones - the LG Decoy has a built-in docked Bluetooth headset that locks onto the phone and shouldn't get lost. The LG Decoy headset combo is the first of its kind and makes sense for many. The reviewers, however, were not keen on the quality of the Bluetooth headset that lacks noise canceling - making it hard to hear in loud outdoor areas. The reviewers referred to the LG Decoy as a mid-range phone, and liked the tactile keys, fast web browsing, music playing features, call quality, email support, Bluetooth file transfer/printing, fast EV-DO, decent camera and speaker phone. Some reviewers found the joy stick and buttons quirky. Although the Bluetooth headset charges while docked to the phone, the battery life was short.
The LG Decoy is so pretty and shiny it smudges a lot. The shiny screen is difficult to see in bright light. Because it comes as a combo, the LG Decoy with its headset has to be judged as married couple. When they are together they may work just fine for you, as long as you don't need to make calls in a very loud outdoor environment. For links and summaries of the original reviews continue reading.
Wireless and Mobile News has updated the Review of Reviews of the the New IPhone 3G. The new reviewers are saying that if you have waited for the iPhone, now is the time to buy and the new iPhone 3G is an improvement over the original iPhone.Although there appears to be confusion on what happens when you try to sync to multiple calendars, the email push function is easy and works well. GPS is not turn by turn but worked for the reviewers. A new features that had not been noticed previously is the ability to take a screen shot of the iPhone 3G screen which is saved like a photograph.
Although we haven't found a rating of the iPhone 3G above 8.3, we're sticking by our 4.5 rating, because it has such a huge fan base. Our ratings are like American Idol, if the people love it, we rate it a winner.
The greatly anticipated iPhone 3G received favorable reviews for fast 3G access (where covered), GPS which worked well, better audio/call quality, push email, lower initial price, standard audio jack and the new iPhone App Store. The plastic case gets better reception, but the 3G access causes battery drain which may require you to charge the battery more than once during a day. The Bluetooth does not always get the best reception.. iPhone 3G still lacks video capture, expandable memory, voice calling and ability to view web and common programs such as Flash. Copy cats will be disapointed because there is on copy and paste function. The battery is not removable.
The push e-mail was enjoyed by most reviewers and the phone handles easily. The touchscreen keyboard is pretty much the same as the previous version and may not be liked by all users (especially those with long finger nails or disabilities.)
iPhone 3G (8GB ) is $199 and iPhone 3G (16GB) is $299 with a two-year contract. Unlimited data plans for iPhone3G customers is $30/month while business users pay $45/month.
We believe that the iPhone 3G will be more popular and chic than its predecessor for its Pc-like web browsing which is always rated better than any other phone and 3G access. Although the Samsung Instinct is cheaper as well as has more more features (see chart) and the LG Dare come close, Apple's iPhone 3G offers more appeal and trendiness. For summaries of the reviews that were used to create this review continue reading.
