The good: The HTC Evo 4G delivered respectable 4G speeds, and the mobile hot-spot feature lets you connect up to eight devices. The smartphone has a front-facing camera for video chats and also comes with an 8-megapixel camera with HD-video-recording capabilities. The Evo ships with YouTube's HQ video player, Android 2.1 with HTC Sense, and an HDMI port. Other highlights include an extra-large 4.3-inch touch screen and a 1GHz Snapdragon processor.
The bad: Sprint's 4G network is limited at this time, making the mandatory $10 premium data add-on tough to swallow for anyone outside of the coverage area. The Evo lacks support for Bluetooth voice-activated dialing. Battery drains quickly with 4G.
The good The iPhone 3GS adds common cell phone features like multimedia messaging, video recording, and voice dialing. It runs faster; its promised battery life is longer; and the multimedia quality continues to shine.
The Bad>The iPhone 3GS' call quality shows no improvements and the 3G signal reception remains uneven. We still don't get Flash Lite, USB transfer and storage, or multitasking.
iPhone 4
The good: The iPhone 4 offers enhanced performance, a lovely new display, and an improved design. It also adds a ton of sorely needed features, both by itself and through the iOS 4 update.
The bad: Multitasking entails some trade-offs, and home screen folders are limited to 12 apps. AT&T reception continues to be spotty, and you'll need a case for the best calling reception. Also, we'd prefer a 64GB model.
The good: The HTC Droid Incredible is blazingly fast, thanks to Verizon's 3G network. HTC Sense enhances the features of Android 2.1, and the smartphone features an 8-megapixel camera and 8GB of internal memory. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and 3G are all onboard.
The bad: You can't use voice and data at the same time. The multimedia experience is adequate but still behind the competition.
The good: The LG EnV Touch has two beautiful displays, a nice touch-screen interface, and a great QWERTY keyboard. It has impressive features, such as a 3.2-megapixel camera, EV-DO Rev. A, and a full HTML Web browser.
The bad: The LG EnV Touch's touch-screen interface could use some refinement, and the Web browser experience is not as smooth as we would like. Visual Voice Mail and corporate e-mail cost additional monthly fees. The lack of Wi-Fi is disappointing.
The good: The Samsung Rogue has a gorgeous display, a 3.5mm headset jack, a great keyboard, and an impressive array of features that includes a 3-megapixel camera, EV-DO Rev. A, GPS, and a HTML browser with Flash Lite. It has good call quality as well.
The bad: The Samsung Rogue is a tad bulky, and the streaming video quality is poor.
The good: The RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 boasts a sleeker design that includes an optical trackpad, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a brilliant display. The smartphone is 3G capable and offers Wi-Fi with UMA support, Bluetooth, and GPS. It also gets a faster processor and updates to BlackBerry OS 5.0.
The bad: The BlackBerry browser doesn't compare to the competition. The handset's compact size results in a smaller display and keyboard, but they aren't deal-breakers.
The good: The Samsung Epic 4G has a knockout Super AMOLED display, a 1GHz processor, a front-facing camera, an impressive QWERTY keyboard, a 5.0-megapixel camera with an LED flash, and supports Sprint's 4G WiMax network. It is capable of acting as a mobile Wi-Fi hot spot for up to five devices.
The bad: The Samsung Epic 4G is the bulkiest of the Galaxy S phones and also the priciest. It also requires a costly data plan.
