8 Smartphones: Picking from the Cream of the Crop
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.
Apple iPhone 3GS
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.
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.
HTC Droid Incredible
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.
LG EnV Touch (Verizon Wireless)
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.
Samsung Rogue SCH-U960 (Verizon Wireless)
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.
RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 (T-Mobile
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 Samsung Epic 4G (Sprint)
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.