SmartPhones

Despite all the iPhone 3G, the Samsung Blackjack II got the top rating in Consumer Reports’ 2009 issue which, among other features, looks back at the best smartphones of 2008.

The media-darling iPhone and the equally hype-laden T-Mobile G1 (the HTC Google Android smartphone) didn’t even make the Top 5, instead tying with one another for 6th.

The remaining Top 5 behind the Samsung Blackjack II were:
2.  T-Mobile Wing
1. Motorola Q9C
2. T-Mobile Shadow
3. BlackBerry Pearl Flip

There is, however, a HUGE caveat to this list, albeit not one that affects the iPhone’s status any (or the HTC G-1’s for that matter), that being that the following contenders were released too late in the year to be considered in the running:
• BlackBery Bold
• BlackBerry Storm
• HTC Touch Pro and all its variants

Surely, that would have made a big difference to the results.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: Android, BlackBerry Bold, Blackberry Pearl Flip, BlackBerry Storm, Blackjack, Blackjack II, Consumer Reports, G-1, G1, Google Phone, HTC, HTC Touch Pro, iphone, iphone 3g, Motorola, Q9C, Samsung, Shadow, T-Mobile, Wing

Targeting mobile professional users, AT&T rolled out the HTC Fuze, essentially the HTC Touch Pro with a few slight differences:

• Radio – both support basic EDGE connectivity, but for 3G:
o HTC Touch Pro uses HSDPA/WCDMA
o HTC Fuze uses UMTS/HSDPA

This simple difference means that, unlike TouchPro users, Fuze users can connect from nearly anywhere on the planet.

Also unlike the Touch Pro, the HTC Fuze lacks a TV out socket.

Just like the HTC Touch Pro, however, the HTC Fuze does include:

• slide-out QWERTY keyboard
• 3.2 megapixel digital camera
• GPS
• WiFi
• Streaming XM satelite radio

The HTC Fuze hits stores on December 1 but eager buyers can purcahse the device by telephone as early as November 24. Regardless of the purcahse date or method, the device will cost:

• $500 with NO contract
• $350 with a 2-year AT&T contract (the device is also supported by Sprint)
• $300 with a mail-in rebate

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: AT&T, HTC, HTC Fuze, HTC Touch Pro

Adding to a long list that includes the HTC Touch Dual, HTC Touch Diamond, HTC Touch Cruise, and HTC Touch Pro, today top smartphone maker HTC unveiled 3 new handsets:

• HTC Touch HD: Hands-down HTC's best multimedia phone yet. Sporting a 3.8" VGA screen with a 800 x 480 pixel resolution and featuring a 5 megapixel digital camera, this unit boasts startling picture clarity and color saturation, an eye-candy treat for video and photo enthusiasts, an integrated RSS-feed reader for staying up to speed on all the latest news and blogs, and an FM Transmitter for staying tuned to your favorite audio broadcasts.
• HTC Touch 3G: In short, a faster HTC Touch. Bringing 3G network speeds to the already versatile HTC Touch, sure to be a real pleaser with the conveinece-addicted hustle-and-bustle crowd.
• HTC Touch Viva: A "budget" entry in the HTC product lineup, with the Viva, HTC offers the same essential elements as the original HTC Touch only without HSDPA support and a lower-res 2-megapixel camera

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: 3G, HTC, HTC Touch, HTC Touch 3G, HTC Touch Cruise, HTC Touch Diamond, HTC Touch Dual, HTC Touch HD, HTC Touch Pro, HTC Touch Viva

In this face of broad-sweeping success with their HTC Touch Pro and HTC Touch Diamond series handsets, the smartphone maker has announced that they are still on course to release their first (and possibly the first) Google Android OS powered device by the fourth quarter of this year.

Expected to be called the HTC Dream, the new smartphone from HTC flies in the face of recent rumors about possible delays in the launching of any Google Android powered smartphone.

Promised to bear both a large touchscreen and a complete, slide-out or swivel-out QWERTY keyboard, the HTC Dream will be about 5” long and 3” wide with controls for online navigation placed on the handset itself, beneath the touchscreen.

The HTC Dream is readying to face its biggest competition, at least initially, from Samsung, which seems poised to put out the 2nd Google Android smartphone to be scheduled for release (with Motorola not far behind).

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: Google, Google Android, HTC, HTC Dream, HTC Touch Diamond, HTC Touch Pro, Motorola, QWERTY, Samsung, touchscreen