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Wirelessinfo.com Selects 2007

Richard Baguley Published on November 12, 2007 Comment on this

The fall brings many things; fog, chill weather, and our Best Cell Phones of 2007 awards. We've combed through our reviews and debated the pros and cons of every phone we have reviewed this year, ranging from budget phones, like the Sanyo Katana DLX, to powerhouse phones, like the Nokia N95. And let's not forget a phone from a small company called Apple one or two of you may have heard of. So, let's go through our picks for the top phones of 2007.

		Best Verizon Cell Phone: LG Chocolate VX8550 (Review, Specs, $129.99) Verizon offers a wide range of handsets, but the LG Chocolate VX8550 was our pick for the best. It isn’t the best at everything it does, but it does a reasonable job combining all the features it offers (decent audio quality, reasonable imaging, and a good selection of built-in software) in an easy-to-use, inexpensive package. Now available from Verizon for $129.99, the LG Chocolate VX8550 has the features most people will want, but without costing a fortune or weighing you down with a clunky device. It's a big improvement over the older version of the Chocolate; the addition of the scroll wheel on the front makes it much easier to use, and the numerous enhancements to the software make it a much more attractive package overall.
		Honorable Mention: Motorola RAZR2 V9m (Review, Specs, $249.99) We liked the Verzion version of the Razr2; of the three versions we have looked at so far, this one came closest to fulfilling the potential of the hardware Motorola built. It has great sound quality, and both the internal and external screens are bright and clear. However, the software holds the hardware back (you can't, for example, watch Verizon's online VCAST Video service on the big external screen) and, at $249.99, it's expensive. The Chocolate is simply better value for money.
		Best AT&T Cell Phone: Apple iPhone (Review, Specs, $399) AT&T offers a lot of cell phones, but the iPhone has to be the standout product of the year for the carrier. It's been its biggest seller, and it is easy to see why; the big, bright screen, the cool touch controls, and the built-in iPod functions come to mind. And it makes phone calls as well, providing great audio performance and very decent battery life. Business users will want to look elsewhere because it doesn't integrate with corporate e-mail systems like BlackBerries, but for other AT&T customers, the iPhone is our top pick.
		Honorable Mention: HTC Tilt (Review, Specs, $299) The HTC Tilt has a new angle on cell phone design, literally. It's the first phone we've seen with a flip-up screen that makes it look like a miniature laptop. This also makes it perfect for watching movies on long journeys: you can flip the screen up into the perfect position for viewing and sit it on the tray table. But while this innovation is interesting, it is not perfect; the hinge that allows the screen to flip up feels rather fragile. And the software on the phone lags, so you sometimes have to wait a couple of seconds for the screen to rotate when you slide the QWERTY keyboard out. For those that love the all-in-one device the Tilt packs in a decent camera and GPS functionality.
		Best T-Mobile Cell Phone: BlackBerry Curve 8320 (Review, Specs, $249.99) The BlackBerry Curve has brought the joys of BlackBerries to a new market; everyday users. The Curve is cheaper and simpler than the BlackBerry 8800, but has the major things that make Blackberries cool: great e-mail support, good Web browsing, and a QWERTY keyboard that makes mobile e-mail a realistic option. And the latest version of the Curve adds another plus – support for T-Mobile's Hotspot@home service, which offers unlimited calling over a Wi-Fi connection for an additional $19.99 a month. At $249.99, the T-Mobile Curve is a little expensive directly from T-Mobile, but you can get it for $49.99 after rebates if you're a new customer and buy it elsewhere. It's a great pick for those who need to both call and e-mail on the road.
		Honorable Mention: T-Mobile Dash (Review, Specs, $149.99) In cell phone terms, the Dash is older than the hills; it was released in late 2006. But it's still around and is a great phone. It’s small, sleek, and has a good selection of features, including a good QWERTY keyboard and a clear, bright screen. And despite the small size, the battery life is great, with a talk time of more than eight hours and a Web browsing time of more than five hours. This is partly due to its reliance on the slower (and less power hungry) EDGE data connection, which means Web browsing is somewhat slow. However, the Dash provides a great combination of calling, e-mailing, and basic Web browsing features in a compact package.
		Best Sprint Cell Phone: Palm Centro (Review, Specs, $99.99) The Palm Centro is not an innovative phone in most ways; it uses an operating system that's somewhat long in the tooth and has a small keyboard and screen compared to Palm's Treo phones. But it has one major innovation: price. At $99, it's one of the cheapest phones to offer smart phone features, such as a usable e-mail client, Web browsing, and games you actually want to play. And while the Palm OS is a bit old, there are thousands of programs you can download and install onto the device, offering expandability most phones at this price don't have. None of the individual features deserve a tickertape parade (both the camera and the audio performance are somewhat lackluster, and the keyboard is small and cramped), but the Centro combines them into a device that looks attractive, is easy to use, and won't break the bank.
		Honorable Mention: Sprint Upstage by Samsung (Review, Specs, $99.99) There are two sides to the Upstage: an iPod-esqe music side with a control dial and a large screen, and the phone side with a large keypad. This split personality makes it a good pick for those who like to see what they are doing with their music, and Sprint's 99 cent online music store remains the cheapest way to buy songs and download them straight to your cell phone. But this flip design isn't perfect. Using the phone involves too much flipping, and the battery life is lousy unless you use the battery wallet, which adds to the bulk and weight of the phone.
		Best Unlocked Or Other Carrier Cell Phone: Nokia N95 (Review, Specs, $699) The Nokia N95 is a powerhouse of a phone, packing pretty much every feature you could think of into its chunky case. There's a 5-megapixel camera, a GPS receiver, and excellent music and video software. The latest version of the N95 ups the ante again by adding support for AT&T's 3G network, so you can take high-resolution photos and videos and quickly upload them to your website or photo services like Flickr. This flagship phone from Nokia has a flagship price to match; because it isn't sold through a carrier, you pay the full price of the phone, which is a whopping $699. The upside of unlocked phones like this is that you can use it with any GSM carrier in the U.S. or worldwide, but you pay for the privilege. The N95 is a powerful phone that offers a huge selection of features for those who want to shoot decent photos, capture videos, and make phone calls in one compact package.
		Best Camera Cell Phone: Nokia N95 (Review, Specs, $699) The Nokia N95 is the clear winner in this category; it achieved the highest scores we've seen this year in almost all of our imaging tests. Not only are the 5-megapixel images it captures higher resolution than the 2- or 3-megapixel images most cell phones capture, but they have better detail, better color, and lower noise. The N95 captures great looking video, as well, at 640 by 480-pixel resolution at 30 frames per second. Most cell phone-captured videos are lower resolution and have lower frame rates, so their video is blocker and jerkier than the N95. This is why many video bloggers have started using the N95 as a mobile camcorder; they can shoot video and upload it to their video blogs from a device the size of a pack of cards.
		Best Media Cell Phone: Apple iPhone (Review, Specs, $399) Let's put this simply; if you want the best combination device for listening to music, watching videos, and making phone calls, get an iPhone. Steve Jobs described the iPhone as the best iPod Apple had ever made when it was launched, and he was right; Apple's first cell phone is as easy to use as an iPod, can keep cranking out the music for hours (more than 30 when using the headphones), has a great battery life of 6 hours and 45 minutes for playing videos, and makes phone calls, as well. That's a killer combination, and nothing else we've seen this year comes close.
		Honorable Mention: Sony Ericsson w580i (Review, Specs, $49.99) For those without the big bucks the iPhone still costs, the Sony Ericsson w580i is a simple, easy-to-use music player. A dedicated button on the front of the device kicks off the Walkman media player software, and this makes it easy to sort, find, and play music. It doesn't do as good a job on videos, though as the screen is too small to watch comfortably. If you just want to play music though, it's a good low-cost alternative to the iPhone.
		Best Business Cell Phone: BlackBerry 8820 on AT&T (Review, Specs, $299.99) Modern business people need information at their fingertips, and our pick for the best phone for this is the BlackBerry 8820. Like all BlackBerries, its main strength is excellent e-mail support. It integrates well with corporate e-mail systems and can automatically grab e-mail from several accounts at once. It has excellent organizational, calendar, task management, and note-taking software that should keep even the busiest executive organized, as well as a GPS receiver that can provide turn-by-turn directions. It's a great all-in-one device for the busy business user.
		Honorable Mention: Nokia E90 (Review, Specs, $800) Nokia’s flagship E90 is a phone for the business user who wants it all and doesn't mind paying for it. The large clamshell case pops open to reveal a large keyboard and a screen big enough to show most of a spreadsheet at once. The large keyboard and screen are great for Web browsing and typing longer e-mails, and the excellent onboard software means it can edit spreadsheets, Word documents, and other files most phones would only display or choke on. But this power has a price: $800 or more for this unlocked phone.
		Best Budget Cell Phone: Palm Centro from Sprint (Review, Specs, $99.99) Got $100 burning a hole in your pocket and want a new cell phone? The Palm Centro from Sprint is our pick for the Best Budget Cell Phone of 2007. It hits the sweet spot on the price versus performance curve; although it doesn't have the same huge range of features as some more expensive cell phones, it has the features most users need. It makes phone calls, can browse the Web, is good for e-mailing and text messaging, and can play music. Yes, the Palm OS is getting a bit long in the tooth, but it remains easy to use, and there is a huge selection of third-party programs available, from games to productivity applications. Basically, the Centro provides a lot of cell phone bang for the buck.
		Honorable Mention: Sony Ericsson w580i from AT&T (Review, Specs, $49.99) The W580i is another cell phone that provides the balance of price and performance those on a budget are looking for; it's available for less than $50 for new customers, but offers a good range of features. Although it doesn't have a QWERTY keyboard, the keypad is a good size and is comfortable to use, and the software on the phone is excellent.
		Most Innovative Cell Phone: Apple iPhone (Review, Specs, $399) Many of the phones we see aren't innovative; they offer a new function here or a different button there. But the iPhone completely turns standard cell phone design on its head, getting rid of nearly all of the buttons and putting their functions onto a touch screen. And, perhaps more importantly, it's intuitive and easy to use, something no one else has been able to achieve with a touch screen driven phone yet. That's why we picked the iPhone as the most innovative cell phone of 2007 – it changes the approach to how cell phones can be designed, and it works.
		Honorable Mentions: Sprint Upstage & Helio Ocean (Review, Specs, $99.99) (Review, Specs, $99.99) We had a split decision on this one; both the Sprint Upstage and the Helio Ocean are innovative phones that offer different approaches to cell phone design. The Sprint Upstage has a radical flip design with screens on both sides of the device; a larger one for playing back videos and browsing the Web, and a smaller one with a larger keypad for dialing numbers. As we noted in our review, the design is radical, but not completely successful since using the phone involves too much flipping. But it's a step in the right direction, making better use of the space on the phone. The Helio Ocean was the first dual-slider cell phone – slide the screen one way for a big keypad, and slide the screen the other way and for a QWERTY keyboard. This design provides the best of both worlds, and it works well. The Ocean is the first dual-slider, but it won't be the last.
		Cell Phone of the Year: Apple iPhone (Review, Specs, $399) There is little doubt that 2007 has been the year of the iPhone, so it comes as no surprise it was a strong candidate for our Cell Phone of the Year award. But it wasn't a shoo-in; as we noted in our review, the iPhone has some serious shortcomings. Many of the software features are either lackluster, such as the calendar and email, or non-existent, such as to-do lists and multimedia messages. Given that the iPhone has one of the best web browsers on any phone we also wish it had 3G data as on most other high-end phones. Despite these limitations, the iPhone is an incredible media device that is one of the first to realistically combine a number of functions into one, working well as a phone, iPod, video iPod, and Web browsing device. Combine that with Apple's ability to create buzz around a product, and you've got a device that has made a huge impact on the cell phone market this year, which makes it our Cell Phone of the Year.
		Honorable Mention: BlackBerry Curve (Review, Specs, $249.99) BlackBerry cell phones used to be the exclusive realm of the well-heeled business user, but that's no longer the case. Cheaper BlackBerries like the Curve have put their high-end e-mail features into the hands of everyday users. The compact design and decent QWERTY keyboard makes for an attractive package, and Research In Motion (RIM) has been aggressively pushing the price down; new users can now get a Curve for $49.99 after rebates through T-Mobile. The Curve also adds some decent media features. It's no iPhone but it can play both videos and music, making it a reasonable all-in-one device. But it's the e-mail features that make the Curve shine. Although many other phones are starting to offer similar features, BlackBerries remain the best and easiest way to get e-mail on the road, and the BlackBerry Curve is a great deal for those who are more about e-mail than music.