Top 10 smartphones you’d want as stocking stuffers
The 2010 holiday season is seeing an explosion of smartphones on the market and a greater variety of devices and platforms than ever before. There’s the familiar players – BlackBerry, Android and iPhone devices – and new competitors such as Windows Phone 7, Symbian^3 and HP’s newly acquired webOS. These 10 phones represent the flagship models of each brand, all offering high-resolution touch screens and many offering tempting multimedia features such as HD video recording, HDMI output, and high-quality cameras. Also, there’s a phone with a kickstand. See which smartphone you’d want stuffed into the toe of your stocking.by Brian Jackson, Senior Writer, ITBusiness.ca
The 2010 holiday season is seeing an explosion of smartphones on the market and a greater variety of devices and platforms than ever before. There’s the familiar players – BlackBerry, Android and iPhone devices – and new competitors such as Windows Phone 7, Symbian^3 and HP’s newly acquired webOS. These 10 phones represent the flagship models of each brand, all offering high-resolution touch screens and many offering tempting multimedia features such as HD video recording, HDMI output, and high-quality cameras. Also, there’s a phone with a kickstand. See which smartphone you’d want stuffed into the toe of your stocking.by Brian Jackson, Senior Writer, ITBusiness.ca
Dell Streak
Carrier: Rogers Price: $149.99 with a three-year contractThis hybrid tablet-smartphone is being called a “pocket tablet” by Dell. Its five-inch screen is made out of Gorilla Glass that won’t break or scratch. It’s powered by Google’s Android 1.6 OS and can be upgraded. The tablet has a 1 GHz processor and supports voice-to-text and voice commands, and is tricked out with GPS, Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity. There’s a 5 MP rear camera and a front-facing camera for video chat.Related Story: Oh yes, they call it the Dell Streak
Carrier: Rogers Price: $149.99 with a three-year contractThis hybrid tablet-smartphone is being called a “pocket tablet” by Dell. Its five-inch screen is made out of Gorilla Glass that won’t break or scratch. It’s powered by Google’s Android 1.6 OS and can be upgraded. The tablet has a 1 GHz processor and supports voice-to-text and voice commands, and is tricked out with GPS, Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity. There’s a 5 MP rear camera and a front-facing camera for video chat.Related Story: Oh yes, they call it the Dell Streak
HTC 7 Surround
Carrier: Telus Price: $99.99 on a three year contractHTC’s Windows Phone 7 device has a novel kickstand that lets you set it on a desk for viewing. The slide-out also has a Yamaha speaker with Dolby surround sound. The touch screen is 3.8-inches with a 480 by 800 resolution and there’s a 1 GHz processor and 16 GB of internal storage. The 5 MP camera is supported by a flash, and there’s HD video recording.Related Story: Why you should wait for Windows Phone 7
Carrier: Telus Price: $99.99 on a three year contractHTC’s Windows Phone 7 device has a novel kickstand that lets you set it on a desk for viewing. The slide-out also has a Yamaha speaker with Dolby surround sound. The touch screen is 3.8-inches with a 480 by 800 resolution and there’s a 1 GHz processor and 16 GB of internal storage. The 5 MP camera is supported by a flash, and there’s HD video recording.Related Story: Why you should wait for Windows Phone 7
Motorola XT720
Carrier: Wind Mobile Price: $450 no contractDon’t neglect to consider the new entrants when smartphone shopping. Wind Mobile offers this Motorola handset running Android 2.1. It has a 3.7-inch touch screen running at 480 x 854 resolution, supports Bluetooth, GPS and Wi-Fi, and is expandable up to 32 GB of memory. The camera is 8 MP with a flash, face detection and image stabilization.Related Story: Public Mobile vs. Wind Mobile – new carrier showdown
Carrier: Wind Mobile Price: $450 no contractDon’t neglect to consider the new entrants when smartphone shopping. Wind Mobile offers this Motorola handset running Android 2.1. It has a 3.7-inch touch screen running at 480 x 854 resolution, supports Bluetooth, GPS and Wi-Fi, and is expandable up to 32 GB of memory. The camera is 8 MP with a flash, face detection and image stabilization.Related Story: Public Mobile vs. Wind Mobile – new carrier showdown
Palm Pre 2
Carrier: Rogers Price: $99.99 on a three-year contract (estimated)Rogers hasn’t officially announced it will offer the updated, HSPA Palm Pre 2 yet but a leak has all but confirmed it will be out sometime in November. Since the much-hyped webOS was unveiled on the original Palm Pre, HP has bought Palm and committed to the webOS platform. The device has a 3.1-inch touch screen with a 320 by 480 resolution. There’s a slide-out QWERTY keyboard on the bottom, and 16 GB of internal memory included.Related Story: Palm Pre: Top-notch smartphone, despite some hardware gaps
Carrier: Rogers Price: $99.99 on a three-year contract (estimated)Rogers hasn’t officially announced it will offer the updated, HSPA Palm Pre 2 yet but a leak has all but confirmed it will be out sometime in November. Since the much-hyped webOS was unveiled on the original Palm Pre, HP has bought Palm and committed to the webOS platform. The device has a 3.1-inch touch screen with a 320 by 480 resolution. There’s a slide-out QWERTY keyboard on the bottom, and 16 GB of internal memory included.Related Story: Palm Pre: Top-notch smartphone, despite some hardware gaps
LG Optimus Quantum
Carrier: Bell Price: $99.95 with a three-year contractThe only Windows Phone 7 device to come with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, LG’s smartphone comes with all the frills of Microsoft’s new OS. It has Office 2010, Xbox Live integration, Bing search and HD video recording. The 3.5″ screen has a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels and has Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth connectivity.Related Story: LG expects to launch a few Windows Phone 7 mobiles this year
Carrier: Bell Price: $99.95 with a three-year contractThe only Windows Phone 7 device to come with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, LG’s smartphone comes with all the frills of Microsoft’s new OS. It has Office 2010, Xbox Live integration, Bing search and HD video recording. The 3.5″ screen has a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels and has Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth connectivity.Related Story: LG expects to launch a few Windows Phone 7 mobiles this year
Samsung Galaxy S Fascinate
Carrier: Telus Price: $149.99 with a three-year contractSamsung’s latest Android-powered phone is loaded with v2.1 of the OS and upgradeable to v2.2. Its four-inch AMOLED touch screen is amongst the best on the market. Sporting a speedy 1 GHz processor, the Fascinate acts as a media hub – with the ability to record HD video and wirelessly connect to TVs, monitors and laptops using Samsung’s AllShare app. It can also be used as a Wi-Fi hotspot, to connect up to five other devices.
Carrier: Telus Price: $149.99 with a three-year contractSamsung’s latest Android-powered phone is loaded with v2.1 of the OS and upgradeable to v2.2. Its four-inch AMOLED touch screen is amongst the best on the market. Sporting a speedy 1 GHz processor, the Fascinate acts as a media hub – with the ability to record HD video and wirelessly connect to TVs, monitors and laptops using Samsung’s AllShare app. It can also be used as a Wi-Fi hotspot, to connect up to five other devices.
Nokia N8
Carrier: Rogers Price:$79.99 with a three-year contractNokia’s flagship Symbian^3 device is designed to be a multimedia powerhouse. Its 3.5-inch screen has a resolution of 640×360 and the device boasts a 12 MP camera with HD video recording. It has built-in Dolby Digital Plus Surround Sound and an HDMI-out port so you can watch your media on a big screen. Ovi Maps provides free navigation, and there’s even a built-in FM radio and transmitter so you can play your music over your car stereo.Related Story: Nokia unveils triad of iPhone competitorsv
Carrier: Rogers Price:$79.99 with a three-year contractNokia’s flagship Symbian^3 device is designed to be a multimedia powerhouse. Its 3.5-inch screen has a resolution of 640×360 and the device boasts a 12 MP camera with HD video recording. It has built-in Dolby Digital Plus Surround Sound and an HDMI-out port so you can watch your media on a big screen. Ovi Maps provides free navigation, and there’s even a built-in FM radio and transmitter so you can play your music over your car stereo.Related Story: Nokia unveils triad of iPhone competitorsv
BlackBerry Torch
Carrier: Rogers, Telus, Bell Price: $199 on a three-year contractResearch in Motion released its first device with a touch screen and a QWERTY slider keyboard earlier this year and its still the best ‘Berry on the market. The 3.2-inch screen displays a 480×360 resolution, the camera takes 5 MP pictures, and the phone supports up to 32 GB of storage. The new BlackBerry OS 6 has a social feeds feature, improved media capabilties and a podcasting app.Related Story: BlackBerry Torch 9800’s best slider smartphone on the market today
Carrier: Rogers, Telus, Bell Price: $199 on a three-year contractResearch in Motion released its first device with a touch screen and a QWERTY slider keyboard earlier this year and its still the best ‘Berry on the market. The 3.2-inch screen displays a 480×360 resolution, the camera takes 5 MP pictures, and the phone supports up to 32 GB of storage. The new BlackBerry OS 6 has a social feeds feature, improved media capabilties and a podcasting app.Related Story: BlackBerry Torch 9800’s best slider smartphone on the market today
Samsung Focus
Carrier: Rogers Price: $199.99 on a three year contractThis Windows Phone 7 device has a four-inch AMOLED screen with an 800 x 480 resolution. It runs on a 1 GHz processor and has a camera that shoots HD video and 5 MP stills. It comes with 8 GB of internal storage that can be expanded with a micro SD card. Microsoft’s new OS is built around tiled hubs that group similar applications and utilities together.Related Story: Samsung’s smartphone plans
Carrier: Rogers Price: $199.99 on a three year contractThis Windows Phone 7 device has a four-inch AMOLED screen with an 800 x 480 resolution. It runs on a 1 GHz processor and has a camera that shoots HD video and 5 MP stills. It comes with 8 GB of internal storage that can be expanded with a micro SD card. Microsoft’s new OS is built around tiled hubs that group similar applications and utilities together.Related Story: Samsung’s smartphone plans
iPhone 4
Carrier: Rogers, Telus, Bell Price:Starts at $159 on a three-year contractAlthough it was released back in July, Apple’s iPhone 4 is still arguably the best smartphone on the market heading into the Christmas season. Apple says it is the “world’s thinnest smartphone” and its 3.5-inch touch screen has the highest screen resolution at 960 by 640. Its front-facing camera and FaceTime feature make video-calling easy. The 5 MP camera can record HD video, and the App Store still has the most variety of any mobile marketplace.Related Story: iPhone customers the most satisfied smartphone owners
Carrier: Rogers, Telus, Bell Price:Starts at $159 on a three-year contractAlthough it was released back in July, Apple’s iPhone 4 is still arguably the best smartphone on the market heading into the Christmas season. Apple says it is the “world’s thinnest smartphone” and its 3.5-inch touch screen has the highest screen resolution at 960 by 640. Its front-facing camera and FaceTime feature make video-calling easy. The 5 MP camera can record HD video, and the App Store still has the most variety of any mobile marketplace.Related Story: iPhone customers the most satisfied smartphone owners