The BlackBerry Curve 8530 is the CDMA version of the new generation of Curve smartphones with an optical trackpad and music playback controls on top of the smartphone. We first saw this design on the BlackBerry 8520 GSM versions, and now the CDMA variants are available on both major US CDMA carriers: Verizon and Sprint. We take a look at the Verizon version in this review, but the hardware and the RIM bundled software are very similar on both Verizon and Sprint versions. The biggest difference is the carrier branded software and services.

The BlackBerry Curve 8530 is a CDMA digital dual band phone with EV-DO Rev. 0 for data. The smartphone has WiFi 802.11b/g, a 2.5" QVGA 320 x 240 pixel display, a 2 megapixel fixed-focus camera, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and an SDHC microSD card slot. Verizon currently offers the BlackBerry Curve 8530 in black and Smoky Violet colors; and Sprint offers it in black and Royal Purple.

The Curve 8530 runs BlackBerry OS 5 on a 512MHz processor with 256MB RAM and 256 megs of flash memory, of which 125 megs are free to store documents and applications. BlackBerry 5.0 OS has some new features including the ability to manage Exchange mail folders, view calendar attachments, forward appointments and more. If you are an IT professional or need more info on BlackBerry Enterprise Server v5.0, visit na.blackberry.com/eng/services/server/5/.

Design and Ergonomics

For current CDMA BlackBerry users, the optical trackpad is the biggest difference in the user experience from last generation Curve models. The optical trackpad uses a concept similar to the notebook trackpad except you use a small square pad to control the navigation on the BlackBerry. The optical trackpad takes a very delicate touch for navigation and works smoothly and agilely. For long time BlackBerry trackball users, this might take a little time to get used to, but the trade off is you won’t have to worry about dirt or grease getting stuck on the trackball. Just like the Curve 8520, the 8530 has a 2.46” QVGA display that supports 65K colors. The screen looks sharp and reasonably bright.

The BlackBerry Curve 8530 has an excellent QWERTY keyboard. The keys aren’t very large, but they are very useable with both audible clicks and tactile feedback when you press the keys. Like the Curve 8520 GSM version, the Curve 8530 has rubberized sides that make it easy to grip the smartphone, certainly a treat as more and more smartphones come in a slippery shiny form. The side buttons (volume and convenience keys) and the top music controls are all under the rubber cover or caps, and they are easy to use. The phone has a 3.5mm standard stereo headphone jack and a microSD card slot for storing music and other media content. The microSD card slot is under the battery door, but you needn’t remove the battery to access it. The Curve supports SDHC cards up to 16 GB. The 2 megapixel camera lens sits on the top left corner on the back of the Curve.

Phone Features and Web Browser

The BlackBerry Curve 8530 has decent 1x reception and solid 3G reception. Voice quality is decent though not super clear, but the volume is very loud. Most Bluetooth headsets worked well with the Curve in terms of voice quality and volume, and all Hands-Free features worked smoothly. The smartphone’s address book integrates with VZ Navigator: there are options to navigate, look up or share locations using VZ Navigator inside of the address book. Like other BlackBerry devices, the Curve 8530 offers support for 10 email accounts in addition to your BlackBerry email account, and the push email experience is excellent.

The BlackBerry Curve 8530 has EV-DO Rev. 0 for data and comes with a full HTML browser that’s capable of displaying web sites in desktop style. Though the phone has a good 3G speed on Verizon, the browser is slow at loading full HTML pages with a decent number of images even with Javascript turned off in browser settings (Javascript continues to be the BlackBerry web browser’s downfall). If you turn JavaScript on, full HTML pages load even slower. We experienced some broken layouts when using the browser to display various sites including our own site. The browser integrates with Bing search. We look forward to RIM’s future web kit browser since their existing web browser still falls at the back of the smartphone pack.

Multimedia

The BlackBerry Curve 8530 is a good music phone thanks to the loud speakerphone, the microSD card slot with SDHC support, integration with V CAST Music with Rhapsody and the support for BlackBerry Media Sync. There are several ways you can get music onto the smartphone: load your music onto a microSD card, buy tunes from the V CAST Music store or if you use iTunes, BlackBerry Media Sync (a free download for Mac and PC) offers easy iTunes syncing for songs and playlists. The Curve 8530 supports DRM-free music in MP3, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, QCELP EVRC, AAC-LC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA9 and Windows Media 10 Standard/Professional formats, and the phone comes with BlackBerry Media Player for music and video playback. The audio quality via the built-in speakerphone is quite good and the volume is super loud. The Curve also has a standard 3.5mm stereo audio out jack and it works with Bluetooth stereo headphones via A2DP. Other music tools on the Curve include VzwTones for downloading ringtones and VCast Song ID. The BlackBerry Curve 8530 also works with V CAST Video over EV-DO. When the 3G connection is strong, V CAST videos look smooth and audio is in sync with video.

The Curve's multimedia controls up top.

GPS

The BlackBerry Curve 8530 has a built-in GPS that works with BlackBerry Maps as well as VZ Navigator. BlackBerry Maps is a free application that gives you North America maps, and allows you to search locations and POIs as well as get directions. It doesn’t offer voice guidance, real time navigation and other services found in VZ Navigator. We tested the new VZ Navigator v5.1 and the Curve 8530 ran the services smoothly.

VZ Navigator v5 has a new user interface that integrates local POIs, movies, gas prices and weather on the home screen. When you launch VZ Navigator you get a slideshow of these local info pages centered on your current location. Trip navigation, turn-by-turn directions, 3D maps and voice guidance are still quite similar to the previous version of VZ Navigator. Route calculations are fast and re-routing is smooth. Though version 5 has a new UI, the POI database isn’t brand new. Like the older version, VZ Navigator 5 has traffic reporting, local search and location sharing with friends and family. The new version does have voice recognition that allows you to use “Say It” mode to verbally input destinations. This mode didn’t work on the Curve 8530 however.

Camera

Like the BlackBerry Curve 8520, the Curve 8530 also has a 2 megapixel camera with 5x digital zoom and a fixed focus lens. By default the right convenience key launches the camera application. For a smartphone, a 2 megapixel built-in camera is low end; but by 2 megapixel camera phone standards, the Curve 8530 takes decent photos. Still images look bright with saturated and balanced colors, but there is a good deal of noise in the photos. The image quality warrants web posting of snapshots, but for printing or fine photo processing, the quality on these images won’t impress anybody. The camera application offers settings for white balance, picture resolution, quality, color effect and geotagging.

The Curve 8530 can also record video with audio in either QVGA resolution or 176 x 144 MMS resolution. Videos look smooth and the audio is in sync with the video.

Battery Life

The BlackBerry Curve 8530 has a rechargeable cryptographic Lithium Ion battery that’s 1150 mAh in capacity. The battery life isn’t very good for a smartphone with push email, Wi-Fi, on-demand video playback over EV-DO and full featured navigation software. With moderate use you will need to charge the smartphone every other day. The standby time is average reaching about a week.

Conclusion

For Verizon users who have been waiting for the new entry-level Curve, the 8530 is finally here. The Curve 8530 is a solid smartphone with decent specs, and it has the new trackpad and the dedicated media control buttons on top. The smartphone feels fast running multimedia apps like music and video, and it supports the new VZ Navigator 5. The Curve 8530 has good voice calling quality and a loud speakerphone, an excellent push email experience, built-in WiFi and the latest Bluetooth v2.1 technology with a full set of profiles. The BlackBerry web browser still disappoints in terms of speed and rendering capabilities, and we wish the battery life was better.

Pro: Good trackpad and keyboard experience, good GPS performance.

Con: Battery life isn’t very good.

Price: $49.99 with 2-year contract after discount.

Web sites: www.rim.com, www.verizonwireless.com

Specs:

Display: 65K color transmissive TFT color LCD. Screen size diagonally: 2.46". Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels.

Battery: 1150 mAh Lithium Ion rechargeable. Battery is user replaceable. Claimed talk time: 4.5 hours on GSM. Claimed standby: 10.5 days.

Performance: 512MHz processor. 256 megs RAM, 256 megs flash memory with 125 megs available to store programs and data.

Size: 2.4 x 4.3 x 0.5 inches. Weight: 3.7 ounces.

Phone: CDMA Dual Band: 800/1900 MHz. CDMA Dual Mode: CDMA2000 1X with EVDO Rev. 0 for data.

Camera: 2.0 megapixel with fixed focus lens (no flash or self-portrait mirror). Can take still photos up to 1600 x 1200 resolution and video up to QVGA 320 x 240.

Audio: Built in speaker, mic and 3.5mm standard stereo headphone jack. Voice Recorder, music and video player included. Has hardware playback controls on the top edge. Ringtones: 32 Polyphonic – MIDI, MP3, SP-MIDI and WAV. Music playback: MP3, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, QCELP EVRC, AAC-LC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA9 and Windows Media 10 Standard/Professional formats.

Networking: Integrated WiFi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. Bluetooth profiles: hands-free, headset, serial port, DUN (dial-up networking), A2DP stereo with AVRC, SIM access, Secure Simple Pairing and phone book access.

Software: BlackBerry OS v5.0. BlackBerry push email client. BlackBerry Messaging, SMS and MMS. BlackBerry Maps (free service), Documents to Go standard edition (view and edit but not create MS Office documents), web browser, media player for MP3 and video playback. PIM apps include address book, calendar, tasks and memo. Also alarm, clock, voice notes, calculator, Password Keeper. Games: BrickBreaker, Texas Hold 'Em Sudoku, Klondike and Word Mole. BlackBerry Desktop software for PC included for syncing and software installation (PocketMac for BlackBerry Mac software can be downloaded for free from RIM's site). Verizon apps and services include V CAST Music with Rhapsody, V CAST Video, VZ Navigator, Visual Voice Mail, Song ID and Tones. Also City ID and Bing search are included.

Expansion: 1 SDHC microSD card slot.

In the box: Phone, battery, charger, USB cable, software CD and printed material.

The Nokia E72 has a hard act to follow in the much-loved Nokia E71. Though affordable, the E71 had excellent build quality, that Eseries liberal use of metal rather than plastic, plenty of features and it just plain old worked well. The NAM unlocked edition with US 3G HSDPA on AT&T's bands sold well here by no-contract phone standards, helped by the fact it was relatively inexpensive. Even AT&T eventually picked it up as the Nokia E71x, albeit with their usual liberal dusting of bloatware.

Like the E71 NAM, the E72 NAM is a quad band unlocked GSM phone with EDGE and 3G HSDPA on AT&T's 3G bands and Europe's 2100MHz band. It's EDGE only on T-Mobile in the US. Since it's an unlocked phone, you need not sign up for a new contract or extend your existing contract. Just pop in your SIM card, let the E72 automatically configure itself for your carrier's data, SMS and MMS settings and you're ready to roll.

It's been 1.5 years since the E71 launched, and Nokia has been teasing us with promises of the E72's much faster CPU, better camera (you could only go up from the E71's weak camera), updated design and improved multimedia in a still super-slim package. Unfortunately, some things stayed the same: namely the small QVGA display. Heck, it's 2010 and QVGA is feeling mighty dated-- even the once conservative RIM has moved up to larger, higher resolution displays. At 320 x 240 pixels, you'll be doing plenty of scrolling, and Nokia has at least made that task easier with their new optical d-pad that can also act as a traditional d-pad if you're feeling retro. The optical pad works well, and we vote it as an improvement.

The keyboard on the E71, though small, was uncannily usable. The E72's is even better and typing is a joy on this QWERTY messaging phone. If your thing is texting and email, the E72 has its eye on you. The keys are domed, clearly backlit in white and pleasantly tactile. There's now a dedicated Ctrl key and a few keys handle alternate functions like turning on the flash light and accessing Bluetooth. We did notice that typing sometimes lagged behind our key presses and hope that Nokia's fixes this in a future firmware update (Nokia can generally be counted on to release firmware updates for their S60 phones).

The phone comes with Nokia Email (2.1 on our unit) and it handles POP3, IMAP and MS Exchange via Mail for Exchange (MfE) and Gmail too. You'll get HTML email with MS Exchange 2007 and though some folks have had trouble setting up email accounts with Nokia's relatively new email client, we had no trouble with POP3, IMAP and Gmail account setup and operation. The email app also supports Yahoo, Lotus Notes Traveler and Hotmail among others. While it might not have the immediacy of the BlackBerry email push system, you don't have to sign up for an expensive data plan either. Nokia phones work just fine with inexpensive feature phone data plans on AT&T and T-Mobile (and other GSM carriers).

If you're into social networking, there's a decent Facebook app included and you can download free and paid clients to extend IM support, and add MySpace and Twitter (Gravity rocks for Twitter). These are available through the Ovi store on the phone.

Since the E72 runs the newest available version of Symbian OS and S60: Symbian 9.4 with S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2, you get stronger multimedia format support, a more flexible Active Standby home screen and and Modes (i.e.: Work and Home with different apps and background). The changes are subtle but do improve usability.

The Nokia N900, Nokia N97 mini and Nokia E72.

The usual S60 folder system is still there, which veteran Nokia fans often love (hey, it's familiar) and other folks find takes too many clicks. We won't argue that some tasks do take quite a few wiggles of the d-pad and clicks to get done, but if you're familiar and happy with S60 this likely won't bother you. Nokia seems to try out a new folder arrangements randomly, and it did take time to find where all those familiar S60 apps now live. You can move things around and create your own folders, of course.

Likewise, Nokia plays with their photo and video viewers, and this time it's all in the Gallery application. Once you enter Gallery you see a list of un-sexy folders for photos, video, songs, sound clips, streaming links and presentations. What music is doing here, we're not sure since it merely takes you to the Music Player application.

The Nokia E72 has a 3.5mm stereo jack up top.

Given the E72's impressive 600MHz ARM 11 processor, and the widened codec support, we expected a bit more from the video player. Yes, it supports MPEG4 and even WMV but VGA MPEG4 video encoded at mobile-friendly low bitrates (660 kbps) seems to strain the phone and we saw frame drops. It seems that QVGA video is the best bet, and these played well up to 900kbps. In truth, we're not sure that extended video viewing is something you'd expect to do on a relatively low resolution, 2.36" display. If that's your thing, go with an S60 5th Edition smartphone with a larger, higher resolution display like the Nokia N97 or N97 mini.

In all other tasks, the E72 is quite responsive and the faster CPU means quicker folder open times and generally improved application performance compared to the E71. Flash video playback via YouTube's desktop site is actually watchable even if blocky. It drops frames but it's worlds better than the E71.

Video Review

Here's our 7.5 minute video review of the Nokia E72:

Phone and Internet

The quad band GSM E72 will work with any GSM provider's SIM for calls and data on GPRS and EDGE. It has 3G HSDPA up to 10.2 Mbps for use overseas and with AT&T in the US. We tested it with both T-Mobile and AT&T SIM cards and the phone worked well and automatically configured settings to match each carrier. We primarily used the phone on AT&T since it has 3G on that carrier's bands. Call quality was very good, as per usual for Nokia E and Nseries smartphones. The rear-firing speakerphone, powered by a large mono speaker, wasn't all that loud but it was clear. We tested the phone with several Bluetooth headsets including the Jawbone 2 and Plantronics Discovery 925 and it worked well in terms of voice quality and connection reliability. Bluetooth range was average, and we got about 15 feet before voice quality began to degrade.

Nokia's excellent Webkit browser is on board with Flash support, and it does a good job of rendering full HTML sites accurately and quickly. Since this isn't a touch screen phone, you use the d-pad to move a virtual cursor around web pages. At QVGA resolution, you'll only see very small sections of desktop-oriented sites, so plan on plenty of scrolling. Though the browser is capable enough, the low resolution means we wouldn't recommend this smartphone to someone who plans to spend a lot of time web browsing.

GPS and Camera

The E72 has a built-in GPS with aGPS, and you can download the full version of Ovi Maps for free (Nokia made it free in January 2010). This gives the E72 and other recent S60 smartphones an edge against other smartphones that require you to pay for turn-by-turn spoken navigation. Nokia Maps' routing is decent, but their POI database is spotty in the US. You can use 3rd party navigation applications as well. We had no trouble with the GPS hardware at all, in fact it performed quite well and managed fast fixes and solid satellite locks.

The 5 megapixel autofocus camera is a vast improvement over the E71's lower resolution shooter. It isn't just the higher resolution; images are sharper and clearer with better exposure. The E72 still can't compare to Nokia's own Nseries phones and their superior cameras, but for a business phone, this is a decent camera. The phone can also shoot VGA video at 15 fps and there's a flash that's useful for close range shooting.

The BlackBerry Curve 8530 and the Nokia E72.

Conclusion

The E72, much as we'd anticipated it, is something of a let-down. It is by no means a bad phone and the features are good: it has a fast CPU, US 3G HSDPA, WiFi, a GPS, Bluetooth with a full set of profiles, an SDHC microSD card slot and an FM radio. But it just doesn't add enough to the Nokia E71 package to make us want to replace the E71. Yes, it's faster and the camera is better, but are those good enough reasons to spend $350? If you're not considering upgrading from an E71 but are looking for an unlocked GSM QWERTY-bar smartphone, the E72's definite good looks, quality design and strong keyboard are worth a look. But RIM's BlackBerry smartphones offer stiff competition, at least the higher end models like the BlackBerry 9700. The E72 just lacks that special something, be it updated software or cool new hardware, to make us rave. But it's a solid phone with all the features a business person needs, and it's a good looking piece in the hand.

Price: $359 (no contract, no subsidy)

Website: www.nokiausa.com

Specs:

Display: 24 bit QVGA 320 x 240 pixel color LCD. Diagonal screen measurement: 2.36 inches. Has accelerometer and ambient light sensor.

Battery: Lithium Ion rechargeable. Battery is user replaceable, 1500 mAh (BP-4L). Uses the smaller round charger connector and not micro USB (uses micro USB for sync). Claimed talk time: 12.5 hours on GSM, 5 hours 54 minutes on 3G. Claimed video playback time (max): 13 hours. Claimed music playback time (max): 37.5 hours.

Performance: ARM 11 600 MHz processor. 128 megs RAM. 512 MB Flash ROM with 250 megs available to store applications and data.

Size: 4.48 x 2.34 x .39 inches. Weight: 4.51 ounces.

Phone: GSM quad band unlocked 850/900/1800/1900MHz with EDGE. On the NAM (US version) 3G HSDPA 10.2 Mbps on AT&T's 850/1900MHz bands and 2100MHz for abroad. Supports VoIP calling.

Camera: 5.0 MP with autofocus lens and LED flash. Max photo resolution: 2592 x 1944. Max video resolution: VGA 640 x 480 at 15 fps. Has front-facing VGA camera.

GPS: Has GPS with aGPS and a compass. The GPS works with the now free Ovi Maps and other mapping and navigation applications.

Audio and Video: Built in speaker, mic and 3.5mm standard stereo headphone jack. Gallery, Flash Player, Real Player and music player included. Supported video formats: GPP formats (H.263), Flash Video, H.264/AVC, MPEG-4, RealVideo 7,8,9/10 and WMV. Supported audio formats: AAC, AAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, AU, eAAC+, M4A, MIDI Tones (poly 64), MP3, MP4, RealAudio 7, 8, 10, SP-MIDI, True tones, WAV and WMA.

Networking: Integrated WiFi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR with a full suite of profiles including A2DP stereo and DUN.

Software: Symbian OS 9.4 with S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2.

Expansion: 1 SDHC microSD card slot.

The LG eXpo is the HTC Tilt 2's competitor on AT&T. While the Tilt 2 features HTC's TouchFLO 3D that makes the smartphone much more fun and modern, the eXpo opts for impressive hardware like the 1 GHz Snapdragon CPU, good 5 megapixel autofocus camera, fingerprint reader and optional pico projector. Both sport a very ample slide-out hardware QWERTY keyboard and an 800 x 480 pixel resistive touch screen. The LG is a bit slimmer and more pocketable than the beefy Tilt 2, but it's still a large phone.

Our gripe with the LG eXpo is the very stylus-centric UI that's mostly vanilla Windows Mobile 6.5 Pro and the relatively small 3.2" display that makes for smaller on-screen targets. It's just not fun and finger-friendly compared to HTC's TouchFLO 3D Windows Mobile phones, Android smartphones and other modern OS phones. This is a business phone first, and fun isn't its prime directive but even LG's S-Class UI doesn't help it out of the doldrums. But for those of you who like Windows Mobile just fine, the eXpo has great appeal since it's currently the fastest US Windows Mobile phone (until the HTC HD2 hits T-Mobile in the spring of 2010). Not to mention the fingerprint sensor for security (remember that feature from HP iPAQ PDAs way back when?) and the optional projector that's great for incredibly portable PowerPoint presentations. Unfortunately, we didn't receive a projector with our phone, so we won't be able to cover that important business feature.

For a stylus-centric phone, we were surprised that LG uses a lipstick style external stylus
that attaches via lanyard and looks a tad feminine.

The smartphone's build is solid, and the eXpo looks like a quality piece of hardware, though it's nothing to speak of on the style front. The large QWERTY keyboard is excellent, though we still prefer the offset keyboard on the Tilt 2, which is the best keyboard on the market. Key travel is a bit shallow, and the d-pad likewise lacks travel-- but at least it has one. The d-pad seems to be disappearing from WinMo touch screen phones.


Specs at a Glance

The LG eXpo (don't blame us for the bizarre capitalization) is a Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional phone with a 3.2", 800 x 480 pixel resistive touch screen. It has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and a flash, a GPS that works with AT&T Navigator, Bluetooth and WiFi. It has 256 megs of RAM, 512 megs of flash storage and an SDHC microSD card slot that's conveniently located under a door on the phone's side.

Phone and Internet

The LG has very good call quality and the earpiece is slightly louder than average. This is a quad band GSM world phone with EDGE and 3G HSDPA 7.2Mbps on AT&T's bands and 2100MHz for 3G abroad. Reception on 3G is mediocre; it's fine in strong coverage areas but it's not the best phone for those in marginal coverage areas.

Opera Mobile has infiltrated quite a few high end Windows Mobile phones, but unfortunately not the eXpo which ships with the stock Internet Explorer Mobile 6. It's an OK web browser, but we suggest you purchase Opera or another browser if you spend serious time browsing.

Email is handled by the capable, if dated looking, mobile Outlook client. It handles POP3/IMAP and MS Exchange with Direct Push if your company runs a relatively recent version of Exchange Server. There's an IM client on board along with support for SMS and MMS.

Video Review

Here's our 8.5 minute video review of the LG eXpo that covers physical design, UI, web browsing, video playback and more.

Battery

The LG eXpo has a power-hungry fast CPU, 3G HSDPA, WiFi and those consume battery quickly. There aren't many US 3G Snapdragon phones on the market to compare, but I will say that the 1GHz Nexus One running Android lasts significantly longer. The LG seems to wake up and make brief connections to 3G even when no applications are running (not even Exchange email), and this may reduce battery life. With moderate use, we had to charge the phone nightly. With heavy use, we had to charge it by 3pm each afternoon.

Our Take

The LG eXpo has exciting hardware that's let down by dated software. If you're a fan of Windows Mobile's user interface, the eXpo will likely suit you well, but if you're tempted by other platforms and other manufacturers' updated user interfaces for Windows Mobile, the LG will seem dreary. That said, it's fast (you've never seen the Windows Mobile file explorer list all the files in its Windows directory this fast) and has a good camera, a very functional fingerprint scanner for security and a tightly integrated optional pico projector that just might save you from lugging a laptop.

Price: $199 with a 2 year contract

Websites: www.lge.com, wireless.att.com

Specs:

Display: 3.2" resistive touch screen with haptic feedback and proximity sensor. Resolution: 480 x 800, supports both portrait and landscape modes.

Battery: Lithium Ion polymer rechargeable. Battery is user replaceable. 1500 mAh.

Performance: 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. 256 MB built-in RAM. 512 MB Flash ROM.

Size: 4.45 x 2.24 x 0.65 inches. Weight: 4.46 ounces.

Phone: Quad band GSM world phone 850/900/1800/1900MHz bands. 3G HSDPA 7.2 Mbps on AT&T's 850/1900MHz US bands and 2100MHz for use abroad.

Camera: 5.0 MP with autofocus lens and LED flash. Supports AT&T's Video Share one-way video conferencing service.

Audio: Built in speaker, mic and proprietary stereo headphone jack. Voice Recorder and Windows Mobile Media Player 10 included.

Networking: Integrated WiFi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR.

Software: Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional OS. Both standard UI and LG's S-Class UI are available on the device. Internet Explorer 6 mobile, MS Voice Command, Java VM, Windows Mobile Marketplace, Adobe Reader, Sprite Backup and Windows Media Player Mobile. Standard MS mobile software suite: Office Mobile (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote Mobile),, Email (POP3/IMAP/MS Exchange), File Explorer, PIM suite (contacts, calendar, notes and tasks), SMS/MMS client, BubbleBreaker and Solitaire. AT&T software: AT&T WiFi, AT&T App Center, AT&T Navigator, AT&T Music and trial games.

Expansion: 1 SDHC microSD card slot.

The more things change, the more they stay the same, or so the cliche goes. It's apt enough for HP's latest business smartphone, the Glisten, whose form and function aren't so different from the 2008 HP iPAQ 910c. The looks have gotten more modern and trendy, with a flush display and a black soft-touch casing, but it's still your basic Windows Mobile Pro QWERTY-bar business phone. What has suffered is one-handed and touch navigation thanks to Windows Mobile 6.5. WinMo 6.5 was designed with larger screens in mind, and it attempts to be more touch-centric, neither of which matches with the QWERTY bar smartphone. That means the traditional Start Menu that looked just like the one on your Windows PC is gone. A shame because that was easy to navigate using the d-pad, while the hex grid of icons that replaces it is a nightmare with the d-pad. Thank goodness for the touch screen, you say? Well, not so much. The small, low resolution display is hard to navigate with a finger, making the included stylus a must, and that feels very dated and inefficient.

What stands in the Glisten's favor are its sturdy build, grippable back and good QWERTY keyboard. Combine that with Windows Mobile's excellent integration with MS Exchange, and you've got a decent business phone. The HP Glisten is likely to appeal to veteran Windows Mobile users who accustomed to, if not fond of, that operating system's features and UI. It's otherwise unlikely that the HP would win in a contest against a BlackBerry. RIM's smartphones are easier to use one-handed and their UI is much better optimized to the hardware controls with myriad keyboard shortcuts and convenient home screen options.


The Glisten at a Glance

The HP iPAQ Glisten is sold by AT&T in the US and it has 3G HSDPA on AT&T's bands as well as 2100MHz for Europe and Asia. It's a quad band GSM world phone with EDGE for those places that are devoid of 3G coverage. It has a 2.5" AMOLED touch screen and it runs Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional. The Glisten is powered by a 528MHz Qualcomm CPU and it has 256 megs of RAM and 512 megs of flash memory. There's a fixed focus 3.1 megapixel camera on board as well as a full complement of wireless: GPS, Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR and WiFi 802.11b/g.

Design and Ergonomics

The iPAQ feels solid and well made, and we particularly like the grippy soft-touch back. The QWERTY keyboard's keys are laid out in a smile configuration and are relatively large: both pluses. But their slick surface makes typing faster but less accurate.The embedded number pad is clear in contrasting white and there are shortcuts on the bottom row for the web browser, calendar, email and AT&T Navigator. The chromed plastic sides have relatively few controls and ports. A 3.5mm stereo headset jack and micro USB port are on the right and the volume controls are on the left. The not terribly good or loud speakerphone lives under a small grille on the back. The HP isn't a thin phone by any means, and it's about the same thickness as recent BlackBerry Curve 8500 series models. To our eyes, it looks less plasticky and higher quality than the BlackBerry 8520 and 8530.

The AMOLED display uses less power and is more vivid than traditional LCDs, though the HP's isn't as vivid (or over-saturated) as recent Samsung AMOLED phone displays. It's a resistive display (Windows Mobile 6.5 doesn't natively support capacitive displays) and that means you can use a fingernail, a gloved finger or the included plastic stylus with the touch screen.

Phone and Data

While HP's smartphones have had excellent voice quality and volume since the hw6915 that preceded the 910c, the Glisten has average voice quality and its earpiece isn't particularly loud. Incoming voice is clear with very light background hiss but outgoing voice sounds digitized and this was augmented with many of the Bluetooth headsets we tested with the iPAQ. Volume is average for a GSM phone and it's fine for home and office but it can't combat very noisy public locations. The speakerphone isn't among the best we've heard, but it's suitable to increase volume in a loud place when the earpiece doesn't do the job, and it's fine for in-car navigation using the included AT&T Navigator's spoken directions.

Like all Windows Mobile phones, the Glisten ships with Internet Explorer Mobile and the mobile version of Outlook which is comprised of Messaging (for email, SMS and MMS) and PIM applications (calendar, contacts, tasks and notes). These sync to MS Exchange over-the-air flawlessly and the phone can also sync to Outlook on the desktop via USB. Messaging is a solid email client that works with POP3, IMAP, Gmail and other accounts well, and the Exchange experience is top notch.

Though many Windows phone manufacturers include the superior Opera Mobile browser, HP thinks you can make do with IE. Honestly, the screen is so small and the QVGA resolution so outdated, that we don't consider the Glisten optimal for web browsing anyway. If web browsing is important to you and you plan to do a lot of it, consider a smartphone with a larger, higher resolution display like the HTC Tilt 2. For full HTML sites, you'll see only a fraction of the web page on screen at a given time and selecting links, even with the stylus, takes patience.

Video Review

Here's our 7 minute video review of the HP Glisten:

Conclusion

The HP Glisten is literally a solid Windows Mobile QWERTY bar phone. It's well-made, sturdy and not bad looking as business phones go. But we can't say it adds anything new or enticing to the mix, and there's little that's changed since the HP 910c (which was a decent smartphone). What has changed is the OS, and unfortunately, Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional is less well suited to the QWERTY bar form factor than was Windows Mobile 6.1. One handed operation is limited and you often must touch the display to get things done. That wouldn't be such a bad thing if the display wasn't so small and the on-screen targets too tiny to easily tap with a finger. The iPAQ is definitely better suited to those who are comfortable with the stylus.

In terms of features and performance for the price, the HP does well and has all the bells and whistles you'd expect on a business smartphone at this or even a slightly higher price. The 528MHz CPU generally does a good job of keeping up with tasks and with 256 megs of RAM, you can leave several applications running simultaneously. Windows Mobile is often maligned, but it offers solid business features including strong MS Exchange support, a built-in Office suite, good security and compatibility with Windows desktops.

Price: $129.99 after rebates with a 2 year contract.

Websites: wireless.att.com, www.hp.com

Specs:

Display: 65K color 2.5" AMOLED color touchscreen. Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels.

Battery: Lithium Ion polymer rechargeable. Battery is user replaceable. 1590 mAh. Micro USB charging and syncing port.

Performance: 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7200A CPU. 256 megs RAM, 512 megs flash ROM.

Size: 4.44 x 2.47 x 0.53 inches. Weight: 4.66 ounces.

Phone: GSM quad band world phone 850/900/1800/1900MHz. 3G HSDPA on the 850/1900/2100MHz bands.

GPS: Has GPS and AT&T Navigator.

Camera: 3.1 megapixel, fixed focus lens. 5x digital zoom, no flash or self-portrait mirror.

Audio: Built in speaker, mic and 3.5mm standard stereo headphone jack.

Networking: Integrated WiFi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR.

Software: Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional.

Expansion: 1 SDHC microSD card slot.

Nexus One


When Google formally announced their first Google-branded phone, the Nexus One, a day before the CES trade show in Las Vegas, they managed to distract technology buffs from the US' largest trade show. Google making and selling their own phone? What's up with that? Unlocked phones with no subsidy haven't sold like hotcakes here in the US where we want it cheap and forego features and freedom to get it cheap. But the Nexus One looked like one heck of a high end Android smartphone with a design that could make the ugly duckling G1 hide in the closet. Finally, an Android phone that still looks good when placed next to an iPhone. In fact, it's marginally thinner and lighter than the iPhone 3GS while finding room for a user replaceable battery.

As it turns out, the Nexus One is what Google calls a "super-phone", and they wanted to show the world what Android could do with really high end specs and a design to match. The hardware is made by HTC, who made the G1, which was the first Android phone. They also make the lovely HTC Hero, the Droid Eris, the lower end MyTouch 3G (aka HTC Magic) and plenty of high end Windows Mobile phones. While HTC's value added has been their Sense UI enhancements for recent Android models, this phone is stock 100% pure Android (Google's completely in charge of the software on this phone, after all). The Nexus One runs Android OS 2.1, and it's the first phone on the market to sport that new OS. It's incrementally better than 2.0 and 2.01 on the Motorola Droid (previously the phone with the latest, greatest OS).


What's really interesting is the hardware, which makes the otherwise mighty Moto Droid look like a mid-tier Android phone. It has a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 512 megs of RAM, 512 megs of flash storage and an AMOLED display. That CPU is currently the fastest on the market, and it makes appearances only in HTC's HD2 Windows Mobile Pro phone and in the LG eXPO. Android is a more lightweight OS than Windows Mobile, so this thing really flies. No waiting, no delays and no trouble playing fairly high resolution video. Sweet. 512 megs of RAM is unusually high and beats the HD2's 488 megs. No problem running concurrent applications, there's plenty of memory for that.

The Nexus One has a 5 megapixel autofocus camera, a GPS that works with Google Maps, an SDHC microSD card (a 4 gig card is included), WiFi and Bluetooth with A2DP stereo. Even more juicy is the 3.7" capacitive AMOLED display running at the now standard high end smartphone resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. The display and OS support multi-touch but Google hasn't enabled it in their built-in apps for the US version (the Euro version does have multi-touch). Third party applications can and do support multi-touch: we tested the Dolphin web browser which supports pinch zoom and Simply Draw which supports drawing with two fingers (both are free and are available for download on the Android Market).

How You Buy it, How You get Support

The Nexus One is an unlocked GSM phone with quad band EDGE and 3G HSDPA/HSPA 7.2Mbps on the 900/1700/2100MHz bands. It will work with any GSM carrier, but there are no AT&T 3G bands, so that means EDGE only on AT&T. Google sells this phone directly via their website and there will be a version for Verizon this spring and there's a Euro/Asian model that's currently being sold in the UK and some Asian countries (sales will eventually expand to more European countries). Other than language differences and convenient localizations, we don't see a reason why the currently available Nexus One wouldn't work in all European countries. Google does not plan a phone with AT&T 3G at this time.

Google handles selling you the phone, using Google checkout (surprise). HTC handles device support and your carrier (T-Mobile in the case of US customers) handles network and connectivity issues. While phone carriers and manufacturers are well set up to handle support for phones marketed for a particular carrier, this one is a bit more complex. We'll have to see how well the three companies handle it. In the first week, things have been a little rocky according to forums on the Net, but we expect support routing should improve. The phone has a 1 year warranty and Google gives a 14 day trial period. Google applies a restocking fee only if you had it engraved, and if your state requires a longer return period you get longer.

You can buy the phone for full retail ($529) or you can get it with a T-Mobile contract for $179. If you're not out of contract on T-Mobile, there are higher subsidized prices depending on how long you have left on your contract. In Europe, the subsidy is with Vodafone.

The N1 is a well made, solid phone that's neither overly large (it's about the same size as the HTC Hero) nor too heavy at 4.5 ounces. It feels solid and has a pleasing weight in the hand, and the curves make it feel great. It is quite thin and rounded, so we found it easier to drop than some other phones. The bezel is metal as is the back strip where you can order custom engraving.

The front buttons are touch sensitive and they require a firmer press than does the display (as they should or you'd be accidentally pressing them with annoying frequency). We always love HTC's trackball and find it useful on the N1 for working our way through text. The trackball pulses slowly in white when you have a missed call, voicemail or reminder. It could pulse a bit more quickly because it's quite possible to glance at the phone and miss the pulse.

Is it a Superphone?

Well, we'd say it is, if you define a super-phone as a really high end smartphone that offers the best currently available in display technology, horsepower, wireless, modern OS and features. The iPhone 3GS, Moto Droid and Nokia N900 are also super-phones by that definition. Is it the best phone on the market? It's certainly one of the best, but we won't call it the very best since no phone can meet everyone's needs. For example, if you're one of those folks who can't live without a hardware QWERTY keyboard, it's not for you. If you want to spend serious time doing 3D gaming, the iPhone is currently the best. If you want a closed ecosystem that enables one simple and consistent UI and ease of use, the iPhone is for you. If you want the best web browser with real Flash support, the Nokia N900 is better (though Flash should be coming to the Nexus One before the spring of 2010). If you want a very attractive, well-made slate smartphone, one that's very fast, has a stunning capacitive display and full support for Google's myriad services including fast OS updates, then the Nexus One is your superphone. Aside from high end gaming, there are plenty of good apps on the Android Market to keep most folks happy and entertained, and 3D gaming should be forthcoming since Android 2.0 and higher has 3D APIs. Phones like the Nexus One and Moto Droid have the horsepower to handle those 3D games. While Android phones like the Nexus One aren't as super-duper easy to use as the iPhone, they're plenty easy to understand and use. But Android's greater openness and customizability are well suited to power users. For example, I want my calendar, weather and twitter feed on my home screen. I don't want to launch apps and do several finger-taps to see the info most important to me, I want them at a glance. Android wins here, as does the Nokia N900 while the iPhone fails.

The Nexus One's clearest competitor is the Moto Droid on Verizon. They have similar resolutions and screen sizes, and run Android 2 (currently the Droid is at 2.01 while the Nexus One is at 2.1). Their functionality and user experience are quite similar; I wouldn't say the Nexus One hoses the Moto Droid by any means. The Nexus One is however faster, and that's impressive since the Droid is very fast and is the second fastest Android phone on the market. Once I used the Droid, I found it hard to go back to the old technology 528MHz MyTouch 3G, a phone that hadn't seemed slow before. While the Moto Droid pauses ever so briefly when doing things here and there, the Nexus One never does. And the Nexus renders web pages faster, thanks to the 1GHz CPU (the Moto has a new technology 600MHz Cortex A8 CPU, like the also-speedy Nokia N900).

The Nexus One wins on the display front thanks to its AMOLED display which is much more colorful and vivid. Yet it's not overdone and warm tones don't bleed as they often do on mid-tier AMOLED phones. It's also a bit more sensitive than the Droid, which we like. The drawback with AMOLED displays is that they aren't as visible outdoors in bright light (there the Droid wins).

The Nexus One wins against the Droid and iPhone for camera quality, though it can't beat the excellent Nokia N900-- Nokia knows how to do a camera right. The Nexus One's photos and video are much better than the Droid's and its photos are much better than the iPhone 3GS'.

Battle of the super phones: Nexus One, Motorola Droid and the iPhone 3GS.

Phone and Internet

The quad band GSM Nexus One is best used with T-Mobile here in the US since it has 3G HSDPA 7.2 Mbps on T-Mobile's bands. It will operate on EDGE only on AT&T. We've been told that it's forward compatible with HSPA+, a 21Mbsp max data standard that T-mobile is currently trialing in Philadelphia and will deploy in more cities this year and next. Though T-Mobile claims to have upgraded their entire network to 7.2Mbps HSPA, here in Dallas in early January 2010, we're still on the 3.6Mbps standard so we couldn't test the faster speed standard (likewise our N900 and MyTouch 3G don't see 7.2Mpbs yet either, though their hardware is capable). Our data speeds averaged 600-1,000kbps, which is on par with our other T-Mobile 3G smartphones.

Voice quality is excellent thanks to Audience's new A1026 voice processor that works in conjunction with the Google phone's dual mics. It does an excellent job of reducing background noise while keeping voice clear and full. The Nexus One is at the top of the heap for outgoing voice quality. Incoming voice is clear and natural, with average volume. The mono speakerphone, though large, is unfortunately tinny.

The usual suspects are on board for all things Internet and Google: gmail, Exchange mail, POP3/IMAP mail, a very capable webkit web browser, a YouTube player, Google Maps, Google Voice and Google Talk. There is no T-Mobile @Home UMA calling-- Google seems to have avoided carrier-specific features since this is an unlocked world phone. The web browser supports YouTube via Google's YouTube player that plays mobile YouTube video rather than Flash. According to Adobe, Flash 10.1 will be coming to the Nexus One in a few months.

Video Reviews

Part 1 of our video review series covers unboxing, the phone's physical design and comparisons with the Moto Droid, Nokia N900, MyTouch 3G, HTC HD2 and the iPhone 3GS:

Part 2 digs deep into Android 2.1's new features, the web browser, YouTube playback, Google Maps, MPEG4 video playback from a microSD card and 3D gaming:

Android 2.1 New Features

We've covered Android's new features in our second video review, and these include the extended 5 screen home screen, new Google widgets for weather, news and wireless control and the new program launcher. One thing I'd like to underscore is the new speech-to-text feature. Since Android OS 1.6 Donut we've been able to do a Google search using speech rather than a keyboard. In OS 2.1, you can use speech pervasively: the on-screen keyboard has a mic key and if you tap this you can speak rather than type. This works very well and I found myself typing less and less. Obviously, if you're in a quiet place like a library or a very noisy place like a ball game speech isn't the best input method, but it works well most everywhere else. You can tell Google Maps what you're looking for, you can dictate an email or SMS message and voice dial. It takes about 5 seconds for the speech-to-text engine to turn what you've said into text, and we'd like to see this get faster, but that's our only complaint.

Camera

The Nexus One has a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus lens and a single LED flash. Image quality is better than other HTC phones (which might not say much) and is even a bit better than the HTC HD2's 5MP camera. It's still not as good as Nokia's better Nseries smartphones or the N900, but that's a tall order since Nokia makes some of the best cameras on the market.

The N1 lacks a dedicated camera button, so you'll want to put a shortcut to the camera on your home screen. You can take photos by pressing the on-screen shutter button or by pressing the trackball (the trackball method makes for less camera shake). You can't manually select the point of focus by touching the viewfinder, but you can set white balance, color effects, flash mode, resolution, quality and focus mode. The camera supports geotagging. Max video resolution is 720 x 480 at 20fps or higher and there's a lesser resolution for MMS. You can set white balance, color effects and duration.

Image quality is good, with excellent color saturation and balance. There's some visible interpolation (jaggies and overly smooth areas) that put it behind the N900, but it's better than most other smartphone cameras on the US market. Video quality is likewise good with excellent color and good frame rates. This is a camera you'll likely enjoy using.

Conclusion

Google and HTC have a winner with the Nexus One, the "be all that you can" Android smartphone. Google spec-d out a top of the line phone and at the moment, it is the one to beat among Android phones. The Moto Droid comes in a close second with a similar user experience but a weaker though still capable CPU and a lesser camera. Indeed, the Nexus One is a "super phone", but it's not the phone that destroys all others. It's simply got high end everything and the standard Google Android experience. It does run a newer version of the OS, but other Android phones will catch up. That said, Google doesn't have to worry about carrier control with this phone, and so we expect they'll push new OS updates to the Nexus One before other phones. That means by the time other phones catch up with OS 2.1, the Nexus One will probably have something even newer and better. Even if other Android phones come out with similarly compelling hardware, the Nexus One will likely maintain an OS advantage.

The drawbacks? You can't take this phone to your corner T-Mobile store for support. T-Mobile will handle network-related issues but the rest is in HTC and Google's court. Google isn't a company famous for quality human contact, and we'll see if they can handle being a retailer.

Pro: Fast! Very attractive and well made. Simply large and lovely AMOLED capacitive display. Good GPS and Google Maps performance, good camera, has WiFi 802.11b/g (the 802.11n isn't enabled, at least not yet). It's unlocked so you can use it with any GSM carrier, even if you buy it with a contract.

Con: MS Exchange calendar sync over-the-air is currently not working, support isn't as clear cut since this is marketed more like an unlocked phone, no AT&T 3G.

Price: $179 with a new 2 year contract on T-Mobile US, incremental pricing for those not yet out of contract and $529 retail with no contract. Phone is sold unlocked, even if you purchase it with a plan.

Website and where to buy: www.google.com/phone

Specs:

Display: AMOLED capacitive touch screen with haptic feedback and proximity sensor. Screen size diagonally: 3.7". Resolution: 480 x 800, supports both portrait and landscape modes via accelerometer.

Battery: Lithium Ion rechargeable. Battery is user replaceable. 1400 mAh.

Performance: Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz CPU (QSD 8250). 512 megs RAM and 512 megs flash ROM.

Size: 4.68 x 2.35 x 0.45 inches. Weight: 4.48 ounces.

Phone: Unlocked GSM quad band world phone 850/900/1800/1900MHz with EDGE. 3G HSDPA 7.2 Mbps on the 900/1700/2100MHz bands (3G for T-Mobile US, Europe and Asia). Forward compatible with HSPA+. Verizon version will be CDMA with EV-DO Rev. A. Phone is sold direct by Google and not offered through carriers, though it can be purchased subsidized with a contract on certain carriers.

Camera: 5.0 MP with autofocus lens and LED flash. Can capture video at 720 x 480 resolution, 20fps or better. Can geotag photos.

GPS: Has GPS that works with Google Maps (pre-installed) and TeleNav (downloadable). Has digital compass.

Audio: Built in speaker, mic and 3.5mm standard stereo headphone jack. Music and video player (Gallery) included.

Networking: Integrated WiFi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (supports A2DP Bluetooth stereo). The chipset supports WiFi 802.11n but it's not enabled.

Software: Android OS 2.1 (Eclair).

Expansion: 1 SDHC microSD card slot.

In a competitive market of QWERTY texting phones, the original LG Lotus dared to look different. The square form stood out in a sea of candybar and slider QWERTY phones, and it found an audience among those who like their tech to look different. The Lotus Elite continues in that tradition, and the first model in the new LX610 series dresses in red and aims squarely at female phone buyers (don’t worry fellas, a black version is coming). The new Lotus Elite also adds a large QVGA external touch screen that matches the internal display in both size and resolution. You still get a 2.4” landscape screen on the inside, a built-in aGPS that works with Sprint Navigation, Bluetooth with A2DP, a microSD card slot with SDHC support, EV-DO 3G as well as access to multimedia content from Sprint Music Store, Sprint TV and games.

Design and Ergonomics

Compared to the original LG Lotus, the Lotus Elite looks more refined and better built. It has rounded corners, and the hinge looks strong and moves more freely. The keyboard and the keys also have more pleasing shapes that make the Lotus Elite look stylish. Measuring 3.43 x 2.44 x 0.73 inches, the phone is still quite wide and should be a handful for those with smaller hands. The biggest design change for the Lotus Elite from the original Lotus is the 320 x 240 pixel external touch screen. The internal display isn’t a touch screen but you’ve got the full QWERTY and plenty of hardware buttons to control the phone when the flip is open. We were glad to see that most built-in applications support touch control on the external display, and these applications include the music player, Sprint Navigation, Camera, video, Sprint TV and more. Applications that require the use of the keyboard such as the web browser, games and social networking don’t run on the touch screen. You can check your messages on the external touch screen but you’ll need to open the flip to type and send messages.

The LG Lotus Elite has great reception and gets full bars in areas with good coverage and more than half of the full strength in areas with just OK coverage. The audio quality is excellent with very clear and loud voice on both incoming and outgoing ends, and it doesn’t have any background white noise. The Lotus Elite has a Contacts database that can store up to 600 entries with each entry capable of storing 7 numbers and full contact info. The phone can also store up to 98 speed dialing numbers and comes with excellent built-in voice dialing and voice command software. You can launch voice command by pressing and holding the Talk button or the Speaker button. The voice command software handles voice dialing, launching applications and checking the phone’s status.

Here's our 7 minute video review of the Lotus Elite: