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| Nokia 3360 (and XpressOn covers) |
| Nokia |
|
Price:
$70, plus monthly service from carrier
|
| Coolness
score: 7 |
| Ease
of use: 6 |
|
| I was very excited to test Nokia's new 3360 phone. As an owner of Nokia's 8260 model, I was already familiar with many of the 3360's features, which are similar on both phones. One feature I liked on the 3360 was the wireless Internet. When subscribed to this service, it allows you to get news, weather, and flight info right on your phone. This came in very handy to receive all of the breaking 'Attack on America' news while traveling 21 hours via bus after my flight from Atlanta got cancelled. Although convenient, it was annoying to have to click several buttons to get the story or Web page you wanted to actually open. I also found that in areas where my cellular signal was not the best, the phone was strong enough to connect a regular call, but not to connect to the Internet. You can also change the look of your 3360 phone with Nokia's Xpress-on™ Covers, which come in several different colors. Pretty neat if you want to match your phone with your outfit. Other than that I deemed them as more trouble than they worth to get them on and off. I would recommend picking out your favorite Xpress-on™ Cover and sticking with it. |
| Kyocera QCP 6035 Smart Phone |
| Kyocera Wireless |
|
Price:
$400, plus monthly service
|
| Coolness
score: 9 |
| Ease
of use: 8 |
|
| A really cool merger of a Palm PDA and a cell phone, the Kyocera QCP 6035 Smart Phone gives you two devices and puts it into one. First it’s a phone, then when you open up the flip-top, it works as a PDA. The phone works on a CDMA network, so you can get coverage from Sprint PCS and Verizon Wireless, among others. |
| Sprint PCS DigitalLink for Handspring Visor |
| AirPrime |
|
Price:
$250 |
| Coolness
score: 8 |
| Ease
of use: 9 |
|
| A Springboard module that turns your Handspring Visor into a Sprint PCS phone. Dial numbers directly from your contact list, the unit also comes with Short Message Service, e-mail and Web browsing abilities. |
| Motorola i85 with Nextel service |
| Nextel and Motorola |
|
Price:
$170 |
| Coolness
score: 8 |
| Ease
of use: 7 |
|
| More a business phone than a consumer phone, this lets you access Java applications in addition to other Internet phone features. It also has Nextel’s great DirectConnect feature, which seems like a walkie-talkie for grownups. |
| Motorola iBOARD for i85 |
| Motorola |
|
Price:
$100 |
| Coolness
score: 8 |
| Ease
of use: 8 |
|
| Forget about trying to input text on your phone by pushing the number keys. Get this keyboard, and you’ll be answering your e-mails with more than just short messages. |
| Samsung SPHM 100 Uproar MP3 phone |
| Samsung |
|
Price:
$200, plus monthly service
|
| Coolness
score: 8 |
| Ease
of use: 7 |
|
| For the ultimate in cool gadgets, check this out. Listen to your MP3 tunes while you wait for the next call. When the call is done, you can begin grooving out again. Has a lot of neat cell phone features too. |
| Sprint PCS SCP-6000 |
| Sprint PCS |
|
Price:
$300 |
| Coolness
score: 9 |
| Ease
of use: 8 |
|
| Thin is definitely in with this phone. People you show this phone to won’t believe that a cell phone can get this thin. A very cool device that also has good Internet feature, and the coolest backlight we’ve seen in a while. |
| Samsung I300 with Sprint PCS service |
| Samsung USA and Sprint PCS |
|
Price:
$500 |
| Coolness
score: 9 |
| Ease
of use: 7 |
|
| A combination of a Palm PDA and a cell phone, this time with a color screen. With the combination, you can also surf the Web via the Sprint browser (a WAP browser) or the Handspring Blazer browser, which lets you view actual Web pages the way they were supposed to be viewed. Pretty cool stuff. |
| Timeport 270c |
| Motorola |
|
Price:
$399 |
| Coolness
score: 8 |
| Ease
of use: 9 |
|
| A cellular phone with built-in Web browser and PIM functions such as calendar, to-do lists and notes. The phone comes with Bluetooth technology for wireless synchronization with a PC or other device. A plus on this phone is the mini-joystick used for navigating on the screen. It's much more efficient than arrow buttons. |
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