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The HTC Touch Diamond is simply beautiful. From its glossy, interestingly shaped casing to its colourful, high definition touch screen, everything about this phone reeks style and aesthetics. There is more to the Touch than just good looks, though-you’ll find a 3.2 megapixel camera, a lightning fast internet connection, and spacious memory storage. Can Windows shatter its reputation as a clunky user interface?

Appearance:

Sleek and glossy, the HTC Touch Diamond is one of HTC’s most stylish phones. At 110g, it is extremely slender, which makes the fact that it holds so many features all the more amazing. HTC has taken the “diamond” theme to a whole new level with the Touch’s appearance-on its back is a unique and attractive design that is reminiscent of the facets of a gem. Its 2.8 inch 65k colour LCD touch sensitive screen is also a pretty feature, with its sharp, crisp details and vivid colours. Its only downside is that its polished surface makes it difficult to see with the sunlight glinting off of it. It’s also easy to leave fingerprints and face marks, but with regular cleaning, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Screen: This smartphone’s screen is one of its biggest strengths. It features a variety of interesting little maneuvers, such as TouchFLO 3D swipe navigation as well as several other touch sensitive controls. You’ll also find handwriting recognition and an accelerometer sensor that senses when the phone is being turned horizontal or vertical and adjusts the screen to accommodate.

Camera:

The Touch’s camera is fairly average as far as cameras go, but it gets the job done. It has 3.2 megapixels with autofocus, but its lack of flash makes it difficult to take pictures in dimmer areas. Its second VGA camera is there for video calls. Its camera also works well recording movies.

Sound:

The phone’s music player supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, WAV, WMA and AMR NB. Along with getting an FM RDS radio, you also get some awesome album art as well as polyphonic and MIDI ringtones. Unfortunately, though it comes with a microphone, you’re stuck using the Touch’s headphones rather than your own.

Connectivity:

The Touch has a stunningly fast internet connection in a variety of different formats, such as 3G HSDPA, Bluetooth, a mini USB, GPRS, EDGE, and Wi-Fi. This results in you staying connected almost everywhere. Combine this with its tri-band network (which also includes HSDPA 2100) and you have a phone that lets you stay connected no matter where you live. You’ll find a variety of useful and familiar features, such as Google Search, Youtube, and Wikipedia. Messangers include SMS, MMS, IMs, and an email interface that includes attachments. The phone also includes a sophisticated GPS system that will let you find out where you need to go.

Memory:

If you like lots of space in your phone, you’re in for a treat. The Touch boasts 256 megabyes of ROM, 192 megabytes of RAM, and four gigabytes of built-in memory. Combine this with over ten hours of talk time and up to 481 hours of standby time (as well as two hours of video call time) and you have a storage space that is unlike almost any phone on the market. You can store thousands of songs, downloads, attachments, and documents, and charging your batteries is a bit of upkeep you’ll barely have to worry about.

Verdict:

The HTC Touch Diamond is gorgeous and filled with more flashy features than many other phones its size. Its only big downside is that the user interface could have been designed a lot better. Windows has managed to disappoint once again with sluggish response times and freezing. However, its literal plethora of gadgets and goodies make it one of HTC’s better smartphones.

Just like the entire N-series of Nokia, the Nokia N95 is a full fledged smartphone that, on the whole, is more akin to a miniature computer than mobile phone. Much of the N-series, N95 included, has come under heavy criticism for being too big, too sluggish at times, too buggy, and so on. However, despite all this criticism, the N-series still has a pretty large following that would swear by it as one of the best gadgets ever. Mostly it would seem that for all its problems, the N95 and other N-series mobile phones are sort of like a look into the future, and the wide range of possibilities that it can command.

Features of the Nokia N95 8GB

At the time of its release, the Nokia N95 8GB was the very first phone to incorporate 5 megapixel technology to be released in the UK. Not only that, but it was Nokia 5 megapixel technology, which meant that it also included the Carl-Zeiss optics and Tessar lenses that were part of why the N93 was such a resounding success in this area. Essentially, the Nokia N95 8GB offered, and still does offer, some of the best image capture ability in the market.

Everything about the N95 was the best available at the time of its launch. From the HSDPA data transfer technology that would come to be referred to as 3.5G, to the WLAN support that would send shockwaves of awe through the mobile phone world, the N95 had it all and more.

As if being a high quality camera equivalent, mobile phone, and music player wasn’t enough, the N95 also incorporated GPS technology into its design. This meant that any N95 user only had to register and he or she could track his position in relation to wherever he wanted to go whether by car or foot. Needless to say, GPS maps have always been one of the greater gadgets out there, and having one within a mobile phone was just too good to be true.

Everything in One Box

For the Nokia N95 8GB, having everything in one box was its crowning glory. The best technology at the time, all seamlessly working together within a mobile phone that truly was at the pinnacle of the market was a real marvel to behold. Sure, there were complaints regarding the weaknesses of the N95, however for anyone that wanted to truly try out the mobile phones of tomorrow, the N95 offered the best way to do so, today.

Now, of course, the N95 has been surpassed in some ways, but not in most just yet. Because of just how high-end it was at the time of its release, all the technology it used will continue to remain relevant for quite some time. Although the execution could have been improved, Nokia ought to be congratulated for bringing mobile phone users around the world one of the best mobile phone deals possible with their computer-within-a-mobile-phone concepts.

Perhaps someday Nokia will return to the N95 8GB and smartphones of its kind for another crack at the future of mobile phones.

The LG GT500, also known as the Puccini, is a mobile that has a little something for everyone. While it’s not as flashy some of the other big name phones on the market today, its feature-packed camera, speedy internet connection, and large touch screen are all well-loved characteristics that will make it a highly enjoyable phone for many.

Appearance:

With its standard rectangular shape and grey exterior, the Puccini may look a bit dull in comparison to some other phones, but at 86 g, it’s an ultra-slim device that is small and flat enough for you to carry almost anywhere with no trouble. Its enormous touchscreen is also a plus, providing bright, crisp footage.

Sound:

Opera buffs may have perked their ears at the phone’s unique title. Music enthusiasts will be pleased to know that the Puccini has a sound system that lives up to its name. Tailored to turn any set of headphones into high quality sound devices, the Dolby Mobile does its best to eliminate traces of distortion, static, and volume issues. Its media player capabilities won’t leave you disappointed either.

Camera:

The phone’s camera is by far it’s biggest strength. At five megapixels, you have more than enough power and features to keep most shutterbugs happily snapping away. These include autofocus, imagine stabilisation, a LED flash, and geotagging options for when you want to add a new dimension to your vacation photos.

Users can also enjoy a few of the newer, popular features such as the Blink Shot, which prevents those annoying photos where someone inevitably always has their eyes closed. Face recognition is another handy tool that allows you to zoom in automatically on faces, resulting in much better shots.

While we would have liked to see a xenon flash, this is a camera that’s more than powerful enough to work in bright and gloomy settings. Best of all, the phone’s speedy internet allows you to upload your pictures to your blog or photo site as well.

Internet Connectivity:

This is a phone that will provide you with more than enough power to stay connected. Combine this with a 2100MHz HSDPA, Stereo Bluetooth and USB connection options, plus a handy GPS and a fairly convenient email client, and you have everything you need to keep in touch right at your fingertips.

Memory and Talktime:

With 60 megabytes, plus an additional microSD card, you have more than enough space to store your photos, music, emails, and more. One would think that its plethora of features would have you charging constantly, but with 200 minutes of talk time and 350 hours of standby, it’s not as big of a hassle as we feared. However, it’s best to keep your charger at hand just in case you plan heavy use.

Verdict:

The LG GT500 is a perfectly lovely smartphone. Its delightful camera, high-speed internet, and bright, responsive touch screen are all features that make it a must for gadget lovers and camera enthusiasts alike. However, this may not be the phone for you if you’re looking for a little something more-while its features are fun and convenient, you won’t find anything groundbreaking here.

Smartphones have become a part of contemporary life. Although some time ago, we wouldn’t think what the difference between a common cell phone and a smartphone is, today, with the massive increase in the smartphone sales, we have started wondering which the best smartphone is. Evolving from personal digital assistants (PDAs), a whole cluster of super smartphones has swept the market, allowing people to stay connected. However, from this whole set of newcomers, there are certain smartphones that really stand out in terms of functionality, OS and high-end technology.

In particular:

a) Apple iPhone 3GS

Apple iPhone 3GS is the best smartphone on the market. Coming with a 16GB and 32GB storage memory, Apple’s iPhone features a 600MHz processor and 256MB RAM, offering users much more than what a smartphone can offer.

Featuring a 3.0 iPhone Software, iPhone provides new features such as cut and paste, universal search, and a keyboard that works even with e-mail. What is great is that users who own previous iPhone models can download and upgrade to the iPhone 3.0 software for free. The iPhone doesn’t feature too many apps on its own, but offers quick access to Apple’s App Store, where users can browse and download thousands of apps, either for free or for subscription and select titles to download to their phone.

What is impressive about the iPhone is its ergonomics. Slim and sleek, weighing 134 grams, the iPhone features a 3.5″ touch screen that houses all apps. However, most of the impressive features are hidden inside the iPhone where technology takes the smartphone experience to another dimension. The iPhone 3GS runs twice as fast as any 3G model, from switching apps to opening attachments and sending text messages, and has a longer battery although high-speed networks need more power.

iPhone comes with a 3-megapixel camera, yet without a flash, a video capture ability at 30 frames p/s, iTunes feature, voice control interface, support for Nike + technology, support for stereo Bluetooth and enhanced GPS capabilities.

The Apple iPhone 3GS comes at a retail price of $199.99 (16GB) and at $299.99 (32GB).

b) Samsung Omnia II

Combining an extraordinary fusion of features aiming to satisfy the needs of the most demanding customer, Samsung Omnia II overcomes Windows Mobile’s limitations, standing out as one of the best smartphones to date.

Its large 3.7″ WVGA AMOLED touch screen with 480X800 pixels resolution puts Samsung ahead competition. The screen definitely offers good image quality with a sharper and brighter picture, while consuming less power. In terms of sensitivity, the Omnia is carefully designed so as every touch is accompanied by a gentle vibration. Knowing how much technology is inside the Omnia, it is amazing how light this smartphone is. Weighing only 129 grams – including the battery – and being only 12.5mm thick, the Omnia is extremely fashionable being one of the most attractive smartphones on the market.

Featuring state-of-the-at technology, the Omnia provides users with a smooth and effortless touch screen interaction. In fact, this might be the first Windows Mobile PocketPC that shifts technology to another level integrating a multimedia entertainment device on which users can watch movies on perfect quality, using part of the handset’s gigantic 16GB memory. Besides, it features a 5-megapixel camera with flash, an accelerometer for the web browser, photo gallery, and video player, FM radio, a 3.5mm headphone jack, 8GB of internal storage and microSD card slot, which allows users to store a huge number of video formats and large playlists of music. Besides, the Omnia II supports a wide range of audio and video codecs such as DivX, XviD, WMV, MPEG4, MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA and OGG.

The Omnia starts at a retail price of $199.99.

c) Palm Pre Web OS

Palm Pre was one of the gadgets of 2009. Being widely regarded as the iPhone’s direct competitor, Palm Pre has fascinated consumers upon its launch. Featuring a 3.1″ multi-touch screen and a sliding full QWERTY keyboard, Palm Pre is the first phone to run on the Web OS technology allowing users to have an exhilarating web-connected experience.

One of the best features of Palm Pre is Synergy, a contact / calendar management system that merges Gmail account, Facebook profile, AIM identity, and Exchange data, killing duplicate entries, and creating linked contacts. In that way, users can have a merged contact list of all their social networking websites and e-mail account. Besides, the calendar application automatically synchronizes to the Gmail or Facebook account and allows users to hook into other applications on the device. For instance, they can buy tickets for an event via Fandango and schedule the even ton the calendar.

The OS platform features nice, glossy icons, a 5-app launch bar and a menu system of three screens. The Card system is, admittedly, a fine way for users to keep track of what they are working on. When launching an application, they can drag it onto the Pre’s desktop to create a new card, and when they are finished, they can close it by flipping the card upwards. The input technology that excludes the screen is also state-of-the-art. Palm features the gesture bar, an empty surface under the screen that allows users to streamline some of the navigation so that they can use the Pre on the go. Overall, the OS is extremely user-friendly, integrated in an amazing design that provides users a unique feeling when touching the interface, while the phone’s look is very advanced.

Featuring a 3-MP camera with flash, Wi-Fi-, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, microUSB, and 8GB of internal storage, Palm Pre starts at a retail price of $149.99.

d) Motorola Droid

The Motorola Droid signifies Motorola’s comeback in the smartphone market. Featuring the first commercially available Android 2.0 hidden in a slim device, the Motorola Droid comes with a 3.7″ WVGA touch screen that natively supports 854×480 resolution, making images considerably sharp and bright. Besides, the clarity of the text is exceptional as the Droid features excellent pixel density allowing users to read e-books as if they are on their PCs.

Droid is an advanced Android phone featuring a QWERTY slider keyboard. The keyboard keys are bigger and flatter than those of the Droid’s competitors such as HTC Touch Pro or the N900. This allows users to type more comfortably using their thumbs instead of their thumbnails.

The Droid features Google’s latest version of Android OS that supports a relatively fast 3D graphics chip. Besides, the native support for Exchange, the unified contact list and the exceptional new mapping and navigation application from Google make Motorola Droid a good option for a smartphone.

The Motorola Droid starts at a retail price of $199.99.

e) HTC Touch Pro 2

The HTC Touch Pro 2 is perhaps the largest smartphone on the market. Although it has a nice design with its attractive silver casing and opaque mirrored face, it weighs 185 grams, which makes it bulky, thick, heavy and uncomfortable to carry in a pants pocket.

On the other hand, the Touch Pro 2 features an exceptional keyboard. Sliding and tilting to allow for a better typing angle, the Pro’s keyboard features an isolated key design that is mostly encountered in laptops and netbooks. Featuring large keys that enable users to type comfortably and quickly, the Touch Pro feels like typing on a laptop.

Besides, it features a 3.6″480 x 800 resolution touch screen that supports sharp and bright colors allowing users to view text and images. Besides, the extra screen real estate enables users to read Web pages, documents, and long e-mails by fitting more information onscreen and minimizing scrolling. Also, the built-in accelerometer automatically switches the screen from portrait mode to landscape mode, simply by rotating the phone.

The HTC Touch Pro 2 comes at a retail price of $199.99.