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Comparing today's top U.S. smartphones
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There's no question that today's market for smartphones is smoking hot. Vendors from across the manufacturing spectrum are rushing their products to market in an effort to cash in on U.S. consumers' seemingly bottomless appetite for high-powered wireless gadgets. Touchscreens, keyboards, accelerometers, cameras, WiFi and others hot-button specs are available from the likes of Motorola, Palm, HTC and others. And the diversity of software platforms--from webOS to Windows Mobile--only adds to the fire.
So, before the critical fourth-quarter holiday shopping season gets into full swing, it's worth taking a break and checking out the latest entrants into the smartphone battlefield. Below is a selection of the most anticipated and buzz-worthy devices announced during the past month, and how they stack up against each other.
Click here to vote for your favorite.
And click here to let us know what you think.
 Cliq |
 Hero |
 Pixi |
 Touch Pro 2 |
|
| Carrier |
T-Mobile |
Sprint Nextel |
Sprint Nextel |
Verizon Wireless* |
| Vendor | Motorola | HTC | Palm | HTC |
| Platform | Android | Android | webOS | Windows Mobile 6.1 |
| Screen | 3.1 inch 320x480 | 3.2 inch 320X480 | 2.63 inch 320x400 | 3.6 inch 480x800 |
| Camera | 5-megapixel with autofocus | 5-megapixel with autofocus | 2-megapixel fixed-focus | 3.2-megapixel with autofocus |
| Application store |
Android Market (approx. 10,000 apps) | Android Market (approx. 10,000 apps) | App Catalog (approx. 70 apps) | Windows Marketplace for Mobile |
| WiFi | Yes - 802.11 b/g | Yes - 802.11 b/g | No | Yes - 802.11 b/g |
| Keyboard | Slide-out, 5-row Qwerty | Virtual | Qwerty | Slide-out, 5-row Qwerty |
| Price | Unknown | $179.99 | Unknown | $199.99 |
|
The scoop |
Motorola's first Android phone takes advantage of the company's MotoBLUR user interface. Motorola has bet its continued success on Android, and is seeking to get wide distribution for the Cliq, which will be sold overseas by Orange in the UK and France, Telefonica Spain, and American Movil in Latin America. | Sprint's first Android phone is also HTC's first to sport the company's proprietary Sense UI, which allows users to put a contact's photo alongside their text messages, emails and call history in a single view. The UI also allows users to set up customizable push widgets for things like Twitter feeds, weather and email. | The Pixi, Palm's second webOS device after the Pre, has been positioned as more compact and affordable device than the Pre. Palm also is emphasizing that the phone's casing can be customized, something that may appeal to a younger demographic less concerned with productivity applications. | HTC's latest Windows Mobile phone is the successor to its popular Touch Pro model. The gadget has attracted wide carrier support and features new HTC innovations such as Push Internet and Straight Talk, which allows users to set up multi-party conference calls by accessing contact information in their email inbox. |
| * The Touch Pro 2 is also available from Sprint and T-Mobile for $349.99 | ||||
More stories about HTC Hero Verizon Wireless touch pro 2 T-Mobile Sprint pixi Motorola moto cliq iPhone
Comments
Posted by MC | September 15, 2009 - 10:01am
You seek to do a comparison of smartphones,supposedly to help the poor public confronted by so many choices, yet you provide no criteria to the reader of what constitutes a smartphone. I believe Blackberry and iPhone are smartphones, but they are not in the comparision, so either they were left out intentionally, or don't fit the author's definition of a smartphone, either of which should be stated in the article to show it is objective.
Posted by Mike Dano | September 15, 2009 - 10:16am
Hello! Thanks for your comments. Let's see, first I would reiterate what is stated in the introduction: "Below is a selection of the most anticipated and buzz-worthy devices announced during the past month." There haven't been any major iPhone or BlackBerry introductions during the past month. This chart is simply an effort to recap the some of the major device announcements during the past few weeks, in anticipation of the holiday shopping season. Further, to your point about smartphones, they are generally considered to be phones with open operating systems, like webOS, Windows Mobile or Android. Hope that helps. Thanks! --Mike Dano, managing editor.
Posted by JH | September 15, 2009 - 10:32am
The iPhone wins. Hands down. Nothing else comes close. I don't understand handset makers. If you want to be successful, copy the iPhone. If you try to do your own thing, you will fail. People like big touchscreens and a slick, fluid OS. Until you make a sleek handset with a large touchscreen, you're not in the competition.
Posted by Anonymous | September 15, 2009 - 11:47am
Your reasoning escapes me. The purpose of the article is to inform in advance of the holiday shopping season, so why constrain yourself to devices generating buzz in the past month. And what idiot expert excludes the iPhone from the list because it is not an open operating system? Get a life.
Posted by someone who can read | September 15, 2009 - 11:56am
MC if you would read the intro like Mike said you would understand. iPhone was excluded because it did not come out in the last few weeks!!...(latest entrants into the smartphone battlefield) he never said the iPhone was not a smartphone. Good article Mike if only people could read!
Posted by SJ | September 16, 2009 - 2:48am
Mike actually said "Further, to your point about smartphones, they are generally considered to be phones with open operating systems, like webOS, Windows Mobile or Android." I would interpret this as saying the iPhone is not regarded as a smartphone. Personally think it is and would like to see how it stacks up against the set. Even though the iPhone has not been released recently a case could be made for its inclusion to see how the newcomers stack up against the benchmark.
Posted by Anonymous | September 16, 2009 - 5:17am
The iPhone ins a multimedia device that also happens to be a phone. If the main use you make of it is as a phone there are better solutions. Just copying Apple will not win market share for a phone manufacturer. I have tried many touch devices and altough they are great for browsing through songs or pictures, when I want to look up a phone number and dial it you can't beat a real keyboard
Posted by Ang | September 16, 2009 - 6:26pm
Thanks for the article... I can't wait until the hero comes out!!!!
Posted by Mace | September 18, 2009 - 8:31am
None of the above. Nokia N900 is superior in touch screens, E72 is best non-touch.
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