WD200711ZA-sm.pdf

Smartphones
These high-IQ phones combine Internet smarts with thumb-friendly keyboards,
multimedia savvy, and enough megapixels for satisfying snapshots. —RICK BROIDA
Mobile Phones
Helio Ocean
$295 with two-year contract • helio.com
The Ocean does so much slipping
’n’ sliding, you’d think it was made by
Wham-O. Slide the front panel up to
reveal a numerical keypad, or sideways
to access the QWERTY. It also packs
a 2-megapixel camera, a 2.4-inch screen,
and some of the best email and instantmessaging
tools this side of your PC.
Plus, Helio’s Sprint-powered EV-DO
network is zippy enough to keep up with
the social lives of teens and twentysomethings—clearly
the intended audience.
WIRED GPS for navigation,
tagging photos, and locating friends.
Instant messaging via AIM, MSN,
and Yahoo. Support for AOL, Gmail,
Windows Live, Yahoo, and other POP/
IMAP email accounts.
TIRED Bulky and heavy (5.6 ounces).
Top row of keyboard crowds phone’s
body. So-so antenna. No Wi-Fi. Screen
nearly unreadable outdoors.
Motorola Q 9h
$300 with two-year
contract • motorola.com
A pretender to the BlackBerry throne,
the new Q rocks at messaging and editing,
thanks to its tactile keyboard and
superior Documents To Go software,
which syncs desktop files and lets you
create new ones. You can give Internet
Explorer the heave-ho in favor of the
worthier Opera browser. Alas, these
efforts can’t rescue the phone from
the clumsy, touchscreen-less version
of Windows Mobile 6; it turns elementary
tasks into aggravating affairs.
WIRED Lean half-inch-thick bod.
Speedier than most Windows Mobile
phones. Support for GPS nav and stereo
Bluetooth. Streaming music and video
applets keep you entertained. Feels
a bit faster than other WinMo phones.
TIRED Large-boned in other directions
(4.6 x 2.6 inches). Choppy video. No
Wi-Fi. Nonstandard USB port.
LG enV
$150 with two-year
contract • lgusa.com
Some phones just feel right in your hand.
The enV is one of them. And with its
long, narrow body (4.6 x 2.1 inches), it’s
also a pleasure to hold alongside your
head. The keyboard, accessed by flipping
open the phone, approaches perfection:
It’s wide, spacious, and equipped with a
dedicated number row. Now, if only more
of the phone’s functions were available
via the external screen: You’ll often find
yourself flipping when you don’t want to.
WIRED Navigable menu system.
Loud, clear speakerphone. Flashequipped
camera snaps sharp photos.
V Cast music and video support.
TIRED Video playback is rough. Internal
2.2-inch screen seems disproportionately
small. No Wi-Fi. IM software
treats each message as SMS, which
could lead to huge bills. GPS and POP
email services cost extra.
EDITORS’
PICK
Nokia E61i
$456 • nokiausa.com
Howdy, big boy! At 4.6 x 2.8 x 0.6 inches,
the E61i dwarfs most handsets. Luckily,
you won’t care: Its roomy 2.8-inch screen
and comfy keyboard make excellent
companions to the fast Symbian OS,
which puts Windows Mobile to shame
by loading apps almost instantly. The
browser stomps others in usability, too,
and feels speedy even when tethered
to the plodding EDGE network. And
since the E61i also has Wi-Fi, you can
always find a hot spot instead.
WIRED Handy thumbnail-driven
history viewer in browser. Streams
Flash and other videos. Nice collection
of business and media apps, including
a project team manager and RealPlayer.
Almost 11 hours of talk time.
TIRED So wide it barely feels like
a phone. Accessing the microSD slot
requires removing backplate. No stereo
Bluetooth. Proprietary headphone jack.
GENE LEE, STYLED BY ROB OXENHAM/ARTIST UNTIED