The Good: The jewel in Nokia’s crown is a phone for all, both music megalomaniacs and photo fanatics alike. Boasting a 5 mega pixel camera, dual band WiFi and GPS with maps for over 100 countries, there is no shortage of things to get excited about.
The Bad: Although branded as a world phone, the N95 lacks support for US 3G data networks. Battery life even on standby is low, and performance sluggish despite the large internal memory. Finally, the handset finish looks cheap and the dual-sliding mechanism feels somewhat insecure.
The Bottom Line: You get what you pay for with technology, and the crème de la crème of the Nokia range is no exception. This is most certainly a unit which many will envy but few will be able to afford. However, despite it’s impressive specifications, the lack of a TV tuner such as that offered by the N93, the cheap finish and sluggish performance make it hard to justify the almost $800 retail price.
The Good: The Cingular 8525 is the first UMTS/HSDPA smart phone to be offered in the United States. It has integrated Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi, and supports Cingular’s new location-based services. The Windows Mobile device also has push e-mail capabilities, a 2-megapixel camera, a spacious QWERTY keyboard, and good call quality.
The Bad: The Cingular 8525 is on the heavier side and the navigation array is a bit cramped. The smart phone is also quite pricey.
The Bottom Line: For the ultimate road warrior, the 3G-enabled Cingular 8525 provides the speed, the power, and the productivity tools to get your work done on the go.
The Good: The LG CG225 is a midrange handset which offers clear call quality, a simple VGA camera, and world roaming in a compact, unassuming design. The Black color scheme differentiates this model from other models of the LG family.
The Bad: The LG CG225’s volume level for regular and speakerphone calls is somewhat low, the inner display has a low resolution, and there’s no self-portrait mirror.
The Bottom Line: The LG CG225 is neither terrible nor remarkable, but better midrange handsets are in Cingular’s lineup.
The Good: The Nokia 2366i an easy to use flip phone. The phone has decent call quality, even when you are using the speaker phone option. The phone, which is made out of plastic, is very lightweight, weighing only 3.7 ounces. The phone also has a few unexpected advanced features including a unit converter, a world clock and a voice recorder. The phone has a long battery life of 4 hours talk time and 13 days standby time.
The Bad: The internal display on the Nokia 2366i is dim and the menu system is quite sluggish. The antenna makes the overall clean and compact design of the phone somewhat bulky and unbalanced.
The Bottom Line: The Nokia 2366i is a good choice for a simple, functional cell phone.
