Cell Phones / Expert Reviews

The Samsung Focus S serves up a compelling Windows Phone 7.5 Mango experience in a thin and attractive package with a great display. And assuming the price stays at $99, this smartphone is a good value, putting it between the $49 Samsung Focus Flash (which has a smaller 3.7 inch-screen and a lower-res... More

With its intuitive operating system skin, the HTC Explorer would make an excellent first smartphone. But it may not be as much of a treasure as first thought as it's not quite hitting the budget heights we thought it would - it needs to drop a few pounds per month to be a truly cheap-cheap handset.

The HTC Rezound is a decent phone and certainly a solid buy if you’re on Verizon, but we can’t help but be disappointed with HTCs limited implementation of Beats Audio and the poor battery life of the Rezound. HTC is one of the best manufacturers on the market, but like the ThunderBolt, the... More

The Droid Razr has no aesthetic merits other than its thinness, but performance is admirable. The phone feels snappy and very responsive, typing is great, and the phone's camera is acceptable. We will admit that there were some Ice Cream Sandwich features we enjoyed on the Galaxy Nexus that we missed... More

The Motorola Droid RAZR is in a unique and unenviable position. On its own merits, it beats everything else that Verizon has to offer, and certainly establishes itself as Motorola's best smartphone to date. The only other option currently on the market that's competitive is the Samsung Galaxy S II.

But... More

The HTC Radar is a mix-and-match job, which is kind of inevitable if you want a WP7 phone on a budget. It wears the clothes of the Android Desire line, and has the specs of the previous generation of Microsoft-powered smartphones by HTC.

The lines have been drawn. It’s now up to HTC to fill in... More

As much as we could complain about its gigantic lower-res screen and lackluster camera, the Sensation XL is another solid all-rounder from HTC. It delivers just about everything we could want from an Android 2.3 device, along with outstanding musical capabilities thanks to Beats. SIM-free prices are... More

I am not convinced that the Droid RAZR is the best phone on Verizon Wireless as was claimed at the launch of this device. Between the HTC Rezound and the upcoming Galaxy Nexus, the Droid RAZR certainly has some competition on Big Red. The impressive thing, however, is that the phone has more than enough... More

After weighing in all its positives and negatives, we can say that the Samsung Omnia W is one decent all-around smartphone, especially when we take its price point into account. Sure, it may not come bragging with a dual-core processor, tons of RAM, or any bells and whistles of that kind, but its performance... More

Samsung has definitely led the way with Windows Phones, from the original Samsung Focus to the loosely related Focus Flash and Focus S we see now. Any way you look at it, the Focus S, with its clean, attractive, powerful minimalism, is easy to use and lets Windows Phone shine. There are few overt flaws,... More

The Motorola Razr is powerful and impressive, but so are a lot of other high-end handsets that are out on the market at the moment. It can match rival devices from the likes of HTC and Samsung in terms of processing power and display-quality but it doesn’t stand head and shoulders above them. If... More

Collectively, second-generation Windows Phones are in limited supply as of right now, but thankfully the HTC Titan is here to get things rolling for the fledging mobile platform. Showcasing its larger than life presence, thanks to its unbelievably large display, the Titan is definitely a captivating... More

Both the T-Mobile myTouch Q and myTouch are for the budget oriented smartphone user, as they are under $80 with contract. Since the software and most of the internal hardware is practically identical between them, it comes down to wanting a physical QWERTY keyboard with a smaller TFT display on the myTouch... More

So it’s a solid phone, and an exemplar of how Windows Phone OS is supposed to look and act. Unfortunately, the Lumia 800 may be a “too little, too late” player in the fast-paced smartphone game — the phone hasn’t actually landed stateside yet. It’s currently only available... More

When it comes right down to it, there’s a lot to like about the T-Mobile myTouch. It has an overall pleasing and simplified design, runs Android Gingerbread, and has the LG Optimus UI for some extra usability and eye-candy. The 3.8” AMOLED display is noticeably smaller than the more common... More

The Optimus Net is one of the best entry-level Android devices currently available, and should be an easy justification for parents looking to get their kids a smartphone without breaking the bank. For anyone looking at a first-time smartphone, the Optimus Net is a decent choice. However, unless you’re... More

An all-round impressive offering from HTC the Sensation XL is a leader on the audio front a barely a half step behind the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S II, iPhone 4S and its dual-core siblings in terms of overall performance. The latest powerhouse to enter the smartphone fray, the brand associated with... More

The HTC Sensation XL is a really nice handset to use, thanks to that large display and decently quick 1.5GHz processor, as well as Android 2.3 and HTC Sense 3.0 keeping things interesting. The 8 megapixel camera isn't bad for an HTC camera phone, either, and the XL is a well built and handsome device,... More

We almost like the HTC Sensation XL. It's stylish, easy to use, has a great camera, the large screen has some benefits and the Beat Audio headphones we know will appeal to some. However, you pay for the privilege of getting those headphones, and on most other fronts this phone just doesn't add up.... More

In sum, I like the hardware of the Pocket a lot. While it may look unconventional, the materials and build of the phone are spot-on, and the Pocket's odd shape certainly give it a personality all its own. That's what makes it a shame that the Pocket's performance is so uneven.

The screen has good resolution... More