CNET Asia's top 5 picks from 3GSM '07
By Reuben Lee and Juniper Foo
16/02/2007
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/mobilephones/0,39050603,61990155,00.htm
Phones, phones and more phones this year, as if vendors were touting them for free at the 3GSM World Congress event in Barcelona. Though we didn't exactly wet out feet at the fair this year by trudging through the show aisles, there was enough representation by local PRs and offices halfway across the globe to ensure a constant feed of launches and updates. And having sifted through the endless announcements and press releases to separate the wheat from the chaff, we like to think we're sufficiently informed to pick the best mobile devices at the tradeshow that will in a near future launch create their own ripple of excitement.
So let's get on with it, start clicking, and see what we've reckoned are the top five handsets showcased at the fair.
Best in show: Pick 1
| Pick 2 | Pick 3 | Pick 4 | Pick 5
 Touchscreen titan: Samsung Ultra Smart F700
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Why wait for the Apple iPhone gravy train when its Asia rollout is only in 2008? That's a whole year off. Instead, closer to home, Samsung is showing off its design chops and competitive edge by leapfrogging over the 3G-less iPhone with its 3G-capable F700. Get this. Besides the 2.2-inch largish touchscreen, there's a slide-out QWERTY tray, HSDPA support, and as is expected of the Korean chaebol, a high-res 5-megapixel camera. All these packed into a 16.4mm thin device.
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Primetime pull: Nokia N77
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Nokia's finally shed the bulk of its N92 TV-phone for a trimmer version that's almost like having DVB-H in a N73. With mobile TV expected later this year in Singapore, this DVB-H handset should sit pretty in commuters' pockets, literally and figuratively, thanks to its compact size and a price tag that shouldn't induce sticker shock. Lots of features to recreate that living room TV experience on-the-go, from a 2.4-inch 16 million-color display to integrated stereo speakers, from a standard 3.5mm headphone jack to FM radio. For more storage needs, this supports microSD card expansion of up to 2GB.
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Music marvel: Sony Ericsson W880i
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Sony Ericsson's finally jumped onboard the skinny bandwagon. And boy, has it been worth the wait. Giving its Walkman series the Kate Moss treatment, the W880i provides more than sufficient eye candy to appeal to both genders. There's nothing frail about this beaut. Despite the 9.4mm thin girth, this candy bar doesn't diet on the cool features. You get 3G, a 2-megapixel camera, M2 memory card slot, Bluetoooth as well as Walkman 2.0 music player. Sony Ericsson fans, though, may lament the missing FM radio and autofocus on the sensor.
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Curvaceous beaut: Motorola RIZR Z8
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Say what you want about the "not another Razr styling again" comment, Motorola finally does the cool thing by going on the not-so-straight route. The Z8, unlike conventional sliders, actually curves inwards in an ergonomic shape that's supposed to follow the contour of the human face. Beneath that interesting exterior, this Moto also does away with the company's conventional, often lambasted operating system, going for Symbian instead. Other sweet features: HSDPA support, a 2-megapixel camear, microSD card slot, Bluetooth with A2DP stereo support, and a QVGA display with 16 million colors.
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Business smarts: HTC Vox (S710)/Dopod C500
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This is the first we've come across of a smart phone that digs an auto-sliding full QWERTY keyboard under what's already a full-fledged number keypad. It's also possibly one of the first smart phones out the door with the new Windows Mobile 6 operating system, with enhancements for a better overall business user experience. Other features are Bluetooth, a 2-megapixel camera with video capture, Wi-Fi, microSD card slot plus a decent-sized 2.4-inch QVGA screen. We'd have wished for more fun features, though.
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