Top 10 phones for June
By Damian Koh
18/07/2008
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/mobilephones/0,39050603,62043905,00.htm
We had a number of strong ties in the past two months and this seems to have carried on in June. The top spot last month was shared by the Nokia 6500 slide and Sony Ericsson W910i. The two companies could also be seen battling it out for the 5th and 8th positions. Samsung's Soul remained the only one from Korea with a spot in the Top 10. New to this list were the Sony Ericsson C902 Cyber-shot and G900.
Note: Results are based on readership as well as data collected from retail outlets (Mobile Square and WhyMobile) and the major mobile operators in Singapore including:
Next five mobile phones | Last month's rankings
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1. |
Nokia 6500 slide
CNET Asia rating: 7.7 out of 10
The good: Solid build quality and one of the best sliders available; Carl Zeiss optics for the 3.2-megapixel autofocus camera; quadband GSM with dual-band UMTS; A2DP.
The bad: Autofocus doesn't work in video mode; no backlight adjustment feature; phone doesn't auto keylock after closing the slider.
The bottom line: The Nokia 6500 slide is an excellent basic camera-phone based on the S40 platform, though some tiny issues prevented it from getting a higher score.
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2. |
Sony Ericsson W910i Walkman
CNET Asia rating: 7 out of 10
The good: Slim design; built-in motion sensor; large 2.4-inch LCD; HSDPA connectivity.
The bad: Walkman button too small; poor location of connector port; no onboard 3.5mm audio jack; sub-par camera.
The bottom line: The W910i is great for those looking to purchase a trendy music phone with a little bit of fun, but which doesn't lack in features, although it's a little pricey.
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3. |
Nokia N82
CNET Asia rating: 7.7 out of 10
The good: Quadband GSM with HSDPA; Xenon flash with 5-megapixel camera; built-in GPS; A2DP; 3.5mm audio jack; microSD card slot.
The bad: Tiny keys; smaller 2.4-inch display compared with the two N95; microUSB port.
The bottom line: The N82 is an excellent all-round phone with an impressive list of specifications despite some niggles that could have been avoided.
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4. |
Samsung Soul
CNET Asia rating: 8 out of 10
The good: Classy design with solid build quality; excellent keypad; decent set of camera features; 3G with HSDPA; Bluetooth with A2DP; FM radio; microSD expansion card slot.
The bad: Uses LED instead of Xenon flash; screen legibility suffers under direct sunlight; character limit in subject field when creating calendar appointments; below average battery life; sluggish picture browsing on the phone.
The bottom line: The Samsung Soul doesn't do everything; there's no Wi-Fi or GPS for starters. But for everything else, there's plenty enough to enjoy.
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5. |
Nokia N95 (8GB)
CNET Asia rating: 8.2 out of 10
The good: Sleeker shade of black; better build quality; 128MB of RAM which is twice the amount compared with the earlier N95; 8GB built-in memory; larger capacity battery.
The bad: No expansion card slot; no lens cover on camera.
The bottom line: The N95 (8GB) is a great successor to the original N95 with most of the earlier issues addressed, making it one of the best and feature-packed smart phones available now.
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6. |
Sony Ericsson C902 Cyber-shot
CNET Asia rating: 6.7 out of 10
The good: Fashionable, lean form factor; lots of camera features; flashier user interface; HSDPA.
The bad: Stiff, angled keypad; poorly located volume buttons; no Xenon flash.
The bottom line: The C902 Cyber-shot is mostly let down by some poor design implantations, but is still a decent camera-phone overall.
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7. |
Nokia 6300
CNET Asia rating: 8.3 out of 10
The good: Slim design; sharp color screen; easy-to-use keypad; slick-looking user interface that keeps it simple.
The bad: No auto-focus or flash on the camera; lack of 3G connectivity.
The bottom line: While this isn't the most advanced handset out there, it has a strong casing, a decent all-round feature set and an elegant, straightforward design. This is Nokia at its best.
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8. |
Nokia 3120 classic
CNET Asia rating: 6.7 out of 10
The good: Stylish looks; microSD expension card slot; front-facing VGA camera for video calls via 3G; Bluetooth; good battery life.
The bad: Mediocre camera; no bundled data cable.
The bottom line: The budget 3120 classic packs a decent set of features without compromising on the looks.
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9. |
Nokia E51
CNET Asia rating: 8 out of 10
The good: Slim, solid design; stainless steel construction; multiple dedicated buttons and shortcut keys; excellent tactility; HSDPA, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth stereo A2DP; generous 130MB of onboard memory; snappy performance.
The bad: Rose Steel version attracts fingerprints easily; preinstalled Quickoffice is read-only version; no front-facing camera for video calls; average image quality.
The bottom line: Simple is good, and that's what the E51 is. It may not have a fancy design, but the E51 excels in nearly all other aspects with a truckload of connectivity features, good performance and attractive price point for an enterprise phone.
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10. |
Sony Ericsson G900
First take The Sony Ericsson G900 is part of the Japanese-Swedish company's series of Web-enabled phones and was announced at this year's Mobile World Congress. We got to spend a couple of days with this touchscreen Symbian UIQ smart phone. Here's what we think. Do note that this preview highlights the main differences between the G900 and G700.
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