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This story was printed from CNET Asia.
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Top 5 handhelds for August

By John Chan
18/09/2008
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/mobilephones/0,39050603,62046288,00.htm

Only positions 1, 3 and 4 were filled in our top handhelds for August because of shared first and last places. A draw between the Samsung Omnia SGH-i900 and HTC Touch Diamond was seen at the top, while the HTC Touch and Touch Dual handhelds took the bottom spots together.

Though the TyTN II didn't appear anywhere on this list, we believe another slider will make its debut soon, the HTC Touch Pro, which just went on sale in mid September.

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:


MobileOne
SingTel
StarHub

Previous month's rankings


Click here for a feature comparison table.
1.  Samsung Omnia SGH-i900 (16GB)
 
CNET Asia rating: 8 out of 10
The good: Full range of wireless features; haptic feedback; improved text input methods; navigation software included; attractive design; excellent battery life; Opera 9.5 browser included.
The bad: Some apps may not work properly; finger scrolling not consistently implemented; use of microSD slot requires battery removal; no stylus slot.
The bottom line: The Omnia is a good alternative to the HTC Touch Diamond with a competitive price and a truckload of features, though Samsung does need to work on the interface to improve its consistency and usefulness.

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1.  HTC Touch Diamond
 
CNET Asia rating: 8.2 out of 10
The good: Opera browser; YouTube application; TouchFLO 3D interface; sharp VGA display; compact and attractive design; 4GB internal storage.
The bad: No microSD card slot; poor battery life; no dedicated audio mini-jack; occasional slowdowns in interface.
The bottom line: The Diamond brings much innovation to the Windows Mobile platform and is a great handheld for both business and entertainment.

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3.  Samsung SGH-i780
 
CNET Asia rating: 8 out of 10
The good: Attractive price; good QWERTY keyboard; convenient shortcuts; slim design; extra battery included.
The bad: Square screen may not work well with third-party programs; optical joystick not as fast as regular directional pad; bundled GPS app not optimized.
The bottom line: Though not perfect, the i780 is an excellent choice for those who want the most features in a sub-S$1,000 PDA-phone.

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5.  HTC Touch Dual
 
CNET Asia rating: 8 out of 10
The good: HSDPA connectivity; numeric keypad for one-hand texting, excellent tweaks to the UI through TouchFLO; slim and attractive design; intuitive modified Home screen; snappy performance.
The bad: No Wi-Fi; no GPS; keypad lacks an OK key; no dedicated audio connector.
The bottom line: If the lack of Wi-Fi is not a big issue for you, the Touch Dual, with its great design and improved UI, is an excellent choice for both newcomers and experienced Windows Mobile users.

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5.  HTC Touch (2nd generation)
 
CNET Asia rating: 7 out of 10
The good: Very compact design; Windows Mobile 6 Professional; TouchFLO interface; attractive modified Home screen; 128MB RAM makes interface snappy.
The bad: Lacks 3G; poor SIM card and microSD slot design.
The bottom line: With more color choices and much better performance due to the increased RAM, the enhanced Touch is what the original should have been to begin with.

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