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This story was printed from CNET Asia.
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Top 10 phones of May

By CNET Asia staff
23/06/2009
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/mobilephones/0,39050603,62055360,00.htm

Earlier this month, we merged our Handhelds and Mobile Phones channels. So what you see now in our May Top 10 chart is a combined listing of both smartphones (previously known as PDA-phones) and regular handsets. Smartphones dominated last month (and the trend looks likely to continue) with the Nokia E71, 5800 XpressMusic and HTC Touch Diamond2 in the first three spots. The only two non-smartphones in the list are the LG Arena and Sony Ericsson W595 Walkman.

Competition is likely to heat up in the next two months when the new devices, which were announced at the recently concluded CommunicAsia tradeshow, hit retail stores. Will the affordably priced Samsung Jet get a spot in July's Top 10 phone listing or will the upcoming E72 take the crown from the incumbent E71? We'll find out soon.

Next five phones



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


Click here for a feature comparison table.
1.  Nokia E71       
 
CNET Asia rating: 8.7 out of 10
The good: Slim and stylish design; solid build quality; full range of wireless features; works right out of the box; snappy performance; excellent battery life.
The bad: Counter-intuitive camera autofocus; media browser could do with a little upgrade; Easy Dial feature not available.
The bottom line: The Nokia E71 is easily one of the best QWERTY smart phones that combine strong features as well as a good balance between business and entertainment, at a competitive price.

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2.  Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
 
CNET Asia rating: 8.1 out of 10
The good: Good set of connectivity features; unlimited music download with Comes With Music; hard-to-match price for features.
The bad: Inconsistent user interface; not many apps optimized for the screen resolution and touch UI.
The bottom line: Nokia's first outing with the S60 5th Edition platform and unlimited music download service proves to be very compelling. It just needs to address the inconsistencies in the user interface.

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3.  HTC Touch Diamond2    
 
CNET Asia rating: 8 out of 10
The good: Sharp 3.2-inch WVGA display; enhanced TouchFlo 3D interface, fast Internet browser; text input comes with haptic feedback; stylish design.
The bad: No 3.5mm audio jack; relatively expensive; no bundled turn-by-turn GPS software.
The bottom line: HTC has dug deep into Microsoft's underlying OS interface and made tweaks that allow for a great user experience on the Diamond2.

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4.  BlackBerry Bold    
 
CNET Asia rating: 8.8 out of 10
The good: HSDPA; Wi-Fi; GPS; QWERTY keypad; bright screen.
The bad: Camera could be better.
The bottom line: Unlike Palm, RIM has built up an impressive product portfolio that is made even better by the addition of the Bold. Aside from offering a plethora of features, the Bold's screen is one of the best we've ever seen.

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5.  Nokia E63
 
CNET Asia rating: 7.9 out of 10
The good: QWERTY keypad; Wi-Fi.
The bad: Lack of HSDPA and GPS.
The bottom line: The Nokia E63 is a good phone that delivers a competent texting and email experience, but its E71 predecessor is better, offering more features and greater finesse. If you want a smartphone that stands out from the crowd, however, the colorful E63 is worth checking out.

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Previous five phones



Click here for a feature comparison table.
6.  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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7.  Nokia E75
 
CNET Asia rating: 7.7 out of 10
The good: Slim, compared with devices of the same form factor; 3.5mm audio jack; enhanced email user interface.
The bad: Could do with larger screen and higher-capacity battery; average image quality.
The bottom line: The E75 is, in many ways, as good as the earlier Eseries smartphones, but it doesn't stand out and the dual keypads may appeal to only a select group of users.

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8.  LG Arena KM900
 
CNET Asia rating: 6.7 out of 10
The good: Compact design; raft of connectivity features.
The bad: Tiny alphanumeric keypad makes it a pain to type on; occasional laggy interface; slow shutter lag.
The bottom line: The Arena trounces the iPhone 3G in terms of features, but can't beat the latter when it comes to usability.

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9.  Sony Ericsson W595 Walkman
 
CNET Asia rating: 7.4 out of 10
The good: Easy to use; good sound quality; decent resolution camera; battery life; screen.
The bad: No 3.5mm headphone socket; no camera flash.
The bottom line: This is a solid phone, aside from its lack of a real headphone socket. But if you're expecting anything radically new, you might want to wait a little while for Sony Ericsson to start innovating before you upgrade.

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10.  Apple iPhone 3G    
 
CNET Asia rating: 8.3 out of 10
The good: Offers critical new features including support for high-speed 3G networks, third-party applications, and expanded email; improved call quality is improved; continues to deliver an excellent music and video experience.
The bad: Continues to lack some basic features that are available on even the simplest cell phone; also, we prefer the original iPhone's design.
The bottom line: The iPhone 3G delivers on its promises by adding critical features and sharper performance. The iTunes Apps Store is pretty amazing, and the 3G support is more than welcome. We still have a few gripes, but the iPhone 3G is a big improvement over the original model.

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