smartphones often have slippery buttons and a rubbery stylus. the keys are usually very small, too small for your fingers. Another problem is if you are trying to dial a phone number like 1-800-NetZero, you can't, because the dialpad doesn't have letters on it, or the letters on the digit keys don't have "abc" "def" etc on them, they are instead a single letter of the alphabet and do not correspond to anything you can use. dialing a letter key that happens to be a digit will dial a digit, and typing a letter key will do nothing. complain to your cell phone makers or write a cell phone app. I would like to write a cell phone app but I am not a company. I wrote a simple app called phone, but it's only for DOS and Windows pc's. On the iPhone, there is an app called Dialpad for $3. (yay!) For Symbian it's DialLetters for $10.

If I were to choose a different cell phone, this would be it. It has one annoying feature - it's too easy to accidentally press the browser button on the side and cause usage of data minutes. if you don't have a data plan along with your cell phone plan, that could mean big bucks (that's what they told me at a Sprint vendor). If it's what it takes, buy the phone for $99 and pay for a $60 plan from a vendor at the mall. It's better than places like wirefly.com which give you a free phone and cash back but charge $70 for 900 minutes with no data plan... to get the data plan you have to shell out $130/mo + $35/line activation fee. what made me choose this smartphone above others was the keyboard. it was rubbery. I could maybe even use it with my thumbnails (if I had any). comes with a stylus stashed away in the back of it. I hope you can buy extra styluses. Palm has a history of making nice PDAs. 320x320 touchscreen, Camera (1.3 megapixels with 2x digital zoom and video capture), microSD slot (up to 4GB) , Bluetooth Version 1.2, GSM®/GPRS/EDGE class 10 radio, quad band world phone, Palm OS® by ACCESS 5.4.9, 64MB available user storage. APPS: Bluetooth®, Calculator, Calendar, Camcorder, Camera, Contacts, Documents to Go Professional Edition 10, Email (VersaMail® 4.0), Google Maps for Mobile,1 HotSync®, Memos, Messaging, My Centro, Phone, Pics and Video, PocketTunes™, Quick Tour, Tasks, Voice Dial, Voice Memo, Web (Blazer 4.5), World Clock. KeyGyuard unlocks by pressing center button - if you put it in a pants pocket, and your hand is in your pocket or keys are in the pocket, the center button can get pressed by a knuckle or the keys, and then it might start dialling out on you. Someone can write a different keyguard app maybe.

Infrared (IR) port, 23MB storage, speakerphone, vibrate mode, polyphonic MIDI ringtones, Palm OS 5.4, Stereo headset compatible, 5-way nav button, VGA digital camera, MMC/SD/SDIO slot, 320x320 color display, 6 hr talk time, 300 hr standby, removeable, rechargeable Li-Ion battery, GSM/GPRS/EDGE quad-band world phone 850/900/1800/1900MHz class 10 Class B, Bluetooth. qwerty backlit keyboard.

I'm not really for windows mobile, but if you want one, here it is. Windows Mobile® 6 Professional, Infrared port, Speaker (back), Camera (back), miniSD slot up to 4GB card supported, 240x240 color touchscreen, 5-way nagivator and left & right softkeys & OK and start button & customizeable side button, volume button, qwerty keyboard, ringer on/off switch, stylus, headset jack. GSM™/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA radio GSM bands: 850/900/1800/1900 UMTS bands: 850/1900/2100, 128MB non-volatile flash/43MB user storage available, 1.3 MP camera with 2x digital zoom and video capture support, Removable 1200 mAh, Lithium-ion Talk 4 hr Standby 240 hr, Req: Windows 2000/XP w/USB port and cd-rom drive. PHONE APPS: Alarm clock, ActiveSync, Bubble Breaker, Calculator, Camera (pictures and video), File Explorer, Good Mobile Messaging™ stub application, Internet Explorer Mobile,® Microsoft® Office Outlook Mobileincluding Email, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks and Notes, Microsoft Office Mobile Suite including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Mobile, ModemLink, Picsel PDF Viewer, Pocket MSN, Quick Tour, Search, SIM Manager, SMS and MMS Messaging, Solitaire, Sounds Manager, Terminal Services Client, Voice Command, Windows Media Player, Wired Car Kit Support, Xpress Mail

works with PC or Mac, or sync contacts with internet service. services as iPod. Wi-Fi. maps with GPS, HTML email, Safari browser, syncs bookmarks from your PC. Wirelessly download applications which take advantage of Multitouch, GPS, and accellerometer - some are free. AT&T has rollover minutes, where you keep your unused minutes month to month. enterprise: push email, calendar, and contacts. enterprise-grade Cisco networking VPN and IPSEC enterprice WPA2. It is not said whether this 8/16GB is an SSD or a HD - makes a big difference.

get apps from androidauthority.com. GPS, touchscreen. there is a security flaw when visiting web sites.

2.0MP Camera, Bluetooth, BroadbandAccess, Music Player, Removable Memory, VZ Navigator, GPS, expandable memory, Voice Dialing, BlackBerry Maps and trackball navigation, media player, tethered modem capability (use as modem for your PC), High-res light-sensing screen, Rated for hearing aids (PDF): M3, T3. SMS and MMS*: Send text messages and images in an instant. 3.5mm stereo headset capable. visit blackberrycurve.com

GPS, touchscreen. Take phone calls while sending and responding to email or browsing the Internet, Maintain GPS-based directions or maps on your display even while taking a call, Snap a picture and send it when youre on the phone, Discuss and revise Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint filesedit while using the speakerphone, Wireless email for personal/web-based and business accounts, voice activated dialing, conference calling, speakerphone and voicemail attachment playback, IM and text messaging (SMS and MMS), Access to social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. World Phone Edition: The BlackBerry Storm 9530 smartphone is designed to roam globally on UMTS/HSPA and quandband EDGE/GSM/GPRS networks. So you can travel around the world with mobile voice and data coverage, without having to change smartphones, phone numbers or email addresses. Camera and Video Recording at 3.2MP auto focus and auto flash, Multimedia: 1 GB of built-in memoryadd up to 16 GB more using microSD cards, Sync your desktop iTunes music files, Use Roxio Media Manager to create personal juke box, GPS and BlackBerry Maps, Mobile Streaming

5MP(2592x1944) Camera with Flash (Dual-LED camera flash, video light, recording indicator, auto-focus assist light). Secondary camera VGA(640x480) sensor (for video). Video file format: .mp4 (default), .3gp (for MMS). GPS. standard dialpad. limited battery life. no central clearinghouse for Symbian apps, however, if you like the 5MP cam, then this is probably for you. WCDMA 850/1900 + EGSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz - Auto switching between bands and modes. Up to 100MB internal dynamic memory for messages, ringing tones, images, video clips, calendar notes, to-do list and applications. Up to 8GB internal flash memory for multimedia content such as music, pictures, ringing tones, map data. Text messaging: supports concatenated SMS, picture messaging, SMS distribution list. Multimedia messaging: combine image, video, text, and audio clip and send as MMS to a compatible phone or PC; use MMS to tell your story with a multi-slide presentation Auto resizing of your megapixel images to fit MMS (max 300 KB size depending on the network). Apps: Java and Symbian applications available from Nokia Software Market, 8GB model adds: JavaTM MIDP 2.0, CLDC 1.1, Flash Lite 2.0. Digital stereo microphone. Flash modes: on, off, automatic, red-eye reduction.Video and still image editors. Video capture: up to 3.4 hours (VGA, 30fps). macro focus distance 10cm. Battery: Nokia Battery (BL-6F) 1200mAH, Talk time: up to 2.7 hours (WCDMA), up to 4 hours (GSM), Stand-by time: up to 8.3 days (WCDMA), up to 9.4 days (GSM). 2.8 240 x 320 LCD TFT display with up to 16 million colors. User Interface: S60 3.1. Active standby screen, Multimedia menu. Dual Transfer Mode (DTM) support for simultaneous voice and packet data connection in GSM/EDGE networks. Simple class A, multi slot class 11, max speed DL/UL: 177.6/118.4kbps. [3G?] WCDMA HSDPA 850/1900 MHz with simultaneous voice and packet data (PS max speed DL/UL= 3.6Mbps/384kbps, CS max speed 64kbps). Hearing Aid Compatibility Rating: M3. TTY/TDD (Telecommunication Device for the Deaf) HDA-12 Adapter required. Stereo FM radio (87.5-108MHz, 76-90MHz) with support for RDS, use of FM radio in offline mode. Digital music player supports MP3, AAC, eAAC+, WMA, album art, Playlist editing and sharing, Equalizer and visualization. The thing is, nobody carries it yet.

5MP(2592x1944) Camera with Flash (Dual-LED camera flash, video light, recording indicator, auto-focus assist light). Secondary camera VGA(640x480) sensor (for video). Video file format: .mp4 (default), .3gp (for MMS). GPS. standard dialpad. limited battery life. no central clearinghouse for Symbian apps, however, if you like the 5MP cam, then this is probably for you. WCDMA 850/1900 (HSDPA) / EGSM900, GSM850/1800/1900 MHz (EGPRS) - Auto switching between bands and modes. Up to 16GB internal flash memory, plus microSD memory card slot (hot swappable), Up to 128MB RAM, Up to 256MB system memory (operating system plus dynamic user data area). Battery: Nokia Battery BL-5F, 950 mAh: Talk time up to 150/220 minutes (WCDMA/GSM), Stand-by time up to 8/9 days (WCDMA/GSM). 2.8 240 x 320 LCD TFT display with up to 16 million colors. User Interface: S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2. Active standby screen, Multimedia menu. Dual Transfer Mode (DTM) support for simultaneous voice and packet data connection in GSM/EDGE networks. Simple class A, multi slot class 11, max speed DL/UL: 177.6/118.4kbps. [3G?] WCDMA HSDPA 850/1900 MHz with simultaneous voice and packet data (PS max speed DL/UL= 3.6Mbps/384kbps, CS max speed 64kbps). Hearing Aid Compatibility Rating: M3. TTY/TDD (Telecommunication Device for the Deaf) HDA-12 Adapter required. Stereo FM radio (87.5-108MHz, 76-90MHz) with support for RDS, use of FM radio in offline mode. Digital music player supports MP3, AAC, eAAC+, WMA, album art, Playlist editing and sharing, Equalizer and visualization. The thing is, nobody carries it yet.

nice music, built-in FM transmitter for broadcasting to a radio, 3G network, GPS. flip-phone (not best for GPS).

see blog.

noise cancelling [kind used on battlefield - crystal clear audio in a buzzing crowd of 5000], boosts incoming audio, identifies and enhances your speech. best noise-cancelling headset there is. feather-light. comes with 5 different types of earpads. standby time 200hrs. talk time 4hrs standby time 8 days. available in red, black, silver. rechargeable cell and a charger is available separately for $30, but is only available directly from jawbone. available in black, silver, gold. earloop now has a soft cover. list of cell phones this works with. this supports HSP and HF. Don't have to adjust phone location - no pops & connection noises. very stylish.

noise cancelling [kind used on battlefield - crystal clear audio in a buzzing crowd of 5000], boosts incoming audio, identifies and enhances your speech. best noise-cancelling headset there is. feather-light. comes with 5 different types of earpads. standby time 200hrs. talk time 6hrs. available in red, black, silver. [update - the new version has a rechargeable cell and a charger is available separately for $30, but is only available directly from jawbone. available in black, silver, gold. earloop now has a soft cover. ] . list of cell phones this works with. this supports HSP and HF. Don't have to adjust phone location - no pops & connection noises. very stylish.

supposed to be another high quality headset. "The crystal clear communications are as good or better then a land line. The function buttons are perfect. The sync is too simple for even my grandfather. The charge connection; while it is a plug…same as my Razr" - database administrator

corporate users have been ecstatic about this one.

another high quality headset. car charger $3, travel (wall) charger $6, for basic idea of how to use, see blog. Like most bluetooth headsets, must adjust phone location to eliminate pops and connection noises. very light. "…The H12 controls are simply the best out there. The large multi-function button and the volume toggle are self-explanatory"

varying reviews so far as of Oct 2006. you will buy many replacement $3 ear hooks. rattles. apparently the 500 was a better model, but it has no locator.

battery charges via USB connection. 30ft range. style is earlier than the 500. you can probably actually talk better to people on your cell with this! for those without bluetooth, they have a plug version.

Take calls and listen to music without cords. very small, light headphones.