Best of CTIA Wireless 2008

Samsung and Sprint are moving touch in an exciting new direction with the Samsung Instinct, a device that offers vibrating tactile feedback, fast EV-DO Rev. A data, and GPS capability in a slick design. What makes the Instinct truly innovative is its customizable Favorites menu, which enables users to access everything, from specific contacts and Web sites to Sprint TV stations, with a single tap.

The Instinct, arriving in June, also impresses with the way it uses voice recognition. Not only can you launch applications and send text messages by pressing the Voice to Action button, you can also look up nearby businesses via Live Search from Sprint. From there you can get turn-by-turn driving directions from the TeleNav-powered Sprint Navigation service.

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GPS on your cell just got much better. Networks In Motion’s AtlasBook Navigator, which will be the platform for the next version of Verizon Wireless’ VZ Navigator service, provides audible, turn-by-turn directions and now access to real-time traffic data.

Compatible with a wide variety of handsets, the service delivers traffic updates and finds local detours around congestion and accidents, all with the touch of a button. Even on a small screen AtlasBook Navigator offers a clean interface and easy-to-read maps. Add in a new 3D perspective view, movie and events finder, weather reports, and gas prices at nearby stations, and you have one of the best mobile tools you can fit in your pocket.

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All too often we hear stories of consumers losing all the information on their cell phones because they switched carriers or lost their handsets. Dashwire is the ultimate backup plan.

This convenient site allows Windows Mobile phone owners to upload all sorts of critical data, including contacts, text messages, e-mails, and photos. You can then view and interact with all of this information right from your PC. And because your phone is constantly connected to Dashwire, what you do on your mobile is always mirrored on the site (and vice versa).

Everything is safely stored in the cloud, and when you get a new text message, it’s automatically updated online; you can even respond to messages from the same Web page. If you ever buy a new phone or lose your current one, everything can be downloaded right back to your device.

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Windows Mobile gets a welcome makeover with the arrival of version 6.1 of the smart phone operating system. A revamped, sliding-panel Today screen minimizes menu-digging and allows you to do everything from checking incoming e-mails and creating new appointments to playing your favorite tunes. Contextual soft-touch keys also helps to save users time.

Other convenient additions include streamlined text messaging, the ability to copy and paste from an e-mail or Internet Explorer Mobile window, and even multiple-message selection for sorting, deleting, or marking as “Read.” Last but not least is a Getting Started wizard that helps first-time smart phone owners set up their device and minimize the learning curve.

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One of the downfalls of Bluetooth headsets are the button pushes and holds required to pair and control these miniscule devices. The BlueAnt V1 is different.

As the world’s first voice-controlled Bluetooth headset, the BlueAnt V1 allows users to easily control most functions using the ‘BlueGenie Voice Interface’. Simply speak to it while holding down a button, and the V1 will talk to you. You can ask it to “pair” and it will go into pairing mode; ask it for “battery life” and it will repeat back a percentage of power remaining.

The design of the headset is simple and its single activation button provides users with total control. The BlueAnt V1 is a Bluetooth breakthrough.

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The Vu takes entertainment on the go to the next level. The 3-inch touchscreen on this sexy and lightweight device is the perfect canvas for the new AT&T Mobile TV service ($15 per month). Powered by MediaFLO technology, you can watch crystal-clear video on the go from such content providers as CNN and ESPN as well as movies from Sony Pictures Television.

The overall touch user interface is refreshingly simple, providing quick access to the Vu’s many features, including a 2-MP autofocus camera, instant messaging, an HTML browser, and eMusic downloads. At $100 less than the iPhone, the LG Vu is a compelling bang-for-your-buck multimedia device.

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Smaller is better. The LG enV² (offered by Verizon Wireless) dramatically improves upon the design of the original enV by shrinking in every dimension while offering a larger, 2.4-inch internal display. Even better, avid text- and instant-messaging users still get a full-size QWERTY keyboard.

We really appreciate the enlarged external keys, which makes it much easier to dial. The dual speakers do more than just make your tunes sound nice and loud; the enV² can read your text messages aloud, and it provides plenty of volume for VZ Navigator’s turn-by-turn GPS directions. Add in a 2-MP camera, stereo Bluetooth, and up to 8GB of memory and you have a delightfully pocketable and feature-packed messaging device.

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Combining premium design with extreme personalization, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 smart phone puts the information users want right at their fingertips. This Windows Mobile 6.1 device makes the most of its stunning 800 x 400-pixel, 3-inch touch display by incorporating an innovative panel-based user interface, enabling users to access up to nine desktop-like applications instantly. These range from Google to a unified media player, and Sony Ericsson will be encouraging developers to offer many more applications.

The XPERIA X1 also stands out because of its ergonomic arc-sliding design, wide-pitch QWERTY keyboard, a surprisingly smooth optical joystick control, and a 3.2-MP camera that will auto-focus based on where you touch the screen. Sony Ericsson has raised the bar for Windows Mobile phones.

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