Sony Ericsson C905

High megapixel count is the rage these days and Sony Ericsson C905 is adding fuel to the fire. The first 8 megapixel GSM cameraphone to make headlines is shipping as we speak. On top of geotagging, Smart Contrast, face detection, and xenon flash, the elaborate camera-centric outfit hides the extra sweet Wi-Fi, GPS and turn-by-turn voice guided navigation. Is it us, or are cameraphones and smartphones alike lining up to negotiate a truce with Sony Ericsson C905?

The Cyber-shot squad has its trustworthy captain and its job is to keep spirits high in the face of cut-throat competition by Samsung and LG. Is it just us, or isn't Nokia missing quite some action here?

Key features:

• 8.1 MP autofocus camera with Xenon flash and active lens cover
• Dedicated camera mode switch, two camera/gaming keys over the display
• Face and Smile detection, smart contrast, image stabilizer, geotagging, red-eye reduction
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and HSDPA (3.6 Mb) / tri-band HSDPA for US version
• Scratch resistant mineral glass 2.4" TFT 256K-color display
• Built-in GPS with A-GPS function, Wayfinder Navigator software
• Wi-Fi b/g with DLNA and SIP VoIP support, Bluetooth (with A2DP), USB v2.0
• Enhanced user interface with basic multi-tasking
• Media Center, Smart search, Manage Messages, extended TrackID
• FM radio with RDS and TrackID
• 160 MB built-in memory, M2 card support, 2GB included

Main disadvantages:

• Display is relatively small for a high-end device
• Video recording limited to QVGA resolution at 30fps
• No office document viewer
• Rigid D-pad with dodgy press feedback
• Sliding lens cover of questionable durability
• Exposed connectivity port
• Fiddly battery cover

LG KF700

Key features

• Tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE plus HSDPA 7.2Mbps
• 3 megapixel autofocus camera
• Secondary camera for video calls
• 3" 262K-color TFT touchscreen display with a 240x480 pixel resolution
• Touch feedback (haptics)
• FM radio
• Stereo Bluetooth
• 176MB internal memory, microSD card slot (hot-swap)
• Sliding hardware keypad
• Side scroll wheel with an OK key
• Retail headset has a standard 3.5mm audio jack
• Office document viewer
• Multi-tasking support with a task manager
• Pleasing touch-optimized web browser
• Google Maps pre-installed

Main disadvantages

• The side scroll wheel seems redundant
• Image quality is only average
• Video recording maxes out at QVGA@15fps
• FM radio has no RDS
• Music player lacks equalizer settings
• Web browser doesn't have flash support
• No screen auto rotation

Nokia 6600 slide

Key features:

* Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support, dual-band UMTS
* Accelerometer for tap-for-time and tap-to-mute
* 2.2" 16M-color QVGA display
* 3 megapixel camera, autofocus and LED flash
* VGA video recording at 15fps
* S40 user interface, 5th edition, FP1
* Bluetooth (with A2DP) and USB-on-the-go
* Stereo FM radio with RDS
* microSD card slot (up to 8 GB), 512MB included
* Rich preinstalled application package
* Nokia Maps
* Compact and extra smooth
* Sweet oval shapes and neat slider design
* Large capacity BL-4U battery (Li-Ion 1000 mAh)

Main disadvantages:

* Fingerprint magnet, hard to clean
* Rigid battery cover latch
* Memory card slot under the battery, no hot-swap
* No camera shutter key
* Below par camera quality
* Display easily gets scratched
* No smart dialing
* No multi-tasking
* No office document viewer

Sony Ericsson C902

Key features:

• 5 MP autofocus camera with unique active lens cover and touch controls
• Slim and stylish metal case
• Smile detection, image stabilizer, geo-tagging (via cell-ID)
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and HSDPA (3.6 Mb)
• Media Center, Smart search, Manage Messages, extended TrackID
• Enhanced user interface
• Scratch resistant 2" TFT 256K colors display
• FM radio with RDS
• Bluetooth (with A2DP)
• Basic multi-tasking support
• Smart dialing
• 160 MB built-in memory, M2 card support

Main disadvantages:

• Smallish screen
• Images suffer excessive sharpening and purple fringing
• Poor video recording capabilities
• Slide-up lens cover collects massive amounts of dust
• No office document viewer

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Samsung i7110

Samsung i7110 at a glance:

• Symbian 9.3 OS, S60 3.2 UI (FP 2)
• 5 megapixel autofocus camera with dual-LED flash
• Camera wide dynamic range, anti-shake, geo-tagging, face, smile and blink detection
• VGA video recording at 30 fps and two slow motion video recording modes
• Wi-Fi connectivity with DLNA support
• GPS receiver with A-GPS
• 2.6" 262K-color display of QVGA resolution
• FM transmitter
• Optical trackpad navigation
• microSD card slot
• Dimensions: 118 x 52 x 12.9mm
• Weight: 125g
• 1200 mAh Li-Ion battery
• 3G with HSDPA support
• DivX and XviD playback out of the box

HTC Touch HD

HTC Touch HD at a glance:

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 900/2100 MHz, GPRS/EDGE class 12, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
• Dimensions: 115 x 62 x 12 mm, 146 g
• Display: 3.8-inch 65K color TFT touchscreen, WVGA resolution (480 x 800 pixels)
• Processor: Qualcomm MSM 7201A, 528MHz CPU
• Memory: 288 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM, microSD card slot
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
• Internet browser: Opera Mobile 9.5 browser
• Camera: 5 megapixel autofocus, CIF (352 × 288 pixels) video recording
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0+EDR with A2DP, Wi-Fi, GPS receiver, 3.5mm audio jack
• Battery: Li-Ion 1350 mAh, Talk time: 6 h 30 min, Standby: 450 hours

Samsung M8800 Pixon

Key features:

• 3.2" 256K-color TFT LCD touchscreen display of WQVGA resolution
• 8 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and lens protection
• Camera geo-tagging, auto-panorama shot, face, smile and blink detection, advanced shake reduction
• WVGA video recording at 30fps
• Slimmest 8MP phone
• 3G with HSDPA support
• Quad-band GSM support
• GPS receiver
• microSD card slot
• DivX, XviD and MP4 video player
• SRS (Surround Sound System) Virtual 5.1CH
• TV out functionality
• FM radio with RDS
• Bluetooth and USB v2.0
• 200 MB internal memory
• Landscape on-screen virtual QWERTY keyboard
• Accelerometer sensor
• Multitasking
• Office document viewer
• ShoZu integration (direct image and video uploads)

Main disadvantages:

• No Wi-Fi, GPS for geotagging only
• Stylus as dongle only, no stylus compartment
• Camera performance well below Samsung i8510 INNOV8 standard
• No smart dialing

Nokia 5220 XpressMusic

Key features

• 10.6 mm slim and lightweight body
• Exciting asymmetrical design
• Tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• S40 5th edition user interface, FP1
• 2" 256K-color display of QVGA resolution
• Ambient light sensor
• Hot-swappable microSD card slot, 512MB included
• Snappy 2 megapixel camera (with NIPS low light optimization)
• Decent keypad
• Nokia Maps
• Yahoo! integration
• Nice set of enjoyable games

Music features:

• Dedicated music keys
• Music light effects
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Dedicated music chip
• Stereo loudspeakers
• Stereo Bluetooth (A2DP)
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Large capacity battery

Main disadvantages

• Cheapo plastic build
• Tri-band only
• No 3G support
• No smart dialing
• No multi-tasking
• No office document viewer
• QCIF video recording (only good for MMS)

Samsung i8510 INNOV8

* General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 900/2100 MHz, GPRS/EDGE class 10, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps

* Dimensions: 106.5 x 53.9 x 17.2 mm, 140 g
* Display: 2.8-inch 16M color TFT, QVGA resolution (240 x 320 pixels)
* Memory: 128 MB RAM, 8/16GB flash storage, hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 16GB)
* OS: Symbian 9.3, S60 3rd edition UI, Feature Pack 2
* Still camera: 8 megapixel autofocus, mechanical shutter, automatic lens cover, dual Power LED flash, digital image stabilizer, geotagging, auto panorama shot, face detection, smile detection, blink detection
* Video camera: MPEG4 VGA@30fps, QVGA@120fps high-speed recording
* Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, Wi-Fi with DLNA certification, 3.5mm audio jack, TV-out, universal microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS
* Misc: Accelerometer for screen auto rotate, Optical touchpad, 3D hardware accelerator, DivX support, stereo speakers, DSP audio technology, FM radio with RDS
* Battery: Li-Ion 1200 mAh, Talk time: 8 h 30 min, Standby: 310 h
* Expected release date: August 2008
* Expected retail price: 750 euro (1170 US dollars)

Asus P750

Key features:

• Windows Mobile 6.0 Pro
• UMTS/HSDPA 3.6Mbps support with video calls
• 2.6" 65K-color TFT touchscreen display with QVGA resolution
• 520 MHz Marvel CPU
• 64MB of RAM, 256MB of ROM
• 3.15 megapixel auto focus camera and a secondary VGA video-call camera
• Wi-Fi support
• Built-in SiRF Star III GPS receiver (A-GPS support)
• USB and stereo Bluetooth support
• microSDHC memory card slot
• High-quality materials and excellent construction
• Hardware keypad
• Rich retail package
• Microsoft Office viewing/editing suite
• Pre-installed business card scanning application
• Pre-installed additional time management applications
• Pre-installed calls filtering application
• Pre-installed Remote Desktop and Remote Presenter applications

Main disadvantages:

• Tri-band GSM only
• Hefty size
• Limited amount of RAM
• 2.6 inch relatively small (in PocketPC terms)
• Camera is really poor (we guess it might be a faulty unit)
• Video recording resolution is way too low
• No multimedia software preinstalled (Samsung offer that)
• No Task Manager application preinstalled (HTC offer that)
• No alternative web browser pre-installed (both Samsung and HTC offer that)
• Asus Launcher application not customizable

Samsung i900 Omnia

Key features:

• Quad-band GSM support
  
• 3G with HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
  
• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS
  
• 624MHz Marvell PXA312 CPU and 128 MB RAM
  
• 3.2" 65K-color touchscreen with resolution of 240 x 400 pixels
  
• 5 megapixel autofocus camera with wide dynamic range mode, face tracking, smile detection, geotagging
  
• 8 to 16 GB of storage memory, microSD expansion
  
• Built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS
  
• Wi-Fi
  
• Stereo Bluetooth and USB connectivity
  
• FM radio with RDS
  
• Optical joystick with virtual mouse functionality
  
• Built-in accelerometer for auto screen rotation and call muting
  
• TV-out
  
• Solid build and great finish
  
• Slick design and slim body
  
• Nice battery life
  
• Fast response and performance
  
• Excellent thumb-optimized software package
  
• Thumbable virtual QWERTY keyboard with optional landscape mode
  
• TouchWiz UI
  
• DivX video support right out of the box
  
• Above average audio quality
• Headset comes with a 3.5mm audio jack

Main disadvantages:

• No stylus slot
  
• Poor sunlight legibility
  
• Memory card not hot-swappable
  
• Non-standard display resolution
  
• No dedicated 3D accelerator
  
• Non-standard USB port
  
• Web browser lacks real Flash support

Nokia E71

Key features:

• Quad-band GSM support
• 3G with HSDPA 3.6Mbps support
• Landscape 2.36" 16M color display of QVGA resolution
• Comfortable full QWERTY keypad
• Convenient business-minded shortcut keys
• Symbian 9.2 OS, S60 UI with FP1 (topped with some FP2 goodies)
• 369 MHz ARM 11 CPU and 128 MB of SDRAM
• Wi-Fi
• Built-in GPS receiver, A-GPS
• 3.15 megapixel auto focus camera with LED flash
• 110 MB of internal memory, microSD expansion, ships with a 2GB card
• Slimmest smartphone to-date, slimmest Wi-Fi and/or GPS handset to-date
• Stainless steel casing
• Standard 2.5mm audio jack
• Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP support
• microUSB v2.0
• FM radio
• Remote Wipe
• Provider-independent VoIP support
• Infrared port
• Great battery life
• Office document editor
• Rich retail package

Main disadvantages:

• Below average camera performance
• Video recording maxes out at QVGA@15fps
• No dedicated camera key
• Smaller display than its predecessor
• Cheap-looking power key
• No RDS for the FM radio