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Kent German,
Senior Editor
October 7, 2008
The autumn season is always prime time for cell phones. As shoppers begin to compose their holiday gift lists, manufacturers and carriers pump out new handsets by the dozen, from the flashy and fancy to the simple and functional. Here are a few new cell phones of the season.
Over the last few years Samsung has released a deluge of phones in the fall, and 2008 is no exception. So far, the company has the rugged Samsung Rugby SGH-A837 for AT&T, the simple SCH-U430 for Verizon Wireless, and the slim Sway SCH-U650, also for Verizon. Hang on Samsung fans, as we'll see quite a few more devices from the company over the next two months. Pantech is offering the new 3G C610 for AT&T. It offers a trim design, which could use some work, and plenty of features. Speaking of 3G, Virgin Mobile introduced its first high-speed model with the Virgin Mobile Shuttle. And over in smartphone land, they're welcoming a new player to the table with the Velocity Mobile 103. It offers a new take on a Windows Mobile phone.
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| Price | $129.99 | $49.99 to $249.99 | $69.99 to $299.99 | $19.99 | Check Prices | Check Prices |
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| Review date | September 30, 2008 | October 06, 2008 | October 07, 2008 | October 06, 2008 | September 19, 2008 | October 03, 2008 |
| The Bottom Line | The Samsung Rugby SGH-A837's could use a few improvements, but it remains a solid choice for a rugged, straight-forward phone with a loaded feature set. | The Samsung SCH-U430 isn't terribly exciting and its camera is disappointing, but it's a decent phone for making calls. | Its design could use a few tweaks, but the Samsung Sway SCH-U650 offers satisfying performance and a functional feature set. | The Pantech C610 is a slim and speedy flip phone with plenty of features, but it does suffer from a few design pitfalls. | The Virgin Mobile Shuttle is fast, sleek, and affordable, making it one of the most attractive handsets for Virgin Mobile customers. | Though the Velocity 103 offers a lot in the features department, the Windows Mobile smartphone is going to have a tough time competing in the space because of its unintuitive interface, performance issues, and high price tag. |
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| Features | ||||||
| RAM installed size | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable |
128 MB |
| Band / mode |
WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900 |
CDMA2000 1X 1900/800 |
CDMA2000 1X 1900/800 |
WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 900/1800/1900 |
CDMA 850/1900 | Info unavailable |
| Cellular technology |
WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM |
CDMA2000 1X |
CDMA2000 1X |
WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM |
CDMA2000 1X | Info unavailable |
| OS provided | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable |
Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional |
| Talk time |
Up to 300 min |
Up to 300 min |
Up to 270 min |
Up to 180 min |
Up to 237 min |
Up to 240 min |
| Color support | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable |
18-bit color |
| Weight |
4.7 oz |
3.2 oz |
3.6 oz |
3.4 oz |
3.4 oz |
4.6 oz |
| Height |
3.9 in |
3.5 in |
4.3 in |
3.7 in |
3.9 in |
4.4 in |
| Wireless Interface |
Bluetooth 2.0 |
Bluetooth |
Bluetooth |
Bluetooth 1.2 |
Bluetooth (A2DP) | Info unavailable |
| Service Provider |
ATT |
Verizon Wireless |
Verizon Wireless |
ATT |
Virgin Mobile | Info unavailable |
| Wireless connectivity | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable |
IEEE 802.11b Bluetooth 2.1 EDR IEEE 802.11g |
| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
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