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Smartphones of CTIA ’09: The 10 Hottest Handhelds

Here are my picks for the 10 hottest smartphones at CTIA. Some are available for purchase immediately, while it may be months before others hit U.S. retail stores, if they do at all. Regardless, I just can't wait to get my thumbs on each and every one of 'em.
asacco
By Al Sacco
Managing Editor, CIO

HTC Snap

Why It’s Hot: This BlackBerry lookalike is VERY thin and VERY light.

OS: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Standard

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Radio: Dual-band HSPA/WCDMA (900/2100MHz)/Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)

Carrier: NA

Display: 2.4-inch TFT-LCD with LED back light and QVGA resolution

Memory: ROM: 256 MB; RAM: 192 MB

Processor: 528 MHz

Camera: 2.0 megapixels with fixed focus

Price/Availability: NA

Other Notable Feature(s): Wi-Fi (802.11b/g); BlackBerry-like trackball navigation and styling; memory expandable via microSD card

Palm Pre

palm_pre-100351453-orig.jpg

Why It’s Hot: The Pre will be the first device to run Palm’s new webOS

OS: Palm webOS

Radio: CDMA, 3G EVDO Rev A

Carrier: Sprint

Display: 3.1″, HVGA touch screen with 24-bit color, 320 x 480 pixels

Memory: 8GB internal storage via USB

Processor: Texas Instruments OMAP3430 processor reportedly at 600MHz

Camera: 3 megapixels with LED flash

Price/Availability: NA; expected in 2009

Other Notable Feature(s): Wi-Fi (802.11b/g); Bluetooth tethering for external modem

Nokia E71x

nokia_e71x-100351454-orig.jpg

Why It’s Hot: The U.S. version of Nokia’s E71 is thin, yet feature-packed. It’s also quite the looker.

OS: Symbian, S60 3.2

Radio: Dual-band UMTS/HSDPA (850/1900MHz)/Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)

Carrier: AT&T

Display: 2.4″, 16 million colors, 240 x 320 pixels

Memory: 120MB, expandable up to 8GB via microSD card

Processor: 369 MHz

Camera: 3.2 megapixel digital camera with auto focus, flash and video capture

Price/Availability: Expected “within the coming weeks”; pricing will be $149.99 and after mail-in rebate, receive $50 AT&T promotion card

Other Notable Feature(s): Extremely thin at just 10mm; Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)

HTC Touch Pro2

htc_touch_pro2-100351455-orig.jpg

Why It’s Hot: This revamped HTC Touch merges style and functionality to make one heckuva business device

OS: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

Radio: Dual-band HSPA/WCDMA (900/2100MHz)/Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)

Carrier: NA

Display: 3.6″, TFT-LCD touch-screen with 480 x 800 WVGA resolution; adjustable tilt display

Memory: ROM: 512 MB; RAM: 288 MB

Processor: 528MHz

Camera: Main camera: 3.2 megapixel color camera with auto focus; second camera: VGA CMOS color camera

Price/Availability: NA

Other Notable Feature(s): HTC TouchFLO 3G UI; Wi-Fi (802.11b/g); microSD card slot

Samsung Propel Pro

samsung_propel_pro-100351456-orig.jpg

Why It’s Hot: This slider packs a punchâ¬as well as a full QWERTY keyboard and touch screen

OS: Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard

Radio: Tri-band UMTS/HSDPA (850/1900/2100 MHz)/quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)

Carrier: AT&T

Display: 2.55″, 65K color/TFT colors, 320 x 320 pixels

Memory: 256MB ROM/128MB RAM

Processor: 528 MHz

Camera: 3 megapixels with auto focus

Price/Availability: Available in April for $199.99, and after mail-in rebate, receive $50 AT&T promotion card to lower price to $149.99

Other Notable Feature(s): Slide-Out Full QWERTY keyboard; innovative joystick navigation; microSD card up to 16GB; Wi-Fi

RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900

curve_8900-100351457-orig.jpg

Why It’s Hot: The Curve 8900 is RIM’s thinnest full QWERTY device and it supports UMA for VoWi-Fi calling.

OS: BlackBerry OS v4.6

Radio: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)

Carrier: T-Mobile USA

Display: 2.44 inches, 65K colors/TFT color, 480 x 360 pixels

Processor: 512 MHz

Camera: 3.2 megapixel camera with video and auto focus

Price/Availability: $199.99 with two-year agreement, $200 instant savings and $100 mail-in rebate

Other Notable Feature(s): UMA-enabled; Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)

HTC Touch Diamond2

htc_diamond2-100351458-orig.jpg

Why It’s Hot: With two digital cameras and HTC’s TouchFLO UI, the new HTC Diamond is a precious piece of tech

OS: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

Radio: Dual-band HSPA/WCDMA (900/2100MHz)/Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)

Carrier: NA

Display: 3.2″, TFT-LCD touch-screen with 480 x 800 WVGA resolution

Memory: ROM: 512 MB; RAM: 288 MB

Processor: 528MHz

Camera: Main camera: 5.0 megapixel color with auto focus; second camera: VGA CMOS color

Price/Availability: NA

Other Notable Feature(s): HTC TouchFLO 3G UI; Wi-Fi (802.11b/g); microSD card slot

Pantech Matrix Pro

pantech_matrix_pro-100351459-orig.jpg

Why It’s Hot: Dual-slider features a full QWERTY keyboard and standard 12-button keypad

OS: Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard

Radio: Tri-band UMTS/HSDPA (850/1900/2100 MHz)/Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)

Carrier: AT&T

Display: 2.4″; QVGA screen; 240 x 320 pixels

Processor: 528 MHz processor

Camera: 2 megapixels with 4x digital zoom and video capture

Memory: 256 MB ROM and 128 MB RAM

Price/Availability: Available immediately for $179.99 after a two-year service agreement and $50 mail-in rebate

Other Notable Feature(s): Expandable memory via microSD up to 32GB; Dual, sliding QWERTY and 12-button keyboards

Samsung Instinct s30

samsung_instinct_s30-100351460-orig.jpg

Why It’s Hot: The Instinct s30 packs a large, bright display with feedback to help users type

Carrier: Sprint

Radio: CDMA dual-band (800/1900MHz)

Display: 3.2″ TFT LCD (240 x 432 pixels) with haptic feedback

Camera: 2 megapixels with auto focus and video

Price/Availability: April 19; $129.99 with two-year agreement, $70 instant savings and $100 mail-in rebate.

Other Notable Feature(s): FULL HTML browser/Opera Mini browser

LG Arena

lg_arena-100351461-orig.jpg

Why It’s Hot: First handset with LG’s new S Class UI and 3G interface; impressive multimedia features

Radio: Tri-band UMTS/HSDPA (850/1900/2100 MHz); HSDPA 7.2Mbps

Carrier: NA

Display: 3″ WVGA full touch screen

Camera: 5 megapixels with face tracking and image stabilization technologies

Price/Availability: NA

Other Notable Feature(s): Dolby Music and Surround Sound for enhanced audio and video; aGPS; FM transmitter

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, Managing Editor

Al Sacco was a journalist, blogger and editor who covers the fast-paced mobile beat for CIO.com and IDG Enterprise, with a focus on wearable tech, smartphones and tablet PCs. Al managed CIO.com writers and contributors, covered news, and shared insightful expert analysis of key industry happenings. He also wrote a wide variety of tutorials and how-tos to help readers get the most out of their gadgets, and regularly offered up recommendations on software for a number of mobile platforms. Al resides in Boston and is a passionate reader, traveler, beer lover, film buff and Red Sox fan.

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