Best Smartphones

Here are the top ten best smartphones based on professional reviews and user ratings.

The nice thing about the mobile community is that there are so many options– carriers, handsets, apps– but sometimes all of those choices can be overwhelming.  Who to buy, what to choose, and why– So, we thought we’d help you narrow your searches. This is our list of the best smartphones of 2009. Also Check out our Best Smartphone 2009 slide show for some cellular glamor shots.

Droid

Oh Droid, the redeemer of Mototrola handsets and King of Android phones. The Motorola Droid, from Verizon Wireless, has a gorgeous 3.7 in LCD touchscreen and features Google’s Android 2.0 operating system. Here are some quick specs on the Droid:

• Large 3.7-inch LCD
• Android 2.0 Phone with Horizontal QWERTY Keyboard
• Bluetooth v2.1 Wireless Technology Supports Streaming Stereo
• 5 Megapixel Camera and 480p Camcorder Takes HD Pictures and DVD Quality Videos
• Built-in MP3 Player
• Built-in Voice-Prompted Google Maps Navigation
• Email, Text, Picture, Video and Instant Messaging Capable

Check out our full Motorola Droid Review

iPhone 3GS

The iPhone 3GS offers a bounty of new features and improvements to this classic smartphone. Apple’s iPhone 3GS features a new 3.0 megapixel camera, new iPhone 3.0 OS and is still, unfortunately, exclusively available through AT&T. Here are some quick specs on Apple’s iPhone 3GS:

• 32GB
• 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen multi-touch display
• 480-by-320-pixel resolution at 163 ppi
• Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
• UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
• GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
• Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Location Assisted GPS
• Digital compass
• Wi-Fi

Check out our full iPhone 3GS Review.

Palm Pre

There have been some mixed feelings about this phone, but overall the reviews have been good. The Palm Pre may seem clunky, but that’s because it’s packing a lot of power under that shiny hardware, including Palm’s speedy WebOS. Here are some quick specs on the Palm Pre:

• Operating system: Palm webOS
• Network specs: 3G EVDO Rev A
• Display: 3.1-inch touch screen with a vibrant 24-bit color 320×480 resolution HVGA display
• Keyboard: Physical QWERTY keyboard
• Email: Microsoft Outlook email with Microsoft Direct Push Technology POP3/IMAP (Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, etc).
• Messaging: Integrated IM, SMS, and MMS
• GPS: Built-in GPS
• Digital camera: 3 megapixel camera with LED flash and extended depth of field
• Sensors:Ambient light, accelerometer, and proximity
• Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g with WPA, WPA2, 802.1X authentication
  Bluetooth® 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
• Memory: 8GB of user storage (~7.4GB user available)
• Phone as laptop modem: Bluetooth tethering

Check out our full Palm Pre Review