For the past few years at the CTIA show, CNET has chosen our favorite products, and here in Orlando, Florida, we're glad to do it again. Products are selected on a variety of factors including design, features, and innovation in three main categories: best cell phone, best smart phone, and best cell phone accessory.
Sometimes our picks become big winners when they're introduced, and sometimes they don't live up to our full expectations, but our 2006 picks fared pretty well over the last year. And without further ado, we present CNET's Cream of the Crop for CTIA 2007:
Samsung Upstage phone side
(Credit: Samsung)
Samsung Upstage MP3 side
(Credit: Samsung)
Coolest cell phone: Samsung Upstage
Samsung and Sprint hit CTIA in full force when they announced the U.S. version of the Samsung Ultra Music the day before the show began. The Upstage earns points not only because it's completely innovative but also because it's actually a decent phone too. The unique dual-sided design successfully integrates a cell phone and an MP3 player into one device. You can listen to music, watch streaming video, take pictures, and yes, you can make calls too. It has its quirks to be sure and it's not for the gadget-phobic, but on the whole it's a sleek, satisfying device with admirable performance. Just be advised that during your first couple sessions, a dose of patience is needed. Again, it's not perfect, but it's a very positive step in a new direction. Indeed, it just makes us excited for the next-generation model. For a full report on the Upstage, read our review. We liked Sony Ericsson's slick new Walkman phone, the W580.
HTC Advantage
(Credit: HTC)
Coolest smart phone: HTC Advantage
To be perfectly honest, 3GSM World Congress stole a lot of thunder from CTIA 2007 when it came to introducing new smart phones. The event in Spain saw the debut of the HTC Vox, Motorola Q q9, three new Nokia E series phones, and much more. So what did that leave for CTIA? Well, not much. But that's not a bad thing since many of the companies announced plans to bring these models to the United States, including what we think was the coolest smart phone: the HTC Advantage. OK, we know the Advantage is more than just a smart phone, but we have to reward it for its innovation.The portable gadget features an 8GB hard drive, Windows Mobile 6 Professional Edition, a 5-inch VGA touch screen, and a magnetically connected full QWERTY keyboard. In addition, it's stacked with all the wireless connections you'd ever want (quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; GPRS/EDGE; 3G (UMTS/HSDPA), Bluetooth 2.0, and Wi-Fi. We're really looking forward to checking out this device when it's released in the summer. Also worth a mention is the much-coveted and now U.S.-bound Nokia N95.
Cardo S-800
(Credit: CNET)
Coolest cell phone accessory: Cardo S-800
The Cardo S-800 is our pick of favorite accessory due to one simple factor: it fits a lot of features in one tiny package. The lightweight 0.38-ounce Bluetooth headset is stylish and compact, with a lot of brainpower inside its petite form. Some of the more interesting features include a battery status indicator, a headset location buzzer, a missed call indicator, and even a "hot-dialing" button that lets you call up to three of your favorite contacts. As for sound quality, the S-800 also has a dual-microphone system that cancels out background noise. We look forward to reviewing the headset first-hand later this year.
Kyocera E5000
(Credit: CNET Networks)
Honorable Mention: Kyocera E5000
We have to admit we were impressed with Kyoccera's offerings this year.That's not to say the company hasn't done good work before, but at this year's CTIA it struck a brave new path. Of the five phones it introduced in Orlando, a couple featured completely new stylish designs that stood out from the cell phone crowd. And while some of the new handsets are indeed thin, Kyocera is not blindly chasing the thin phone crowd with another Razr look-alike. Instead, they're being a bit more creative, and that's why the Kyocera E5000 earns an honorable mention. Its stainless body and S-shaped hinge thin profile make it quite the looker, and it looked even better in Kyocera's fancy booth. The promised features aren't bad either, with a music player, a microSD card slot, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and stereo Bluetooth. We're a bit concerned about the usability of the flat keypad, and we don't know how well it will perform when it hits the streets, but we can say one thing: it sure is pretty,
CallWave sends voice mails to your phone
(Credit: CallWave)Speech recognition technologies had a moderate presence at CTIA, and CallWave had one of the biggest announcements with its new Vtxt service. Designed for busy, on-the-go types, Vtxt eliminates the need to scan through long, dull voice mails by sending them to your cell phone. After someone leaves you a voice mail, you'll receive a text message containing the person's name and phone number as well as a summary of the voice mail. The summary is composed using a CallWave-developed algorithm that scans for what it deems as important words, while leaving out any pauses or words like "uh." At present, Vtxt doesn't use live operators to transcribe messages in full but CallWave said that option will be available in the future.
Though we didn't get a live demonstration of Vtxt, we did see an example of a message summary sent to a cell phone. When we compared the summary to the original voice mail, Vtxt did get the important details correct but it had more trouble with proper names. The service still is in a beta testing phase but customers of CallWave's existing products can sign up to try it out. There's nothing to download, instead you just go to the company's Web site and enter your phone number and other information.
We're eager to try Vtxt, especially after CNET's own Rafe Needleman raved about CallWave earlier this year.
Kyocera's Gateway works with music phones and MP3 players
(Credit: CNET Networks)Beyond showing its slick new cell phones at CTIA, Kyocera also demonstrated its new Bluetooth Music Gateway. This nifty device receives music from any stereo Bluetooth phone or device and then transfers the tunes to your home stereo via a standard RCA cable. You can see it here with the Kyocera E5000 music phone. Though not the first such device on the market, it still caught our eye due to its compact design and simple, easy-to-use functionality. It's also reasonably priced at $79.99. Look for a full review from CNET in the next couple weeks.
The company also shows a Bluetooth adaptor that will let you stream music to the Gateway from a non-Bluetooth device like an Apple iPod Nano. And to make sure you can use the adapter with a variety of gadgets, it is available with 2.5mm and 3.5mm plugs. While the adapter alone is $34.99, by itself you can buy it bundled with the Gateway for $99.
BlueAnt Wireless Supertooth Light
(Credit: BlueAnt Wireless)BlueAnt is an Australian company specializing in Bluetooth products, and it has been slowly making a name for itself in the American marketplace as well. We've even reviewed several of its more popular headsets, the X3 Micro and the T8 Micro for example. Well, the company has released a new Bluetooth speakerphone at CTIA this week, called the BlueAnt Supertooth Light, a Bluetooth speakerphone to be used in the car for easier hands-free driving. A full-duplex, high-performance speaker with clear voice capture and noise cancellation, it is designed to fit neatly onto your car's visor. It has a rated talk time of 15 hours. The Supertooth Light has an MSRP of $99, availability planned for the end of the year.
LG MSB-100
(Credit: LG)LG has made great strides with their music phones, integrating stereo Bluetooth into most of its recent music-playing handsets. As a result, the company debuted a Bluetooth stereo speaker that will pair up nicely with them, acting as a cool, portable speaker that you can bring around on trips. The LG MSB-100 Bluetooth stereo speaker is a smart-looking device, with a glossy-black finish paired with milky-white accents. Not only can you use to blast your tunes, you can also use it as a speakerphone for conference calls. It will be available in May this year for around $120.
Cardo S-800
(Credit: CNET)We usually like the Bluetooth headsets from Cardo, and lucky for us, the company has released a trio of Bluetooth headsets at CTIA this week. The sexiest of the lot is the Cardo S-800, a petite Bluetooth headset that weighs a scant 0.38 ounces. It's the first Cardo headset to have an in-ear earpiece, so you won't need the earloop to wear it. It also has a "hot-dialing" button that lets you call up to three of your favorite contacts. Other features include a battery status indicator, a headset location buzzer, a missed call indicator, and button customization for left-handed users - quite a lot for such a tiny headset. The S-800 has a rated talk time of 8 hours and a standby time of about a week. It will be available in a variety of colors for $74.99 each beginning May 25th of this year.
Cardo S-640
(Credit: CNET)Next is the Cardo S-640, which is really more of a Bluetooth headset clip than a Bluetooth headset. This is meant for those of you that like the convenience of a Bluetooth headset but don't like wearing it all the time. You clip the headset to your shirt, and then you can either wear the attached wired earbud in your ear, or simply tuck it into the clip. The headset will also buzz or vibrate when there's an incoming call. The S-640 has a rated talk time of 6 hours and a standby time of about 6 days.
Cardo S-2
(Credit: CNET)Finally, Cardo has jumped on the stereo Bluetooth bandwagon with the Cardo S-2. As with other stereo Bluetooth headsets, the S-2 works with any device with the proper stereo Bluetooth profile (A2DP and AVRCP supported as well), whether it is a cell phone or an MP3 player. You can manage both your calls and the music player via the headset's controls. It has ear cushions and a flexible headband, plus it can be folded for easy portability. The S-2 has a rated talk/music playing time of up to 7.5 hours and a rated standby time of 6 days.
Pricing of both the S-640 and the S-2 is still unknown at this point, but we're certain they'll be available in the next few months.
Motorola H680
(Credit: Motorola)The Motorola H680 is a fashionably compact Bluetooth headset that was released at CTIA this year. Clad in vacuum metal and a black-gloss finish, the petite H680 only weighs about 0.42 ounces. It comes with a charging case that's made of clear plastic and the same vacuum metal material, which can be plugged into a wall or car charger. If you keep the headset in it when you carry it around, the headset's battery life will last longer. The rated talk time for the Motorola H680 is about 8 hours, while rated standby time is up to 8 days. It's expected to be available in the third quarter of this year.
Nokia's Bluetooth products
(Credit: CNET Networks)Nokia has always been pretty creative with its Bluetooth products, and at CTIA the company showed several new and existing products designed to capture the wireless functionality that Bluetooth brings. The gizmos were under a glass cube, but we still managed to take a close look.
Front and center in the lower left corner of the photograph is the Nokia MD-5W Bluetooth stereo speakers. When paired with a music phone that supports stereo Bluetooth (it doesn't have to be a Nokia handset), you can blare or stream music from your phone into the public realm. For more private listening, the Nokia Bluetooth headset BH-501 sits just behind the speakers, while the slick Nokia BH-500 Bluetooth headset sits in the front center. To the right of BH-501s is the MD-3 Nokia minispeakers. Also powered by Bluetooth, the MD-3 mini speakers lack the music controls of the MD-5W stereo speakers.
And if you don't have Bluetooth on your music phone (though you really should), the V-shaped product in the upper left corner is the Nokia MD-4 wired minispeaker.
Doughnut cell phone dangle
(Credit: CNET Networks)I've never been one for cell phone dangles. If you're over the age of 15, I just don't see the point of putting some useless accoutrement on your phone. But after seeing this doughnut dangle on Samsung's Simpsons phone, I have to admit that dangles aren't all bad. Pictured here on the Samsung Sync Simpsons phone that we first saw at CES, this doughnut dangle (complete with a Homer-size bite) is one of the most unique cell phone accessories I've ever seen. It definitely completes the desired effect on a handset that is as yellow as the Simpsons clan themselves. We don't know much about availability, but we overheard Samsung reps saying it would run on Cingular's network. That's not a big surprise, particularly since the SGH-C417 was a Cingular phone, but we're not so confident it will be much more than a marketing gimmick for the upcoming Simpsons movie. The Samsung rep also said it won't be widely available to the general public. D'oh!
Sony Ericsson MPS-70
(Credit: CNET Networks)Sony Ericsson has always been good about accessorizing their admirable Walkman phone line. And while the company hasn't announced any such new products at CTIA, it is showing its latest options in music phone speakers. These tiny portable speakers are perfect for a weekend trip or a day at the park, as they do a decent job of making your music public. Of course, they lack the wattage of your home stereo, but they still can turn any event into a small party. The MPS-70 portable speaker system feature two cube-shaped speakers that attach easily to any Walkman phone. Almost identical to the company's previous MPS-60 speakers, the MPS-70s have the same basic form factor except that they come in gray and black instead of white and orange. They also feature an FM radio antenna if you'd rather catch tunes over the air. They should fetch a price in the $50 range.
Sony Ericsson MPS-75
(Credit: Sony Ericsson)The company also also showed its MPS-75 speakers. Available in orange or gold, the MPS-75s are contained in one unit so you can't separate the them for stereo effect. The should also sell somewhere in the $50 range. And of course, both products work only with the Walkman phone proprietary connection.
