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Every year at CTIA we dole out praise for those companies that are deserving. CNET's cream of the crop awards recognize the best of the show in four categories: best cell phone, best smartphone, best accessory, and best service. Though the 2008 CTIA wasn't the most exciting on record, we still saw some pretty cool things in Las Vegas. And without further ado, here they are.

Samsung Instinct

(Credit: Sprint)

Best cell phone: Samsung Instinct
In some ways this wasn't a tough choice because so few cell phones were officially unveiled at CTIA. But even if it was facing a more crowded field, Sprint's Samsung Instinct still would be a top choice. Sure, we just got to see a preproduction model (we'll have to wait for June to see a final version) but even now we can see it has a lot of potential. Not only does it offer a boatload of features, but also it offers a sleek design with a full touch screen and an attractive and (seemingly) easy-to-use interface. Comparisons with the iPhone are obvious, and while the Instinct can't quite match Apple's device on the design front, it offers many more features on paper. As we've said before, Sprint could have quite a hit on its hands, as long as the Instinct delivers on its promises. Oh, and in case you're keeping score, this is Samsung's second win in a row.

Velocity 103

(Credit: Velocity Mobile)

Best smartphone: Velocity Mobile
Smartphones today tend to do a lot of the same things but just vary in design, which is fine but doesn't exactly get our pulses racing, you know? This is why we're amped on a new company called Velocity Mobile, which made its debut at CTIA 2008. The smartphone manufacturer introduced two new Windows Mobile devices, the Velocity 103 and the Velocity 111, and yes, they're still Windows Mobile but what we're really digging is the company's philosophy of simplicity and ease of use. Perhaps taking a few lessons from the Apple iPhone, Velocity has come up with its own user interface to make it easier for consumers to use the smartphones right of the box. Such enhancements include more familiar icons (similar to the PC experience), more customization to fit the user's lifestyle, and cool user interaction (for example, sliding panels). Unfortunately, we weren't able to see it in action since the working units were stuck on the monorail with Velocity's CEO but we find it to be real promising and look forward to checking out the devices and software when they debut in Q2 and Q3.

Sound ID HD300

(Credit: Sound ID)

Best accessory: Sound ID HD300
There were plenty of Bluetooth headsets to look at in this year's show, but few of them came close to our clear favorite, the Sound ID HD300. We're big fans of the Sound ID SM100, so we were excited to finally see a worthy successor. The HD300 may not look like much on the outside, but it promises even better audio quality and clarity than before. Sound ID is utilizing every trick in the book to improve the sound--a NoiseNavigation technology to automatically reduce wind and background noise, a PersonalSound mode to let you choose a "personalized" listening mode, as well as automatic volume adjustment. The HD300 also takes a departure from the other Sound ID headsets with a smaller and more discreet design.

Best Service: Dashwire
Crouching over your cell phone to view photos, send text messages, and update your bookmarks isn't the most efficient use of your brain--especially if there's a computer nearby. Dashwire.com, a six-month-old visual content management service for Windows Mobile phones, continues to add excellent features for responding, sharing, adding, and interacting with your phone's contacts, media, and communications. The addition of CallWave visual voicemail and threaded text conversations are smart, useful moves.

LG Vu

(Credit: LG)

Honorable mention: LG Vu
The LG Vu was one of the most noteworthy products at CTIA this year, and it wasn't just because it's one of the first phones to carry AT&T Mobile TV, AT&T's live TV service. The true winning factor lies in its 3-inch-wide touch-screen display, which impressed us with its color, resolution, and vibrating feedback whenever keys are pressed. We also liked that we could flip the phone to landscape mode to use the virtual QWERTY keyboard. Other features we liked include the 2.0-megapixel camera, full 3G support with access to AT&T Video Share and AT&T Mobile Music, a full HTML browser, and mobile e-mail. However, we already notice a few niggling problems, like the lack of Wi-Fi for example, but the overall product still left a positive first impression.

Click here to start the Smartphones CTIA 2008 slide show

It's a wrap! CTIA 2008 has come and gone and the show produced quite a number of smartphone announcements. Research in Motion unleashed a fleet of new BlackBerrys; Microsoft unveiled its latest mobile operating system; and we even saw a new entrant into the field. There was plenty more action, so take a look at all the new smartphones in this photo gallery.

Velocity 103

(Credit: Velocity Mobile)

Call me jaded, but it's been a while since a new smartphone has knocked my socks off. I mean, of course, I get excited when a new product comes out, but (iPhone aside) it's usually pretty much the same innards in a slightly different package. So perhaps that's why I'm stoked on a new company called Velocity Mobile, which debuted at CTIA.

Velocity Mobile is a collaboration between Inventec and a team of industry veterans (including some from the Microsoft Windows Mobile camp). It's not so much the hardware that wows me, but it's the company's approach to smartphones. To start, it will launch with two devices: the Velocity 103 and Velocity 111. Both will run Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition (according to Velocity Mobile, all Velocity products will run Windows Mobile).

Velocity 111

(Credit: Velocity Mobile)

Velocity recognizes that Windows Mobile isn't exactly the easiest mobile operating system to master, which turns off a lot of potential buyers--particularly consumers--and the company gave props to Apple and called the iPhone an "example of clarity." To provide that kind of experience on a Windows device, Velocity Mobile tweaked the interface to include more familiar icons (similar to the ones you'd see on your PC) so the smartphone is easier to use and understand right out of the box. The interaction will also be different as there are sliding panels (again, think iPhone or TouchFLO a la the HTC Touch), and it's customizable to suit your lifestyle, whether you're a mobile professional, multimedia junkie, or traveler. It seems pretty cool and we wish we could have seen a working demo, but unfortunately, Velocity's CEO David Hayes, who had possession of the only working models, got stuck on the monorail on his way to the Las Vegas Convention Center for our briefing. Foiled!

(Credit: Velocity Mobile)

We did get to see the final hardware, and the Velocity 103 particularly caught my eye with it's slender frame and 2.8-inch 262,000-color VGA touch screen. The Velocity 111 wasn't bad either, but I thought the QWERTY keyboard was stiff and difficult to use. Both are certainly well stocked with features. They are quadband (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; UMTS/HSDPA) smartphones with Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi, and GPS. They also have 2-megapixel cameras, 256MB ROM, 128MB RAM, and microSD slots. The 103 is expected to ship in Q2 while the 111 will be available in Q3. No word on pricing yet and it looks as if the smartphones will initially be sold unlocked without a specific carrier.

So what do you think? Does Velocity Mobile have something here? Will it be able to compete with the HTCs and Samsungs of the world? I think it looks pretty promising or maybe I'm just excited to see a new face in the crowd. I'd love to hear you thoughts. Let us know what you think in the comments.