X

Phones you can't get on a U.S. carrier (photos)

Sadly, the U.S. is often behind the times when it comes to handsets and mobile technology. Our European and Asian brethren usually get first dibs on all the cool gear, and sometimes, we won't even see it at all.

Nicole Lee
Nicole Lee is a senior associate editor for CNET, covering cell phones, Bluetooth headsets, and all things mobile. She's also a fan of comic books, video games, and of course, shiny gadgets.
Nicole Lee
image_shot_2.jpg
1 of 10 LG

LG BL40 Chocolate

The LG BL40 Chocolate was the touch-screen Chocolate phone we all wanted to see here in the U.S. It's skinny, long, and is blessed with a stunning 4-inch display with a 21:9 wide-screen ratio, a high-definition "Real VGA" LCD, and a unique dual-screen UI.

Unfortunately, we received its lesser cousin instead, in the guise of the LG Chocolate Touch from Verizon Wireless. Will the LG BL40 ever make its way to the U.S., even via unofficial channels? We doubt it. Read review from CNET Australia.

Picture_045.jpg
2 of 10 Kent German/CNET

LG GT540

It may come as a surprise to most U.S. consumers that HTC and Motorola are not the only makers of Android smartphones. In Europe and Asia, other manufacturers, such as LG, have gotten onboard as well.

One of LG's latest Android phones is the GT540. It runs Android 1.6, but it is a quad-band phone with dual-band UMTS and HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, which means it can theoretically run on U.S. 3G bands. It has a nice 3-inch display, plus three physical keys underneath. Read preview from CNET Australia.

Samsung_Wave_GT-S8500_4.jpg
3 of 10 Samsung

Samsung Wave

The Samsung Wave came to light in February 2010 at Mobile World Congress. It is the first phone to carry Samsung's new Bada OS. It has a 3.3-inch AMOLED touch-screen display with TouchWiz 3.0, and a slim design at only 0.42 inch deep.

Other specifications include a 1Ghz processor, Wi-Fi, a music player, an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, Samsung's Dolfin browser, e-mail, a 5-megapixel camera with an LED flash, a microSD card slot, and a 3.5mm headset jack. It's also one of the first handsets to support Bluetooth 3.0, which promises faster data transfers. Read preview from CNET Australia.

Puma_002.jpg
4 of 10 Bonnie Cha/CNET

Puma Phone

Yes, this is a phone by the maker of Puma shoes, bags, and sportswear. Designed by Puma, but actually manufactured by Sagem, the Puma Phone has a 2.8-inch, 240x320-pixel resolution capacitive touch screen and a built-in solar charger on the back. The quad-band GSM device also includes Bluetooth, 3G, A-GPS, and a 3.2-megapixel camera, which is all pretty standard for a full-feature phone, but it's the user experience that makes the Puma Phone different.

From the bright red background to the bold icons to the preloaded sports functions, the Puma Phone is designed to complement your lifestyle just as much as it is meant to be a communication device. There's a host of sports features, such as a running and biking tracker that takes advantage of the GPS capabilities. There's a built-in radio, a scratching turntable, social-networking integration, and video calling.

U8800.jpg
5 of 10 Huawei

Huawei U8800

The U8800 is the most high-end of the new Android smartphones by Chinese company Huawei. It runs Android 2.1 and supports HSPA+ networks. It also has a 3.8-inch display and the full slate of Android features.
idou_ft.jpg
6 of 10 Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson Saito

Though it's not available via a U.S. carrier, you can actually get the Sony Ericsson Saito if you're willing to buy it unlocked. It has a nice 3.5-inch touch-screen display, and its features include a 12.1-megapixel camera, a music player, e-mail and messaging, a speakerphone, Bluetooth, PC syncing, USB mass storage, a personal organizer, assisted GPS, Wi-Fi, an FM radio, YouTube and Facebook applications, handwriting recognition, a microSD card slot, and a Symbian operating system.

The quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) world phone also supports 3G networks (UMTS/HSDPA 850/900/2100), which makes it fully functional in most markets. Read review from CNET Australia.

Sony-Ericsson-Xperia-X10-Android.jpg
7 of 10 Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is probably the breakout Android smartphone for Sony Ericsson. It looks fantastic, thanks to a beautiful display and a unique Sony Ericsson user interface called UXP (User Experience Platform). The new UXP adds a useful cascading-tiles feature called Timescape that compiles all your communications in a single space.

The X10 features a Snapdragon 1Ghz processor, an 8.1-megapixel camera with flash and video, a music and video player and recorder, Wi-Fi, GPS, PC syncing, and more. Again, you might not be able to get this via a U.S. carrier, but you can purchase it unlocked if you're willing to pay a premium for it. Read preview from CNET Australia.

Vivaz_pro_FrontOpenTilted_H_White_SCRN1.png
8 of 10 Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro was unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2010, and is essentially the same as the Vivaz, but with the addition of a QWERTY keyboard.

It's packed with the Symbian OS, a media player, Bluetooth, a personal organizer, assisted-GPS, PC syncing, integrated social-media apps, a personal organizer, messaging and e-mail, Wi-Fi, USB mass storage, a 710MHz processor, and handwriting recognition. And we're very glad to hear that Sony Ericsson ditched its irritating proprietary connections and memory cards in favor of a 3.5mm headset jack, a Micro-USB port, and a microSD card slot.

Legend_45.jpg
9 of 10 HTC

HTC Legend

The HTC Legend is a Google Android 2.1 device and is a refinement of the GSM HTC Hero. It will be available in Europe from Vodafone starting in April and will then hit Asia in early Q2. As for when it'll hit the U.S.? Well, we really don't know if it ever will. Read preview from CNET Australia.
10 of 10 Sarah Tew/CNET

Acer Liquid

The Acer Liquid is Acer's first Google Android device. It has a capacitive 3.5-inch touch screen, a Snapdragon processor running at 768MHz, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a 5-megapixel camera. We had a chance to review this phone, and you can check out our full review of the Acer Liquid.

It's available now in the U.K. and will be coming to Rogers Wireless in Canada. There are currently no plans to bring it to the U.S., but you can buy it unlocked for around $400.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos