New phones for the holidays

[ Music ] ^M00:00:05 >> All right, good afternoon guys. Welcome to Editor's Office Hours. I'm Brian Tom, joined here with senior editor with cell phones and everything mobile -- phones I guess. >> Something -- something like that. >> All right, Ken Sherman's in the house, guys, and we're here to take your questions and you guys know how the drill goes. Down below us, this is our chat box where you guys can interact with us. And then up here in the top right-hand box is where you can submit your questions. If you don't have an account listed, all you have to do is create a user name and a password, and give us your e-mail and that will allow us to help you. Now today we're going to be talking obviously about everything cell phones. One of the focuses we want to talk about, though, is also cell phones for the holidays. So if you guys have any specific phones that you have questions about, or maybe one versus the other we'll be able to help you out with that. But really, anything and everything under the sun. That's what we're here for. And Ken, just to start things off, you brought a few phones here that you kind of wanted to talk about and showcase a little bit. >> Yeah, a few of them are dead because -- >> That's fine. That's okay. >> We were running a battery testing and I just got back to the office from holiday today, and I haven't had time to charge them. But Samsung has a lot of touch-screen phones these days. I don't have the Omni with me, Bonnie has that -- [ Multiple voices speaking ] >> Before I came in. But this is the Dell. This is the Bold, and that is the Eternity for -- this is AT&T, this is Alltel, and this is T-Mobile. So Samsung is really big on the touch-screen phones. These aren't really smart phones in the sense that they have a third party operating system. But they have all of that touch-screen technology, haptics feedback, music players, cameras, the -- I think the Bold is the 5 mega pixel. I'm sorry, it is the Bold. See, I get them all mixed up. Has 5 mega pixels, camera, not a bad camera, actually. And then they're all 3Gs so they have varying functions. The only thing -- the Dell from Alltel does not have an accelerometer, so when you tilt it around it doesn't have the same effect. >> [Inaudible] turn over the keyboard or anything like that. >> But overall, almost the same in some ways, but a little bit different, little bit different design. And then of course the Omnia, which came out [Inaudible] last week, that is a U.S. version of the Omnia, which we reviewed a little while ago. That's from Verizon, and Bonnie took a look at that and liked it, pretty much. >> Now when you take a look at these guys, I mean, clearly Samsung is pretty much staying pretty similar with form factor. Screen size is about the same, if I recall right, do they all use the kind of touch whiz interface, all three of these? >> Yeah. In varying formats. But yes, the touch whiz interface is all there, and that's where you can slide the icons out and get short cuts to all different kinds of icons right on the side bar. And so it is pretty useful. I wish it would have a little more customization. You can't really tell what icons you want to go on the side bar. But you know, it's not too bad, though. >> Okay , excellent. Is there one of these three that you prefer or really like -- [ Multiple voices speaking ] >> You know, I think the -- well, the Omnia is a little bit of a higher-end device. If you're not looking for a smart phone with a third party operating system, e-mail integration, I would go toward probably the -- I like the Behold, I think. Eternity is not bad either, but I think T-Mobile's 3G network is a little faster and I like the camera better in it. >> Yeah. And you know, we experienced that when we did a speed test between the iPhone 3G and the T-Mobile G1 phone. And I mean, there's a lot of factors, but do you think it's really just because there's not as many people on the 3G network for T-Mobile right now, or what, you know -- that might attribute to the speed of it. >> Yeah, and I think they use a different technology. They use different bands than AT&T, and it's not available in as many areas as AT&T is right now. So if you travel outside of urban areas you're not going to get it as much. But I still like it. It's pretty fast. >> Yeah, okay. We'll take this first question. This is from Vic7vic78. How is the Samsung Highnote for Sprint. >> The Highnote is a slider phone that came out earlier this year. It is a -- I think it's in red and it's in blue, if I remember right. It's a music phone, and I think it's one of the Sprint's better music phones. And actually it has a -- what do you call those things -- scroll wheel, actually. It has a full scroll wheel that's on the device. You can use it to scroll through long lists, which is kind of cool. You can use it for music, of course. It has 3G. I thought it was one of the better Sprint music phones. It doesn't have a lot of internal memory. The streaming video quality was a little mixed, but you know, I'm not a huge streaming video fan in the first place. That wasn't a huge big deal. Some of the navigation controls took a little bit of a learning curve. But I think overall it wasn't a bad phone as far as a Sprint music phone, with unique design. >> Okay, now we also are talking about phones for the holidays, and I guess the editor's pick for the holiday phone was the Samsung -- was it the -- is it the 870 I, is that the one? >> I think -- did we do the [Inaudible] -- >> Yeah -- [ Multiple voices speaking ] >> Oh yeah -- [ Multiple voices speaking ] ^M00:05:03 >> I think that, yeah, that's a pretty decent phone. It is available with AT&T now, and I really like the features, design, and I thought it offered great call quality. Of course, if you don't need that kind of multimedia phone then we have other options in our holiday gift guide, and if you want a smart phone, something made a little higher end we have options for you as well. But I think as far as a mid-range multimedia phone, that's a pretty good pick. >> Now it looks like some people are actually asking us questions within the chat, which is fine. We'll -- if you guys, what you can do to help us though, so we can get them directly, because we don't always look at the chat all the time is write your questions into this top right-hand box and create a user name and password so that we can get them directly. It's hard for us to keep track of the chat while we're, you know, while we're talking. But I can pull from here, because these are pretty straight-forward. This one is from Cliffa2. I just bought a Blackberry Bold and I like it. But I'm intrigued about the Blackberry Storm. How long to fix its reported problems. I'm guessing you might be talking about the sluggish OS, the nature of it. And is the keyboard all that, or just a gimmick. So I guess what are your first impressions on that, you're been able to mess with the storm. >> Well, I haven't used it a whole lot, but what I did think when I originally saw it is I wasn't impressed with the keyboard. I think it's really Blackberry -- I think Blackberry is trying really to get a little of the iPhone crowd to go for the touch-screen, which of course is a huge trend right now. And I just don't think the touch-screen really lent itself to Blackberry's platform. I liked that physical touch-screen. I think it's a business device, I think it's really a work horse, it's all about its e-mail functionality. And I think it's trying to be a little flashy, a little exciting, and it just doesn't need to be, in some ways. I -- I didn't do a whole lot of typing on the onscreen keyboard. I know Bonnie did, because she reviewed the device. And she didn't really like it all that much, to be honest with you. She found it a little cramped and not as responsive. The thing that's interesting about the Storm, sorry, is that it doesn't have Haptic feedback, like you've seen. So it doesn't have the vibrating. Of course, the iPhone we know has nothing. But actually -- I always forget what they call this, it's like Sure Press or something like that. Where actually the whole screen moves down when you press. So I thought that was a little gimmicky. In fact when I first used it, I didn't even know what it was doing. I could feel something going on -- >> You could feel the depression -- >> I -- didn't understand what it was doing. They had to tell me. And then I thought, huh, that seems a little weird. I wasn't such a huge fan of that, actually. >> Yeah. I got to play with it as well, and when I first picked it up and I pressed on the screen my first impressions were like, okay, it kind of feels like a track pad on a laptop. Very similar even to the feeling of, like, the MacBook line, like, the whole multitouch track where you push and kind of feel this -- so click, okay, let's give this a try. But in application when I started using it and typing it, it didn't feel very comfortable. But more than anything, I think it's the software that's -- that's crippling this phone. Sure, whether you like the touch pad or whatever it is, the sure type or whatever they call that touch -- click pad or whatever it is -- it's really the software that's hindering -- [ Multiple voices speaking ] >> -- the software that's hindering it. And I almost feel like because they're -- you know, Blackberry makes great products, but this phone felt like a rushed product to me from the software side. More than anything else. And so -- and they're building so much hype and everyone thinks -- I think another point is a lot of people think that okay, whatever. The iPhone is there. A lot of people know that it does a lot of things really great. At least from the software execution. And that's really where the Storm fell off the map for me. >> I just don't understand what Blackberry wants with this device. Are they really trying to get part of the iPhone people? Because that's not going to happen. >> That's not their brand or the message that they're sending. >> Yeah. And that's not -- I can't imagine someone sitting -- someone putting down the two devices and saying, hmm, I'm going to choose the Storm -- unless they're a Verizon customer and they don't want to leave and they don't want to pay the early termination fee. I just -- I don't really know who they're going to attract with this device. >> Yeah. Okay, well now, thank you guys. Looks like we've got a ton of questions after I told you guys to submit your questions, which is great. So we're going to take this one from Winstonleon6758. And here's the question. My carrier has both the Samsung Instinct and LG Dare. Which one should I buy as a per alternative to the iPhone. This will kind of depend -- >> I wonder what carrier that is -- [ Multiple voices speaking ] >> But anyway, that's a good question. I think that the LG Dare is one of the better devices that we looked at this year, one of the better touch-screen devices. I like the Instinct. I know there's a lot of people that don't. I think that for what it is, I think it performs well. But the Dare has a little bit of a better camera, I don't know if you're interested in that. Little bit better performance in some ways. So I might lean toward the Dare just a little bit. >> I would personally, just being able to -- the camera is really great and you can do this slow-mo frames of video as well as -- I can't remember how many mega pixels, it is a 5 mega pixel camera -- >> The Dare, it's -- [Inaudible] I think it might be 3.2. >> I can't remember off the top of my head. But I enjoy [Inaudible] the Dare. And also the Dare is smaller in size. It's a little more pocket-friendly. Although it is thicker, it is definitely a lot more pocket-friendly. So -- I would -- >> I'm pretty sure it's 3.2. [ Multiple voices speaking ] >> Yeah, 3.2. >> Okay, my bad. 3.2 mega pixel camera on the Dare. But I would lean toward the Dare, too, personal. And we did price fights with the Dare and a bunch of other phones as well. Okay, let's take this question. This is Vic7vic78 again. How is the Blackberry Curve. Well, the Curve has been out for a while. >> Yeah. I think the Curve is pretty good across the board. It's with a lot of carriers now. Some of the features vary just a little bit, design varies just a little bit. But I think it's one of the better Blackberries out there. >> I mean, it has a great rating by CNET. Everyone that has used a Curve loves a Curve. I don't find too many people that don't enjoy it. And they know that we're getting into with the quarter keyboard and what not. >> Yeah. And it has a full keyboard, so it's really traditional Blackberry in the sense of the design, has all the traditional Blackberry features. So really, it is a Blackberry. A good Blackberry, and one of our favorites. >> Okay, excellent. Now this question is from hiphopforprez, and this question asks hey, what's up fellas. I just wanted to know if you saw the Nokia N 97 and what were your initial thoughts about it. Well neither of us have seen it because it's over in Barcelona. >> And yeah, are we going to Barcelona in February to go to GSMA, but didn't make it over to Nokia World. You know, I haven't read much about it yet. I think that it looks pretty -- it looks interesting. Of course, it's $700 or something like that. >> And one of the main things with a phone like this is seeing if they're going release a U.S. version and how much it will be in the U.S., and which carrier will pick it up. I mean, those all are factors that are going to influence you on whether or not to pick it up. To me, when I first saw it, it looks like a Tilt. >> Yeah, it does look a little like the Tilt, and maybe the [Inaudible] X 1 as well. Certainly has a lot. You know, it has the engaged gaming platform, the music store, the maps, HSDPA. So it could -- it could work. If it came to the U.S. it could work with AT&T because it has the necessary 3G bands. It is a world phone, it has -- it looks pretty slick and flashy, I have to say I like the design. I like sort of how it tilts up. I like the full physical keyboard. Looks a little like other devices, as we've said. But I don't know. We'll have to see. I definitely would like to see it face-to-face. Hopefully we'll get to do that at [Inaudible] this year, or maybe in Barcelona or CTI next year. >> One thing, at least in the phone world that hasn't -- no one also really mastered it yet -- at least to me -- is the combination of a touch-screen and a keyboard. I've yet to see a phone that I could say this is the bomb. >> Yeah, that's a good point. I think the X 1, [Inaudible] X 1 came close to that. But the touch-screen is great. But there are some people that still want that full physical keyboard. So this might be a way to do it. >> And as usually, I mean, a lot of it, again, comes down to the software and then the navigation of it. So -- >> And it's great, because it has a lot of multimedia features, it has a 5 mega pixel camera, and 32 gigs of on-board memory, which is quite a lot. >> Yeah, that's hefty. >> And another 16 gigs through memory card. So -- >> More than the iPhone. Okay, here we go. This question is from JensVW. What would you suggest in place of a Storm. I purchased a Storm and it is sluggish and resets itself at least once a day. That sucks. I'm sorry about that. >> That's not good. >> Let's see, [Inaudible] she's on the Verizon carrier if she's using the Storm. So any suggestions you [Inaudible] -- >> That depends really on what you want. If you want a Blackberry-type device that will really integrate with your e-mail and will be sort of a business device, then there's not a lot that is on the Verizon side that has a touch-screen, and it has that full -- has that kind of interface that you find on the Storm. The Omnia, you could look at that. There are -- and then of course if you wanted to just go with a Blackberry, [Inaudible] many Blackberries that actually don't have the Storm's touch-screen. And then of course there's the Dare and there's a couple other things on Verizon that have the touch-screen. So it really depends on what you want. If multimedia is your thing, then you don't need to necessarily go that Blackberry route. But if you want e-mail, you want work functionality, then you probably need to stick with that Blackberry route, I think. >> Okay. Cool. Now we have a bunch of videos that we wanted to show you guys. So we're going it take a quick little break. This is actually a video -- it's a Prize Fight between the HTC Touch Diamond and the Samsung Omni, I believe. So why don't you guys take a look at that, we'll be back. Maybe you guys can give us your comments and then we'll take a whole load of your questions, but we'll be back in a few minutes. ^M00:15:02 [ Music ] ^M00:15:06 >> What's up, Prize Fight fans. I'm Brian Tom and we're taking cell phones with extraordinary cameras and throwing them into the Prize Fight ring. In this week's Prize Fight, it's a brawl between the 5 mega pixel Motorola Z N 5 and the 8 mega pixel Samsung Innovate. Our judges for this fight are senior editor Ken Sherman, associate editor Nicole Lee, and yours truly. Now to score this we'll take the average of all three judges' scores for each round using decimals rounded to the nearest tenth of a point. The final Prize Fight score will be an average of all five rounds. You know we like the lookers. In round one, who brings the sexy. The Motorola ZM 5 has a basic, simple look. But more importantly, it's a real slender profile. The Samsung Innovate has a larger screen and its more stylish. But it's thicker and a little clunky. Our judges give the ZM 5 the edge with a 4, and the Innovate gets a 3.6. Next round is navigation. The ZM 5 has a real simple interface, and the keys are spread out, even if they are a little slick. They also have the camera controls placed in between the keys. Now, the Innovate has an interface that is a little more tricky to navigate, and the optical mouse feature can be inconsistent to use. The camera controls are straight forward, since they aren't squished between other keys. This one is too close to declare a winner. Both phones get a 4. Now let's average the first two rounds, and the ZM 5 currently leads 4 to 3.8. Next up, features. The Motorola ZM 5 isn't a 3G phone, but it does have Wi-Fi and serial Bluetooth. There's also an FM radio, but the web browser is pretty lame. Now the Samsung Innovate brings 3G Wi-Fi and stereo Bluetooth. And it also has GPS, Google Services, and a little better web browsing experience. The Innovate takes this round with a 4.6 and the ZM 5 gets a 4. The focus on this Prize Fight is about the cameras. Round Four is all about camera features and photo quality. Motorola's partnership with Kodak shows on this phone. The 5 mega pixel pictures look rich and crisp. You'll get a Zenon flash and a wide range of editing features. Plus Wi-Fi up loading to Kodak. Now the Innovate takes great pictures with its 8 mega pixel camera, but it just doesn't blow the ZM 5 out of the water. Its pictures were vibrant, and it's dual LED Flash does the job, but it's no Zenon. This is another round that's just too close to call. Both phones get a 4.6. Now after four rounds we're tied with an average of 4.2 for both phones. The final round that decides it all is call quality. Both phones were tested on the T-Mobile network, so who is bringing home the bacon. Now the ZM 5 had a great clean and natural sound, and it definitely lived up to its crystal talk technology, even if I had an audio hiccup. The Innovate sounded solid and I also had a couple hiccups, but it doesn't just have the same clean sound. This round goes to the ZM 5 with a 4.6, and the Innovate gets a 3.6. So let's average all five rounds for the final score, and in a battle where we were tied going into the final round the Motorola ZM 5 edges out the Samsung Innovate 4.2 to 4.1. Now I've never seen one this close, but the design and the superior call quality of the ZM 5 makes it your price fight winner. I'm Brian Tom and thanks for watching, and we'll catch you guys next time on another Prize Fight. ^M00:18:30 [ Music ] ^M00:18:34 >> Okay, well I guess that Prize Fight was actually our Prize Fight between two camera phones. The Motorola ZM 5 and the -- what was that other guy? >> The Innovate? >> Yes, the Innovate. Yes, the Samsung Innovate. I know, obviously we were looking at your questions while watching the video. So we're going to jump right back into those and we'll start off -- this is one that we like because, you know, we don't always get to the [Inaudible] where it is. All right, here we go. This is from Jeff Lawford, and he asks what do you not like about the Apple iPhone 3G. Please list the cons, if you can. For example, battery life and whatever else. >> If we can? >> Yeah, if we're allowed to. There's plenty. >> God, the thing that I don't like -- the things I don't like about the iPhone 3G. Well, there is the battery life. It depletes quickly under -- under heavy use. More than other 3G phones I've used. Only last a day, actually, if you're using the screen a lot. Really should last longer. 3G connection, and I know this is partially an AT&T thing -- can be shaking and will happen with other phones. But I think the iPhone tends to have a 3G -- it is getting better, but have a shakier 3G connection than other 3G phones with AT&T I've seen. Really lacks basic features that you find on other cell phones. And I know this is Apples thing of just saying here's what we think you need and you're going to have it. But like the multimedia messaging, like the voice dialing, and I got hounded for this a couple of weeks when the recent software update came in, and I commented on voice dialing. And someone said there's an app that does that. And my thing is that app is not made by Apple, it's not controlled by Apple, it could break, it could crash your phone, and it's -- you're dependent on a third party. Really, the iPhones just should have voice dialing. This is a silly thing, but if you've ever been on a plane with an iPhone, trying to watch a movie [Inaudible] -- [ Laughter ] >> You're always like, yeah -- trying to balance it. >> Actually, I take my Bose head set speaker case and then I make it an L, and then I wedge my iPhone in between, like, where the ears kind of are, and stand it. That's my stand. >> But it should have one. I think those basic features are my biggest thing. I look at other phones, really basic phones, and they come with multimedia messaging -- >> Core features. >> -- they come with the Bluetooth -- stereo Bluetooth. They come with all those things, they come with video recording, and it's just all these things that the iPhone should have. I mean, the iPhone does certain things very, very well. It's not the best phone in the world if you just strip out everything else and you just use it as a phone. I think the e-mail syncing could be a little cleaner. There's a few things, I think. >> Yeah, for me personally, using it on a day-to-day basis, when they released the new update, the 2.2, it didn't do anything to enhance my experience at all. Like, I thought, Google Street View, I've said it before, like, so many times. People don't go to a location and then pull up Google Street View to confirm. It's like more of a fun thing once in a while, to goof around with. And it didn't add any value to me. It's a multimedia phone, they need to give us multimedia messaging. I mean, this is the most multimedia rich phone we've seen, other than the fact that it doesn't have a great camera on it, and it just needs to support multimedia messaging, because these things are everywhere. I mean, how many times -- and especially when you get a multimedia message and then it becoming this link to a web page and you have to type in this cryptic, alpha numeric user name and password. I mean, that drives me crazy. So I think more than everything I'd love -- I want multimedia messaging on the phone. I can't control the fact that it doesn't have as great of a camera as other phones. It's pretty on the low end to me. >> And the landscape keyboard, it wracked my brain about how I can have a landscape keyboard when typing in an URL, but I can't have a landscape keyboard when typing an e-mail or a text message. That's really frustrating. >> And again, there is a third party solution that, again, you know, Apple should have it just built in, but for those of you who aren't familiar with it, we showcase it on the Apple -- it's called Fire Mail, it's free, but it does enable you do landscape e-mails, and it's so much nicer. And works and it's free. So try it out, but again, it should be something that's built in. >> Do you ever hold it and type with two hands. Do you ever hold it vertically and type with two hands? >> I have to. I have to. I mean, that's -- I just -- >> I don't know -- [ Multiple voices speaking ] >> Maybe. I have too big hands. I don't know. >> People that don't like touch-screen keyboards, I would say playing with other phones, the software that they built for the touch-screen keyboard is the -- in my opinion -- is the most responsive and learns the best. Adapts very well. It's not perfect, but I've had the most success with this. So there's plenty of things not to like. Battery life. Really, if you use your phone as a calling phone, the cat library life drains like a mother on iPhone, specifically. If I take, basically, somewhere in the middle of the day like a 30 to 40 minute call, my phone will guaranteed be out of battery around 7 o'clock. If I have little baby calls and spread them out through the day, I'll get through of the night. But again, like not, you know, there are people who are using this for -- >> [Inaudible] turn the 3G off, but then you slow down your connection, of course. >> Which takes away the use of the whole point of the 3G phone. So I think we bitched enough, you think? >> I think so. >> I guess we should move on. Okay, here we go. Here's a question from Brian Lonea [Phonetic], the question is I have the Nokia E 71. Any app web site or any must-have app I think I should have. Personally, I don't have one and I haven't messed with the apps. >> No, I'm sorry. I don't know of one I'd recommend either. I haven't really used a whole lot on that phone. Bonnie might know. So if you e-mail Bonnie that she might have a recommendation. >> Yeah, and also since Jessica Dulkort [Phonetic] does our mobile software slot she might be a good resource to -- >> Probably is a better resource than Bonnie, but she can -- they look at Nokia apps all the time, so they can help you out. >> Okay, excellent. Ghildree [Phonetic] asks can I have a job. Unfortunately I don't have a job to give you. Do you? >> No. Sorry. >> I'm happy that I have a job right now. Okay, here we go. What -- let's see. Let's try and get some other questions in here. Okay, this is kind of another one. This is from Julian007 -- and little bond fan action there -- what advantage does the T-Mobile G1 have over the iPhone 3G. >> Well, I think a few. I think that the 3G connection, 3G network, at least T-Mobile's is a little faster than what we've been using. Didn't you guys do a side by side test on it? >> Yeah. And we did a Prize Fight on it. I think bottom line to me it's the potential of the G1 platform. And that sounds silly, because right now, clearly, it needs to get there. But that's really the biggest advantage that I see on the G1 phone. >> It has a few -- G1 has a few of the basic features that we mentioned earlier that the iPhone lacks. And I really -- I think I agree, Brian. But the sense is the G1, what's really exciting about it in its current form, you know, the design isn't that great, it's kind of clunky, it's kind of ugly. But I think the potential of the android platform is really great. Because even though Apple took away the control from the carrier how [Inaudible] done with the iPhone, how usually carriers control the phones and they say here's what goes in it, here's how its going look. And Apple is doing that with the iPhone, there's still one person controlling the phone and what's going to be on it. You know, they decide which apps get approved, how you use it. With the G1, it's about anyone can go in and build an app, and anyone can go in and use the way they want. And I think that's what's most exciting about it. And it's biggest advantage right now is it really represents a different way to look at cell phones and how to use them. >> Without a doubt. Okay, here's a quick question. I found this one kind of funny. Pat Gamer [Assumed spelling] asks which phone do you keep your pocket in. Kent? >> I -- I -- if I'm wearing a coat, inside. If I'm wearing jeans, I guess in just a pocket in front. I don't know. If I'm wearing shorts, maybe a pocket on the side. Who knows. >> I can tell if you know me -- clearly, it's in my left pocket because my phone is actually worn -- out a whole, a depression, where my phone is normally, in each pair of pants. >> Is that the iPhone? >> Yes. That is the iPhone -- >> I was going say please don't tell me you use a belt holster, Brian. If you tell me that -- >> That is -- I'm not going hate on [Inaudible] -- [ Multiple voices speaking ] >> Half the people who are watching are going just turn this off when you're ripping on belt holsters. I agree. That's totally geeky. Like, put it in your pocket, right? What if -- are you a hater on the belt holsters. >> Not if of the phone is very big. But if it's a little Nokia, I'm like, huh. [ Laughter ] >> Then it's like [Inaudible] but yeah, I keep mine in my pocket. And that's actually another reason why I don't like my phone. It formed a hole in my pants. Maybe I should wear looser jeans. That may be the larger issue at hand. Let's go here -- here's a question. Do you have -- oops, sorry. Do you have any pay as you go phones that you recommend giving as a first mobile phone. >> Yeah. There are quite a few decent pay as you go phones out there. Depends on which carrier you want to go to. There's Virgin Mobile of course, there's the [Inaudible] and the region carriers that have that. Or specialty carriers that only do pay as you go. And then AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon -- Verizon's de-emphasizing theirs more these days, but they have pay as you go phones as well. You know, I think anything -- we review most of them, as we can. I think mostly you get a basic Nokia, they're pretty reliable most of the time. A few of the kyoceras with Virgin Mobile are pretty reliable. Virgin Mobile tends to have higher-functioning pay as you go phones, maybe with a full quarter keyboard or resolution camera or even 3G. But if you go to -- if you go to our top five cell phones list and look at the individual carrier list, like, top Verizon phones, top AT&T phones, we always list at least one in there that's just totally a basic phone that you can usually just go with a prepaid service. So definitely, there's a lot of options out there. I think Nokia is a decent brand to stick with, as I said. Kyocera most of the time. And I look at definitely Virgin Mobile. They have a pretty good selection. >> Okay, here we go. Let's go with this question from Shawn1190. What would be the best phone from AT&T to buy as a gift besides, of course, the iPhone 3G. And whenever we see these questions it really comes down to how you're going use your phone or who are you going to get it for. Business user, I mean -- >> It's really about what you -- what exactly you're going use it for and what the person wants out of their phone. The Blackberry Bold is a great example. That would be a great gift. If you wanted something -- if you're buying it for someone who really wants that Blackberry functionality. I think the View is probably a decent choice, the W 76 A which we mentioned, which is one of our top picks for the holiday guide that we mentioned earlier. And then if you want just a basic phone the Pantech Breeze isn't a bad option. Simple, reliable, works well, and just makes calls. Some people, you know, they want that. Really, it's about what you want. I tend to think of people in three categories. There's the business, there's the multimedia, there's maybe just the simple camera phone, and then there's the basic phone. So think about what you want there and then make your selection. >> Okay, and since we're hitting 12 we'll wrap up with this last question. The question is from Julian. What kind of phone do each of you have. I'm rocking the iPhone rights now. So that's -- there you go. For me. >> I flip between the iPhone for work, e-mail. And then I have a Nokia Express music phone. >> So, see, you could basically use almost any phone you want because -- whenever I go into your office you have, like, you always have different new phones like, you know, you just collected these four. And there's plenty more on his desk. And they're all ready to roll because they're review units. They have all the features unlocked. They have access to all, you know, the GPS, the [Inaudible] different phones have, they're totally unlocked for you guys to just go wild. >> Most of the time they're unlocked. A lot of time when we get an AT&T or T-Mobile, you know, they're always locked to that carrier. But we have -- [ Multiple voices speaking ] >> But -- well, that's one thing that's actually hard to decide. There's just too many of them. Someone always says, well what's the next coolest thing. And I have no idea. Because I saw, you know, I saw something last week that was cool, but I know the life -- the product life of cell phones is so short, there's always something coming new, it's difficult to say this is what I love right now and that's what I'm going use right now. So I just switch around. If I get something in, you know, I try to use it as my own phone for a period to really test it out and see what it's like. So -- >> Okay, you know what, I kind of like this last question because maybe you can get your thoughts on it. This question is from -- this is the last one for the day, guys, and thanks, we had tons of them. But we weren't able to answer all of them. This is from Mssdds1. I don't hear anything about the Palm phones from Verizon. Are they out classed by the Blackberry. >> Not necessarily. There is the Palm Centro from Verizon. That's one of the more current ones. The Centro we call a beginning smart phone. >> Kind of -- [ Multiple voices speaking ] >> I just think that right now it's just there's a lot more Blackberries out there, you know, Palm is a little bit on shaky times. >> And they haven't really evolved -- you know, their products haven't continued to evolve with the times. >> Yeah. And they haven't, you know, Palm hasn't really come out -- you know, the Centro is really their newest, greatest -- newest thing they've done in the last couple of years. But that was really based on previous models. They haven't really come out and said, you know, here's something fleet completely new and completely different. Here's what it is. So, I think with the Palm and Verizon, it's not necessarily that they just don't have good enough products, they just don't have enough right now. And they just haven't done a lot new. The Centro is definitely there, though, and if you're looking for a starter smart phone, Centro is a good option. >> Okay, excellent. Well, Ken, thanks for coming out. >> Sure. >> As usually, KG always dropping the knowledge for you guys. Now next week, Tuesday, because we're doing this Editor's Office Hours thing once a week now, it's always going to be Tuesday, 11:30 a.m. west coast, 2:30 p.m. east coast time. Donald Bell is going to be here, he's going to be talking about MP3 players, iPods, iTunes, he's done a bunch of videos on how to work your iPod in different ways, and on top of that he's a big Zoom guy. We just recently did a Prize Fight that you guys will see in about a week between a Zoom and the classic iPod. I don't know what you guys -- who you think is going to win. I already know, because I'm doing the video this week. But we'll see you guys, thanks for coming out, and we'll catch you later on the Editor's Office Hours. >> See you later. ^M00:32:56 [ Music ]