HP IPAQ Data Messenger

The Good :
Fast data connection
Call quality
Pics are good considering just 3.1MP camera

The Bad :
No front camera for video call
Ugly

Retro keypad
Out of date before it was even launched

Final Word
Fans of HP's iPAQs should appreciate the advent of a device with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The D-pad is another stand-out feature. However, HP has missed some key tricks: the screen could use some more pixels; there's no front-facing camera for two-way video calls; we're not fans of micro-USB connectors; and a 3.5mm audio jack really is a must.

Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte

Key Features :
Yells expensive (and it does cost an arm and a leg)
Body made of the highest quality materials
2-inch 16M-color OLED display of QVGA resolution
3G support
3 megapixel camera with autofocus
Fingerprint resistant surface on the back
4GB internal memory
Series 40 5th edition user interface

Main Disadvantages :
Smallish display with poor sunlight legibility
Tri-band only
No memory expansion
Costs an arm and a leg
No video calls

Final Word :

You have probably made up your mind by now about buying the 8800 Carbon Arte or not, and there is little we can say to change it. One thing is for sure - budget and Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte just don't rhyme
The looks and the feel of this phone are awesome and you can bet attention has been paid to every detail. Even if you tried really hard there is barely a thing you can complain about as far as design and construction is concerned. We doubt it tech-freaks will get a kick of those sleek curves but they were never meant to be the target of Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte.
At this stage Nokia is the unchallenged sovereign of this niche. And they can do whatever they want as it seems - even if it's replicating the same design and swapping one piece of exotic material for the next. In the premium segment it's a different set of rules. We're talking a market where upgrading from Sirocco to Arte may as well be considered bad taste. Owning the complete set is more like it

Nokia N96

Key Features
2.8" 16M-color TFT LCD display of QVGA resolution
5 megapixel autofocus camera with dual-LED flash and AF assist light
Built-in DVB-H TV tuner
Symbian OS 9.3 with S60 3.2 UI
Dual ARM 9 264 MHz CPU and 128 MB of RAM
3G with HSDPA support
Quad-band GSM support
Wi-Fi with UPnP technology
Built-in GPS with A-GPS functionality and 3 months of free voice-guided navigation
Dual slide design with dedicated gaming/audio keys
Massive 16GB onboard storage
microSD card slot with microSDHC support
Built-in accelerometer for UI auto-rotation
3.5 mm audio jack
TV out
Stereo FM Radio with RDS
Car charger in the retail package
VGA video recording at 30fps
USB and Bluetooth v2.0
One free N-gage game and Transformers movie preloaded
Keypad locking slide key

Main disadvantages:
Inadequate battery life
No camera lens protection
No office document editing out of the box
Doesn't charge via the USB port
Dreadful camera key
Cheap looking keypad

Final Word
Maybe Nokia N96 wasn't really intended to take the market by storm and turn the world around. Maybe it was meant to quietly update the top multimedia gadget of the house and continue to cash in.
It just seems Nokia won't put all eggs in the same basket. And that makes us wondering. More high-end stuff will be available in affordable handsets, Arte will continue to define exquisite splendor, Eseries will go on blending exceptional skill with refined elegance and Touch UI will slowly be conquering the company portfolio. If all those assumptions are true, shall we fear the Nseries packed with features beyond belief but only getting uglier?
Tempted though we are to say that failure is looming over Nokia N96, we know better than that. There will be quite a lot of diehard Symbian fans (and even a few individuals that do actually need DVB-H support) that will go against their aesthetic sense and get the N96. And no, we don't think they will be disappointed or eager to agree with most of the things we said in this review.
As for the rest of the potential buyers - Nokia N96 is a great software package that comes in an utterly user-unfriendly shell. The ergonomics of the device are so poor (except for video watching) that operating it is a chore, rather than fun. Not to mention looks that are….oh well, controversial will have to do. It's just that when you dish out a healthy sum it's only fair to expect style and finesse. For all we know, style and finesse may have different meaning in the geek world and that's where the name of Nokia N96 sure rings a special bell.

T - Mobile G1

Key Features
Android OS
3.2" capacitive touchscreen display of HVGA resolution
Slide-out five-row full QWERTY keyboard
Qualcomm MSM 7201A 528 MHz CPU, 192 MB RAM
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
3G with HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA 2Mbps
3.15 megapixel autofocus camera
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
GPS
Trackball
Accelerometer sensor
Digital compass

Main disadvantages:

Quite unassuming looks
Pretty bulky and heavy
The slider mechanism rattles
No secondary videocall camera
No video recording
No flash support in the web browser
No file transfers or A2DP over Bluetooth
No FM radio
No screen auto rotation
No smart dialing

Final Word :

There we are at the end of our very first Android-powered review. The T-Mobile G1 made quite a start and had us impressed on quite a few counts. It's far from the perfect package but it gets the things that mater done and gets them done right. The interface is not only up and running, it has purpose and direction.
It maybe a long journey but the first step is daring enough. Instead of trying to expand on an already existing platform Google decided to build a new one from scratch and the effort is well worth it.
The immaturity of the platform has its disadvantages too - the limited third party software and the lack of hardware choices. Those are being addressed as we speak of course and the Android Market will be brimming with software sooner rather than later, while new Android devices should be just around the corner set to launch in 2009.
But back to the small story in the Android history, T-Mobile G1 or its sibling HTC Dream is already standing taller than its actual height. What would've been another average smart QWERTY messenger is the herald of Google OS. Of course, the lack of Flash support in the browser, Bluetooth file transfer or even a proper file manager will be used against the G1 but it's not what it would be remembered by.
As to the iPhone, it doesn't necessarily need to feel threatened at this point, but at least Apple will know that changing the rules on the mobile phone market is not their exclusive territory.

MacBook Pro

The Good :
excellent display color, brightness and clarity; won't fade over time.
2 GB of memory standard
excellent keyboard and trackpad
good expandability (FireWire 800, Express/34, 30" Display support)
very good battery life

The Bad :
noisy audio
won't run classic Mac OS software
hard drive inaccessible

Final Word :
Historically, Mac laptop performance has been irregular. The PowerBook 500 series offered nearly the performance of a Quadra, but its PowerBook 5300 successor was a dud. The PowerBook G3 "Wallstreet" and "Pismo" offered performance on par with their desktop G3 cousins. In recent years, G4-based PowerBook performance fell further and further behind G5 desktops. Apple tricked them out with illuminated keyboards, ambient light sensors, FireWire 800, and stunning industrial design, but they weren't really a viable desktop replacement for creative professionals.
The original MacBook Pro changed that, finally delivering high performance to match the marketing claims. Early models had problems (see our Laptop Reliability Report for more), but most were fixed by the October 2006 Core 2 Duo revision, which also added FireWire 800 for high-speed storage support.
The inexpensive, 13" MacBook is the Pro's main competition. The MacBook provides better bang-for-the-buck with surprisingly few performance limitations; the MacBook Pro justifies its price tag with a stunning display, better quality keyboard, sleeker industrial design and greater expandability.
The new Santa Rosa-based MacBook Pro shows only modest improvements over its immediate predecessor — anyone who bought a MacBook Pro last month needn't run to buy the new one — but it is a substantial improvement over the first MacBook Pro models, and very competitive with current Core 2 Duo iMac desktops. And if you own a PowerBook G4, now is the time to upgrade. With the Adobe Creative Suite 3 running fully native and Office 2008 on the horizon in the next few months, there's not much reason to wait.
With the early MacBook Pro problems resolved, we think the latest Core 2 Duo models are a grand slam. Better battery life, environmentally-friendly displays that won't fade over time, lots of RAM and hard drive capacity, and the fastest memory available to laptops make this portable Mac very compelling. Add a large 24-bit external display, and you'll have the best of both worlds: desktop power with portability.

Sony Ericsson HBH DS970

The Good :
The easy-to-use Sony Ericsson HBH-DS970 offers superior sound quality and an admirable feature set.

The Bad :
The Sony Ericsson HBH-DS970's wearing style is a bit clunky. Also, the multi-device function could perform better

Final Word :
Despite some design and performance complaints the Sony Ericsson HBH-DS970 delivers solid sound quality and generous features.

Listening
It's not the loudest we've heard, but the HBH-DS970 pumps out high quality sound from its comfortable and snug in-earpieces with impeccable performance across the range - including bass. Its range hovers decently around 4 meters, and as for for battery life,some might say 5,5 hours of use is on the short side for a headset - but remember, this is in stereo and quite a small package.

Wearing
Designed to be worn in a pendant fashion, the HBH-DS970 is suitably light at 27 g, yet has the unfortunate habit of bouncing around in a very annoying manner when walking as it lacks a clothes clip. This means skipping tracks with the otherwise easily distinguishable controls can only be done after getting a good grip on it, which is further adds to the hassle factor. Its LCD screen, however is very useful for informing users of battery life and music status.

Blackberry Pearl Flip 8820

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 is the first clamshell BlackBerry from RIM and it’s a sleek departure from the bulky business wide look of the BlackBerry lineup. It uses the Tron UI and the latest BlackBerry OS and although the screen is smaller and lacks the horsepower, the translation goes pretty well but marred with performance issues.
Features include OVGA 2.4 inch 320×240 screen supporting 65K colors, media capabilities, 2 megapixel camera and video recording, html rendering, stereo bluetooth support, external microSD memory card slot and full fledged BlackBerry apps such as email, Flickr and Facebook.
Connectivity support includes Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE/WiFi network as well as support for international roaming.