Top Cellular Phones for 2008

Maybe it's our fragile fanboy expectations, but 2008 has been a downer for gadgets. The primary offenders so far? Cell phones. It’s true; an overwhelming amount of these devices receive relentless hype, accolades, and praise prior to launch. But when it comes to the actual reveal, many of this year's hotly anticipated phones have been busts. Here's our list of 2008's glaring culprits.

1. iPhone 3G

The Hype: The fevered buzz surrounding the latest iProduct to emerge from the hive mind in Cupertino was deafening. Sure Apple adherents were dizzy for updates like GPS, a thinner profile, and a flush headset jack. But the real prize was the promise of 3G delivering gushing access to pr0n our favorite websites. And hey, don’t forget how “fun” it is to stand in line for Apple products every 18 months.

The Letdown: Turns out the iPhone's second coming was less Jesusphone and more false idol. After camping in long queues and enduring a hellish activation process, customers found themselves with a handset that was essentially borked. With applications like Mobile Me initially M.I.A., 3G functionality that was severely crippled (a firmware update managed to patch the problem), and a battery that died faster than a suicidal lemming, the whole debacle left us feeling more deflated than circa 1998 Apple stock.

2. Google G1

The Hype: Googlephone rumors have been circulating for years. So, when news surfaced that HTC, Google, and T-Mobile were (finally) bringing the G1 to market, froth mouthed gadget geeks, pundits, and journalists were driven into a frenzy. Lofty expectations included a totally customizable OS, loads of free applications, and a snappy form factor. Also, with Google's penchant for unloading free stuff on the public, the overall assumption was that the G1 would be the smartphone for the everyman. Boom! Take that iElitists!

The Letdown: Letdown: The G1's unveiling was a lot like the Bigfoot press conference — a long, awkward presentation that left a lot of people confused and/or disappointed. The handset poised to out-iPhone the iPhone had a laundry list of hardware letdowns: bulky, unattractive, and saddled with yet another proprietary headphone jack. Under the hood, the G1 had even more perplexing issues. Any sort of multitouch interface was missing, as was Microsoft Office support (beyond viewing), and video playback. Updates to Google's Android OS could salvage the device (à la the iPhone 3G). But for now, the G1 doesn't even trigger the same excitement as a gorilla costume in an ice chest.

3. Palm Treo Pro


The Hype: All it took were some blurry leaked photos and the industry was atwitter over the Pro. It made sense. After numerous iterations of the Treo, Palm finally found a design that wasn't hideously fugly. Also, the Treo Pro was slated to make touchscreens hip again (for Palm devices at least), and put a clear emphasis on simplicity and usability. Basically, this was Palm's moment to elegantly descend the spiral staircase and demurely reveal its brand new makeover.


The Letdown: Despite a number of weaknesses working against the Pro (Windows Mobile 6.1 OS, being manufactured by Palm) it's not a terrible device. Its feature set is a by-the-number execution of smartphone sweetness (Wi-Fi, camera, microSD, 3G, GPS, QWERTY keyboard). Too bad it was all eclipsed by a horrid screen. The TFT touch display on the Pro isn’t a step in the wrong direction; it's like Palm bounded four steps to the side and then broke its legs. Elements of the phone were clearly light years ahead of previous Palm devices, but the Pro's stylus reliant, surprisingly small, unresponsive 320 x 320 touchscreen wasn't one of them.

4. Motorola Z10

The Hype: Every once in a while Motorola knocks it out the park. The Z10, Motorola's self-proclaimed "pocket-sized mobile studio," was looking to be a BALCO-assisted grand slam. On the outside, its playfully sophisticated sliding/bending design reminded us of the RAZR’s glory days. However, goodies like MP3 playback, a 3.2MP camera, and the ability to shoot and edit video (at 30 fps!) is what got geek juices flowing. Even more exciting was the fact that it came unlocked and ran on Symbian UIQ instead of a Motorola train wreck OS.

The Letdown: The joke was on us. The would-be savior of an OS was less train-wreck accident more Hindenburg sized disaster. Its sluggish response not only irritated during ordinary tasks, but also ruined the Z10's similarly troubled 'whizz bang' features. Ultimately, the Z10 spread itself too thin with its mobile studio ambition. All the multimedia goodness — pictures, videos, and even audio for MP3 playback — were second rate in quality. Oh, and the head turning bendy chassis? A nightmare for texting. And we're not even going to mention the price.

...fine. This clunker ran an unbelievable $500.

5. LG Dare

The Hype: LG's Dare seemed aptly named...at first. As the premier U.S. phone to sport 120 fps video recording (and face recognition), it was poised to shake up the feature phone market. Perks like zippy EVDO Rev A. connectivity, GPS, and a 3-inch touch screen made for some impressive ante uppers too. But it was the Dare's audacity to challenge the iThrone (with faster data speeds and full HTML browsing, no less!) that really caught our attention.

The Letdown: Word to the wise: slapping advanced features together isn't a foolproof recipe for success. Sure, the Dare brought a large touch screen to the party. But navigating with it was a pipe dream. The smokin' data speeds? Squandered on a terrible browser. Other coffin nails include the phone's aggravatingly slow OS, nixed Wi-Fi, and email apps…that you had to pay for. If only LG had dared to raise the bar beyond the phone's (legitimately sweet) camera.