Cell phone technology increases by leaps and bounds as quickly as we can keep up with it. While solid reception and voice quality is obviously key to any good call, mobile phones are becoming more and more like mobile computers every day. As such, it's always fun to peek around the corner at what's coming next. Here are the 5 phones I can't wait to get my hands on, some just released and others coming soon:
1. Nokia N95
Nokia wants you to call their new high-end devices "mobile computers," not "phones." If they send me an N95, I'll do it. With EDGE, HSPDA, and WiFI connectivity, a 5 megapixel camera with 30fps video recording, a media player with stereo Bluetooth, and 160MB of memory all powered by a Series 60 operating system, it's hard to imagine what this phone won't be able to do. Yes, Nokia left off a QWERY board, but they made up for it with dual keypad "wings" - one for dialing and the other for media controls.
2. Sony w950i
As close to an iPod phone as we'll get until #5 (below) happens. The w950i is more or less an m600i with a touch-sensitive dial pad plus an integrated 4GB flash drive. While this phone lacks the camera and WiFi found on most other media-centric phones, it will run a UIQ-powered version of Sony's Walkman music software. Given the availability of 4GB Memory Stick cards, a K790a might prove a more practical Walkman phone (with a 3mp camera to boot), but I'm very very curious indeed to literally get my hands on the 950's touchscreen music player interface.
3. BlackBerry 8703e
Okay, I'm cheating a little because this one just arrived in a box from Sprint. It's on here because it's a GPS enabled phone and I'm curious ... Can GPS keep me from getting lost like I usually do when I drive around the Bay Area? And if so, can I use it without becoming one of those annoying "talking not driving" drivers I always mutter at when I'm behind the wheel?
4. Motorola E9
This one's strictly a rumor for now. But it's a nice rumor, with a 3.2 MP camera, WiFi, stereo Bluetooth, and a QVGA screen packed into a 10mm-thin candybar body. Think of it as SLVR MAXX.
5. Apple iPhone
The Apple community can't stop talking about whether or not Steve Jobs will finally unveil his foray into the mobile phone market at MacWorld this January. If they can apply the same golden touch that they used to design the iPod, the Mac maker could have a huge winner on their hands with an Apple-branded phone. Current rumors point to two phones - one a QWERTY-packing WiFi smartphone - each with a 3 megapixel camera and, of course, iPod-esque music capabilities.