What's this? A Top 5 list? Wow, it's been awhile since I did one of these!
With so many new phones, and one major new platform, released in the first half of this year, it's certainly been a busy time in the wireless world. We all know what's come out this year: Palm Pre, HTC Hero, Touch Diamond/Pro2 and Magic/myTouch, Apple iPhone 3GS, Samsung Jet, Omnia HD, and Omnia 2, to name a few ... but what about what's still to come?
Culled from equal parts fact, rumor, and semi-educated industry insider guesstimates, here's my best stab at the Top Five phones I'm really, really eager to see released in the near(ish) future:
1. Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 ("Rachael")
T-Mobile's myTouch 3G has me all excited about Google's Android OS once again. While I'm eagerly awaiting the FedEx guy to bring me HTC's Hero, I'm already all worked up about the leaked info regarding Sony Ericsson's forthcoming Android phone, the Xperia X3. SE's custom UI looks sweet and the prospect of a Snapdragon-powered Android phone make for a double dose of rumor overload that's got the smartphone nerd in me all keyed up.
2. Motorola Morrison / Calgary
My personal dream phone combines a powerful, user-friendly smartphone OS with hardware that somehow packs a touchscreen and hardware QWERTY into a sleek, pocketable form factor. Palm Pre came close but I'm not crazy about the phone's industrial design/build quality and WebOS still doesn't have an RSS reader. Leaked renders and photos of Motorola's first purported Android phones have me wondering if I might not wind up with MOTOLUST before the year is through. Morrison is rumored to be T-Mobile bound while Verizon fans are excited about Calgary. Or maybe one or the other will wind up on AT&T instead. Who knows? Both phones are claimed to sport touchscreens, slide-out QWERTY boards and, yes, Android (even though the render of Calgary shown here lacks some of Android's essential hardware buttons).
3. Palm EOS ("Pixie")
Palm's WebOS may just be the best mobile platform in the world right now. I'm personally waiting on a few refinements and additions (RSS reader and video player top the list) but my time with Pre made me very excited for the future of the OS. Palm's next WebOS device still looks to be the EOS, or "Pixie," though some doubt has been cast in the past month or two on its launch plans. I love the thin QWERTY candybar form factor that EOS is rumored to have, and while AT&T's recent performance in my local area has been less than satisfactory, the idea of a GSM WebOS device is still appealing.
4. Any Nvidia Tegra-Based Smartphone
A year ago when I first saw Nvidia's Tegra demo I was blown away. Last week when I saw more or less the same demo I was impressed but getting very impatient. Forget Nvidia's "Firefly" netbook concept and the Tegra-powered Zune HD. I want a Tegra-based smartphone with oodles of battery life and full HD video out support. And I want it now.
5. Samsung i7500
Samsung's initial foray into Android land looks and sounds like a beast. Even without a fancy custom UI, the i7500 "Galaxy" could wind up being my favorite Android phone, what with its AMOLED display, 5MP camera, and 3.5mm audio jack. Reports of a version of the phone packing T-Mobile USA compatible 3G banding have me a bit confused, though. T-Mo says myTouch 3G is their flagship Android device for this year, but i7500 looks to have it licked in the specs department. What gives?