Latest in Smartphones: Third Quarter 2010

What's Coming

Dell Streak

Although Dell is positioning the Streak as a tablet device, not a smartphone, we think it's a bit of both. The 5-inch 800 x 480 capacitive touch screen is significantly bigger than any other smartphone's, even the massive EVO and HD2, but not quite as large as a typical tablet – the iPad features a 9.7-inch display, for example.

The other obvious difference compared to most tablets: you can make calls... if you don't mind looking a bit foolish with this thing held against your face. Among its most notable features is a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus and dual LED flash, a front-facing camera, accelerometer, 2GB on-board storage plus a pre-installed 16GB card. The MID-shaped phone will come with a skinned Android 1.6, but an OTA update to 2.2 should arrive in September.

For now the Streak is only available from U.K.'s O2. Dell's U.S. launch is expected sometime this month for $500 unlocked.

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Motorola Droid X

The Droid X is due to be launched July 15, 2010 as Verizon and Motorola's answer to the HTC EVO 4G. Although some specifications and features are preliminary and subject to change, the device is expected to have a huge 4.3-inch touch display, a fast 1GHz OMAP processor and 24GB of storage capacity out of the box. Motorola preloads Swype for fast typing and it also includes a multi-touch keyboard, which will allow users to use multiple finger presses at once – a first for Android phones.

Other features include an 8-megapixel camera with 720p video recording, HDMI output, Adobe Flash Player 10.1 support, GPS navigation with full turn-by-turn directions, FM radio, and a thin enclosure.

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Samsung Galaxy S

Samsung's hot new Android handset will debut on all major U.S. carriers sporting a different name and set of features, but enough similarities under the hood to make the Galaxy S heritage clear. Verizon's version will be called Samsung Fascinate. On AT&T's network the phone will be called Samsung Captivate, while T-Mobile and Sprint have christened the Samsung Galaxy S as Vibrant and Epic 4G, respectively.

They may not share identical exteriors but they all boast a high-end feature set that includes a 4-inch AMOLED touch screen display, 1Ghz Cortex A8 Hummingbird processor, 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and 720p video capture, six-axis sensor for gaming, 2GB of internal storage, Bluetooth, GPS and Wi-Fi.

Among them, Sprint's version stands out the most with a few extra surprises. Namely, the phone will be able to hop on the carrier's WiMAX network for faster download speeds (where available), and will add a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a front-facing camera. This will be Sprint's second WiMAX phone and a great alternative to the HTC Evo 4G.

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Nokia N8

The N8 is Nokia's latest attempt to retain its dominant position in the increasingly competitive smartphone market. This candybar-style, multi-touch screen phone is due to hit store shelves in the third quarter of 2010 packing some impressive gadgetry, most notably a 12-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash (here are some image quality samples), 720p HD video recording, movie editing software, and Dolby surround sound. It'll come in a svelte anodized aluminum body featuring a 3.5-inch AMOLED screen with a 640 x 360 pixel resolution, 16GB of internal storage (upgradable via the microSD expansion card slot), and support for every single 3G band on the planet.

This will be Nokia's first smartphone to run on the Symbian^3 operating system and their last N-series phone based on this platform. Going forward, N-series smartphones will be based on MeeGo, the Linux-based lovechild of Nokia's Maemo and Intel's Moblin. Unfortunately for the N8, it's not very appealing to invest your money in a device that sports a dying OS, but perhaps it's high-end hardware and multimedia oriented features will be enough to keep you interested.

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BlackBerry 9800

Little is known about this device other than it will sport a trackpad, vertical slide-out keyboard, a 360x480 resolution touchscreen and is expected to debut by the end of September alongside OS 6.0. The phone is currently in testing and from the multiple pictures that have been leaked it looks to be a conversion of the Bold and Storm models. Apparently RIM has been debating whether or not they should launch this as part of the BlackBerry Bold family or instead launch a new product family for it. The name that was being thrown around last time we heard: BlackBerry Torch 9800.

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