Nokia 6650

The Nokia 6650 has an angular retro design that perfectly befits the thin explosion that started in 2004. It's not exactly eye catching, but we welcome the metal skin that gives the phone a sturdy feel in the hand. Our silver review model had an appealing polish but the handset also is available in red. The features are the same on both models. The hinge has a solid construction in fact, the phone closes with such force that it pinched our finger when it got in the way.

At 3.93 inches tall by 1.86 inches wide by 0.64 inch thick, the 6650 travels well. It's a bit heavier than we expected (3.95 ounces), but that's not a problem. The 6650 has a great external display it measures 1.36 inches and supports 262.000 colors (160x128 pixel resolution). Besides showing all the necessary information including the date, time, battery life, and signal strength, it also shows numeric and photo caller ID.

But the 6650's display goes a step further by allowing access to a variety of features without opening the phone.

You can access the camera, the calendar, the timer, the stopwatch, the ringer profiles menu, the music player, and the camera.

And when you're in camera mode, the display also acts as a viewfinder for self portraits. Even with all that functionality, the interface is intuitive.

Three touch controls just below the display are your primary controls. Above the display sit the camera lens and flesh.

It's a convenient location, as long as you don't place your finger over the lens when snapping a photo. On the right spine you'll find the micro-SD card slot, a 2.5 mm headset jack, and the charger port. A single Micro-USB jack sits on the left spine, below a thin volume rocker and a PTT button.

The controls are easy to use, but because the volume rocker is on the front flap of the phone, there is quite a gap between the rocker and the keypad when the phone is open. The 2.2 inch internal display is positively gorgeous. With support for a brilliant 16.7 million colors (320x240 pixel resolution), it's far better than almost every other phone display in its class.

Graphics and photos are extremely sharp and colors are bright and vibrant. The Symbian series 60, third edition menus are simple and easy to use. We could find features easily and quickly. The list and icon designs are the most intuitive of the four choices. You can change the display's brightness, the font size, and the backlight time. Just be aware that if the backlighting is off, it's very difficult to see the onscreen commands for unlocking the keypad.

Samsung Gravity SGH-T459

The Samsung Gravity looks even more like the LG Rumor, with very minor differences in keypad design, the layout is a little different, the keys have a more bubble like texture, and the Gravity slides to the right to reveal the keyboard instead of to the left. Measuring 4.53 inches long by 2.07 inches wide by 0.7 inch thick, the Gravity isn't much bigger than the Rumor, either.

On the front of the Gravity is a 2.1 inch diagonal display with support for 262.000 colors, plus it has a 176x220 pixel resolution. Colors really stand out, and the overall display is bright and vibrant. We like the simple animated menu interface, as well as the large font size. You can adjust the backlight time, add a calendar to the home screen, change the style and color of the information text on the home screen, the size and color of the dialing font, plus the background color when dialing.

You can also add a greeting on the home screen if you wish. Underneath the display is the navigation array, which consists of two soft keys, a dedicated messaging key, a Clear key, a round toggle with middle OK key, and the Send and End or Power keys. The toggle also doubles as shortcuts to your call records, a new audio postcard, the contacts list, and a new message.

You can remap the messaging key to point to the inbox, the instant messaging application, or a new email as well. We're definitely fans of the Gravity's keypad not only is it spacious, the keys are quite big and are sufficiently raised above the surface of the phone, which makes it easy to dial by feel. Slide the Gravity to the right, and you'll reveal a full QWERTY keyboard on your left.

Once you slide out the keyboard, the screen orientation changes from portrait to landscape mode. To the left and right side of the keyboard are two soft keys, which are appropriate for when the screen is in landscape mode. Similar to the keypad, we found the QWERTY keyboard quite roomy, and each key has a smooth bubble like texture that make for easy and responsive texting. We wished the keyboard had arrow keys so that we didn't need to use the toggle for navigating the phone when in landscape mode, but it's not a big deal.