by Bill Stone

Created on: May 30, 2008   Last Updated: September 03, 2008

The latest in cellular technology is geared more towards cellular data applications than actual talking. Yes, they all allow you to call people and for them to call you, but today's phones are about far more than just talking. These electronic powerhouses will do everything from allowing you to surf the full Internet to streaming audio and video directly over the cellular network to storing your digital music and movie database for your instant accessibility. However, these phones are very different, and you have to know what you want before you buy, or you'll be sinking a very large chunk of change into a disappointing device.

Apple iPhone - 8 GB, $399; 16 GB, $499, available only on the AT&T network in the US: The Apple iPhone hopes to do for cellular phones what the iPod did for MP3 players: make them sexy enough for everyone. Granted, cell phones were around long before the iPhone, but only Apple can so eloquently merge a cell phone, an iPod, and an Internet access device into one slim unit. This phone is all about image. The revolutionary feature of the iPhone is its fantastic touch screen, which allows you to navigate the phone with your fingertips (no stylus to lose). The controls are nearly intuitive, and anyone can get the hang of them in just a few minutes of playing with it. The phone will sync and store your music collection from iTunes, and if you turn it sideways, it will present the "cover flow" view of your albums from iTunes. The Internet looks beautiful on the Safari browser, and is dirt simple to navigate. The screen will knock your socks off.

But that's about all that will floor you. The rest of its features (or lack thereof) is quite unimpressive. The current iPhone is limited to AT&T's EDGE network (read: 2G slow Internet). It doesn't sync with Microsoft Outlook, so it has no chance of being a viable business machine. And its biggest drawback: no replaceable battery. You can only sync your music through iTunes, no over-the-air downloads (Apple's missing a huge opportunity there). And 5 Benjamins will only get you 16GB of storage space, not nearly enough for many full-length movies (which would be really awesome on this device).

The new iPhone is supposed to correct some of these glaring oversights. The 2.0 version of the iPhone is most certainly going to be 3G. Expect the new iPhone to have over-the-air downloadable music capabilities, and true GPS capabilities.

LG VX10000 (Voyager) - $299, Verizon Wireless: The LG Voyager stands head and

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