The best smartphone is...

Value for money
Perhaps the most difficult criteria to evaluate, value for money takes all other criteria into consideration and compares this result to the recommended retail price.

Best Value

  1. 1.  Nokia E71

    Aesthetic 4.5 out of 5
    Usability 4 out of 5
    Performance 4 out of 5
    Connectivity 4 out of 5
    Features 4 out of 5
    Value for Money 5 out of 5
    Nokia E71
    Overall: 82%
    Editor's Rating: 8/10

  2. 2.  Apple iPhone 3G

    Aesthetic 5 out of 5
    Usability 5 out of 5
    Performance 3.5 out of 5
    Connectivity 3.5 out of 5
    Features 4 out of 5
    Value for Money 4 out of 5
    Overall: 81%
    Editor's Rating: 7/10

  3. 3.  Samsung i780

    Aesthetic 3 out of 5
    Usability 3 out of 5
    Performance 3 out of 5
    Connectivity 4 out of 5
    Features 4 out of 5
    Value for Money 4 out of 5
    Samsung i780
    Overall: 70%
    Editor's Rating: 7.5/10

  4. 4.  i-mate Ultimate 8502

    Aesthetic 3.5 out of 5 Usability 2 out of 5
    Performance 4 out of 5 Connectivity 5 out of 5
    Features 3.5 out of 5 Value for Money 3 out of 5
    Overall 77% Editors' Rating 9.1/10

  5. 5.  i-mate Ultimate 9502

    Aesthetic 3 out of 5 Usability 2 out of 5
    Performance 4 out of 5 Connectivity 5 out of 5
    Features 4 out of 5 Value for Money 3 out of 5
    Overall 76% Editors' Rating 8.3/10

  6. 6.  HTC Touch Diamond

    Aesthetic 4.5 out of 5 Usability 4 out of 5
    Performance 4 out of 5 Connectivity 4 out of 5
    Features 3.5 out of 5 Value for Money 3 out of 5
    Overall 76% Editors' Rating 6.7/10

  7. 7.  i-mate Ultimate 6150

    Aesthetic 3 out of 5 Usability 2 out of 5
    Performance 4.5 out of 5 Connectivity 5 out of 5
    Features 3.5 out of 5 Value for Money 4 out of 5
    Overall 72% Editors' Rating 8.3/10
    i-mate Ultimate 6150

  8. 8.  HTC Touch Dual

    Aesthetic 4 out of 5 Usability 3.5 out of 5
    Performance 3 out of 5 Connectivity 3 out of 5
    Features 2.5 out of 5 Value for Money 3 out of 5
    Overall 65% Editors' Rating 7.6/10
    HTC Touch Dual

  9. 9.  Sony Ericsson W960i

    Aesthetic 3 out of 5 Usability 4 out of 5
    Performance 1 out of 5 Connectivity 4 out of 5
    Features 2.5 out of 5 Value for Money 2 out of 5
    Overall 62% Editors' Rating 7.6/10
    Sony Ericsson W960i

  10. 10.  Palm Treo 500v

    Aesthetic 3 out of 5 Usability 4 out of 5
    Performance 2 out of 5 Connectivity 2 out of 5
    Features 3 out of 5 Value for Money 4 out of 5
    Overall 60% Editors' Rating 7.1/10
    Palm Treo 500v

  11. 11.  BlackBerry Pearl 8120

    Aesthetic 5 out of 5 Usability 4 out of 5
    Performance 5 out of 5 Connectivity 2.5 out of 5
    Features 2 out of 5 Value for Money 2 out of 5
    Overall 72% Editors' Rating 8.2/10
    BlackBerry Pearl 8120

  12. 12.  HTC Touch Cruise

    Aesthetic 4 out of 5 Usability 3 out of 5
    Performance 3.5 out of 5 Connectivity 5 out of 5
    Features 3.5 out of 5 Value for Money 2 out of 5
    Overall 76% Editors' Rating 8/10

  13. 13.  HTC TyTN II

    Aesthetic 3 out of 5 Usability 3.5 out of 5
    Performance 2 out of 5 Connectivity 4 out of 5
    Features 4 out of 5 Value for Money 1 out of 5
    Overall 68% Editors' Rating 7.2/10
    HTC TyTN II

  14. 14.  Nokia N95 8GB

    Aesthetic 2 out of 5 Usability 3 out of 5
    Performance 4 out of 5 Connectivity 4 out of 5
    Features 3 out of 5 Value for Money 1 out of 5
    Overall 68% Editors' Rating 8.3/10
    Nokia N95 8GB

  15. 15.  Nokia E90 Communicator

    Aesthetic 2.5 out of 5 Usability 3 out of 5
    Performance 3.5 out of 5 Connectivity 4 out of 5
    Features 3 out of 5 Value for Money 1 out of 5
    Overall 68% Editors' Rating 8.5/10
    Nokia E90 Communicator
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Talkback 9 comments

    Spell Check Anonymous -- 02/08/08

    Another high quality ZDNet review, featuring repeated misspellings of the word performance and connectivity.

    You also probably meant "aesthetics" instead of "aesthetic" -- the latter tending to imply you're rating the phone on its taste, vs. how it looks.

    Spelling mistakes Irene Mickaiel -- 05/08/08 (in reply to #320108316)

    We apologise about the spelling errors. Due to technical issues this article went live without being edited. Should you find any errors in articles, please feel free to bring it to our attention.

    Thanks,
    Irene

    How about the Anonymous -- 02/08/08

    Blackberry Bold and the HTC Pro? They would sit close to he top of that list.

    But instead they include the communicator that is all but dead in the market.

    K Anonymous -- 05/08/08 (in reply to #320108335)

    Communicator dead?? It has always been niche device and it has sold pretty nice considering for what the device is for. Where are you from? E90 deserves it's spot easily imo.

    Thought what's going on with the feature set stars.... N95 3.5 .... oki.

    BB is still really rare in Europe and Asia and pretty much have only one use.

    Fark the spell check! Anonymous -- 04/08/08

    This is an interesting article. I'm in the market for a smartphone so this is useful info for me.

    Comprehensive? i don't think so Anonymous -- 06/08/08

    so where are the reviews for other palm treo phones. this review is NOT comprehensive and reading this article was a waste of my time. PS no i don't work for palm, but i am a fan.

    Waste of time Anonymous -- 02/10/08 (in reply to #320109181)

    Reading your comment was a wast of my time...

    Nokia E71 Anonymous -- 10/11/08

    I was serious considering one of these until I learned that the device cant recharge via USB with PC. Thats a major issue with business people on the road having to carry another charger around.
    I remember thats why I got rid of my N70. Nokia still havent learnt.

    Nokia E71 Anonymous -- 05/06/09

    I have an E71 and i agree it is an awesome phone however you can't run windows mobile on it as it has Nokias Symbian operating system. That is the biggest problem for me at the moment as i need to run windows mobile for an application for work that i want to place on my smart phone

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