Windows Mobile Devices on the Carriers 2010: US Edition

Despite rampant Windows Mobile criticism this year, there are still many great choices for Windows Phones offered by the carriers. With choice sometimes comes indecision, and we’re here to sort it all out for you. What is to come is a comparison of the US’s four biggest carriers (so that’s Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint) and their current offerings of Windows Mobile devices. You’ll see that with popular devices like the Touch Pro2, all carriers have it in slightly different flavors. We hope that this helps you navigate the sea of exciting new choices. This article is broken into four sections for the four carriers. For each device we give you an overview of the device’s good and bad features, plus offer an overall opinion. If you want a more thorough look at a particular device, there are links to our reviews following the "For more info" section. Finally, at the end of each section, we have a comparison grid that offers a summary of the specifications of each device and pricing information with a two-year service agreement and after any carrier incentives and rebates.

Verizon Wireless

– Samsung Omnia II –

The Good:

Large
AMOLED touchscreen, WiFi/aGPS/FM Radio,
5MP Camera w/ Flash, 8GB storage, TouchWiz
interface, Accelerometer, 3.5mm headset jack,
Windows Mobile 6.5

The Bad:

No keyboard, no hardware navigation keys

Overall Take:

The Samsung Omnia II is the successor to the
extremely popular original Omnia. It’s got
upgraded hardware and software all around.
Though the wait has been long, this device is
sure to be well recieved. Come December 2nd it can be had for $199.99 on a 2-year contract.

For more info:

Read the
pocketnow.com review (GSM version). Visit
PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

Windows Mobile Devices on the Carriers 2010: US Edition

–
HTC Touch Pro 2 –

The Good:

Best hardware keyboard ever (slide out), tilting screen, attractive design,
excellent conference calling software,
impressive speakerphone with noise reduction, large touchscreen,
stereo speakers, WiFi/aGPS/FM Radio,
proximity sensor, accelerometer, stylus sensor,
TV-out, 3.5mm headset jack

The Bad:

No hardware key navigation buttons, very large form factor, ships with
Windows Mobile 6.1

Overall Take:

The
Verizon version of the HTC Touch Pro 2 seems to
sell out quite often and with good reason.
Combining this year’s most capable smartphone
with the US’s largest mobile phone network is
certainly going to make for a big win especially
with business users. Right now it can be had for $199.99 on a 2-year contract.

For more info:

Read the
pocketnow.com review (GSM version). Visit
PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

–
HTC Imagio –

The Good:

FLOTV wireless TV, antenna that doubles as a
stand, large touchscreen, Newer TouchFLO 3D with
location-aware weather, WiFi/aGPS/FM Radio,
5MP Camera, accelerometer, stylus sensor, 3.5mm
headset jack, and Windows Mobile 6.5

The Bad:

No hardware key navigation buttons, no hardware
keyboard, a bit thick

Overall Take:

The
Verizon Imagio is a highly capable black-slab
device with FLO TV based Vcast television
capabilities. This is something that has never
been done before, however it naturally costs
extra to use. The large 3.6" touch screen is
great for watching movies. Right now it can be had for $199.99 on a 2-year contract.

For more info:

Read the
pocketnow.com review. Visit
PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

–
HTC Ozone –

The Good:

Thumb keyboard, good one-handed usability, good battery life,
can be controlled entirely with tactile hardware
buttons, straight grid keyboard layout

The Bad:

Screen resolution is low, no touchscreen, Windows Mobile 6.1
Standard Edition, small screen

Overall Take:

The
HTC Ozone is based on HTC’s Snap platform. It’s
a thumb QWERTY-bar keyboard style device with
great portability and one-handed use due to its
easy-to-feel hardware buttons. The small screen
makes the video/multimedia experience less than
ideal. Right now it can be had for $49.99 on a 2-year contract.

For more info:

Read the
pocketnow.com review (GSM version). Visit
PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

–
HTC Touch Diamond –

The Good:

Thin,
beautiful touch screen phone, capacitive
hardware navigation panel.

The Bad:

Not much memory, old version of TouchFLO 3D, old
version of IE doesn’t support Flash, Windows Mobile 6.1

Overall Take:

The
HTC Diamond on Verizon is an older device, and
took its sweet time coming to the carrier. It
remains the smallest touch screen phone around
however and is very nicely pocketable. Right now it can be had for $49.99 on a 2-year contract.

For more info:

Read the
pocketnow.com review (GSM version). Visit
PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

– Samsung Omnia –

The Good:

Sleek design, thin, lightweight, optical mouse, large touchscreen, 8GB internal memory, WiFi/aGPS/FM Radio, good performance, good battery life, widget interface, 5.0MP autofocus camera with flash, great browser, accelerometer

The Bad:

No built in stylus, screen resolution is low, no hardware keyboard,
dated, no Flash support

Overall Take:

The Omnia on Verizon is
still around despite being available for over a
year. It’s still a great device for those who want an iPhone-like form factor with the power of Windows Mobile. It does a great job with multimedia and has plenty of built-in storage, has a terrific camera, utilizes a widget-based interface, and does automatic screen rotation in any screen. Right now it can be had for $14.99 on a 2-year contract.

For more info:

Read the pocketnow.com review (GSM version). Visit PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

– Samsung Saga –

The Good:

Sleek design, thin, hardware keyboard, optical mouse, touchscreen, world-phone capable, good one-handed usability, WiFi/aGPS, great browser

The Bad:

Use of powder blue may deter some, smallish screen, camera only 2.0MP and doesn’t have flash,
Windows Mobile 6.1

Overall Take:

The Saga on Verizon, which is the CDMA version of the Samsung SGH-i780, is a good choice for those that prefer a candy-bar style QWERTY keyboard device that provides excellent one-handed usability. Right now it can be had for $99.99 on a 2-year contract.

For more info:

Read the pocketnow.com review. Visit PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

	CPU	ROM	RAM	Screen	Resolution	3.5mm headset	Camera	Battery	Price
Omnia II	800MHz	8GB	256MB	3.7"	800×480	Yes	5MP	1500mAh	$199
Touch Pro2	528MHz	512MB	288MB	3.6"	800×480	Yes	3.1MP	1500mAh	$199
HTC Imagio	528MHz	512MB	288MB	3.6"	800×480	Yes	5MP	1500mAh	$199
HTC Ozone	528MHz	256MB	192MB	2.4"	320×240	No	1.9MP	1500mAh	$49
Touch Diamond	528MHz	256MB	128MB	2.8"	640×480	No	3.2MP	1340mAh	$49
Omnia	624MHz	8GB	128MB	3.2"	400×240	Yes	5.0MP	1440mAh	$14
Saga	384MHz	256MB	128MB	2.6"	320×320	No	1.9MP	1300mAh	$99

T-Mobile

–
HTC Touch Pro 2 –

The Good:

The Bad:

No hardware key navigation buttons, very large form factor, ships with
Windows Mobile 6.1 instead of 6.5, no 3.5mm headset
jack, T-Mobile’s 3G network is not as expansive as others

Overall Take:

The
T-Mobile version of the HTC Touch Pro 2 was the
first to go on sale in North America.
Oddly it cripples the conference calling feature
to only 2 other people, but this can be fixed by
editing the registry. The brown color may also
be a turn-off to some and the non-designed
dark-blue TouchFLO 3D theme clashes with the
device’s hardware color. Right now it can be had for $349.99
or Free on a 2-year contract.

For more info:

Read the
pocketnow.com review. Visit
PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

– T-Mobile Dash
3G –

The Good:

Sleek design, thin, great keyboard, good one-handed usability, durable, Wifi,
3G, GPS, trackball navigation, offset-grid
keyboard layout

The Bad:

Screen resolution is low, no touchs screen, Windows Mobile 6.1, small screen.

Overall Take:

The T-Mobile Dash is an older device but continues to be a favorite among those looking for a good phone with messaging capabilities and a fantastic hardware keyboard, plus slick form factor. The Dash can be had for $99.99
or Free with a 2-year contract.

For more info:

Read the
pocketnow.com review
(GSM version). Visit
PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

– T-Mobile Shadow
2009-

The Good:

Sleek design, slide-down SureType keyboard, innovative "Neo" carousel interface, WiFi, great price

The Bad:

Lacks GPS, camera has no flash, basic browser, no 3G,
Windows Mobile 6.1 not 6.5

Overall Take:

The T-Mobile Shadow
2009 is an older device and has lost some steam
since the original Shadow’s release due to its
lack of 3G capabilities. However, the Shadow is
still one of the best one-handed-use phones due
to its Compact-Qwerty SureType style slide out
keyboard and easy to feel hardware navigation
buttons. The site AllShadow.com has become a resource for Shadow users that want to tweak and modify their device. A Shadow can be had for just $29.99 on a 2-year agreement

For more info:

Visit
PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

	CPU	ROM	RAM	Screen	Resolution	3.5mm headset	Camera	Battery	Price
Touch Pro2	528MHz	512MB	288MB	3.6"	800×480	No	3.1MP	1500mAh	$349 or Free
Dash 3G	528MHz	256MB	192MB	2.4"	320×240	No	1.9MP	1500mAh	$99 or Free
Shadow	260MHz	256MB	128MB	2.6"	320×240	No	1.9MP	1100mAh	$49

AT&T Wireless

–
HP Glisten –

The Good:

Touch screen & QWERTY thumboard, AMOLED screen, WiFi, Windows Mobile 6.5

The Bad:

No softkey hardware buttons, QVGA resolution
small screen.

Overall Take:

HP is finally back to offering Windows Phones in
North America. Come December it can be had for $180.00
on a 2-year contract.

For more info:

coming soon

–
HTC Tilt 2 –

The Good:

The Bad:

No hardware key navigation buttons, very large form factor, no 3.5mm headset
jack

Overall Take:

The
AT&T version of the HTC Touch Pro 2 is most like
HTC’s European version with its silver bezel.
While the other versions of the Touch Pro 2 are
expected to recieve Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrades,
the AT&T versions ships with it. The blue Touch
Flo 3D theme is also very attractive. Right now it can be had for $299.99
on a 2-year contract.

For more info:

Read the
pocketnow.com review (GSM version). Visit
PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

–
HTC Pure –

The Good:

Sstereo speakers, WiFi/aGPS/FM Radio,
accelerometer, stylus sensor, ATT 3G, 5MP
camera, full day constant-use battery life,
ships with Windows Mobile 6.5

The Bad:

Few hardware key navigation buttons, no hardware
keyboard, smallish screen, no 3.5mm headset
jack

Overall Take:

The
AT&T Pure is AT&T’s version of the HTC Diamond
2. It includes all of the usual suspects that
you’d expect to have in a smartphone, but
doesn’t really offer anything more. There’s
nothing that makes the Pure stand out as
something special. Right now it can be had for
$199.99
on a 2-year contract..

For more info:

Read the
pocketnow.com review. Visit
PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

– Samsung Jack –

The Good:

Large keyboard, Blackberry-like design, aGPS/WiFi/3G, good one-handed usability,
Upgradable to Windows Mobile 6.5.

The Bad:

Small screen, camera lacks a flash, a bit thicker
than other QWERTY-board devices

Overall Take:

The
Jack is Samsung’s latest upgrade to the very
popular BlackJack line of Windows Mobile Standard
edition QWERTY Thumboard style devices. The Jack
has all the usual suspects for smartphones these
days and is essentially AT&T’s competitor to the
HTC Snap platform available on other carriers.
Unlike the previous BlackJack 2, the Jack only
comes in one color. Right now it can be had for $79.99 on a 2-year contract.

For more info:

Visit
PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

–
Samsung Propel Pro –

The Good:

Vertical sliding keyboard, good one-handed usability, good battery life,
square 320×320 pixels screen, aGPS/3G/WiFi

The Bad:

Windows Mobile 6.1 not 6.5 (non upgradable), basic browser,
stability issues, joystick-like D-pad

Overall Take:

The
Samsung Propel Pro is the more-powerful smartphone
version of the Samsung Propel which also has a
slide-out Qwerty keyboard. The formfactor is
unique amoung smartphones and the keyboard is said
to be quite fantastic. Right now it can be had for $79.99 on a 2-year contract.

For more info:

Read the
pocketnow.com review. Visit
PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

	CPU	ROM	RAM	Screen	Resolution	3.5mm headset	Camera	Battery	Price
HP Glisten	528MHz	512MB	256MB	2.5"	320×240	Yes	3.1MP	1590mAh	$180
HTC Tilt 2	528MHz	512MB	288MB	3.6"	800×480	No	3.1MP	1500mAh	$299
HTC Pure	528MHz	512MB	288MB	3.2"	800×480	No	5MP	1100mAh	$199
Samsung Jack	528MHz	256MB	256MB	2.4"	320×240	No	3.1MP	1480mAh	$79
Incite	528MHz	256MB	128MB	3.0"	400×240	No	3.1MP	1300mAh	$79
Propel Pro	528MHz	256MB	128MB	2.6"	320×320	No	3.1MP	1500mAh	$79

Sprint

–
HTC Touch Pro 2 –

The Good:

The Bad:

No hardware key navigation buttons, very large form factor, ships with
Windows Mobile 6.1.

Overall Take:

This
is the Sprint version of the HTC Touch Pro 2.
Sprint’s version is very similar to the Verizon
version which includes the CDMA radio as well as
a 3.5mm headset jack. Right now it can be had for $349.99 on a 2-year contract.

For more info:

Read the
pocketnow.com review (GSM version). Visit
PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

–
HTC Snap –

The Good:

Thumb keyboard, one-handed usability, good battery life,
can be controlled entirely with tactile hardware
buttons, offset grid keyboard layout.

The Bad:

Screen resolution is low, Windows Mobile 6.1
Standard Edition, small screen.

Overall Take:

The
Sprint version of the HTC Snap replaces the
trackball navigation with a more traditional
hardware directional pad. It’s
a thumb QWERTY-bar keyboard style device with
great portability and one-handed use due to its
easy-to-feel hardware buttons. The small screen
makes the video/multimedia experience less than
ideal and the offset keyboard layout might take
some getting used to. Right now it can be had for $99.99 on a 2-year contract.

For more info:

Read the
pocketnow.com review (GSM version). Visit
PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

–
Samsung Intrepid –

The Good:

Touch screen and hardware key navigation, QWERTY
thumb keyboard, one-handed usability, WiFi, aGPS,
Windows Mobile 6.5

The Bad:

Flat D-pad hardware buttons, smallish screen

Overall Take:

The Samsung
Intrepid looks like your average thumb keyboard
Qwerty-bar device, but it actually also has a
touch screen and runs Windows Mobile 6.5
Professional. If you’re looking for both touch
screen capabilities and a Qwerty-bar form
factor, this could be the best of both worlds. Right now it can be had for $149.99 on a 2-year contract.

For more info:

Visit
PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

– Palm Treo
Pro –

The Good:

Nice feel in-hand, solid performance, good one-handed usability, WiFi, aGPS,
first smartphone with built-in Flash support

The Bad:

Shiny finger-print magnet, no hardware buttons
for softkeys, small rubbery keyboard, Windows
Mobile 6.1 not 6.5, Can’t be shut down
completely

Overall Take:

The Sprint Treo
Pro is probably the last Windows Mobile device
that Palm will produce. That’s a shame because
it’s a fantastic device. This may be a
collector’s item someday. Right now it can be had for $149.99 on a 2-year contract.

For more info:

Read the
pocketnow.com review
(GSM version). Visit
PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

– HTC Touch Diamond –

The Good:

Sleek design, thin, high resolution VGA screen, WiFi/FM Radio/aGPS, TouchFLO 3D interface, good 3.2MP autofocus camera, great browser, accelerometer

The Bad:

Pricey, lack of programmable hardware buttons

Overall Take:

The Sprint HTC Touch Diamond is slightly changed from the original Touch Diamond, which is now a benchmark Windows Mobile phone. In combines terrific styling and robust power, which should satisfy the most demanding power user. The lack of programmable hardware buttons and keyboard may makes it not the ideal business device. Right now it can be had for $199.99 on a 2-year contract.

For more info:

Read the pocketnow.com review.
Visit
PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

– HTC Touch Pro –

The Good:

Full slide-out keyboard, high resolution VGA screen, WiFi/FM Radio/aGPS, TouchFLO 3D interface, good 3.2MP autofocus camera, great browser, accelerometer,
TV-out

The Bad:

Bulky, pricey,
no tilt screen

Overall Take:

The Touch Pro on Sprint is
the older version of the Touch Pro 2. This is a
decent phone for the multimedia user, but it
lacks the tilting WVGA screen and fantastic
keyboard of its newer big brother. Right now it can be had for $299.99 on a 2-year contract.

For more info:

Read the pocketnow.com review (GSM version). Visit PDAdb.net for detailed specs.

	CPU	ROM	RAM	Screen	Resolution	3.5mm headset	Camera	Battery	Price
HTC Touch Pro2	528MHz	512MB	288MB	3.6"	800×480	Yes	3.1MP	1500mAh	$349
HTC Snap	528MHz	256MB	192MB	2.4"	320×240	No	1.9MP	1500mAh	$99
Treo Pro	528MHz	512MB	128MB	2.5"	320×320	Yes	1.9MP	1500mAh	$149
Ace	416MHz	128MB	64MB	2.3"	320×240	No	1.2MP	1300mAh	$49
Touch Diamond	528MHz	256MB	128MB	2.8"	640×480	No	3.2MP	1340mAh	$199
Touch Pro	528MHz	512MB	288MB	2.8"	640×480	No	3.2MP	1340mAh	$299

CONCLUSION
So there you have it. Hopefully this guide has made choosing a new phone among the sea of 20 or so choices a bit easier. Clearly, the HTC Touch Pro2 is the most feature-packed smartphone available in 2009 and it’s available on all four top North American carriers. If you’re looking for the best of the best, you’ll probably want to pair the Touch Pro2 with Verizon’s great nationwide coverage. On the other hand if you’re looking for the best smartphone on a budget, T-Mobile’s version of the Touch Pro2 is available for free if you know the special code. The QWERTY thumboard style is also extremely popular. HTC’s got versions of it’s Snap platform on 3 out of 4 carriers if you’re looking for an inexpensive yet powerful Windows Phone. If you still are having trouble deciding on new phone, be sure to drop by our Q&A Facebook discussion forum.

Originally published on Pocketnow on November 30, 2009. More Reviews articles from the Pocketnow archive.