3. Size, Style And Smarts

Motorola's Q brings a QWERTY keyboard to a Windows smartphone with mixed results.

We're starting to see phones that combine smartphone OSes with a true QWERTY keyboard (the Motorola Q and the Samsung Black Jack for example), but they tend to be larger and they change the way you use the device. With QWERTY you're switching from holding your phone in one hand and pressing all the buttons with your thumb to holding it in both hands and using both thumbs or at least several fingers. You can pull a one-handed device out of your pocket as you walk and make a call or check a message without really slowing down; with a two-handed device you usually have to stop and concentrate on the screen.

Many smartphones use a simple list of icons you navigate around.

Windows Mobile smartphones have switched from menus and complex screens to icons. This is the main view of a contact.

The operating system and applications on smartphones are designed to be used with two soft keys that change function depending on the tool or feature you're using. Usually there's a joystick, four-way controller, trackpad or jogwheel for scrolling through options, although Windows Mobile Smartphone maps menu options to numbers on the keypad. Try the different options to see what you find comfortable to use. To see how productive you'll be with a particular smartphone, look at the commands allocated to the soft keys. When you're writing a text message, a Windows Mobile Smartphone uses the soft keys for Send and Menu, while some UIQ Symbian phones use them for Cancel and Menu, which means sending the message will always take at least two key presses.

Nearly all smartphone interfaces offer soft buttons on the keyboard with changing functions labeled on screen. Current functions here are Start and Call History. The soft keys are the two keys on the left and right just below the display labeled with dashes.

Few if any smartphones have touch screens or styluses, so you'll be entering messages with predictive text. Usually that's the familiar T9 system but Motorola has its own predictive text software. The Blackberry Pearl overlays a QWERTY layout on the numeric keypad with each key corresponding to two letters rather than three, which means less confusion between two possible words, but it is a new system to learn.

Cameras are ubiquitous in smartphones; even the BlackBerry Pearl has one. One megapixel is typical, and the quality is usually much the same, although the Pearl produces slightly better images than most.

Two megapixel cameras are becoming more common but if you want more resolution in the smallest size, there are fewer options: the Nokia N95 has a 5 megapixel camera as does an LG smartphone that's not yet available in the US, while the Nokia N93 and N73 have 3 megapixel cameras. Some smartphones have dedicated music controls; for clamshells these are often on the front cover. The BlackBerry Pearl has two 'convenience' buttons that you can allocate to favorite applications or utilities; most Windows Mobile smartphones have two or more quick-launch buttons that are configurable.

GPS is starting to appear in smaller smartphones. There's a RAZR with built-in GPS. The Nokia N95 will have GPS and Airo Wirless may bring the Benefon TWIG GPS smartphone to the US too.

Built-in GPS is no longer restricted to larger PDA phones.