The Boston Globe THE GLOBE TESTS Select the smartest phone for you With so many competing operating systems and features, choosing a device can be daunting
By John Dyer, Globe Correspondent | February 22, 2009
T riders who used to crack open the newspaper on their morning commutes now surf the Web on their smartphones. Executives don't rush back to the office to write last-minute e-mails anymore; they send them via their PDAs, or personal digital assistants, a fancy name for smartphones.
Lost in an unfamiliar town? Smartphones have global positioning systems. Want to capture baby's first steps when a camera isn't handy? Smartphones take photographs.
These light, handheld devices are like electronic Swiss Army knives. They offer more doodads than most people need, making them essential tools for the technically savvy, but often intimidating for everyone else.
The Globe tested four smartphones. Each is essentially a mobile phone and computer in one, allowing users to make calls and send text messages, check e-mail, listen to music, and enjoy the other perks of browsing online - from Internet banking to finding a good local restaurant.
Each allows users to download free or inexpensive applications, a trend that's opening new markets for computer and telecommunications companies. Applications range from music files to online dictionaries to currency converters.
We asked AT&T and T-Mobile to supply us with their most up-to-date 3G or third-generation smartphones, and we tried out the $435 Blackberry Bold, the $235 LG Incite, the $200 iPhone with 8GB of memory, and the $180 T-Mobile G1.
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