RIM BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300 and the LG Cosmos Touc

In this cell phone review, we will take a peak at RIM's BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300 and the LG Cosmos Touch.The BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300 is the latest RIM phone for AT&T. It comes equipped with 3G support and many other features for business and pleasure. The phone is a tad expensive, carrying a price tag of $499.99 without a contract and $99.99 with a two-year contract from AT&T.



The Curve 3G 9300 comes equipped with BlackBerry OS 5. While that's the configuration out of the box, you can upgrade it to BlackBerry OS 6. Some of the upgrades found in OS 6 include universal search, an improved notifications bar and home screen, plus a revamped Webkit browser.
Beyond the OS-centric features, the Curve 3G 9300 comes with plenty of standard features. There's a speakerphone, a calculator, and an alarm clock.  Organizational tools include a calendar, a memo pad, a voice recorder, and a to-do list.  The phone has 256 MB of internal memory, and ships with a 2 GB microSD card. There's plenty of room to store your contacts and input multiple phone numbers, email addresses, and other relevant data. You can also add a photo and ringtone to contacts.
Advanced features of the Curve 3G 9300 are headlined by Bluetooth 2.1 with support for stereo headsets, hands-free car kits, A2DP, and more. The phone supports voice commands, has visual voicemail, and can be synched with your PC.  Integrated GPS paired with AT&T's Navigator service can help you with voice-guided directions while on the road. You can connect to the Internet via AT&T's 3G network or using the phone's integrated 802.11n Wi-Fi. Once connected, you can surf the net with a full-HTML browser that allows you to view full versions of websites. Those who travel overseas for business or pleasure can use the Curve 3G 9300 on international networks, since it's a quad-band world phone.
Text and multimedia messaging are the most basic services of their type on the smartphone. You can also instant message for quick chatting. There are several options when it comes to email. The smartphone supports POP and IMAP accounts from providers like AOL, Yahoo, and Windows Live. It also allows you to view corporate email through Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino, and BlackBerry Enterprise. If you have any work-related attachments, they can be accessed using the built-in viewer that works with Microsoft Office and PDF documents. Social networking through sites like Twitter and Facebook can be had using apps on the phone.
The BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300 is not all business, as it has some entertainment-related features to keep you busy. The smartphone has a built-in MP3 player that lets you create playlists. You can also listen to music through the AT&T Mobile Music service. Video can be viewed through an integrated video player that supports various file formats, and MobiTV offers some extra visual entertainment. The phone come pre-loaded with social networking apps, games, and various other apps, too. Additional apps can be downloaded by visiting the BlackBerry App World.
A 2-megapixel camera rounds out the Curve 3G 9300's feature set. It can snap photos in various resolutions and settings, and it doubles as a video recorder as well. The overall quality of the photos and videos is average.
You won't find a whole revamped look with the 3G 9300, but fans of the BlackBerry family will probably enjoy that RIM stayed true to its aesthetic roots. It has plenty of similarities to the Curve 8520. The phone is easy to carry and measures 4.3 inches tall by 2.4 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick. It feels very comfortable in your hands and has a nice grip. The graphite gray color scheme is unassuming and professional, which is how many of its users probably prefer it to be.
The 2.4-inch display with 320 x 240 resolution provides plenty of color and clarity. Beneath the display are four touch-sensitive controls and a responsive trackpad. The keyboard is of the typical BlackBerry fodder, so previous BlackBerry owners should become accustomed to typing on it in no time.
The Curve 3G 9300 is a BlackBerry that remains true to its brand's build. This will obviously appeal to previous BlackBerry owners looking to upgrade their handsets. The phone's solid features and design make it a viable selection for those needing a smartphone for both business and pleasure, although its price is a bit on the high side.
The LG Cosmos Touch is a messaging-centric phone for Verizon Wireless customers that offers a rather standard feature set, a touch-screen, and a solid QWERTY keyboard. It may not be for everyone, but messaging fans could be enticed by its design. The Cosmos Touch is available for $79.99 after a two-year contract with Verizon Wireless.

The Cosmos Touch's most standard features include a speakerphone, an alarm clock, a stopwatch, a standard calculator, a tip calculator, a drawing pad, a world clock, and a calendar. The phone book can store up to 1,000 contacts, with room for multiple phone addresses, email addresses, and more for each.  Contacts can be sorted into groups, added to a favorites list, and be paired with a photo and ringtone.
Bluetooth 2.1 on the Cosmos Touch allows you to pair the phone with stereo headsets and other Bluetooth-enabled devices. Voice commands are supported, and so is USB mass storage. The phone's integrated GPS can be used with Verizon's VZ Navigator service to give you voice-guided directions.  Internet surfing is accomplished with a decent wireless web browser that also has Bing search. 
Messaging seems to be the focus of the Cosmos Touch. You can text and multimedia message on the phone, and instant messaging is another quick option. The phone has offers social networking access to sites like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace too. There's also a mobile email service that lets you check POP3 and Microsoft Exchange accounts.
Entertainment options are somewhat limited, but you do get an integrated MP3 player. If you prefer a subscription-based service, there's VCAST Music with Rhapsody. The phone's 1.3-megapixel camera is very basic. You can use it to take photos and record video, but the quality is average and there are not a lot of adjustable settings.
The LG Cosmos Touch is very portable, measuring 4.1 inches tall by 2.1 inches wide by 0.7 inch thick and weighing 4.4 ounces. It fits easily into the palm of your hand and can easily be carried in a pocket. A tradeoff for the phone's small size is that its touch-screen display is a tad small as well. It measures 2.8 inches diagonally and has a 400 x 240 resolution. Since the Cosmos Touch is mostly meant for messaging, the smallish screen isn't a huge deal. The display is not too responsive to the touch, but it does give users some touch capability that they might desire.
Luckily, there's a full QWERTY keyboard that can be used by sliding the phone to the right. It works in landscape mode, and is very spacious.  The keys are large and make the phone excellent for messaging.
If you love messaging but do not place a premium on multimedia features, the LG Cosmos Touch could be the phone for you. It's not the most advanced phone on the market, but its design is suited for plenty of messaging. However, if you do want a phone packed with plenty of features, you should look elsewhere.

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