Eric's phone shopping Fridays: Picking a video phone
Editor's note: Here on Engadget we tell you about new mobile phones when they're announced, which is usually anywhere from 3 months to 9 months before they're available. This is great information if all you want to do is impress your friends with your unparalleled geekiness, but it's not always helpful when it comes to actually picking the right phone. So to help you navigate the minefield that is the mobile phone market, Engadget senior editor Eric Lin is starting a new weekly series recommending handsets that you can actually buy right now.
A friend recently complained that he just got a cameraphone and already felt like it was obsolete now that video phones are available from a few carriers. We start this new column with recommendations to help him, and to help you,
choose a video phone wisely.
GSM:
The
Sony Ericsson P900 (pictured at right) is equal parts PDA powerhouse and cell phone. It's big, but it packs a punch when it comes to software, text input and screen size. It's on this list because the video recorder application that's included is actually pretty powerful, and the camera is good. It's currently one of the few phones available that will let you record more than a few seconds of video, so you can actually capture video as opposed to a blink-and-you-miss-it clip.
Smaller than the P900, but still a bit larger than your average cameraphone, the Nokia 6600
(pictured at right) takes great videos, but it doesn't have quite the power or flexibility of the P900. Since it's a smartphone, you can also load other cool applications on it, like games that use the camera.
If you need a tiny video phone to fit into the pocket of your slim fit Sevens, Nokia has just launched the
6230 (pictured at left). This phone is the size of Sony Ericsson's T610 but has the same camera and the same video abilities as the 6600. Plus it's tiny but packed with features like EDGE data and an MP3 player.
All these have a 640 x 480 camera, Bluetooth and a ton of other features you lust after when you're dreaming about your next phone. All of them are GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900, so if you live in the US they'll work best for you on T-Mobile or Cingular in California/Nevada. The 6600 is available through T-Mobile, but you'll have to go to retailers like
Expansys for the P900 or 6230- at least for now. A version of the 6230 that works with GSM 800 / 1800 / 1900 for the Americas should be available through Cingular (and possibly AT&T) soon.
CDMA:
Out of the few video phones available on Sprint, the Toshiba VM4050 (pictured at right) is the winner so far. It's a relatively small clamshell style handset with good picture quality, but limited recording time. The Toshiba is the only one of these phones with an "assist lamp" (aka LED Flash)
to help brighten dim scenes. It also allows you to upload all your photos and videos to Sprint's site at once, which is awfully handy if you're snap-happy.