Introduction:
It´s the middle of November and with the end of the year holidays drawing nearer most of us have already started thinking hard about what to give relatives and friends as presents. We tend to go window shopping, spend hours and hours wandering about, trying to take a pick from hundreds of options and come up with the best and most suitable gift for the special person... Just to end up feeling like screaming “Aaaaaargh, why me?”
The truth is that choosing the best present involves some serious thinking and knowledge of several things. First off, you need to know the person well and whether or not they really need what you are to buy and present them with. Taking a proper decision is so much easier when we are aware of these two and their implications. Not to mention the chance of our planned surprise going over like a lead balloon is so much lower.
If you happen to think that a cell phone would be the best present for your special person, keep reading, this is just the right article to help you find your best option. Frankly, giving someone a cell phone as a holiday gift is rarely a bad move, so we have compiled a short guide of the handsets we believe are the cream of the crop in several major categories. No matter if your son texts at a speed of 400 texts an hour, your daughter has a thing for shiny gadgets with magic letters like Gucci, PRADA, D&G etc. on them, you wife happens to be senior corporate executive of a multinational company clinging to a paper diary or your mother-in-law badgers you about something four hours a day – we´ve got a solution for you.
All-rounders:
Samsung Jet S8000 is „smarter than smartphone”. In addition, it is a great option for anyone who needs a fast and reliable cell phone with rich functionality and compact size. The 3.1-inch screen, 5-megapixel camera, capable WebKit browser and Wi-Fi are just the icing of the cake the Jet employs to win you over.
LG ARENA КМ900 has what it takes to impress virtually any high-tech buff. It pushes all the right buttons and its 3-inch screen, 5-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi and rich multimedia functionality come neatly packed into a likeable, compact body.
Apple iPhone 3GS – anyone who´s used one knows you can´t really go wrong with the iPhone. Music, videos, games, internet – it´s got it all and will definitely please even the fussiest people. Now packing more processing power than ever, the iPhone 3GS is the perfect gift for all tech freaks. The only disadvantage we can think of is... its underlying tendency to spontaneously go off if the European reports are to be believed, but for crying out loud, let´s cross that bridge when we get there, this is a trifling worry.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic comes with an affordable price tag, which gives you the great opportunity to make an impressive present without breaking the bank. The handset lists many advantages like 3.2-inch touch-screen, capable browser and the rich functionality of the Symbian S60 platform.
Stylish:
Samsung BЕАТ DJ М7600 has a uniquely shaped body that turns it into a device that will invariably attract people and make you the centre of attention. Aside from a memorable design, the handset comes with proper music features and will keep you entertained all the way.
LG New Chocolate BL40 speaking of unique designs, here´s another one! With its elongated body and huge 4-inch screen, the LG New Chocolate BL40 is a spectacular handset that delivers all necessary functions and extra features, but who cares about them with a cell phone like this?
LG Crystal GD900 – proves that LG has a penchant for creative, off the beaten track phone designs and the Crystal makes for an illustrative example. If you feel like knocking people dead, well, no problem at all! This is as easy as pie with the jaw-dropping see-through keyboard of the LG Crystal GD900.
Sony Ericsson Jalou doesn’t have the rich functionality of most cell phones in this category, with its compact size and design that makes it resemble a gem, the Sony Ericsson Jalou does have what it takes to win over the fairer sex.
Business-oriented:
HTC Touch Pro2 has what it takes to become your right hand. Its 3.6-inch touch-sensitive screen can be tilted at an angle so as to allow easier text entry. The keyboard is one of the best on the market now and typing away is as easy as ABC. The organizer and email client of Windows Mobile provide ample options to help people organize their routines, plus the OS face is well hidden under the eye-pleasing HTC TouchFLO 3D interface.
RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 blends the handy keyboard characteristic of all devices of the manufacturer with a really compact size. With its responsiveness, reliability and awesome email functionality the cell phone will definitely make your business life much easier. We´ve all heard stories about BlackBerry owners turning into workaholics and there must be a reason for this, right?!
Nokia E75 is a Symbian S60 smartphone that supports Nokia Messaging. The service allows you to enjoy push notification alerts, get your emails instantaneously and browse them on a desktop computer. Typing away is as easy as pie thanks to the large, handy keyboard buttons.
Samsung OmniaLite B7300 is an affordable, yet capable smartphone. The proper TouchWiz integration means you won´t have to face the antiquated Windows Mobile interface. Moreover, the cell phone is a snappy performer and comes with all necessary organizer functions.
Leisure:
Samsung Pixon12 M8910 is a device aimed at photographers. They will be able to take high quality pictures with its 12-megapixel camera, while the xenon flash allows for proper snapshots both indoors and in poor lighting conditions. You can share all images over the internet directly from the cell phone or browse them on the 3.1-inch AMOLED screen.
Samsung Omnia HD i8910 can be best described as a „multimedia monster”. Aside from being a Symbian S60 5th Edition smartphone capable of playing DivX and Xvid videos, this is (still) the only handset that allows for video capture at HD resolution. Moreover, the image quality of the snapshots taken with its 8-megapixel camera is nothing short of impressive.
Apple iPhone 3GS is something more than just a capable smartphone and awesome multimedia player. Thanks to AppStore, its owners can take their pick from the incredibly rich game catalogue and spend some quality time with a game to their liking. What´s more, they can edit all videos they capture with the 3-megapixel camera of the handset.
Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is an affordable music-oriented smartphone that delivers high-quality audio playback and comes with a compact design. What´s more, you will be able to watch MPEG-4 files coded at resolution of 360x640 pixels, 30 frames per second and high bitrate. And the best part is the price of the handset has already taken a nosedive, so you can get it without breaking the bank.
Texting:
Samsung CorbyPRO B5310 is one of the coolest and most intriguing handsets offered by Samsung in this category. It comes with an overall design that would appeal to virtually anyone, not just the young, so even grown-ups wouldn’t feel out of their element typing away declarations of love with its handy QWERTY keyboard and the whole day if need be. Throw the affordable price tag and amusing interface into the deal and you´ve got a winner, the CorbyPRO B5310 is a great option.
LG GW520 is one of the few models of the manufacturer that offer an immaculate blend of a full QWERTY keyboard and jazzy appearance. Aside from the texting comfort it delivers, the handset is armed with a major weapon to help it to win over its rivals – proper integration of social networks. And we have to say the latter is a smashingly popular function these days.
Nokia 6760 slide would appeal to die-hard texting fans who would enjoy rich functionality wrapped up in an offbeat design. This is a Symbian S60 smartphone equipped with extremely comfortable keyboard and robust battery that would exceed the expectations of even most exacting people.
Nokia E63 is the only handset with refreshing overall look in the business line-up of the manufacturer and is available at an extremely reasonable price. It has all the makings of a great text messaging handset - handy keyboard and user-friendly software that allows easy sorting of messages. The E63 is one of the smartphones with the best quality-price ratio as of now and definitely a great option for heavy texters.
Affordable:
LG Cookie KP500 is on top of our list, because it offers great functionality for its reasonable price tag. It´s not by mere chance this is one of the bestselling models of the company for 2009. The Cookie is a lightweight, thin cell phone with appealing design, extremely good screen sensitivity and refreshing interface that delivers great in-call and audio playback quality. You can´t go wrong with it really.
Samsung Star S5230 is none other but the arch-rival of the Cookie and Samsung has recently announced it´s been sold in more than 10 mln. units worldwide. Samsung´s stellar device comes with compact size and shiny overall look that are sure to appeal to both the fairer and rougher parts of humanity. The Star S5230 sports a proper internet browser and is a very good performer no matter if your cup of tea is texting or snapshot taking. It will fascinate anyone.
Nokia 5130 XpressMusic belongs to the music-oriented line-up of the manufacturer. With its likeable design, compact size and better audio capabilities than the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic, the handset is a great option, especially for people getting along on a shoestring. We believe it´s one of the cell phones with the best quality-price ratio on the market these days.
Sony Ericsson W395 has two essential and distinguishing attributes that have won it a place here – proper audio playback and in-call quality. Moreover, the slider is really cute and comes in several color solutions, so you can choose the most suitable version for the person you´re giving it to.
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Things that are NOT allowed: