First things first; you're going to need the right service plan if you intend to text a lot. All the major carriers sell various buckets of messages costing from $5 to $20 per month; if you're a mad texter, though, an unlimited plan is the way to go. Also, some carriers charge IMs as text messages, too, so double-check before you sign up. If you intend to IM and e-mail, you'll need a data plan; depending on your carrier, that could be an extra $5 to $25 a month. You can hit Twitter and Facebook from the WAP browsers included on almost all phones nowadays, but that also requires a data plan. The Best Phones for Texting By Carrier: Alltel: AT&T: Cricket and MetroPCS: Sprint: T-Mobile: Verizon: Multiple Carriers: 
LG Scoop AX260
The cute little LG Scoop AX260 is a terrific value: It's got strong voice quality, a full keyboard, and an excellent $3-per-month e-mail client that even supports Microsoft Exchange. 
Pantech Slate C530
The Pantech Slate C530 is the best texting phone for AT&T. The Slate's roomy, clicky keyboard is one of the finest we've seen in ages, and it makes both texting and e-mailing a breeze. AT&T's e-mail program is more restrictive than we'd like, but it does support AOL, Microsoft Live, and Yahoo e-mail. 
Samsung Messager R450
The Samsung Messager R450 is the best choice for texting on either of these low-cost carriers, and one of the most full-featured, too, with removable memory, an MP3 player, and a 2-megapixel camera. But its main strength is its comfortable keyboard for texting and e-mailing.
Samsung Rant
Despite its name, we like the Samsung Rant for texting on Sprint. It's more capable than the competing LG Rumor, and more comfortable than the LG Lotus. It's got an outstanding keyboard and screen, 3G for quick Internet access, and even support for Microsoft Exchange when you use Sprint's downloadable e-mail program. 
RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8100
T-Mobile is short on texting phones, and we haven't yet reviewed the Samsung Gravity, the only texter in the carrier's lineup right now. But that's okay, because T-Mobile is selling the excellent BlackBerry Pearl 8100 at a deep discount. When you hear "BlackBerry," you might think "work," but there are plenty of people out there using their Pearls just as supercharged SMS devices. They work great—and there's also room to download apps and e-mail.
LG enV2 VX9100
Get the LG enV2 VX9100 if you're a heavy texter on Verizon Wireless. This little phone has a very neat design: It looks like a standard phone at first, and then you flip it open to reveal the big keyboard inside. It's a solid voice phone, and has a full array of multimedia features, including a 2-megapixel camera. But it's best at being a sleek little texting beast.
Palm Centro
If you can stand its tiny keyboard, you'll find there's a lot to like about the inexpensive Palm Centro, which you can pick up on AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon, for less than $50. The Centro's threaded text messaging makes SMS conversations look like IMs, pulling multiple messages written by the same person onto one screen. The phone has a robust Web browser, and thousands of third-party programs are available, too. Even if you're not interested in smartphones, it's worth a look.
Rabu, 04 Februari 2009
The Best Phones for Text Messaging
Blockbuster 2Wire MediaPoint
With its $99 (direct) 2Wire MediaPoint digital media player, a set-top box that delivers movies to the home via Internet, Blockbuster once again shows us that anything Netflix can do, Blockbuster can do, too—if not better, then well enough. But while Netflix's subscribers can stream movies to a computer or via a device like the Netflix Player by Roku at no additional cost, rentals on the MediaPoint run from $1.99 to $3.99 each. The box does come with 25 free rentals, which basically equals a rebate of between $50 and $100, depending on which films you select. The real question is not whether the MediaPoint eclipses Netflix's similar offerings, it's simply whether current Blockbuster customers really gain anything from owning the unit. And to set the record straight—this box is not a media extender like the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 or the Apple TV, meaning you can't (currently) use it to stream files from your PC.
- Price as Tested: $99.00 Direct
- Networking Options: 802.11a/g
- Hard Drive: Yes
- Shows Video: Yes
- Has On-screen TV Display: Yes
- Rips CDs: No
The Best Security Suites 2009
Some of the other suites added significantly to boot time. F-Secure Internet Security 2009 and McAfee Total Protection 2009 nearly doubled it, and BitDefender Total Security 2009 more than doubled it. The timings for Webroot Internet Security Essentials (WISE) averaged even higher—almost 2.5 times the baseline. However, the data set included a number of unexplained instances when booting up took 5 or even 10 minutes. Eliminating those quirky outliers brought the average boot time for WISE (the smallest suite) a bit below that of McAfee (the largest suite)—still not impressive. Featured in this Roundup: CA Internet Security Suite Plus 2009 Comodo Internet Security 3.5
BitDefender Internet Security 2009
$69.95 direct; 3-pack, $79.95
BitDefender has added a ton of new features—online backup and remote configuration, for example. It includes all the expected security elements, with decent performance from most of them. It's a reasonable choice if you're excited by those extra features. 
F-Secure Internet Security 2009
$75.90 direct; 3-pack, $79.90
F-Secure Internet Security 2009 is easy to use, without complicated settings and extras. But installing it was a nightmare, and it took too long deleting inactive malware. The firewall is old-fashioned, and the antispam and parental-control apps are ineffective. The suite hasn't kept up with the times. 
Kaspersky Internet Security 2009
3-pack, $79.95 direct
Kaspersky Internet Security's new user interface hides messy security details but leaves them accessible to power users. The new application-filtering feature renders the suite smart enough to make its own decisions without hassling the user. As long as you don't plan to rely on it for spam filtering or parental control, Kasperksy's suite is a good choice. 
McAfee Total Protection 2009
3-pack, $79.99 direct
McAfee's latest suite has improved malware detection, and its spam filter is also much better. But its overabundance of features hasn't changed at all; its UI is sluggish; and it saps system performance.
3-pack, $69.99 direct
This is definitely the slimmest, most unobtrusive Norton ever. Its protection is top-notch where it counts, though antispam and parental controls are still weak. As the best all-around security suite to date (I'll be installing it myself), it's our new Editors' Choice. 
Panda Global Protection 2009
$69.95 direct; 3-pack, $89.95
Except for the new main screen, Panda's 2009 suite doesn't look much different. Its collective intelligence promises better protection, but its action is spotty: Spam filtering got much better; spyware protection got worse. And it's expensive! Wait for next year's version if you're thinking of switching to Panda. 
Trend Micro Internet Security Pro 2009
3-pack, $69.95 direct
Trend Micro Internet Security Pro v2 is a big improvement over last year's edition. It's an effective anti-malware tool, and it's loaded with Pro features that are truly useful. If you've sworn a lifelong grudge against Norton (our Editors' Choice suite), give Trend Pro a try. 
Webroot Internet Security Essentials
3-pack, $59.95 direct
WISE omits features that other suites include yet still slows down system performance. Its malware protection is excellent, and it delivers 2GB of online backup, but its firewall component doesn't do the job. Spend $10 more and get Norton or Trend Pro! 
ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 2009
$49.95 direct; 3-pack, $69.95
ZoneAlarm is strong on defense. It has a tough firewall and keeps malware totally out of a clean system, but it's less effective in cleaning up entrenched malware, and some of its features are antiquated. ZoneAlarm is still a fine choice, but I had hoped for a makeover that would be more than skin deep. 
5-pack, $79.99 direct
There's little to love in this Frankenstein's monster of a suite. Patched together from many separate mediocre tools, it put the biggest drag on system performance of any suite tested. Save ten bucks and get Norton's suite (or Trend Micro's) instead.
Free
For free security Comodo's firewall is still a sound choice, but the antivirus and antispyware parts of this suite just don't do the job. If you need free security, get the firewall alone and add avast! or AVG for free virus/spyware protection.
AT&T USBConnect Mercury
Tiny, flexible, and reliable, the AT&T USBConnect Mercury by Sierra Wireless is a very good way to hit AT&T's high-speed 3G-cellular and partner networks abroad with your laptop. The Mercury offers plenty of options for itinerant Web surfers, thanks to its small size, solid performance, and a memory card slot. We do have some complaints about its design, though.
- Price as Tested: $249.99 List
- Service Provider: AT&T
- Cellular Technology : GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA
- Bands: 850, 900, 1800, 1900, 2100, 1700
- 802.11x: No
- Mac Compatible: Yes
