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TrustedReviews Awards 2008

Author	TrustedReviews
Published	25th Nov 2008

83 comments Email

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1st Place: Nokia E71

It's probably fair to say that few would've predicted a Nokia device would be our smartphone of the year. Not because the company creates bad handsets but that there are so many other manufacturers out there that are synonymous with smartphone devices so for Nokia to gazump them all and take our top prize is quite an achievement.

What makes it all the more surprising is that on first look the E71 doesn't seem particularly impressive, either on the specs front or the design front. Sure, it has all the latest must have features but nothing extraordinary and the plain silver finish is, if anything, a little austere. Once you get the device in your hand, though, you realise what all the fuss was about.

The build quality is fantastic with as much as possible of the handset being made from sturdy resilient metal. It's also incredibly thin and narrow, making it one of the most pocketable smartphones on the market.

Add in a superb keyboard, GPS with proper turn-by-turn navigation, a better than average 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash and just about the best battery life we've seen from a smartphone and you have an unbeatable combination.

Read the full review of the Nokia E71.

2nd Place: Blackberry Bold

It was a very close call between the Nokia E71 and the Blackberry Bold for our choice smartphone of 2008 but we felt the former's incredibly long battery life and slim, yet rugged, design just edged it ahead. Nevertheless, the Blackberry Bold is a still a superb device.

The screen is stunning, managing, as it does, to pack in the same resolution as the iPhone and remain bright, vivid, and crystal clear while being only half the size. Likewise, the combination of the signature Blackberry roller ball and a very nice keyboard make navigation and writing, lightning fast.

To top it all off this is the nicest looking Blackberry we've seen with a glossy black front, chrome trimmed sides, and a faux leather back that also makes it among the most comfortable smartphone devices in the hand.

Read the full review of the Blackberry Bold.

3rd Place: Motorola Q 9h

If you thought the Nokia E71 was a bit of a surprise, then you ain't seen nothing yet. The Motorola Q 9h is unashamedly a budget smartphone with a smaller than average screen, rather dull, old-school design, while glamorous extras like GPS and Wi-Fi have all been left out. So what's it doing being our third choice smartphone of the year 2008?

Quite simply, it does what it can do very well.

In particular, there's HSDPA connectivity for fast data rates no matter where you are. There's also another very good keyboard (one simply can't overstate how important a good keyboard is for a smartphone) accompanied by support for all the usual email standards and the Opera Mobile web browser is already loaded. Combined, this lot should satisfy all you mobile data needs.

To top it all off, the whole package is slim, lightweight, and so low cost that you can afford to kit out everyone in your office with one of these, without breaking the bank.

Read the full review of the Motorola Q 9h.

Latest 4 of 83 Comments

Have your say: Leave a comment below about this article.

Sivart said on 1st December 2008

Just read the awards article & then looked forward to the comments.

Big disapointment to find it dominated by a fruitcake with a grudge and an old pals reunion d... more

Ardjuna said on 5th December 2008

@Sivart: yes, it would have been nice to see some more comments about the actual products, and about awards other than the arguably least important 'style' one. Still, it... more

AlexMck said on 11th December 2008

Great job Riyad. Have been following the site for a long time but only just decided to register.
Rsaeire and Singularity -- have ye any lives to lead? I should think that,... more

PaulW said on 11th January 2009

@Sivart .. I agree with you to a degree. I dont have the funds to be fortunate to be able to buy a B&W Zeppelin, and therefore look forward to reviews of such products here @ TR. No matter what Riyad (other TR staff say)says, there will also be some contention. I bought a Samsung G600 phone for Xmas .. mainly because of the brilliant review here. As it happens, i dont like it & have gone back to my Nokia 6300. I also have a Nokia E71 (which another user was raving about) & I aint too keen on that either.

So what am I trying to say? Well this .. I find the TR site just about the most "accurate" place to go to read products reviews, and generally I find the conclusions produced "weigh in" with my own needs. I bought a Canon Pixma MP610 on the strength of its review & its brilliant! I also bought a Fuji S9600 camera purely on the review here & what a blinder! Brilliant choice & a brilliant review - altho very controversial at the time! 10 / 10 for a camera that I bought for £199!!

The arguments put forward about B&W Zeppelin as an iPod docking station do produce a smile on my face. I can many years ago, someone in Hi-Fi News stating "the wider you open the windows, the more the muck flies in", and having an iPod myself, I cannot but agree with this statement .. as the audio quality of the Apple iPod is well documented to be "questionable". Poor audio in - poor audio out!

BUT .. at least TR do actually carry out reviews of products tested. Some years back (in an earlier life) I was involved heavily in the PC MIDI market & ran a well know UK PC MIDI company distributing such products as Music Quest MIDI cards, CardD DAW card & Cadenza sequencing software (Gordon .. are you reading this? You & I have had several chats in the past about some of these products.)

On one occasion I was approached by a well known MIDI Music mag (no names mentioned, but their offices were in Bath!) asking for a sample Music Quest card for "head to head" review. I had always had my suspicions about the "authenticity" of reviews carried out by this Mag, & so I sent off a card that I knew to be faulty! It simply didnt work!

We came 2nd in a head to head shoot out with other popular MIDI card! We werent asked to replace the faulty card, yet we came in 2nd place! Amazing eh?

Thanks goodness we have moved on & we have sites like TR.

Well done guys .. whilst I dont agree with all that you say, I am darned glad that you have presence on the web! Sorry for going off topic a tad!

Happy New Year!

@Sivart .. I agree with you to a degree. I dont have the funds to be fortunate to be able to buy a B&W Zeppelin, and therefore look forward to reviews of such products here @ T... more

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