On a few occasions, I managed to sneak away from my work responsibilities and roam the CTIA floor. I also chatted up several mobile gurus I enjoy – including Sascha Segan (PC Mag), Bonnie Cha (CNET), and Ed Hardy (Brighthand). While the show was maybe 1/3rd the size of the Orlando event and there were fewer product launches/announcements, here are some of the cool, new phones I played with (in no particular order):
HTC CDMA Touch (Sprint)
I hadn’t held a Touch (GSM variety) since June, so I forgot how small this device is and that it feels great in the hand. I’m still not entirely sold on the touchscreen-only method of interaction (think iPhone), but HTC has stepped it up with the new CDMA Touch in adding 2 finger friendly typing overlays. An HTC rep also showed me a Touch Dual variant with a SureType-style keyboard – which is more my speed, though US launch plans haven’t been disclosed.
Nokia N95 8GB (GSM)
This phone looks sharp. And I’m not just saying that because I worked Nokia’s booth. Instead of naming it the N95 8G, it’d be more accurate to call it the N95+ or even the N96 — in addition to the that extra storage, the screen is noticeably larger, the buttons tweaked, and the shell has a sexy piano black finish. I didn’t catch all the details, so I’m not sure if it’s 3G in the US.