Awesome Cellphones

With a 2.8″ touchscreen, Wi-Fi, 3G, aGPS, 3MP camera and secondary VGA camera for video calls, Motorola’s SURF A3100 squeezes a lot in; too bad it’s Asia and Latin America only.

Mac Funamizu over at Petitinvention is well known for his ultra-sleek gadget concepts that often favor form over function; his Lupa phone is part Aura, part iPod and all sexy.

With declining marketshare, Motorola might want to consider Brad Mitchell’s MotoFocus concept; two touchscreens allow for dynamic displays that separate work from play.

Not to be upstaged by the LG GD910, the heretofore unknown hipsters at Phenom have dropped the SpecialOps; it sports a 1.3″ touchscreen, external keypad, and camera.

Clean and unpretentious, Philips’ Russian market X710 Xenium is a simple phone, but two features stand out for business travelers: a generous 1900 mA/h battery and dual SIM slots.

Case-mate’s BlackBerry Bold Smart Skin case features a laser-cut cover that lets backlighting through; we also dig the Carbon Fiber texture which is similar to their Vroom case.

LG’s GD910 wristphone seems too good to be true; it’s a gadget lover’s dream, with a 1.43″ LCD touchscreen, 3G HSDPA, text to speech, and built-in camera for fielding video calls.

Philips’ Xenium X620 seems to be Asia only, but we dig this candybar phone’s sleek, monoblock design; along with music and video playback, it can run an amazing 50 days on standby.

Blackberry’s Curve 8320 is now available with AT&T, specifically for use with its Wi-Fi hotspots including Starbucks and Barnes & Nobles; also: QWERTY keypad, bluetooth, 2MP camera.

Element’s customizable Liquid Case for the iPhone is downright sexy, with a transparent polymer base, molded bezel, acrylic flip-lid and a laser-engraved aluminum backplate.

The wait is over for push-to-talk fans: BlackBerry’s Curve 8350i is official and will be available to Sprint customers this week, and features Wi-Fi plus Group Connect with up to 20 people.

If you’re stuck with an entry level phone, you could do a lot worse than Motorola’s i9; this sleek iDEN handset features a RAZR-esque clamshell design, 3 MP camera, GPS, and Bluetooth.

With 18 entries, Intel’s recent Mobile Internet Device (MID) Design Contest is a treasure trove of concept gadgets; we like Peter Kubik’s unfolding, three-paneled smartphone.

Similar to the MacBook, Porsche Design’s P’9522 is carved from a block of aluminum; this minimalist phone features a 2.8″ OLED touchscreen, fingerprint reader and quad-band GSM.

Not content with inlaid ebony hardwood and 24 karat gold, Mobiado’s Pro 105GMT also squeezes in two Swiss timepieces into its case; also included: sapphire crystal buttons.

Don’t let the name fool you — the Android Dev Phone 1 is simply a SIM- and hardware-unlocked version of T-Mobile’s G1, available to Android Market devs for a $25 setup fee + $399.

The second phone to run Android, we actually prefer the conventional form factor of Kogan’s Agora; this Australia-only phone features a 2.5″ touchscreen, 3G and a low pricepoint.

Made with rugged, scratch-proof Xenoy resin, Sonim’s Land Rover S1 will likely outlast their image-conscious owners; it’s submersible, droppable, and withstands salt, fog and humidity.

Not to be outdone by Vertu’s ultra-lux phones, Samsung throws their hat into the ring with the Ego; this baby is mostly about the looks, with a Caltech developed “liquidmetal” case.

True to the ROKR line, Motorola’s new EM35 is designed to rock out tunes with a built-in FM radio and dual speakers for stereo sound; it also uses CrystalTalk tech to improve call clarity.

The N97 is Nokia’s new flagship phone: it features a 3.5″ 640×360 touchscreen with tactile feedback, QWERTY keyboard, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, 32GB of memory and 5 MP Carl Zeiss camera.

Despite being targeted towards budget buyers, Nokia’s 2608 is moderately stylish, with angular lines and a striped cover; it also includes an FM radio, voice recorder and flashlight.

Its squat design recalls the last gen Nano, but Motorola’s Hint QA30 is their first QWERTY cellphone: it’s a dedicated messaging phone, with one-touch SMS, email and IM.