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Get Smart: PC World's Top 10 Smartphones

Here's a look at our top-rated smartphones as determined by the PCWorld Labs.

By Leah Yamshon, PCWorld

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Motorola Droid

Carrier: Verizon Wireless

We expect our mobile phones these days to function more like the juiced-up minicomputers that they are, as we use them to make calls, respond to e-mails, and browse the Web.

The Motorola Droid is the first smartphone to run the Android 2.0 operating system, and it does so beautifully. The Droid is fast, which makes Web browsing a breeze, and its 3.7-inch touchscreen has an impressive number of pixels (409,920, versus the 153,600-pixel display of the iPhone 3GS). Extra features include a music player with a built-in app for the Amazon MP3 store.

The Droid comes with a slide-out 40-key QWERTY keypad, but the flat, shallow dimensions of the keypad can make typing uncomfortable.

Full Review | $200

Apple iPhone 3GS

Carrier: AT&T

On the outside, the iPhone 3GS looks identical to previous iPhone models, but on the inside, this version has been fully redesigned. It includes new components: an improved camera with video recording, GPS, increased memory (256MB), and a boosted CPU (now 600MHz, up from 412MHz).

This phone is perfect for those who are looking to get heavy use out of their smartphone's Web and gaming capabilities (as AT&T repeatedly states, they have Web apps for almost everything). Be aware that the battery life on this phone can be disappointing--its estimated 5 hours of talk time greatly diminishes the more you use its extra features.

Full Review | $300

Motorola Cliq

Carrier: T-Mobile

The Android-based Motorola Cliq is a delight to use if you're attached to social networking sites.

The MotoBlur interface delivers contact information from whichever sites you choose and aggregates the information, allowing you to stay in constant touch with minimal effort. Even better, should you lose the Cliq, the MotoBlur cloud saves your information, and its remote GPS capabilities allow you to wipe the phone clean.

Unfortunately, the Cliq doesn't ship with the latest version of Android operating system, but the 3.1-inch touchscreen and the slide-out QWERTY keypad make the device comfortable and easy to use.

Full Review | $150

RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700

Carrier: T-Mobile, AT&T

Our favorite BlackBerry is Research In Motion's BlackBerry Bold 9700, which is lighter (4.2 ounces) and slimmer than its predecessor, the BlackBerry Bold 9000. It features a comfortable ergonomic keyboard to relieve muscle strain, so this phone is great for messaging on the go--e-mail, IM, Twitter, MMS, Facebook messages, Exchange, you name it.

Also new to this BlackBerry Bold is the replacement of the trackball with a touchpad, which gives it the feel of a touchscreen device. However, even with the unit's stunning 480-by-360-pixel display, its browser just can't compare with those of the other top smartphones.

Full Review | $200

T-Mobile myTouch 3G

Carrier: T-Mobile

The T-Mobile myTouch 3G's sleek design is a vast improvement over its predecessor, the T-Mobile G1. It is lightweight and compact without sacrificing screen size--it has a 3.2-inch, 320-by-480-pixel-resolution touchscreen with a vibrant image display.

The Android 1.5 operating system gives the myTouch extra functions, such as the use of its built-in 3-megapixel camera, the ability to add Web apps and widgets, and the capability to record and upload video and pictures.

If you find the on-screen keyboard tricky to type on because of its tightly packed keys, try activating the roomier horizontal keypad (also on-screen; the unit does not have a physical keyboard).

Full Review | $150

Palm Pre

Carrier: Sprint

The Palm Pre (much-anticipated before its release) wowed us with its clean WebOS interface, which includes application widgets and zippy navigation. Like Google Android, WebOS can handle full multitasking, and its notification feature will alert you when you have an incoming call, text message, or e-mail without interrupting the app that's in use.

The Pre's unique design includes a highly responsive multitouch display on a 3.1-inch screen, a curved slider body to maximize user comfort, and a pocketable size. The vertical slide-out QWERTY keyboard might be an issue--the keys could feel cramped if you have large hands, and the keypad itself feels flimsy.

Full Review | $150

Samsung Behold II

Carrier: T-Mobile

The Samsung Behold II's most distinguishing feature is its stunning 3.2-inch, 320-by-480-pixel AMOLED display with an excellent built-in camera--the image quality is outstanding, with smooth animation and crisp picture details.

Running on Android technology, the Behold II is pocketable and lightweight, and it boasts a processor speed of 800MHz. Its touch-friendly TorchWiz 2.0 interface sports three different homepages that you can customize with widgets or shortcuts to your favorite applications. While we like this personalized feel, the multiple homepages can create a cluttered look.

The bottom of every home screen contains icons for the dialer, your contacts, the Web, and a list of commonly used apps for easy navigation.

Full Review | $230

RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630

Carrier: Verizon

Research in Motion's BlackBerry Tour 9630 combines the best features of the BlackBerry Bold and the BlackBerry Curve into one slick device.

While the Bold feels too large and the Curve feels too thin, the Tour 9630's size and texture provides a comfortable in-hand feel. It boasts a 2.4-inch display with bright colors and eye-catching, easy to read text--perfect for reading long e-mails.

With its well-designed keyboard, mini-USB port, and familiar navigation buttons, the Tour 9630 has almost everything we like in a BlackBerry (only the lack of Wi-Fi is disappointing).

Full Review | $150

HTC Droid Eris

Carrier: Verizon

The HTC Droid Eris is a business user's dream phone. Its 3.2-inch touchscreen displays color beautifully, making this phone a great package at a small price.

Running on the Android 1.5 operating system, the Droid Eris allows direct calendar and contact synchronization with Microsoft Outlook, and it also comes with a preinstalled Adobe PDF file viewer. In addition, it provides links to Verizon's Visual Voicemail and to financial information from Yahoo Finance, and it supports Microsoft Exchange corporate e-mail.

Even a business phone has a fun side--the Droid Eris has a Peep application for Twitter and a Footprint app that lets you capture an image, log its location, and create a map using the phone's GPS capabilities.

Full Review | $100

Samsung Omnia II

Carrier: Verizon

The Samsung Omnia II has a sleek, eye-catching design--it features a striking 3.7-inch AMOLED touch display with rounded corners and a smooth red-and-black back cover.

It comes with 8GB of built-in internal memory and runs the Windows Mobile operating system, but the TouchWiz 2.0 interface dramatically slows down the phone's speed.

Using the Omnia II's touchscreen QWERTY keyboard in landscape mode gives you plenty of room to type. Try using the phone's Swype technology, which allows you to type faster and more easily with one motion across the screen keyboard.

Full Review | $200