BlackBerry has a reputation as the businessman’s friend to uphold and the Pearl 3G does not disappoint in that attempt. You can still get caught up in time consuming leisure play way too easily if you don’t discipline yourself but that is not the BlackBerry’s fault that it offers so much for the user to do.

The BlackBerry Pearl 3G is a perfect way for those who grew up with a candybar handset to investigate the smartphone experience without feeling ot of their depth. The slightly smaller than usual keyboard is still an alphanumeric button board. This may bring back a feeling of nostalgia at first but with the Pearl helps with the SureType spell correction software. There is an optical trackpad for use with the many downloadable apps from BlackBerry App World and the expanded memory to hold them all.

The BlackBerry Pearl 3G is more media-oriented than other BlackBerry phones. It features media buttons across the top and carries a powerful 3.2mp camera with VGA recording and image stabilization. The landscape playback mode provides better viewing experience for the user. The Pearl 3G provides a traditional phone keyboard quite unlike its QWERTY counterparts.

The BlackBerry Pearl 3G has been described as an amalgam of older BlackBery devices and well it should as they have tried to bring the best of all their previous devices and mobile phone products together to build the ultimate BlackBerry smartphone. The Pearl 3G is so smart it can be varied to market in other countries around the world with their own alphabets, including Arabic, Greek, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Hebrew and more.

It is hard to review the HTC Legend without making comparisons to Google’s Nexus One. In most ways HTC’s Desire and the Nexus One are virtually the same handset which is where the Legend comes in to make a difference.

The HTC Legend does sport a slightly smaller screen, 3.2″ compared to 3.7″. While this makes a small difference in watching online movies, it does make the Legend a bit more portable and comfortable in the hand. That creates a small drawback in the keyboard when typing on the screen but the Legend makes up for that with Apple’s “footprints” which allows a multitude of spelling correction suggestions on the fly.

Both the HTC Legend and the Google Nexus One run Android technology. HTC has added their own user interface, the HTC Sense, in an overlay, which has been reviewed as a better option of between the two. HTC Legend still provides the convenience and Android customization to allow seven homescreen displays. While some of the hype about the aluminum unibody construction was media propaganda, it does make for a slightly lighter weight and a distinctive feel in the hand. The HTC Legend has migrated from a trackball to a trackpad, which may take new users a bit to adjust to.

About the only major complaints about the HTC Legend are details like the lack od video-call camera, no TV out port, no voice dialing, no out-of-box DivX or XviD support, and no dedicated shutter key or lens cover. Still, as smartphones go, there is little to keep the Legend from living fully up to its name.

For those who need a mobile phone device but are restricted by budget concerns, the Nokia C5 may be the perfect choice. The new C5 helps lower costs by being encased in a high-impact plastic rather than a metal casing so that the necessary metal in it parts counterbalances for a low weight device.

One of the primary complaints about the Nokia C5 is that the screen is mediocre at best. It is nearly impossible to use in direct sunlight or at an angle. This disappointment is offset, however, by very well designed buttons that are large enough for ease of use and provide ample feedback so that for its price range one can almost overlook the lack of a QWERTY keyboard. Across the top are the 3.5mm headphone jack, microUSB port, and charger port. The metal battery cover is easy to remove when replacement is necessary.

The included document reader does not have editing features and the memory card slot is a bit of a chore to use. With no included accelerometer there is no auto screen rotation and the Nokia does not provide a WLAN. The camera is a 3mp fixed focus lens and the VGA video records at 15 fps.

Admittedly the Nokia C5 is only a Symbian S60 3rd Edition smartphone but the operating system still provides excellent personalization options. With an ever-expanding online apps store and extreme user-friendly functions, the Nokia C5 is a great way for a beginner to grow accustomed to smartphone technology.

The Samsung Wave is a self-evident moniker as the premiere device to ride the wave of the future. To help initiate the Wave’s presence among other mobile phone devices, Samsung has released it for T-Mobile deals that allow users many options on just what service they want from this smart phone. Options range from T-Mobile’s unlimited Internet connectivity to free comprehensive minutes to unlimited texting.

The Samsung Wave S8500 introduces their new Bada OS with integration of a multitude of specialized apps from their apps store. As with any new OS one could expect the occasional problem but thus far the Bada OS has been predominantly snag-free. The Samsung Wave brings yet another new feature to the world of mobile devices. The Super AMOLED screen technology provides an exceptionally sharp and vibrant screen display via its 3.3″ 16 million color, WVGA 480×800 pixel, multi-touch-input support, with scratch-resistant glass surface.

As one must expect in any mobile device, the Wave does not exclude such standards as WiFi, HDSPA, Bluetooth and GPS features and capabilities for on-the-go users. The ARM Cortex A8 based 1GHz CPU is quite sufficient to run such features as the built-in GPS, 5mp autofocus camera, 720p, 30 fps video recording, microSDHC card slot, Standard microUSB port and Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP, FM radio with radio recording, and the Webkit-based Samsung Dolphin Browser 2.0 with full Flash support.

The major concern of most early reviewers is the question of whether the Samsung Wave will continue to have apps developed to counteract any new technologies that would challenge it. No one has issue with the Wave provided the ongoing support keeps it on the crest of that wave of the future.

For Sony’s second offering of mobile phone capabilities, the Sony Ericsson Vivaz has taken communications to a new level. The video feature includes the ability to record with HD quality with 720p, 24-fps continuous auto-focus. There is even a dedicated upload key for sharing the video one captures with the Vivaz. The still photo camera in the new Vivaz has been downgraded from 8mp to 5mp but only to prevent overkill as 5mp is quite amply for almost any photo application.

Vivaz runs on a 720 MHz CPU with a PowerVR SGX dedicated graphics accelerator running the 3.2″ 16 million color 640×360-pixel resistive touchscreen and Symbian OS 9.4 S60. Featuring an above average, four-row QWERTY keyboard, the Sony Vivaz is more than ready to utilize its WiFi to connect you to the world of the Internet as well.

The web browser features full Flash support, includes an Office document viewer, ActiveSync support, GPS with support and more. The Sony Vivaz provides Quad-band GSM support, 3G with HSDPA 10.2Mbps and HSUPA 2Mbps support, TV out jack, stereo FM radio and Bluetooth v2.0 among its features.

Of the few disadvantages of the Vivaz mentioned, the lack of camera lens protection, screen auto locking during a call, voice dialing, or DivX or XviD out-of-box support are about the only complaints. Otherwise most users have found the Sony Vivaz to be a great business travel companion and mobile office extension. And on top of all the uses and features, you can still phone home with the Vivaz.