Moms, Dads and Grads Smartphone Buyer's Guide 2010

By Ed Hardy, Brighthand Editor | | 6597 Reads

Whether you're waiting until the last minute to pick out your Mother's Day gift, trying to find an early Father's Day present, or searching for the right phone for your kid's graduation, you can relax. The Brighthand team has you covered with a special Moms, Dads, and Grads Buyer's Guide featuring a variety of phones to fit any budget.

Moms, Dads, and Grads

Since most people don't have unlimited funds to spend on a gift we've broken our picks down by price. Within each price range we've provided a few suggestions so you can find a great gift regardless of your budget.

If you don't see the perfect gift in our list, be sure to seek out buying advice in our discussion forums, and our forum members, moderators, and staff will graciously offer their insight in helping you pick the best option for you and your family.

Under $100 | $100-$300 | Over $300 | More Guides...

Under $100

	Palm Pre Plus The Pre Plus is easy to use, powerful, and affordable. This webOS-based smartphone puts information from a variety of sources -- Gmail, Facebook, and more -- at users' fingertips. It has 16 GB of internal storage, a built-in keyboard, and more. The Pre Plus is available from Verizon Wireless for just $30 with contract.
	BlackBerry Curve 8530 The latest model in the popular Curve series offers a redesigned look, with a QVGA display above a QWERTY keyboard. The 8530 has Wi-Fi, and other consumer-oriented features. It's available for as little as $30 from Sprint and Verizon.
	Apple iPhone 3G The iPhone is probably at the top of most students' wish lists, as it's both cool and useful. It offers everything most people are looking for in a smartphone. When AT&T launched the iPhone 3G S last year, it decided to hold on the previous model as a more budget-friendly option. This version lacks some of the new features of 3GS, like the video recorder, but otherwise does everything the latest iPhone does for just $100.

Do you really need a smartphone?

In the market for a new phone, and aren't sure yet if a smartphone makes sense for you? In the article, Why You Should Get A Smartphone, Brighthand.com's Editor-in-Chief Ed Hardy makes the case for why you should chuck your old phone and get something with some smarts.

	Samsung Moment The Moment is currently Sprint's best Android OS model, mostly thanks to it's beautiful AMOLED display. In addition, this model has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 3G, and Wi-Fi. It's available for $100.

$100-$300

	BlackBerry Bold 9700 The second-generation Bold brings together everything that's good about a BlackBerry. It's chock full of business-friendly features but doesn't forget about personal use. The looks are great and the functionality is too. The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is available from either T-Mobile ($130) or AT&T ($200).
	HTC Droid Incredible The newly-released Incredible runs the latest version of Google's Android OS, and offers a range of other high-end features, including a big beautiful touchscreen, 1 GHz processor, 8 MPx camera, and more. Verizon is asking $200 for it with contract.

The iPhone and Its Rivals

Apple is getting ready to bring out the fourth-generation iPhone, and Microsoft, RIM, and other smartphone players are making their own big news. While the advent of so many new products is exciting, users face increasingly tough choices, especially if they‘re in any hurry to buy new phones, and if they plan to use the gadgets for business purposes at all. The iPhone and its Rivals: Lots of Smartphone Choices, More to Come goes over what's available now and what's coming up soon.

	Motorola Droid The original Droid has a 3.7-inch, WVGA Touchscreen and a sliding QWERTY keyboard, making text entry much easier. It also offers 16 GB of removable storage, a 5 MPx camera, and an array of other features. It's $200 exclusively from Verizon.
	Apple iPhone 3GS The latest iPhone brings a few new features to this line, like a video recorder and voice control. It also offers more storage than the less expensive version mentioned earlier: 16 GB or 32 GB. Those who want an Apple smartphone and consider the extra features worth an additional $100 or $200 should have their eye on the iPhone 3G S.

Over $300

	Google Nexus One There aren't many devices that are worth paying $530, but the Nexus One is the exception. Even with its high cost is the best option for AT&T customers who want an Android OS-based smartphone. This device is bring sold "unlocked" by Google itself, and doesn't require a contract with AT&T.
	Nokia N900 No U.S. carrier picked up the N900, probably because it runs a new version of Nokia's open-source Linux-based operating system, Maemo 5. This model sports a large WVGA touchscreen, a landscape-oriented keyboard. 32 GB of storage, 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Nokia offers it for $550.

Looking for more?

Has Dad been dropping hints that he'd really like new camera this year rather than another "#1 Dad" mug? Is your grad ready for a new notebook? Let the editors of TechnologyGuide.com help you pick the right camera, smartphone, printer, desktop, or notebook, with our Moms, Dads and Grads Buyer's Guide.

To see our top tech picks in all categories – not just notebooks – visit our main buyer's guide page on TechnologyGuide.com.

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Moms, Dads and Grads Smartphone Buyer's Guide 2010

Under $100

Do you really need a smartphone?

$100-$300

The iPhone and Its Rivals

Over $300

Looking for more?

Our Most Popular SmartPhone Reviews

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HTC One

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