eWEEK Labs Picks the Most Interesting Devices and Demos at CTIA Wireless 2009

by Andrew Garcia

Reminiscent of the T-Mobile Dash (HTC made that too), the HTC Snap features the Inner Circle button. The button fires up a what is essentially a customizable search filter. Press the button, and those contacts you most care to hear from will be prioritized into their own view.

Possibly the shiniest device I’ve ever seen. The HTC Touch Pro 2 utilizes HTC’s Touch Flo interface atop Windows Mobile 6.1, but now does more to cover up and hide Windows Mobile’s normal menu-driven interface.

Thinner than your average smart phone, the Nokia E55’s candy bar shape is designed to provide better comfort for talk while still providing the rich environment of other S60 devices.

With the new E71x, Nokia brings a version of the outstanding e71 to AT&T, at a substantial price decrease (with service contract, of course). The one substraction from the e71 I will miss most: The dual screens for work and home profiles is gone.

Running atop Linux, this the Garmin-Asus G60 is designed for location-based services, whether they be turn-by-turn directions, photo geo-tagging or social networking. The device has HSDPA and Wi-Fi.

A bit more traditional, the Garmin Asus nuviphone M20 runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and the standard e-mail and document capabilities that come with the OS. As it is a Garmin device, the smartphone comes preloaded with maps and other location services.

Femtocell maker Airvana showed me a cool demonstration that leveraged femtocells for media and notifications. Specifically, devices within their cell could easily move pictures from a phone to a TV, or track when progeny leave the cell with their phone in hand. Reps from Airvana then showed me this femtocell transmitter (the Motorola KeepMeConnected), which doubles as a network-connected digital picture frame.

The hands-down winner for Most Bizarre Booth at the show was that of SpinVox—pioneers in the voicemail-to-text transcription game.