Samsung Gleam U700

The Gleam's (*Est. $10 with new contract; $100 with renewal) eye-catching shiny surface makes this contender stand out from the crowd, explains Kent German of CNET. But a user at PhoneScoop.com describes it another way: a fingerprint magnet. Endless smudges are the one drawback that overwhelmingly annoys most everyone. Design flaw aside, German considers the Gleam's feature set a solid bet despite mixed multimedia performance, but users are less enthusiastic. 

The Gleam offers crowd-pleasing design, functionality and network support. This sleek clamshell phone weighs in at a pocket-friendly 3.4 ounces and measures 3.9 inches by 1.9 inches by 0.6 inches. Once open, the Gleam greets with a brilliant 2.1-inch, 240-by-320-pixel internal display. Living wallpaper, which adjusts from light to dark as day turns to night, glows from the display, while a car-themed dashboard keeps tabs on awaiting text and voice mails. The easy-to-use Gleam also comes loaded with a generous keypad featuring predictive text entry, a 2-megapixel camera with video capture, music player, expandable memory of up to 4 GB via a microSD slot, twin stereo speakers and 2.5 mm (nonstandard) jack. (The nonstandard jack means you'll need an adaptor to use your own headphones.)

German and users say, however, that the camera produces only average photos and video, and the voice dialing and speakerphone struggle in noisy environments. More users than not bemoan the subpar call quality, spotty reception and withering battery life. On the upside, Verizon Wireless' fast EVDO network supports text, picture and video messaging, email, instant messaging, mobile web browsing, GPS with VZ Navigator and access to V CAST music and videos. As impressive as these assets may be, they offset the liabilities for users, many of whom say the Gleam dims in comparison with the Samsung Juke, Motorola RAZR and LG 8350. More current Verizon alternatives include the LG Chocolate 3, LG enV2 and Samsung Glyde.