Samsung Sway U650

"The Samsung Sway continues Samsung's newest tradition of stealing phone designs from LG," quips Philip Berne of InfoSync.com. Indeed, the Sway is the twin to the LG Shine, sporting a sleek, slender slider-phone form factor that wins over reviewers and users. The device measures about 4.2 inches by 2 inches by 0.5 inches and weighs a mere 3.6 ounces -- just small enough to go unnoticed in a pocket. The Sway's vibrant 2.2-inch, 240-by-320-pixel display resides on the outside of the slider door. The screen's exterior location, however, makes it vulnerable to scratches and fingerprints, especially because the device lacks a thumb grip for easy opening. On the inside of the phone lies a brightly backlit keypad that comes equipped with predictive text entry, although users complain that the flush keys, combined with the slider design and user interface, make for awkward keypad entry. Also, when shutting the slider, the keypad and ringer volume sometimes lock automatically, creating a resetting headache.   

The Sway offers great call quality and a solid midrange feature set, according to CNET. Capabilities include text messaging, picture messaging, instant messaging with AOL, Yahoo! Messenger and MSN Messenger, a full-featured web browser, web-based email, a 1,000-entry phone book, Bluetooth, GPS with VZ Navigator, and Verizon's new City ID add-on feature, which lists the city in addition to phone number of incoming calls. Also on board are 50 MB of onboard memory expandable up to 8 GB via a microSD slot, a 2-megapixel camera with video capture like the LG Shine, and a music player, although Berne describes the latter as "bare bones" and it's paired with a proprietary headset. (You'll need an adapter to use your own headphones.) These mid-tier features face an obstacle, says Tong Zhang of MobileTechReview.com, because the Sway relies on the slower 1xRTT network.

Without EVDO, limitations prevail: slow-loading web pages, the inability to multitask, and no V CAST music, although the Sway does support Verizon's subscription-based Rhapsody mobile service. Compounding the network support problems, users say that the Sway suffers from horrible battery life. Zhang says that these setbacks, especially the lack of EVDO, prevent the Sway from being a multimedia powerhouse like the pricier LG Dare, but it nonetheless remains a fashionable and affordable phone.