Top 10 phones of December 2004

[silver_corolla]

1. Sony Ericsson K700i

CNETAsia rating: 8.3 out of 10
The good: Classy executive design; top-notch finish; VGA camera with photo light; MP3 player; FM radio; speakerphone.
The bad: No expansion slot; sporadic pauses.
The bottom line: More than just an incremental upgrade, the K700i addresses numerous imperfections in past models to deliver a winning blend of style, design and unparalleled multimedia.


2. Nokia 6260

CNETAsia rating: 6.8 out of 10
The good: Speedy Series 60 interface; RS-MMC expansion slot; excellent connectivity options.
The bad: Lacks external display; poorly positioned keys; mono MP3 playback; unsatisfactory workmanship.
The bottom line: This Nokia’s competitive features are overshadowed by hardware shortcomings.


3. Sony Ericsson S700i

CNETAsia rating: 8.1 out of 10
The good: High-resolution 262K-color TFT; well-implemented megapixel camera; MP3 player and radio; Bluetooth and infrared connectivity; expansion slot; outstanding battery life.
The bad: Bulky; pricey.
The bottom line: For those looking for a feature-laden camera-phone that snaps quality pictures and entertains with music, there's no better choice than the S700i currently.


4. Nokia 6230

CNETAsia rating: 8 out of 10
The good: Classy executive design; video-capable VGA camera; MP3 playback; FM radio; Bluetooth and infrared; MMC expansion slot.
The bad: Small display; buggy.
The bottom line: While we're astounded by this Nokia's multimedia abilities and connectivity options, the screen and dodgy software leave an unpleasant aftertaste.


5. Motorola V3

CNETAsia rating: 8 out of 10
The good: Quadband; ultrathin clamshell; luxurious aluminum furnish; impressive 262K-color TFT; Bluetooth connectivity; VGA camera.
The bad: Pricey; laggy messaging interface.
The bottom line: Motorola's V3 clamshell comes with a touch of class. Unfortunately, its extravagant price may put it out of reach for many.


6. Nokia 3120

CNETAsia rating: 7.0 out of 10
The good: Triband; compact design; speakerphone; inexpensive; good battery life.
The bad: Lackluster display; rudimentary feature set.
The bottom line: For the frequent jetsetter who merely needs a basic phone to stay in touch, the triband Nokia 3120 should be suffice.


7. O2 Xphone II

CNETAsia rating: 8 out of 10
The good: Triband; compact and sleek design; large 2.2-inch TFT; good connectivity; improved battery runtime and speed.
The bad: Removable media not hot-swappable; lacks MP3 ringtone support.
The bottom line: This souped-up Xphone offers a plethora of features for both busy professionals and multimedia enthusiasts in a dense package.


8. Siemens S65

CNETAsia rating: 8 out of 10
The good: Stylish shell; high resolution 1.3-megapixel camera; triband; Bluetooth; RS-MMC expansion slot.
The bad: Lacks MP3 player or FM radio; sluggish while performing certain operations.
The bottom line: Siemens' latest megapixel camera-phone is sophisticated-looking and has excellent features to match.


9. Sony Ericsson P910i

CNETAsia rating: 8 out of 10
The good: Triband; impressive 262K-color TFT; feature-laden with good wireless connectivity.
The bad: Quirky thumbboard; pricey.
The bottom line: Those looking for a capable device to complement their busy routine can consider this improved smart phone from Sony Ericsson.


10. Motorola A768i

CNETAsia rating: 7 out of 10
The good: Huge 240 x 320-pixel touchscreen; versatile text input and voice commands; secure network and web access.
The bad: Under utilized two-way directional pad; lack of expansion options; poor quality image captures.
The bottom line: A jack of many trades, the A768i is a decent offering for corporate users.



read more...
http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/handpho...9209760,00.htm

[cyberdoc95]

This result surprises me when Nokia has led this race for so many years and I beleive that it still maintains number 1 all over the world. I don't know how this survey reflects the entire asian population when this was just done by a telephone poll and only in Singapore. I am not sure how this sample population represents asia though...

But I agree with the ranking. Poor me, my SHARP megapixel cameraphone do not belong in the line-up. Just goes to show how unpopular my taste for cellphone is....

[stinkaboy]

nokia b number one? there are so many places in asia na most mobile users are into samsung and sony ericson (eg. hk, korea)

[jim]

5. Motorola V3

CNETAsia rating: 8 out of 10
The good: Quadband; ultrathin clamshell; luxurious aluminum furnish; impressive 262K-color TFT; Bluetooth connectivity; VGA camera.
The bad: Pricey; laggy messaging interface.
The bottom line: Motorola's V3 clamshell comes with a touch of class. Unfortunately, its extravagant price may put it out of reach for many.

....................... definitely TRUE hehehehehe

[jim]

nokia b number one? there are so many places in asia na most mobile users are into samsung and sony ericson (eg. hk, korea)

number one na ang SE sa cell phone model ratings .........

[cyberdoc95]

This is the latest article, dated December 1, 2004, I have gathered showing the ranking of phone companies according to their worldwide sales. According to this article, this is the ranking by worldwide sales for the year as of December 2004:

[SIZE=6][SIZE=2]No. 1 - Nokia - 30.9 %[/SIZE][/SIZE]
2 - Samsung - 13.8 %
3 - Motorola - 13.4%
4 - Siemens - 7.4%
5 - LG - 6.7%
[SIZE=6][SIZE=2] 6 - Sony-Ericsson - 6.4%[/SIZE][/SIZE]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: NEWS.COM
Link:
http://news.com.com/Samsung+rises+in...tag=st.ref.goo

[SIZE=2]Samsung rises in cell sales: "We're No. 2!"[/SIZE]

South Korea's Samsung Electronics overtook Motorola as the world's second-biggest mobile phone maker in the third quarter as the market continued to boom, a survey showed on Wednesday.

Research group Gartner said Samsung sold 22.98 million phones to consumers, giving it a 13.8 percent market share, compared with sales of 22.39 million cell phones by Motorola, which was 13.4 percent of the market.
Gartner, one of the top two market researchers in the mobile phone industry, was forced to publish its quarterly statistics a day earlier than planned after the leak of key numbers by industry sources.

Motorola, whose Chief Executive Ed Zander told Reuters last month he wants his company to become the world's biggest handset maker, lost more than two points compared with the second quarter market share of 15.8 percent.

Samsung advanced from 12.1 percent in the second quarter, as consumers continued to snap up its fold-away models with integrated cameras and other advanced features. It also entered the mass market with cheap phones in growing markets like China. "It remains neck and neck between Motorola and Samsung for second place. The inventory Motorola built at the end of this quarter puts it in a good position to fight back for second position in the fourth quarter," said Gartner analyst Ben Wood.

Motorola should benefit from new models which have just arrived in shops, such as the ultra-thin Razr model.

"The Razr is a good indication of what Motorola can do," Wood said.

Unlike other research groups, Gartner measures sales to consumers, which are the best indication of end-demand. Rivals measure sales to distributors and carriers, and did not register the Samsung-Motorola swap when they published last month.

[SIZE=2]Nokia recovers, a bit[/SIZE]

Gartner also said the market share of the world's biggest handset maker, Nokia, recovered to 30.9 percent, from 29.7 percent in the second quarter.

That figure, however, is still significantly below year-ago levels when it had 34.2 percent. Early this year, the Finnish behemoth lost customers due to a poor lineup. It has addressed the problem with steep price cuts and new product introductions which have started to bear fruit.

Fourth-place Siemens ended at 7.6 percent, up from 6.9 percent, despite a recall of its new 65 range of models, which pushed the business into a loss in the quarter.

"It was a big surprise. The recall affected a lot fewer phones than people had expected. They doubled the unit sales volume in North America," Wood said.

In another victory for South Korea, LG Electronics overtook Japanese-Swedish Sony Ericsson as the world's No 5. handset maker.
LG climbed to a 6.7 percent market share, up from 6 percent in the second quarter, while Sony Ericsson slipped slightly to 6.4 percent in the third quarter from 6.6 percent.
But compared with year-ago periods, both companies had gained significant market share on the back of advanced phones. LG was expanding its relations with telecom carriers through foldaway models and high-speed mobile phones, while Sony Ericsson has carved out a niche in integrating consumer electronics from Sony, such as cameras, games and music players.

"Both are growing. The Sony Ericsson brand is growing in stature, and LG was able to take over fifth place as a result of big deals with CDMA operators in North America," Wood said.

Booming demand in the third quarter--a total 167 million phones ended up in the hands of consumers--meant the $100 billion-a-year handset industry was surely on track to ship 650 million cell phones in 2004, Wood said.

Story Copyright © 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

[GlennSter]

different sources, different ratings.

[boybi]

sa philippines lang talaga malakas ang nokia. most other asian countries are dominated by either sony-ericsson, motorolla or samsung. ang naging selling point lang ng nokia dito sa atin is the user-friendliness of its text messaging, which for me is sanayan lang. hindi na nga ako marunong magtext sa nokia e nokia kasi ang naging aggressive sa pagmarket nung bago palang ang GSM dito sa atin kaya ito ang nakasanayan ng mga tao.