Holiday gift ideas: cell phones, smartphones and accessories

Network World - One of the most popular categories of device over the past few years has been the cell phone and smart phone. This year, in particular, saw an explosion of smartphone devices, with every major carrier having at least one, if not many, smartphone offering. Likewise, cell phones continue to churn out, and accessories for phones (Bluetooth headsets and earphones) are doing well also. Here's a list of some of our favorite gift ideas in this category:

7 keys to the ultimate smartphone

Motorola Droid (Verizon Wireless service)

Ever since the iPhone debuted from Apple and AT&T in June 2007, every other carrier and handset maker have tried to make an "iPhone killer" or at least try to clone what has made the iPhone so successful. This means adding features such as multi-touch displays, the inclusion of an App Store, and a good user experience. In a majority of the cases, these iPhone clones have been like the photocopy of a photocopy – it looks a lot like the original, but the user can tell that you're looking at a clone.

So what of the latest entry, the Motorola Droid? Will it join the pile of iPhone killers that have fallen short, or do we finally have a contender against the mighty iPhone? After trying the Droid for a few weeks, I can say that Verizon has a phone that can truly go up against the iPhone in terms of likability, ease of use, features and yes, even price. I don't think it will be an iPhone killer, but it can go toe-to-toe with the device on many stages.

Running on Google's Android operating system, the Droid can access the Android Market of open-source applications to create more things to do on the device. Granted, the numbers on the Android Market are far fewer than what's available on the App Store, but for the longest time there was only one phone available on Android (T-Mobile's G1). Now that multiple Android phones are out there, the market for the market will only grow. From what I saw on the Market, there are a lot of commercial developers making apps for Android, so you won't have to worry about finding an app – you may not have a specific one that is on the iPhone, but you should be able to find something that gets the job done – for example, you might find a tip calculator if the specific one you like on the iPhone (CheckPlease) isn't available.

The other major difference with Droid vs. the iPhone is the Droid's slide-out QWERTY keypad. This puts it more in line with other texting-type phones, or even the BlackBerry. I gotta admit, I'm not a fan of the keypad, its buttons are too small for me. In addition, I have smaller hands, and the design of the keyboard on the right side of the device makes it harder for me to touch type with my right hand.