Feature

The Best Phone for Buyers in 2006

This is the ultimate accolade for handsets. We defined it as the phone you’d like for yourself – irrespective of price, network, and other considerations. 
For 2006 th ere were a dozen strong candidates among the also-rans, but the panel and the popular vote both agreed that one handset represented an outstanding mix of design, functionality, performance and style which put it a long way ahead of the pack

WINNER
Sony Ericsson K800i
Looks a bit dull, but as with last year’s winner (the K750i) it packs in everything bar the kitchen sink, adds a good display, and does pretty well on the performance front.

RUNNERS UP:
Nokia N73
Nokia 6233
Motorola KRZR K1

The N73 was a long way ahead of the other two in the email vote, and for good reasons: it’s an elegant, efficient, well-specified phone. The 6233 is a workhorse in the best Nokia tradition, a decent 3G replacement for the 6230/6230i that feature-wise is almost identical to the Nokia 6280. And if the KRZR had been around for a few months, it might have garnered more votes – not the perfect follow-up to the RAZR and maybe a bit of a missed opportunity, but not at all a bad phone.

Winner 2005: Sony Ericsson K850i