Palm Pre Plus

The ovular-shaped Palm Pre Plus is as well-rounded a smartphone as it looks. Currently available on Verizon and coming soon on AT&T, the device has a large touchscreen occupying the entirety of its face with a hidden QWERTY keyboard that slides out vertically. One of the most attractive features of the Palm Pre Plus is its multitasking capabilities, meaning that it can run multiple apps and lets you perform multiple tasks at once without having to close out of one app or function to open up another. Also a clear reminder of Palm's heritage as a PDA maker is the way the Pre Plus consolidates all your personal data from across calendars, contact lists, email servers, and social networking sites into a simple single view. Equally convenient are notifications alerting you of all important appointments as they arise. The device comes with built-in Wi-Fi, plus you can turn it into your own Wi-Fi hotspot. Bluetooth and a GPS with GoogleMaps are also included. Although chargers are rarely mentioned when reviewing smartphones, the Palm Touchstone charging dock is a special one. It lets you lay your device down in portrait or landscape mode and continue to use it while it's charging. Calls, emails, and notifications alike will continue to come through. And whenever the Palm Pre Plus is connected to the Touchstone charging dock, the phone automatically switches over to speakerphone.