This time around, we're recommending the best PDAs, smartphones, and feature phones (cell phones with extra features) of the past 12 months. It's a look back at some favorite and noteworthy handhelds from the past year.

PDAs
While the category is contracting slowly, there were still plenty of bright lights this year. If you're looking for something simple, lightweight, and inexpensive in a Windows Mobile device, look to Hewlett-Packard's iPAQ rx1955, an attractively compact handheld that includes Wi-Fi for $299.


iPAQ rx1955

It's a great choice if you want to check your e-mail while on the go, but don't want to buy a more expensive PDA loaded with features you won't use.

We fully expect to love the Dell Axim X51v and can't wait to try it. Unfortunately, waiting is what we've been doing. Dell PR has been so swamped with requests that we haven't gotten a test unit yet. That said, based on what we've read and on our glowing experiences with previous Axims, we feel confident in its capabilities.

Dell always offers the most bang for your buck, cramming a boat load of features into its Pocket PCs chassis for a reasonable price. The two higher-level Axims combine both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi with a speedy processor for an all-in-one portable office solution. The top model has a 624M Hz Intel X-Scale processor and lists for $399.


Axim X51v

This year also saw some significant releases from Palm. The best for business is the Palm TX, which elegantly continues the Tungsten line under a shorter, catchier name. The TX gives you both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for only $299—the cheapest ever for a Palm device with those features—yet remains slim and light enough to fit in a shirt pocket.


Palm TX

If you'd like something a lot less expensive, or if you're buying a gift for someone who's just starting with PDAs, look to the $99 Palm Z22, which continues the Zire line. The Z22 has a color screen and all the calendar, contact management tools and simplicity that the Palm OS is known for. It's not a communications device, but it’s a great management tool for an ultra-low price.


Palm Z22

Finally, Palm broke ground with a new type of portable this year, the LifeDrive Mobile Manager, which combines the storage and media capabilities of a portable MP3 player with the calendar and contact management tools of a Palm OS handheld. It has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and lists for $499. We haven't noticed it setting the world on fire since its release, but we still think it's a terrific product and a great choice for people who don't' want to carry too many gadgets.


LifeDrive

Smartphones
While we've seen less activity in the PDA space this year, the two phone categories - smartphones and feature phones - are exploding. Smartphones, combining a PDA and a cell phone, are now in every executive's briefcase.

If you'd prefer a Windows Mobile device, your first most likely is HP's iPAQ hw6515 , which combines a PDA, phone, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and a GPS device that offers turn-by-turn directions. It's still no bigger than a typical PDA.


iPAQ hw6515

Execs will also want to consider the Samsung SCH-i730, which offers both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and features a slick slide-out thumb operated keyboard for entering data.


Samsung SCH-i730

New on the market is the Sprint PPC-6700, so new that we haven't posted a review yet (look for it in the New Year). It offers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 1.3 megapixel camera, Windows Mobile 5. 0, and high-speed EV-DO phone service. One design advantage is its slide-out keyboard design; which runs from the top of the phone to the bottom, instead of side-to-side, giving you a little more room to type.

PPC-6700

If you'd prefer a Palm OS device, you've got to go for the aging yet still vital Palm Treo 650, which was launched early this year and has been the hot smartphone in the U.S. for much of 2005. We're bummed that it doesn't offer Wi-Fi, but that's about the only shortcoming in this extremely intuitive and well-made phone.

The design is an improvement over the 600 model. It features a more rounded shape that fits the hand well, the screen has a higher resolution, and its memory holds data in the even of a power loss, among other upgrades.

Windows users who'd like something as sleek as a Treo for their own use needn't be jealous for too much longer: a Windows Mobile version of the Treo, the 700w, will debut early in 2006.


Palm Treo 650

People who prefer Symbian devices gained a few excellent options this year. Check out the Nokia 6682, a slim casual phone no bigger than a typical cell phone. It's not for hardcore business use, but it can still view and edit Office documents (for an additional software fee) and view PDFs. It also includes a 1.3-megapixel camera.

Nokia 6682

For more serious business, you'll want the Nokia 9500 Communicator, a brick-shaped phone that folds open to reveal a big screen and keyboard. It includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a digital camera.



Nokia 9500

One hot smartphone this holiday season is Nokia's N90, the first device in the Finnish phone giant's new six model strong multimedia N-series to hit the market. What sets the smartphone apart is its camera technology. The $399 N90 is the first camera phone to integrate Carl Zeiss optics. As a result, the GSM/GPRS/EDGE (900/1800/1900 MHz) device purports to offer superior image quality with its 2-megapixel camera. To emphasize its picture taking capabilities, Nokia initially sold it only through Ritz Camera stores—since expanded to more traditional locations.