Insignia Pilot with Bluetooth

Compared with many other flash MP3 players, the Insignia Pilot is not the most compact device: it measures 4 inches by 1.9 inches by 0.4 inch, so it's not huge but a bit on the long side. It's also not overtly stylish, but with its black body wrapped in a brushed silver trim, the player isn't an eyesore, either. The face of the Pilot features an ample 2.4-inch color LCD screen on the left and a control pad on the right. The latter consists of a menu button and mechanical scroll ring with four-way clicking capability surrounding a Play/Pause key. A Power/Hold switch and the rather unique star-rating toggle line the top edge of the player, and the ports--headphone, line-in/secondary headphone, and standard mini USB--reside along the right spine. Best Buy has also built-in SD card expansion slot into the bottom of the player, which is handy for users who don't want to be limited to 8GB of memory.



The Insignia Pilot knows what it's doing as far as ease of use is concerned--the main menu is icon-driven and music is organized into the typical Creative step-down structure (artist, album, genre, playlist, and so on)--but the interface isn't particularly exciting. You can change the wallpaper color, but that's about it: no themes and no setting your own images as a background. The playback screen displays album art, at least, along with a plethora of information on the currently playing and upcoming songs. And you have the option to switch between screens to view larger album art or, in some cases, a short artist blurb. Another nice--if unusual--touch is the star toggle on the top edge of the player. Flick it in to the left to take away stars, to the right to add stars, or push it straight down to access a contextual menu for changing playback settings or for placing bookmarks.









Doubtless, a big draw of the Insignia Pilot is the breadth of the player's features--it's almost insane. The device supports JPEG photos, MPEG-4 and WMV videos, and an outstanding number of audio formats: MP3, WMA, WMA Lossless, WMA DRM, WMA Pro, OGG, WAV, and Audible. There's even Rhapsody DNA integration, so you can transfer Channels (basically, Internet radio) to the player for on-the-go access. And if you get sick of digital, you can switch over to the FM radio, which offers autoscan and up to 20 presets. There's also recording for voice and FM (both in WAV) along with line-in (saved as WMA). Last but certainly not least, is the Pilot's built-in stereo Bluetooth functionality, which allows it to stream audio to Bluetooth headphones--definitely a nice touch for wire haters....

UTStarcom XV6800 (Verizon Wireless)

The good:

The Verizon Wireless XV6800 smartphone brings upgrades such as Windows Mobile 6, a 2-megapixel camera, and a sleeker design than its predecessor. You also get Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and EV-DO.

The bad:

The XV6800's speaker is on the softer side, and call quality could be better. The smartphone doesn't support Verizon's streaming media services, and there are some slight performance delays.

The bottom line:

The Verizon Wireless XV6800 comes with most everything a power business user will need from a smartphone, but its less-than-stellar call quality gives the Samsung SCH-i760 the slight edge.

design:

The Verizon Wireless XV6800 is reminiscent of the Sprint Mogul in shape and size, which makes sense, since both devices are made by HTC. The XV6800 measures 4.3 inches high by 2.3 inches wide by 0.7 inch deep and weighs 5.8 ounces. Although it's on the larger side and you'll probably want to get a belt holster since it'll make for a tight fit in the pants pocket, it sits nicely in the palm and is comfortable to use as a messaging device. We will say that the phone's construction didn't feel as solid as the i760. The XV6800 has the same battery cover as the Sprint Mogul, which we found quite plasticky and flimsy. As far as aesthetics, the XV6800 isn't the most attractive smartphone on the block but has an appropriately business look.

camera:

The one area where the Verizon Wireless XV6800 ups the Samsung i760 is the camera. The XV6800 is equipped with a 2-megapixel lens (versus 1.3 megapixels) with flash, autofocus, and video-recording capabilities. For still images, you have your choice of five resolutions and four quality settings. You can adjust the white balance and add various effects, and there's also a self-timer and the option of adding a time stamp to your photo. As usual, your options are a bit more limited in video mode but you do get white balance settings, effects, and two resolution choices. Picture quality was mixed. We were impressed by the sharp definition, but the colors were a bit off and looked harsh. Video quality was OK for a camera phone--slightly pixilated by fine for short spurts.

Battery:

The XV6800's 920mAh lithium-ion battery is rated for 5.4 hours of talk time and up to 14 days of standby time. We are still conducting our battery drain tests but will update this section as soon as we have final results. According to FCC radiation tests, the XV6800 has a digital SAR rating of 1.3 watts per kilogram.