First step in finding the best qwerty phone for you would be to determine the budget and decide if you would buy an unlocked phone or one tied up with a contract.



Applying for an 18-month contract, there is a chance you will get a free qwerty cell phone and a monthly data package or a hefty rebate from the selling price. It is the easiest option, however, nothing comes for free - you're just getting your phone on split payments over the next 18 months. In most cases you will find that you pay less for minutes, texts and data if you are not on a subsidized contract, i.e. you buy an unlocked phone and pay the full price.

It all depends on your budget. If you have free money now, buy an unlocked phone and shop around for the best monthly price plan. If you decide to go for unlocked qwerty cell phone models, you have to allocate around $200. That starter sum of money can buy you an unlocked Palm Treo 680 or a Pantech Duo. The top-end qwerty cell phones will cost over $400 - an unlocked BlackBerry Bold World phone can cost you around $650. If this doesn't sound like the right option, visit your wireless carrier for the free subsidized phone offers.

Operational System

It is easy to sort qwerty cell phone models by the (OS) operational systems they use. OS is a software environment that makes your cell phone run, managing calls, contacts, games, applications and all other functions.

The most obvious choice for majority of people would be a Windows Mobile OS, as it gives you a familiar interface similar to a PC, easy synchronization (data transfer between a mobile phone and a PC) and crash-free operation. The most popular qwerty cell phone models using Windows Mobile OS are HTC 620 (aka HTC Dash), HTC S740 and Palm Treo W edition.

Those who enjoy using hand-helds like Palm Pilot and other pocket organizers running Palm OS will probably want to follow their passion and stick with Palm. The most popular cell phones of this kind are Palm Treo models. There are different ones - check with your provider if the Treo model you like can be supported by your country network. For example, you will find it difficult to use Palm Treo 680 in USA because it does't run on CDMA networks.

Another popular choice is Symbian OS used by Nokia smartphones. Some people feel that Symbian is becoming old and outdated in comparison with Windows, especially when it comes to editing Office documents. However, Symbian is an open-source program, which means that any programmer can develop apps and features for the OS. If you are keen on upgrading you basic cell phone with new apps and games, Symbian is the one to choose. With new open-source OS solutions like Android (the first qwerty cell phone using Android OS is Google G1 phone) taking on strength, it is possible that Symbian may fade away in next couple of years.

Another popular OS is BlackBerry - it is a light-weight Java based OS exclusively used by BlackBerry qwerty cell phones. BlackBerry gadgets are a good choice for business users but they are still to struggle in order to knock Windows Mobile from its pedestal of Number One smartphone software in the world.

Features and Entertainment

There are many different criteria for comparing qwerty cell phone models. You have to decide which features are the most important for you.

If you are keen on music and streaming video, you might find that Windows Media Player for Mobile suits your needs best. A phone with Windows Media Player will replace your MP3 player and your video player.

It is also preferable that a qwerty phone has a digital camera integrated. You need at least 1.3 or 2.0 Megapixels for quality images. Be aware that Palm Treo 680 has a 0.3 Megapixels camera and BlackBerry 7 has no camera at all.

A very important factor is the quality of the keyboard. I still think that the majority of people make their choice according to their thumb size. It is better to pop into a mobile shop and thest the keys of different qwerty cell phone models. The most tactile buttons are on HTC 620 and Nokia N71 - that's why people with large hands usually pick these models or choose a slide-out qwerty cell phone (like HTC S740 or Google G1) where the keyboard is even bigger.

There is no such thing as the best qwerty phone in the world. All the major qwerty phone makers have spent restless months or even years and millions of dollars developing smartphone models and you shouldn't really experience much trouble with any gadget. This is probably the case when you need to let your heart (or should I say thumbs) rule your head.