The dish on the hottest cell phones right now

Cell phones are not just phones anymore. They have become gadgets that allow the user to control nearly every aspect of their day-to-day lives, literally.

From managing bank accounts to updating various social networks, these gadgets have an application for everything.  

Touch screen phones have been growing in popularity over the past few years. Apple set the trend for mainstream touch phones in 2007, and nearly every phone company has since jumped on the sleek and shiny bandwagon.

So where does that leave you, the consumer with a net check burning a hole in your pocket and your old flip-phone with the giant crack in the screen?

If you’re trying to update your cell status, here are reviews for five of the most popular phones available. All of which, conveniently enough for this article, are slab-style, which seems to be quite popular, phones:

•    The Samsung Instinct, available for Sprint, is a slab phone with a slide-out keyboard and touch-screen capabilities. Users praise its keyboard ergonomics and special features. “The Navigation feature is a lifesaver,” said Allen Moody, 18, a first-year pharmacy student from Jacksonville. “But the screen lags every once in a while, because it’s doing so much computing.”

•    The Blackberry Storm is Blackberry’s highly publicized first attempt into the touch-screen arena, available for Verizon Wireless customers. So far, subscribers have found it to be hit and miss. “I love that it clicks when you type, so that it’s like an actual keyboard,” said Jordan Licari, 18, a first-year biology student at Florida State from Vail, Ariz. “But it sometimes will shut off or freeze, without warning… it’s no iPhone, but it tries.”

•    Speaking of which, the iPhone 3GS is Apple’s latest iteration of its popular product for AT&T customers. According to the cnet.com review, the 3GS delivers a longer battery life, multimedia messaging, and video recording. The call quality and signal reception have not improved, however, and USB transfer is still not an option.

•    The EnV Touch for Verizon Wireless is the spiritual successor to the Voyager, in terms of looks and functionality. The Touch, however, adds a QWERTY keyboard. Apparently, this takes away from the appeal of the phone. “Even though the Touch is supposed to be an upgrade to the Voyager, I still like the Voyager better,” said Kristin Wells, and 18-year-old broadcast journalism student from Tallahassee. 

•    Lastly, the Palm Pre is Palm’s newest phone for Sprint, complete with a strong web browser and multi-touch functionality. According to Cnet, the downsides of the phone are a cramped keyboard, occasional sluggish performance and low battery life.

Currently, these phones are the top rated touch phones, according to mobiledia.com. If you’re trying to upgrade to a touch screen, or at least trying to get rid of your 1997 brick, the previous mentioned phones would a good look for you.