Top 9 Hottest Cellphones 2006

The ultrathin clamshell that started the fashion-phone craze. The RAZR, which went on sale two years ago for $500, has been purchased more than 50 million times, with prices now hovering around $49 for new subscribers. ***

A RAZR look-alike with earbuds, the SYNC sports a gorgeous display and lets users synch up subscription music collections from Napster and Yahoo!. SYNC owners can also stream music from XM, watch Cingular's mobile video channels ***

The Chocolate isn't as thin as some of our other hot phones, but it's the music phone that most resembles an MP3 player. Available from Verizon Wireless, the Chocolate is a slider with big playback buttons and now ships in four colors ***

Sony, which dominated portable music with its Walkman radio in the 1980s and Discman in the 1990s, hasn't found much success in the MP3 industry. But its joint venture with Ericsson has led to some excellent phones ***

Motorola is best known for its clamshell flip phones, Nokia for its candybar phones and Palm for its smartphones. Samsung's sliders could become its signature product if people keep buying them. ***

In 2006, the BlackBerry went from obscure business tool to a mainstream gadget, especially among young professionals and celebrities. ***

The Pearl is RIM's first device aimed squarely at "pro-sumers," people who want the functionality of the BlackBerry e-mail service and the features of a consumer-focused phone, such as a digital camera, smaller size, music playback and fashionable design. ***

Palm's Treo 700 isn't slim or lightweight, but it packs major punch. Available in both Palm OS and Windows Mobile versions, the Treo 700 can access high-speed data networks, do e-mail, play music and stream television clips, support a 4-gigabyte memory card ***

The Q is Motorola's attempt to mate the RAZR with competitors' bulky smartphone devices, and to a great degree, it's been successful. While not everyone is crazy about the Q's keyboard, it has inspired several imitators, such as Samsung's BlackJack ***