New Top Messaging Phones list for Sprint and T-Mobile

top messaging phones LG Rumor Touch Sanyo Innuendo by Kyocera Motorola i886 Samsung Gravity T Charcoal Steel Samsung Gravity 3 Samsung Smiley Black LG Motorola Nextel Samsung Sanyo Sprint T-Mobile

And you thought featurephones were being obliterated. Nope! Not only are they still around but carriers are actually releasing new ones! That means that we have to update our Top Messaging Phones list.

(Actually, the reason we had to update the T-Mobile list is because T-Mobile discontinued one of their featurephones, thus forcing us to move a phone up from being not in the list at all to now number three. But the new Sprint list is because of a new phone.)

It's nice to know that if you don't want/need a smartphone, the carriers have your back (for now). The updated Sprint list is pretty exciting as it actually has an Android phone on it. 'How is that possible?' you may ask. Well, check out the list and you'll find out. (Actually, it's pretty simple and obvious. Motorola made a featurephone that runs Android. Sorry if that ruined the excitement.)

Our list for T-Mobile's Top Messaging Phones has also been updated so check that out as well and feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think of our updated lists!

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1. LG Rumor Touch

Pros

Well-designed, spacious physical keyboard
Notifications bar for messaging that is somewhat similar to what you would see on an Android device
The touchscreen and 3.5 mm headphone jack are features that the previous Rumors lacked
Excellent build quality

Cons

For a phone of this caliber, you would expect something better than a 2 MP camera with no flash
Though the user interface is interesting and fun, it may take some getting used to. (You may want to try it before you buy it to see if you like it or if it's too different for you.)

Summary

The Rumor line of phones have always been solid contenders in the messaging phone market. The Rumor Touch adds a few additional features and has very few downsides. Perfect for the "serious texter."

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2. Sanyo Innuendo

Pros

Sprint's One-Click Interface is very useful and easy to work with
Sleek and stylish design makes it fun to use
3.2 megapixel camera

Cons

2.5 mm headphone jack is kind of a bummer

Summary

The Innuendo is a device that caught us by surprise. Because of its unique design, we weren't sure if it would be awkward and boring to use or fun to use. It turns out that the device is super fun to use. It's packed with features and the excellent keyboard makes it a solid messaging phone.

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3. Motorola i886

Pros

For all intents and purposes, it runs Android
Great physical keyboard
Rugged, durable phone with a good-looking design. It meats military standards for dust, shock, vibration, and more.
Supports Nextel's push-to-talk feature
Ships with Opera Mini for web browsing

Cons

Poor camera quality
It runs Android but it doesn't have Google services (Maps, Gmail, Google Search etc.)
Buggy at times
It's an iDEN phone

Summary

This featurephone may run Android, but it's still a cheap featurephone with all of the flaws that come with most of them. The QWERTY keyboard is pretty easy to type on and Android does make for an interesting experience, even if it doesn't have a touchscreen. Still, there are a few bugs and you'll be limited in data services since it's an iDEN device.