Both sport a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, meaning you really can do just about everything on both of them. But the XV6800's larger display-2.8 inches versus 2.4 inches-does make document and picture viewing easier.

As they're available from Verizon Wireless, that makes them CMDA (dual band) with EV-DO 3G smartphones.

The SMT5800 retails for $249.99 at VerizonWireless.com and the XV6800 goes for $399.99. (Rebates and other promotions may knock off $50-100.)


           SMT5800 Closed

We found setting up email on the Verizon Wireless system to be somewhat more time consuming that on, say, a BlackBerry, but step-by-step instructions are included on a card that comes in the box, so ultimately it's an easy process. We tested the phones with both POP3 and Google's IMAP e-mail and both worked well. You choose how often your phone downloads messages, but you can always force a SEND/RECEIVE whenever you need one.

Inside cement-walled buildings, reception was spotty with both smartphones. But other than that, the voice and internet connections were good. We tested the XV6800 in western Massachusetts and the SMT5800 there as well as in Orlando and Tampa, Florida. In the Tampa Bay area, some towns had spotty reception, but overall the service seemed reliable.


           XV6800 Closed

The XV6800's more robust hardware includes eight buttons on the front, plus a navigation tool. But, there is no keypad on the front so to dial the phone without sliding out the keyboard, you have to use the stylus or touch-screen and tap numbers on the display.

This unit also has two buttons and a jog wheel on the left and three buttons on the right. For the committed user, nearly infinite customization options exit to greatly enhance efficiency of use.

The 2.0 megapixel camera on both smartphones shot pictures rather slowly, especially when using the zoom feature and it was a little difficult to get clear in-focus images. Several modes exist, such as panorama, and you can shoot video or MMS video, too. The SMT5800 shoots from the center of the device while on the XV6800 the lens is in the upper-left corner of the back.

The crowning glory of the XV6800 is the comfortable QWERTY keyboard. It's big enough for even chubby fingers to readily hit one key at a time and the presences of cursor keys and menu buttons means you can use the keyboard exclusively even when you're done typing and need to do something else.


  SMT5800's Keyboard Exposed Closed

One flaw of the unit is the lack of a stand-by mode. You can limit how often your email downloads, which will conserve on battery use, but if you want to receive incoming phone calls, you've got to have the unit on.

Fortunately, the option to lock the keys is right on the Today screen, and that's important since with all those buttons and a touch screen there are myriad ways to accidentally tell it to do something.

The SMT5800 doesn't have a touch screen but in addition to the 12 basic phone keys on the front, you've got a very small navigation tool (that's hard to use), two menu buttons, a home button, a back button and phone on and off buttons. Besides that, there's just the on/off button and a brightness/volume slider on one side and one button on the other side.


     XV6800's Keyboard Exposed

Its slide-out keyboard does enhance usefulness, though it is rather small. The keyboard features two menu buttons and just a few other keys beyond the alphabet (and corresponding numbers and symbols available using the Function key).

A nice feature of the SMT5800 is that a quick tap on the on/off button brings up a handy menu for changing the ringer volume or locking the device. It's also a hardy, rugged little unit that feels less vulnerable, despite its smaller size, than the XV6800.


 Back of SMT5800, Keyboard Exposed

Perhaps because it's smaller or maybe because of the way the slider is designed, the SMT5800's keyboard slips out more readily and more quickly than the XV6800's, meaning on the littler one slight hand movements can accidently start the keyboard slide, which automatically shifts the display to horizontal. While you want that shift when you're really using the keyboard, it can be a distraction if you didn't mean to execute a slide.

Both units come with a charger, a carrying sleeve, a USB cable, the battery, and a USB splitter to allow charging and earpiece use simultaneously. The XV6800 also comes with a spare stylus. Both run on Windows Mobile 6.0 and should get Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrades eventually.


Back of XV6800, keyboard Exposed

Such high functionality in both smartphones corresponds with quick battery drains and charging proved somewhat inconsistent. The SMT5800 on a full charge could be relied upon for six hours, sometimes it lasted longer but not always.

The XV6800 lasted longer, seeming to be reliable for 12 hours, though in both cases we weren't streaming video or doing intense web surfing. The SMT5800 didn't always hold a full charge after several hours plugged in, which may have been due to a faulty charger rather than the device itself, though we can't conclusively say.

Overall, the bigger XV6800 would be more appropriate for people relying on e-mail, accessing the Web, document viewing and photo functions, while the smaller SMT5800 would be preferable to those who expect to use their smartphone's phone features more intensely.