Dads and grads: Sizzling summer cell phones

Looking for the perfect cell phone for Dad or your favorite grad—besides a new iPhone, that is? Check out  the new 3G Sidekick, Samsung's 8MP camera phone, the long-awaited Palm Pre, and more.

Note: All quoted prices require a new, two-year contract.

Sidekick LX (T-Mobile, $199)
The ever-popular Sidekick finally gets 3G support, good for speedy Web browsing, plus streaming video and music. The new LX (set to go on sale May 13) also boasts a gorgeous, 854 by 480-pixel display, which swivels up to reveal a full QWERTY keypad. Also on board: a 3.2MP camera with video recording, GPS, e-mail, SMS/SMS, IM, a microSD memory expansion slot, stereo Bluetooth, and a social-networking app that supports Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace.

Palm Pre (Sprint, TBA)
Fresh off its sensational debut at CES in January, the Pre looks to be one of the hottest—if not the hottest—phones of the summer. Running on Palm's new WebOS mobile platform, the 3G- and GPS-enabled touchscreen slider boasts a full slate of high-end smartphone features (including Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth, and a 3MP camera), a slide-out QWERTY keypad, plus its sensational-looking multitasking abilities, which let you shuffle through open applications as you would a deck of cards. As of this writing, Sprint and Palm have yet to announce an exact launch date or pricing info for the Pre; that said, Palm insists the Pre will arrive before the first half of the year is out, so we're talking just a matter of weeks.

Samsung Memoir (T-Mobile, $249)
No, it ain't cheap, but the 3G-enabled Samsung Memoir—which comes armed with an 8MP camera, the highest resolution available from a major U.S. carrier—takes some of the sharpest, most vivid pictures I've ever seen from a camera phone. Once you're done shooting (both auto-focus and facial recognition is supported, along with rapid-fire and panoramic modes), you can upload photos directly to online picture services like Flickr, Kodak Gallery, Photobucket, and Snapfish. And yes—you can expect full-on calling and messaging features from the touchscreen Memoir, as well.

LG Neon (AT&T, $29)
The EDGE-only Neon (set for release in the "coming weeks," according to AT&T) may not be the same league as the Sidekick LX or the Pre, but it's a pretty solid—and snazzy-looking—messaging phone for the price. The slide-out QWERTY keypad is perfect for tapping out SMS, MMS, instant, and e-mail messages, and amateur shutterbugs can snap away with the 2MP camera. Want some tunes? Side-load them over the microSD memory expansion slot, then listen over a stereo Bluetooth headset.

Nokia Intrigue (Verizon Wireless, $129)
Who said the flip phone is dead? Check out the slim, sexy Intrigue, a gorgeous 3G clamshell from Nokia complete with GPS support, streaming video and full-track music downloads, stereo Bluetooth, and an eye-catching translucent external display.