Top Teen Phones for the Holidays

You know that BlackJack you got your teen last year? Guess what: it's way old—and in fact, there's a whole new crop of handsets that your kids are probably eyeing right now. Check out my picks for the hottest teen-friendly handsets this holiday season.

LG Rumor: Available in white and black, this snazzy slider on Sprint opens to reveal a full QWERTY keypad, perfect for sending text messages (that's what the kids are doing these days, trust me) or firing off IMs. The Rumor doesn't do 3G, so no streaming video or music downloads—although that also means a cheaper data plan. Young'uns can still side-load their favorite tunes on the phone, as well as snap photos on the 1.3-megapixel camera. Best of all? The Rumor sells for a mere $80 with a two-year service plan.

Sidekick LX: While I feel the LX has fallen behind the times in terms of the overall phone market, teens are still ga-ga over this phone—and indeed, it still has one of the best user interfaces around. The new-and-improved display swivels up and around, while beneath lies a roomy QWERTY keypad for texting (AIM, Yahoo! IM, and Windows Live Messenger are all supported). The LX also boasts an MP3 player, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and direct access to MySpace (good for checking on buddies or uploading photos). At $300 with a two-year service agreement, the LX sure ain't cheap, but hey—we're talking fashion here.

BlackJack II: Remember how I said the BlackJack was out of date? Here's why. The recently unveiled BlackJack II comes with a bevy of business-minded features—including Microsoft's mobile Office suite, remote enterprise management features, Exchange support, and all that—but it's also sleek and slim, and it's loaded with an improved QWERTY keypad for e-mail and texting. Speedy 3G service and music downloads are both part of the deal, as is one-way video conferencing—your kids will love that. Better still is the price tag: just $150 with service.

LG Voyager: Last year, the LG enV on Verizon Wireless was the "it" phone; now its successor, the LG Voyager, is ready for its close-up. Sharing the same clamshell shape and QWERTY keypad as the enV, the Voyager goes a step further with a snazzy, jumbo-sized touch-screen display. The phone also boasts nearly 10 channels of streaming, live TV, along with music downloads, texting, e-mail, and instant messaging. The Voyager won't come cheap, though: pricing has yet to be announced, but I'm guessing it'll be in the $200-$300 range.

Palm Centro: The Palm Treo isn't exactly what I'd call a teen phone, but the Centro—essentially a pint-sized, $99 version of the Treo—will get their attention, what with its smaller, more rounded case and full QWERTY keypad. The Centro is a whiz with e-mail and texting (complete with a threaded text-messaging interface, which makes SMS dialogs look more like IM conversations), and it also does streaming video.

Samsung Juke: New on Verizon Wireless, the $99 Juke is certainly to be a head-turner on campus. Available in teal, red, and navy, the long, narrow Juke swivels open to reveal a standard numeric keypad. While the Juke can't download music over-the-air, your teen will be able to transfer tunes to the phone via USB (and you won't have to pay for a costly data plan). The Juke also comes with support for stereo Bluetooth headsets, as well as a VGA camera for amateur shutterbugs.