Available today from Sprint, the Motorola Debut i856 is the first vertical slider phone with Nextel Direct Connect push-to-talk service. It is also the first device to offer the upgraded ability to switch from an active push-to-talk call to a voice call by simply touching a button.

The Debut i856 includes a built-in MP3 player with external music controls, 1.3 MP camera with video capture and up to 4x digital zoom, Stereo Bluetooth and GPS. A GPS Tagging feature lets you tag a picture with the GPS information from the picture's location using the GPS receiver built into the handset. You can also send and receive messages, calendar events, pictures, location information and more, without interrupting a Direct Connect call, as well as play music while you text or talk.

The Motorola Debut i856 is now available from Sprint for $99.99 with a two-year service agreement and $50 mail-in rebate (excluding taxes). For more information visit www.sprint.com.

The BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone is slim with a modern black exterior. The push-to-talk feature that makes Sprint/Nextel’s phones stand out from the crowd has just been upgraded by RIM. The 8350i has built-in WiFi support and Group Connect with instant conversations with up to 20 participants. There is support for integrated business solutions that include a large selection of GPS-enabled solutions. The Talkgroup feature in the business solutions suite connects up to 200 people at once within the same fleet.

Danny Bowman, President of Nextel Direct Connect said it best, “The BlackBerry Curve 8350i is a premium smartphone that strikes a perfect balance between performance and usability.”

This modern marvel has an MSRP of $149 with a two-year service agreement, and $80 instant savings credit and a $100 mail-in rebate. You might want to buy a Kingston microSD card to enable the video recording feature this 8350i that is capable of recording.