Top Texting Phones for Students

Today's students text more than they email, so they'll need a messaging phone to keep up with their lightning-fast thumbs. These handsets all boast full (or at least hybrid) QWERTY keypads, along with plenty of style and multimedia features to spare.

Helio Ocean - A QWERTY keypad, great Web browsing and downloadable music.Everyone's raving about the iPhone, but don't forget this feature-packed sleeper waiting in the wings. The Ocean is a two-way slider—slide one way for a standard number keypad, the other for QWERTY action—that's a messaging machine, including a full-fledged email client and IM (AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, and Windows Live Messenger). Add in streaming multimedia and GPS-aided Buddy Beacon, and you've got a power mobile package.

LG enV- A clamshell packed with a QWERTY keypad and multimedia.This is popular clamshell may lack the Ocean's strong e-mail capabilities, but it's a perfect fit for students who love to text their buddies—either via SMS or instant message. The enV is relatively compact for a QWERTY phone, and it also packs in 3G data support for streaming video clips and downloading music over Verizon's V Cast multimedia service. Best of all—you can snag it for $30 or less.

Sidekick iD - A pared-down Sidekick that's aces with messaging.

The iD is a stripped-down version of the pricey Sidekick 3; it lacks the music and Bluetooth capabilities of its pricier big brother. That said, the Sidekick has always been all about messaging, and the iD doesn't disappoint. Armed with AIM, Yahoo and MSN IM clients, the iD also has push e-mail—a rarity for a handset this cheap—along with an easy-to-use QWERTY keypad and signature flip-up display.

Samsung BlackJack - Compact Windows smartphone with impressive features.

Definitely not a toy, Samsung's slim Blackjack is a great fit for older students who want some serious mobile power along with multimedia fun. Armed with Windows Mobile, a suite of Office applications, and full corporate e-mail support, the BlackJack also streams video clips over AT&T's Cellular Video service, and you can sync your Napster and Yahoo! Music subscription tunes to the phone. And at 3.5 ounces and just a half-inch thick, the BlackJack fits nicely in a jeans pocket.

BlackBerry Pearl -BlackBerry power in a small, sleek package.

For years, BlackBerrys were just dull, dutiful, business-minded handsets—until the Pearl came around. With its stylish design, trackball (a first for a BlackBerry) and hybrid-QWERTY keypad, the Pearl manages to look the part while still packing in plenty of hardcore e-mail capabilities. You also get a 1.3-megapixel camera (another rarity in the BlackBerry world) and a full-on media player.