As it did the year before, the Smartphone Round Robin needed to go into overtime again this time around -- but we're finished now! If you haven't been following along, here's what you missed: Each of the editors of our five Smartphone Experts sites swapped phones for a week or so, reviewing and learning what it's like to wear another smarphone user's shoes. The result is the entire series of articles you see linked on this handy page, the Smartphone Round Robin of 2008.

What will you learn there? You'll learn that there was no single smartphone that 'won' the Round Robin -- but that's by design. There's no perfect smartphone out there, but there just might be the perfect smartphone to fit your needs. If you're looking to get a new smartphone soon, think about what you need it do to and then hit up these articles -- you'll find that depending on what each of us care about, we'll give you a useful perspective on whether a given smartphone matches up.

Actually, we explain it all pretty well on this page. Oh, yeah, one more thing, we are giving away fabulous prizes:

• From Android Central, the T-Mobile G1 , the BlueAnt Z9 Bluetooth Headset, and SPE Screen Protectors
• From CrackBerry.com, the BlackBerry Bold, Spare Battery, and Case-Mate Second Skin
• From The iPhone Blog, the iPhone 3G, Case-Mate Naked Case, and Motorola H9 Bluetooth Headset
• From TreoCentral, the Treo Pro, Case-Mate Clear Armor, and Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth Headset (original)
• From WMExperts , the HTC Fuze and the Celio Redfly Mobile Companion

Find out who the winners are, after the break!

Forgot about the Smartphone Round Robin? No worries, I nearly did too. If you take note of the date/time on the photos and screencaps appearing in this review you'll see that I started working on this a couple weeks back, but between the holidays and CES and post-CES catch-up this final Round Robin write-up is coming at you a bit late. My bad! At least there's only one thing left to do in the Round Robin, which we'll do later today, and that is announce the grand prize winners! Read on for my BlackBerry Bold Review and Round Robin Concluding Thoughts >>

I think this is the start of a tradition! Last year we extended the Smartphone Round Robin deadline by a week and we're doing the same thing this year! Between the holidays, some shipping delays, getting prepped for January's big events (CES coming up and Dieter/Rene will be hitting up MacWorld too) and just being swamped in general, we're going to keep the Round Robin going until January 10th. This is good news for those who have taken an active role in participating - this gives you an extra 10 days to visit each SPE site to make a comment on a Round Robin post or forum thread to gain an extra contest entry ballot... that's 50 more chances to win!

What's left to come in the Smartphone Round Robin? My Back on the Crack articles! It's time to review the BlackBerry Bold again plus throw it an official welcome home party. Will my perspective on the Bold have changed now that I've tasted the forbidden fruits?? I'm guessing you all know the answer to that, but you'll have to hang on to find out for sure. In the meantime, especially if you've missed out on the Round Robin posts to date, take this opportunity to look at the articles of the past month:

• Palm Treo Pro First Impressions Video >>
• Palm Treo Pro Final Thoughts Review >>
• T-Mobile G1 First Impressions Video >>
• T-Mobile G1 Final Thoughts Review >>
• Apple iPhone 3G First Impressions Video >>
• Apple iPhone 3G Final Thoughts Review >>
• AT&T/WinMo Fuze First Impressions Video >>
• AT&T/WinMo Fuze Final Thoughts Review >>
• See All Smartphone Round Robin Posts >> 

And heck, just to make it easy for you to get one more chance to win a BlackBerry Bold, let's make this an official contest post! Just be logged in and leave a comment and you could win a BlackBerry Bold, Spare Bold Battery and Case Mate Second Skin (thanks Case Mate!!). Need something to comment on? Tell us what your favorite part of the Round Robin has been so far!!!

Developing a Short Fuse for the Fuze?!

[ This is an official Smartphone Round Robin post! Every day you reply to an official Round Robin blog post or forum thread on CrackBerry.com, you automatically gain an entry ballot for a chance to win a BlackBerry Bold, Spare Bold Battery, and Case Mate Second Skin! If you somehow still don't know what this is all about, visit SmartphoneRoundRobin.com!! ]  

2008 is coming to an end as is my time with the AT&T Fuze. Of all my reviews in the Smartphone Round Robin, this one is going to be the shortest (not necessarily the sweetest though). There are a bunch of good reasons for the brevity.

One, Christmas and the holidays happened, which has made getting more than 30 minutes of uninterrupted work time basically impossible these past few days. Two, my iPhone 3G final review was wayyyy too long, so I need to take it easy here and bring my words per review average down a bit. Three, Rene over at The iPhone blog knew how bad I've been jonesing to get my Bold back in possession so he got his final Bold review done in speedy fashion and shipped back my device ahead of schedule (I'm itching to hit publish on this post so I can yank the SIM out of the Fuze and officially be allowed to get back on the crack!). Four, I'm fresh out of smartphone philosophy lectures to embed within this post, and last but not least, this review is going to be short because I never fully got up to speed on the Fuze. You might say I developed a bit of a short fuse for the Fuze.

In my initial impressions video I gave the Fuze a hard time on the usability of its touchscreen, which was echoed in many of the comments left by readers to that post. Despite some tips from the gang at WMExperts, the resistive touchscreen on my particular device simply hated my fingers. Maybe it was my technique, maybe it's the fact I've been spoiled by good capacitive touchscreens (iPhone 3G, G1, Storm) or maybe something with the hardware itself is actually messed up (listen to our second Smartphone Round Robin Roundtable podcast and you'll hear that this may partially be the case). I even went so far as installing a FuzeBerry TouchFlo 3D skin onto the Fuze to make it more Berry-like which I was sure would help out with my usage issues but unfortunately did not. Regardless of my difficulties, you can Read on for my HTC AT&T Fuze Final Impressions >>

[ This is an official Smartphone Round Robin post! Every day you reply to an official Round Robin blog post or forum thread on CrackBerry.com, you automatically gain an entry ballot for a chance to win a BlackBerry Bold, Spare Bold Battery, and Case Mate Second Skin! ] 

Payback time! Over at The iPhone Blog, editor Rene Ritchie has followed up his initial impressions video (which you can watch above) with his full-out BlackBerry Bold review. How did he fair? You're going to have to jump over to TiPb to read it, but let me set the tone with a quote from his introduction paragraph...

...I loved it and hated it. How utterly appropriate. Not to be too tale of two-cities about it, but it was both the best of the Round Robin devices for me and the worst. 

Rene even took the CrackBerry Kevin philosophical approach during his review and examined the BlackBerry Way of Life (which scares him!). Agree or disagree, Rene's review is definitely worth reading. Even I think some of his points are right on the money. Don't forget to drop a comment there for your chance to win an iPhone 3G or here for a Bold (you can do both!).

• Read TiPb's Final BlackBerry Bold Review >>

[ This is an official Smartphone Round Robin post! Every day you reply to an official Round Robin blog post or forum thread on CrackBerry.com, you automatically gain an entry ballot for a chance to win a BlackBerry Bold, Spare Bold Battery, and Case Mate Second Skin! ] 

I'm excited boys and girls! NOT by the AT&T Fuze -- you're gonna have to watch the video above to see how I feel about the device and TouchFlo 3D so far -- but because the Smartphone Round Robin is almost over which means I'll have my BlackBerry Bold back next week! Though I am a LITTLE worried to get it back... after seeing everybody tap the heck out of its display thinking it was a touchscreen has me thinking it may not be quite the same Bold I originally shipped out. I've been saying my daily prayer to the CrackBerry Gods that it returns home safely.

In the meantime, enjoy the Fuze initial impressions video! Be sure to post a comment for your chance to win your own BlackBerry Bold and more!! 

[ This is an official Smartphone Round Robin post! Every day you reply to an official Round Robin blog post or forum thread on CrackBerry.com, you automatically gain an entry ballot for a chance to win a BlackBerry Bold, Spare Bold Battery, and Case Mate Second Skin! ] 

Revenge time! Last week I had some fun in my iPhone 3G First Impressions video and today Rene Ritchie of TheiPhoneBlog gets part 1 of his revenge (part 2 will come on Monday with his full review).

This is the Round Robin video I have been looking forward to / fearing the most, and Rene doesn't disappoint. Click the image above to head on over and watch what a bonafide Apple fanboy thinks of our beloved BlackBerry Bold. Speaking of the Bold, be sure to login and leave a comment to this post for your chance to win one. You can also leave a comment over at TiPb.com for a chance to win an iPhone 3G.

As for me this week...I've been using the Windows Mobile-powered HTC Fuze. I'll be posting my vid on that tomorrow (need to space these Round Robin posts out so you have more chances to win!). In the meantime, you can visit SmartphoneRoundRobin.com to stay on top of up all action.

A First Class Gadget, but it Still Lacks the Crack!

[ This is an official Smartphone Round Robin post! Every day you reply to an official Round Robin blog post or forum thread on CrackBerry.com, you automatically gain an entry ballot for a chance to win a BlackBerry Bold, Spare Bold Battery, and Case Mate Second Skin! If you somehow still don't know what this is all about, visit SmartphoneRoundRobin.com!! ] 

My apologies Apple fans, but I just had to give this article that name. I had some fun with my Round Robin iPhone 3G Initial Impressions video, and it got a lot of passionate comments in response. The majority of them were positive and in agreement with what I said (makes sense seeing as CrackBerry.com is a BlackBerry enthusiast site) and I just couldn't help but laugh at the slightly negative ones that called the review biased. Hello? Of course it's biased. That IS the whole point of the Smartphone Robin... to use and abuse and review the competition from the perspective of the reviewer's preferred platform, in this case the iPhone 3G from the perspective of a BlackBerry addict. If every review was conducted without any preconceived favoritism, you'd be reading the same review over and over again from each editor, and where would the fun and learning be in that?! Apparently not all iPhone owners possess the good sense of humor that the iPhoneBlog.com's editor Rene Ritchie has. Ahh well, it's all good! Rene has my BlackBerry Bold this week so I'm sure he'll get his sweet revenge on me then on behalf of iPhone fans. I'm looking forward to it!

As for my take on the iPhone 3G? Between last year's Smartphone Round Robin where I reviewed the original iPhone, our CrackBerry.com Podcasts and site editorials, most of my thoughts and opinions on the iPhone 3G are already well-known and out there for all to hear, see and read. While I do like the iPhone 3G (it is my favorite frenemy) and in fact there are things I even love about it, after having been a subscriber to the BlackBerry philosophy for so long it's simply not a device I'd ever feel fully comfortable with using as my primary means of communication. Despite the hardware improvements to the iPhone 3G from the original iPhone and the addition of the App Store and version 2 software this past year, it simply still lacks the crack that got me hooked on BlackBerry to begin with. Could Apple ever build an iPhone that could win me over that would be more to my liking? Maybe, but I don't think it's in El Jobso's plans. Read on for my Apple iPhone 3G Final Impressions >>

[ This is an official Smartphone Round Robin post! Every day you reply to an official Round Robin blog post or forum thread on CrackBerry.com, you automatically gain an entry ballot for a chance to win a BlackBerry Bold, Spare Bold Battery, and Case Mate Second Skin! ] 

Our G1-loving pal Casey Chan has now posted his final review of the BlackBerry Bold over at AndroidCentral.com. Earlier this week he posted his initial impressions video (which you can now watch above) which was pretty positive towards the BlackBerry Bold. In the spirit of the Round Robin, in his final review Casey gives the BlackBerry platform a little harder time...

I know it's being nitpicky and I might be at a loss here, but how do you get excited about the Blackberry OS? This current OS doesn't seem much different than last year's Curve (other than the facelift and better browser) and I just don't see the room for "potential" or how it can "grow". Sure, the Bold SPEEDS through tasks and is very, very efficient, but where is Blackberry headed?

From my brief use with Blackberry, and you can flame me in the comments if I'm wrong, but I didn't encounter any killer third party apps. There was nothing that I desperately needed to try, nothing amazingly innovative, and nothing to really challenge the platform to be better. In fact, it hardly felt like a platform at all. Anything notable that didn't come from RIM seemed like an imitation of something on another device.

OUCH. That stings Casey. What do you think CrackBerry Nation? Are we going to take that? Be sure to read Casey's full review and then post a comment. Leave it here if you want a chance to win a Bold or over at Android Central for a chance to win a G1 (which you could always sell and then buy yourself a Berry!). 

• Read Android Central's Final Review of the BlackBerry Bold >>

[ This is an official Smartphone Round Robin post! Every day you reply to an official Round Robin blog post or forum thread on CrackBerry.com, you automatically gain an entry ballot for a chance to win a BlackBerry Bold, Spare Bold Battery, and Case Mate Second Skin! ] 

The iPhone 3G. It is without a doubt my favorite smartphone frenemy. Whether you like, dislike, love or hate the iPhone 3G, you certainly can't deny it. You can't deny the sales figures Apple has quickly achieved with the device and you can't deny all those things the iPhone 3G does well. At the same time, you also can't deny all of the iPhone 3G's many faults. Remember our Top 10 Reasons Why the iPhone is No BlackBerry and Top 10 Reasons Why the Iphone 3G is STILL No BlackBerry articles??

iPhone and BlackBerry enthusiasts will always disagree on these points, as many of the gripes go beyond the device itself and into the realm of smartphone philosophy, and both Apple and RIM have different ideas on that (think on the go vs. stop and use). If you missed last year's Smartphone Round Robin, be sure to check out my iPhone Initial Impressions and iPhone Final Review. Despite the iPhone 3G being an improved device over the original iPhone my overall opinion hasn't really changed - it still lacks the Crack.

Take a look at the slightly too long video above (my apologies - waiting on all those dang iPhone screen to screen transitions soaks up the time). I give the iPhone 3G some love and some hate, in the way that only best frenemies could. Enjoy the show!

[ This is an official Smartphone Round Robin post! Every day you reply to an official Round Robin blog post or forum thread on CrackBerry.com, you automatically gain an entry ballot for a chance to win a BlackBerry Bold, Spare Bold Battery, and Case Mate Second Skin! ] 

I had Casey's T-Mobile G1 last week and this week he's using my BlackBerry Bold. On the first Smartphone Round Robin Roundtable Podcast Casey voiced a bit of skepticism that the Bold's display would be as impressive as everyone was making it out to be. But once he finally got his hands on the device... well... you'll just have to click on over to Android Central to hear for yourself what he had to say!

You can leave a comment here for your chance to win a Bold or better yet, you can also drop Casey a comment for your chance to win a T-Mobile G1 (spread those odds out!). Keep in mind, if you win the G1 you could probably sell it/trade it in for a new BlackBerry :-)

Not Quite. But the G2, G3 or G4 Just Might!

[ This is an official Smartphone Round Robin post! Every day you reply to an official Round Robin blog post or forum thread on CrackBerry.com, you automatically gain an entry ballot for a chance to win a BlackBerry Bold, Spare Bold Battery, and Case Mate Second Skin! If you somehow still don't know what this is all about, visit SmartphoneRoundRobin.com!! ] 

My time with the Android-powered T-Mobile G1 has come to an end. Am I going to miss it? You might think so, considering the first impressions video I posted earlier this week was semi-gushing with G1 positivity, but as I part with the device my real answer is not really.

The G1's form factor is awkward, the hardware is industrial in a day and age when gadget sexy is what people want, and you just can't help but gawk at the G1's weird chin. I don't think anybody is going to pick this device up in their hands and say, "YES, this is the phone I have been dreaming about all my life!" That said, once you get over the look and feel of the HTC-built G1, powering up the capacitive touch screen display and putting Google's new Android operating system to use is a mainly fun and enjoyable experience, especially if you are a Google user. The Android homescreen experience is awesome - you feel like you're working on a desktop that's much bigger than the confined display in front of you, and the ease of customization is welcomed. Considering this is the first device to run on Google's open source mobile operating system, which is considered to still be beta (like all things Google!), Android on the G1 for me was fast and reliable and appeared to manage memory and applications extremely well, which is something that even some been-around the block mobile platforms are still struggling with years later.

In the end, my interest really isn't with the G1... it's in seeing the G2 and G3 and G4 in action. But this is a G1 review, so Read on for my T-Mobile G1 Final Impressions >>

[ This is an official Smartphone Round Robin post! Every day you reply to an official Round Robin blog post or forum thread on CrackBerry.com, you automatically gain an entry ballot for a chance to win a BlackBerry Bold, Spare Bold Battery, and Case Mate Second Skin! If you somehow still don't know what this is all about, visit SmartphoneRoundRobin.com!! ]  

Our Treo-loving gal Jennifer's time with my BlackBerry Bold has come to an end. The verdict? She loved it! Jennifer liked the Curve she used last year in the first Round Robin, and for her the Bold's brilliant display and overall speediness kicked it up a notch. Be sure to head on over to TreoCentral.com to read her full review!!!

[ This is an official Smartphone Round Robin post! Every day you reply to an official Round Robin blog post or forum thread on CrackBerry.com, you automatically gain an entry ballot for a chance to win a BlackBerry Bold, Spare Bold Battery, and Case Mate Second Skin! ]  

With my BlackBerry Bold now in Jennifer's hands and the Palm Treo Pro I was using last week with Rene (you NEED to watch his video preview), I'm now rock'n the Android-powered T-Mobile G1. The G1 is a slider, and if you rewind to last year's Round Robin you'll remember I've got a thing against sliders (me and the AT&T Tilt did not get along so well). But having been a Google fan boy longer than I've been a CrackBerry Addict (seriously - Google has been my homepage since for over a decade now), I kept an open mind as I picked up the G1 for the first time.

Watch the video above. It's actually pretty positive (minus the sick frog voice I got going on)!! The G1's form factor is a bit wonky and the hardware is a little underwhelming, but moving from the Bold into the G1 was a fairly easy transition to make, with the trackball, back key and menu key providing some of the comforts of 'BlackBerry Home.' What had me most excited was the Android homescreen experience - I'm a big fan of the ease of customization and how fluid it is. Not all is rosy for the G1 though - I'll pick on a lot of things in the longer, follow-up review (which will be coming soon since I'm behind schedule in getting this posted), so stay tuned!

[ This is an official Smartphone Round Robin post! Every day you reply to an official Round Robin blog post or forum thread on CrackBerry.com, you automatically gain an entry ballot for a chance to win a BlackBerry Bold, Spare Bold Battery, and Case Mate Second Skin! ]  

My BlackBerry Bold is now in the hands of our Treo-loving gal Jennifer Chappell over at TreoCentral.com. You can click the image above to check out Jennifer's hands-on initial impressions video. In last year's Round Robin Jennifer was a fan of the Curve - she liked the form factor and gained respect for the BBOS/speedy trackball experienced. How does she like the Bold? You'll have to watch the video to find out! But I will say here that after being used to smartphones that have both a touchscreen and keyboard, she did spend the first day smudging up my Bold's display thinking she could tap the icons! :-)

Keep in mind, posting your daily Round Robin comment at CrackBerry.com gives you a chance to win a BlackBerry Bold + Accesories. But if you login to TreoCentral.com and post a comment, you'll have a chance to win a Palm Treo Pro + Case-Mate Clear Armor and the original Jawbone Bluetooth Headset.

And if by chance you still don't know what all this Smartphone Round Robin stuff is all about, do yourself a favor and click this link!