The hoopla never ends in the cell phone and smartphone world.

Riding along the buzz of the new iPhone 3G S and Palm Pre smartphones, we have word that yet another much-anticipated handset – the T-Mobile myTouch 3G powered by Google’s Android – is now available for pre-sale online.

T-Mobile says: “Existing customers who order during the pre-sale period from July 8, 2009 to July 28, 2009 can qualify for myTouch 3G delivery before the national retail launch. T-Mobile [said on July 8, 2009 that its] national retail availability will begin on Aug. 5.”

Current T-Mobile customers can now visit http://www.t-mobilemytouch.com to pre-order the myTouch 3G. The T-Mobile myTouch 3G, which is designed by HTC, is Google’s second Android phone. The first Google phone was the T-Mobile G1, which was released in 2008.

Considered an “iPhone challenger” in the same vein as the new Palm Pre handset, the T-Mobile myTouch 3G features super-fast 3G data speeds, intense personalization, thousands of applications, instant sharing and much more.

As your About.com cell phones guide, I change the cell phone I own and use personally and professionally relatively often to stay abreast on the latest and greatest in the industry.

While I usually make a change by choice, this time I swapped out my Samsung Upstage because its screen died (both of them).

While all of its data was still sound (my phone numbers being the most important), it was time for me to upgrade to the new Palm Pre.

While this is not to say I would particularly encourage all other Sprint customers to make the same change (many of us don't need that kind of power), I’m pleased with the decision so far.

In addition to what has been outlined by About.com smartphones guide Liane Cassavoy on the new Palm Pre for Sprint, I’d like to share with you two very important points I’ve discovered.

1. You have no choice but to select Sprint’s $100 Simply Everything plan with unlimited minutes, data and messaging. If $100 is too costly, the Palm Pre is not for you.
   
   
2. In my first few days of using the Palm Pre, I was disappointed with its battery performance. The phone comes with a rated continuous talk time of “up to 5 hours”. Oh yeah? There’s a caveat with that.
   
   When leaving on certain features such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and regularly checked email, the Pre won’t last for 5 hours. To improve the battery performance, turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when you’re not using them.
   
   As for email, don’t set the Palm Pre to check for new messages as quickly as every 5 minutes. Instead, set it to 30 minutes or 60 minutes. Checking for email every 5 minutes is a disappointing battery drain.

There’s much more to a cell phone than just the cell phone itself.

There’s also the need to snag one cheaply, finding efficient text messaging, knowing where to get ringtones and understanding how to save money once you’re already spending it.

That’s why this mega About.com list now exists. This best-of-the-best list features the best cell phones as rated by About.com. But there’s more.

In addition, the list also features the best budget cell phones, the best text messaging cell phones, the best sites for free ringtones and cheap ringtones, the best camera phones and the best ways to save money on your cell phone. Read on!

Not all cell phone cameras are made equal. This new list of best camera phones will help you discern the varying degrees of quality and features.

Cell phones making this list include cameras with at least 2 megapixels.

These cell phone cameras also include various helpful features such as 8X zoom, a flash (either the more standard LED or a brighter xenon flash), multi-shot mode, autofocus, video capture, editing software and more.

Ready to snap better mobile pictures? Read more to find out what About.com rates as its best camera phones at various cell phone carriers.