Best 5 Back-to-School Messaging Cell Phones Perfect for "Text Crazy" Students

Students who are getting ready to go back to school are probably already scoping out their newest necessity, the back to school cell phone. However, students will probably not be allowed to use their phones in class, as well as they should not. This being the case, the best cell phones will probably be those that have the best messaging functions; this way they can use their phones without disrupting class too much - so long as they are set to vibrate, anyway. The best thing about messaging phones is that data plans are not necessary - most messaging is included with an all-you-can-eat voice plan. Let us look at the top five messaging phones available for this year's back to school 2010 season.

Samsung Strive from AT&T $140 to $199

This Samsung Strive messaging phone is a candybar slider, which slides open the QWERTY keyboard from the bottom vertically, not horizontally. The 320-pixel by 240-pixel 2.6-inch display is a little small, but is as large as it possibly could be considering the size of the phone itself is only 4.17 inches tall by 2.15 inches wide by 0.58 inches deep. This makes the phone easy to fit in the palm of the hand and message friends during class undetected, even with the slider open to its full QWERTY position. The best feature of this phone is the ability to message multiple people at once, getting gossip and rumors to the right people much faster than any other phone could. Available from AT&T in black or purple, the Samsung Strive is a great phone for tweens and teens, especially since it is not too expensive to replace if the teacher confiscates it.

LG Cosmos by Verizon $0.01-$199

This messaging phone by LG and Verizon has a great QWERTY keyboard. Yes, it does... Yes, the keyboard on the outside is a regular number pad, but the cool part is that the QWERTY is on the inside of the phone. It also has a dedicated text messaging key that gives the user instant text menu access. The LG Cosmos is a horizontal candybar slider style, so it automatically makes the internal keyboard spacious, even for those large fingered students. At 4.1 inches tall, 2.05-inches wide and 0.67 inches thick, it fits in the hand nicely so concealing it during class is possible, making it the perfect back to school messaging feature phone. Featuring a USB mass storage card, Bluetooth and GPS with support for the Verizon VZ Navigator, the only thing missing is a music player and EV-DO.

Pantech Impact by AT&T $0.01-$249

While this list has been reviewing strict messaging cell phones for back to school use, the Pantech Impact is probably the most fully featured cell phone on this list, but it is also great for messaging as well. Offering dual displays with a full QWERTY slider keyboard with OLED touch sensitivity, this phone utilizes 3G, GPS and the largest camera of this list at 2 megapixels. Oh, it has a music player, too. The size of the phone is a bit bulker than the others, but at .070 inches thick, 4.19 inches tall and 2.04 inches wide, it is still small enough to conceal during class. This phone offers back to school students great features mixed with more than capable messaging ability in their choice of pick or blue (how fitting) at a decent price. Now, only if Pantech were available from a carrier other than AT&T, it would be the perfect phone...

LG Ally by Verizon $49

OK, maybe the Pantech was not the perfect phone... The LG Ally offers even more features and is still a great messaging phone. To top that off, it is offered by Verizon, so consumers know they are getting a decent service. This LG Ally messaging phone offers 3G, Wi-Fi, Android 2.1 (First LG Android offering in America), an even better 3.2-megapixel camera with awesome editing and shot tricks, GPS, Bluetooth and Ev-DO. Additionally, it offers a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen display with an 800 pixel by 480 pixel resolution. As for the QWERTY slider, it is roomy and responsive to opening by automatically switching from portrait mode to landscape mode. The LG Socialite application includes allows avid social networkers to update friends easily in addition to customization of updates and email accounts; this is THE Verizon messaging phone for the back to school masses.

LG EnV3 by Verizon $0.01 to $299

Yet another LG messaging phone makes the list of top phones for back to school text-messaging use. LG knows what students want, because not only is the EnV3 another fully featured phone, but the slide out QWERTY keyboard is spacious and from Verizon, meaning great service and plans. The EnV3 has a double display one is 1.56 inches and the other is 1.45 inches and while they are small, they look nice and bright. Additionally, a 3-megapixel camera, HTML browser based on Opera's lightening fast browser, and thin design make this phone much better than the EnV2 was. At 4.11 inches tall by 2.13 inches wide and 0.65 inches thick, the EnV3 is easy to hold while in class, even in the open position for messaging. Available in blue and maroon, the EnV3 is a messaging phone no one should skip.

Nicole Lee, "LG Ally, Verizon Wireless," CNet Reviews

Kent German, "Samsung Strive SGH-A687 - purple (AT&T)," CNet Reviews

Nicole Lee, "LG Cosmos - black (Verizon Wireless)," CNet Reviews

Nicole Lee , "Pantech Impact - pink (AT&T)," CNet Reviews

Nicole Lee, "LG EnV3 - slate blue (Verizon Wireless)," CNet Reviews