PhoneTalk

Ever wonder how to get your personal information off a BlackBerry? It's easier than you think. Watch the video below to see how it's done. We show you how to do it using a BlackBerry Storm 2, but it's the same steps for most BlackBerry smartphones.

Topics:

Phone Smarts

Verizon Wireless

BlackBerry

Smart phones

When Palm introduced its new smartphone Web OS at CES it looked like it was going to be a real contender. Now, almost a year later, two cell phones sport the operating system: Palm Pre and Palm Pixi. We compare them to each other the video below. Is one cell phone better than the other? Watch the video below and decide for yourself.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Sprint	Cell phone plans	Storage
	Palm	Camera	Smart phones	WiFi
	Bluetooth

The HTC Droid Eris is one hot Verizon Wireless smartphone. Is it the Google Android OS, its sleek design, or HTC Sense that makes it so sought after? Maybe it's a combination of all three. Watch the video below and decide for yourself.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Verizon Wireless	Storage	Camera
	Smart phones	WiFi	GPS	E-mail
	Bluetooth	HTC	Android	Google

In the market for a case for your BlackBerry? There are lots of different models, This wallet style version for the latest BlackBerry Curve is also available for other BlackBerry smartphoness. However, there's more than meets the eye to this case. Watch the video below to find out what's different.

Topics:

In The Know

BlackBerry

Smart phones

Accessories

Verizon Wireless is offering customers a way to make their holiday a little sweeter with a Green Day mashing contest. Simply click this link to start remixing songs from 21st Century Breakdown with the Green Day masher. If your tone gets the most votes at the end of the contest on December 31st you could win a Green Day Rock Set that includes a guitar signed by Green Day lead guitarist Billy Joe Armstrong, in addition to drummer Tré Cool’s box drum kit.

If you're a Verizon Wireless customer using a BlackBerry Tour or BlackBerry Storm you can text “GD” to 5509 or log onto www.vcastlive.com/gd on your smartphone’s browser to start accessing free Green Day music, which includes full-length, live performance tracks of “21 Guns,” “Last of the American Girls” and “21st Century Breakdown,” plus an “East Jesus Nowhere” ringtone and exclusive Green Day wallpaper.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	Music
	Ringtones

We asked our blog readers, "Of all the smartphone OS' available, which is the one that meets your needs best?" It was a close race, but out of 48 responses the BlackBerry Operating System (OS) seemed to be the smartphone OS of choice garnering 31% of the votes. Tied for second was Google's Android OS and the iPhone OS each getting 25% of votes. The OS that least met the needs of the PhoneTalk blog readers was Palm. There could be a few reasons for the responses such as BlackBerry has been at the game a lot longer and likely has more active smartphones in the market, while the latest Palm Web OS is fairly new just being released this year.

What's more interesting to me is the tie between Google's Android OS and Apple's iPhone. Does this mean that Android is giving the iPhone a run for its money? Hard to say, but let us know what you think by leaving a comment below. Also, please voice your opinion in our latest poll, "How do you want to receive holiday greetings this year" featured in the right hand column. In the meantime, here's a recap of the survey results:

BlackBerry 31%

Google's Android 25%

iPhone 25%

Windows Mobile 13%

Symbian 4%

Palm 2%

That's the latest poll results!

Topics:	Somethin' To Talk About	BlackBerry	Windows Mobile	Palm
	Symbian	Smart phones	Android	Apple

The third cell phone in the Instinct line, the Samsung Instinct HD has something the other models don't offer: the ability to play videos in HD. Is that enough to set this model apart from other touchscreen cell phones available? Watch the video below to find out.

Topics:	In The Know	Sprint	Samsung	Camera
	Bluetooth

Tis the season for holiday travel and no matter where you're plans may take you these tips will help you avoid unwanted cell phone bills.

1. Crossing Borders. If you're plans are taking you out of the country this holiday season and you want to take your cell phone with you. First, see what cell phone networks (GSM, CDMA) are supported at your destination. Next, find out if your cell phone will work there by checking with your carrier. If you have a CDMA (Sprint, Verizon) handset although your phone might work in another country you'll need to set up the appropriate plan with your carrier before you leave. If you have a GSM cell phone (AT&T, T-Mobile) and you have an unlocked phone you'll likely be able to get a SIM card at your destination. This will be helpful for placing calls at your destination, but that's not always the case for calling the states. At which point you should check with your carrier to see what you need to do to call home.

2. Avoid Getting Lost. Most cell phones these days have a GPS capability and the carriers offer services that will help get you where you're going. These navigation services can cost extra, but they are considered features and you can activate and deactivate them without changing the length of your contract. If you don't want to do that, there's always Google Maps that is free and can be downloaded to many cell phones. 

3. Evaluate Your Text Messaging Plan. During the holidays people tend to send more text messages whether it's to wish holiday greetings or a happy new year. While the sentiment is nice, the message your receive still gets counted on your messaging plan. If you have a limited text messaging plan maybe think about increasing it during the holiday season so you can enjoy the messages you receive. Text messages are also considered a feature and will not change the length of your contract.

4. Keep Track of the Weather. Many cell phones offer free weather apps, such as WeatherBug that can be downloaded directly to your cell phone and if you already have a data plan checking that app on your cell phone (Read more)

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Text messaging	Cell phone plans	Camera
	Smart phones	International	Travel	WiFi
	GPS

Want to know what comes with the latest Windows Mobile HTC Tilt 2 for AT&T? Watch the video below featuring LetsTalk's Scott Price. Does it have everything you want?

Topics:	In The Know	AT&T Wireless	Windows Mobile	Smart phones
	Business Use	HTC

The follow-up to the LG Shine, the LG Shine II is a slick looking cell phone that has its fair share of features including 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth and support for X/M radio. But it also has one particular feature that sets it apart from the rest. Watch the video below to see what is. Want to know even more about the LG Shine II? Read the full expert review by clicking this link.

Topics:	In The Know	Text messaging	AT&T Wireless	LG
	Video

Good news for T-Mobile Android phone users: According to this article Google phone users will no longer need to enter credit card information to purchase apps from the Android Market on their Android phones. Instead T-Mobile users will be able to bill purchases directly to their account. Of course, if users really want to use their credit cards to make such purchases they still can. The update is coming via a software push to T-Mobile Android handsets. The software roll out will be in installments that are scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. This is good news for cell phone users app developers alike, making it easier to purchase apps.

Topics:	In The Know	Cell phone plans	Smart phones	T-Mobile
	Android	Google

Want to know what comes with the latest Windows Mobile HTC Pure for AT&T? Watch the video below featuring LetsTalk's Scott Price. Does it have everything you want?

Topics:	In The Know	AT&T Wireless	Cell phone plans	Windows Mobile
	Business Use	WiFi	HTC

Every once in a while a cell phone comes along that pushes the bar a little bit higher. The LG eXpo available for AT&T is one of those cell phones. Sure it has a bunch of features we've come to expect in a smartphone: Windows Mobile 6.5, 5-megapixel camera with a flash, WiFi, access to XM Radio, and of course true 3G connectivity. What sets this cell phone apart is security and the ability to add a Pico Projector for viewing video and presentations just about as large as you want. Click here to see what a Pico Projector can really do. While the Pico Projector attachment is definitely cool, I think it's the security aspect of the LG eXpo smartphone that will be the most useful to people. The cell phone has a Smart Sensor designed to work with fingerprints. What does that mean? In short, it means only you can unlock the LG eXpo with your finger. All the aspects of the eXpo make me think it's something we might see in a Mission Impossible movie. Yet the really cool part is that it's a cell phone that you can get now; It's not just a concept and that's why this cell phone pushes the bar just a little bit higher.

Topics:	In The Know	AT&T Wireless	Camera	LG
	Business Use	WiFi	Video

Want to know what comes with the latest Windows Mobile Samsung Intrepid for Sprint? Watch the video below featuring LetsTalk's Scott Price. Does it have everything you want?

Topics:	In The Know	Sprint	Samsung	Windows Mobile
	International	Travel	WiFi

About a year after the first BlackBerry Bold was released, the newest sibling in the Bold family was announced, the BlackBerry Bold 9700 (aka the Bold 2, aka the Onyx). The smartphone was just released for both AT&T and T-Mobile. We got to take a look at the BlackBerry Bold 9700 for T-Mobile and compare it feature for feature against the original Bold. Watch the video below to see how the newest model rates.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	AT&T Wireless	BlackBerry	Smart phones
	Business Use	WiFi	T-Mobile	Bluetooth

It's the holiday season and we know finding the right gift for someone can be hard. That's why we've created this holiday gift guide with selections for just about every personality on your list. If you ever wondered how to give a cell phone as a present, well we've got that covered too! Simply watch the video below and you'll learn all you need to know on how to order a cell phone that you plan on giving as a gift.

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	AT&T Wireless	Sprint
	Cell phone plans	T-Mobile

Leave it to researchers in Taiwan to come up with a way to use your cell phone to help treat back pain. To be fair, this isn't a super cell phone. Instead, according to this article it's actually a chip that will be implanted in your back and you use your cell phone to help send electromagnetic waves to help with the pain. There have been no human trials as of yet, but apparently results from animal testing have been "good." Though I wonder why does it need to be implanted? Couldn't this just be something you could attach to your back? What do you think? Would you put a chip in your back that is activated by a cell phone? Let us know and leave a comment below.

Topics:

Somethin' To Talk About

The HTC Droid Eris for Verizon is an interesting Google smartphone. Though it doesn't run the latest Android OS, it does have a few features that set it apart. Watch the video below by LetsTalk's Scott Price to see what it has to offer.

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	Smart phones	HTC
	Android	Google

Want to know what comes with the Samsung Solstice for AT&T? Watch the video below featuring LetsTalk's Melanie Bie. Does it have everything you want?

Topics:	In The Know	AT&T Wireless	Samsung	Camera
	Video

Not to be outdone by the slew of Google Android smartphones hitting the shelves over these past few months, we're now beginning to see smartphones of another sort. That's right, models running the latest Windows Mobile 6.5 are starting to appear. One such model is the Samsung Omnia II (aka Samsung SCH-i920) which was announced for Verizon Wireless. In addition to sporting a 5-megapixel camera with a flash, 8GB of internal memory plus a microSD card slot for memory expansion, and a full HTML web browser, the smartphone will also have the scroll bar found in the Samsung Rogue for easy access to widgets. This touchscreen smartphone looks like it's trying to make a Windows Mobile cell phone a little more fun to use.

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	Cell phone plans	Samsung
	Windows Mobile	Smart phones	Business Use	WiFi

We just got in a BlackBerry Curve 8530 for Verizon Wireless. In short, this BlackBerry reminds me a lot of Curve 8520 for T-Mobile with its trackpad, rubberized casing, and dedicated music keys. To see what else the BlackBerry Curve 8530 has to offer, watch the video below.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Verizon Wireless	Music	BlackBerry
	Smart phones	Business Use	WiFi

We just got in a LG Chocolate Touch. It's the first cell phone in that line of music mobiles to sport only a touchscreen. It's thin, shiny, and comes with two different back covers. But is it the perfect music phone? Watch the video below to find out.

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	Music	Cell phone plans
	BlackBerry	LG

The Palm Pixi for Sprint is one of the more affordable smartphones to hit the market. But does that mean it's light on features? Watch the video below to find out. Need more information? Check out our expert review of the Palm Pixi by clicking here.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Sprint	Cell phone plans	Storage
	Palm	Smart phones

Interested in the latest BlackBerry Bold? T-Mobile announced the BlackBerry Bold 9700 is available today. This is T-Mobile's first BlackBerry Bold and it comes with support for a popular functionality for T-Mobile customers: WiFi calling. Essentially this allows users to seamlessly roam to a WiFi network during calls without interruption when in a weak service area. If you move into improved service area it seamlessly switches the call from a WiFi network to T-Mobile cell phone service. This helps keep calls from being dropped or interrupted.

That's not all the connectivity the BlackBerry Bold 9700 offers. It also has 3G connectivity and built-in GPS. The smartphone comes with a 2GB microSD card for storage of photos, music, videos and documents and will support up to a 32GB microSD card. Two big differences between this model and the BlackBerry Bold is the display, the 9700 is much sharper and the 9700 also sports a 3.2-megapixel camera compared to the original Bold's 2-megapixel camera.

Topics:	In The Know	BlackBerry	Camera	Smart phones
	Business Use	WiFi	T-Mobile

T-Mobile has always been a fan of WiFi offering cell phones that have the feature as well as a way to make the most of the technology via UMA (a feature that allows users to seamlessly move cell phone calls from towers to WiFi networks) and the company's HotSpot @ Home service. It's no surprise that the recently announced webConnect Jet USB Laptop Stick aims to keep users connected in just about any environment. The USB stick that works with both Macs and PCs is all about getting an Internet connection on the road. The webConnect Jet works with T-Mobile's 3G network, EDGE, or any T-Mobile WiFi HotSpot. Since it's a USB stick you can also use it for extra memory via a 8GB microSD card. You'll need to get a data plan with this device that start at roughly $30 dollars a month. If you travel a lot and need a connection on the road this type of option may end up saving money in the end when you consider the added costs you may incur when connecting at places such as the airport or in a hotel.

Topics:	In The Know	Cell phone plans	Storage	WiFi
	T-Mobile	Accessories

Cell phones can do a lot these days and you don't necessarily need to get a smartphone in order to have access to all the fun features you might want. Case in point is the Samsung Mythic for AT&T. This touchscreen cell phone works on 3G networks and that's important because you'll need that functionality if you want to have some real fun. See, the Samsung Mythic supports AT&T Mobile TV so you can watch full episodes of tons of shows from CBS, NBC, and even MTV. Don't think you can really watch TV on a cell phone? That's probably not going to be the case here, since the Mythic has a lot of screen real estate - 3.3 inches to be exact, which is almost as large as the display on the iPhone.

The cell phone also has Samsung's TouchWiz interface that helps bring all your favorite information from the web front and center on the display. It also has a 3.2-megapixel camera, will support up to a 32GB MicroSD card for storing songs and videos, and stereo Bluetooth. What the Mythic doesn't have is a hidden keyboard, so you'll be using a touchscreen QWERTY keyboard to compose messages. Finally, since this cell phone is web and media centric you'll likely want to get an added data plan with it.

Topics:	In The Know	AT&T Wireless	Samsung	Camera
	Video	Bluetooth

The Palm Pixi for Sprint will be available next week, but I've had a chance to spend a little bit of time with it. First, I have to say, it's a lot slimmer than the Palm Pre and a smidge longer. The Pixi isn't going to take up a lot of room in your bag. The construction feels sturdy. The back of the Pixi uses the same rubberized backing that comes included with the Touchstone when you purchase it for the Pre. The keypad, while not as spread out as the Palm Pre sports more rectangular keys, that are a bit easier to use. Also, the keys have a similar plastic raised style that's found on the Pre. However, if you look at the keyboard from the side, there's a bit of a 3D effect occurring, which is interesting. Instead of the button to shrink the size of apps found on the Pre, the Pixi has a white line that you touch to activate the same action. The display is not as big as the one found on the Pre, but it is still highly usable and crisp. The touchscreen is receptive and responds well to gestures, we did find that we had to occasionally touch the Done button a couple of times.

As far as the user interface goes, it's just like using the Pre. We particularly appreciate the fact that since we already created a Palm account on the Pre we just logged into it when first starting up the Pixi and all our contacts were loaded. We didn't just get our contacts, we also got all the apps we downloaded from the Palm app store. When the Pixi isn't in use, the screen goes dark. Simply press the power button found on the top left hand corner of the cell phone to activate the display. While it's not ideal, it does give you the sense that you won't accidently launch anything when the Pixi is loose in a pocket or a purse. The only thing we missed on the Pixi is the inclusion of WiFi. If you can live without that feature, the Pixi definitely has a lot to offer.

If you want to know more about the Palm Pixi, leave a comment and you can also check back next week for our full expert review

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Sprint	Cell phone plans	Palm
	WiFi	E-mail

Almost a year later, the second touchscreen-only BlackBerry smartphone arrives for Verizon Wireless. Although there's not a lot that's changed in the BlackBerry Storm2, there are few nice enhancements. To see what they are watch the video below. Want a more in-depth look at the new BlackBerry cell phone? Read my expert review of the Blackberry Storm2.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Verizon Wireless	Music	Cell phone plans
	BlackBerry	Smart phones	Business Use	WiFi

Renting a car before you head out on a trip is one thing, but doing it once you're on the road is typically not the easiest task. When you travel, things come up - that's just the nature of being on the road. Even though you can access a web site from your cell phone to rent a car it can be a painful process; not to mention the amount of data you use to download pages or extra costs involved in calling 411 to get a phone number. Enterprise car rental has just launched a mobile site, Enterprise.mobi (enter that on your cell phone web browser), and it truly is a site designed for mobile phones where you can do just the basics (rent a car, modify/cancel reservation, etc.). Regardless of how you rent a car, I'm happy to see cell phone apps that are truly mobile and that aren't limited to a particular platform. In my book, anything that gets you back to your scheduled travel is a good thing.

Topics:

Somethin' To Talk About

Cell phone plans

Driving laws

Sprint's second Android smartphone, the Samsung Moment, has arrived. See what's different about this Google phone and if its right for you by watching the video below.

Topics:	In The Know	Sprint	Smart phones	WiFi
	Android	Google

The HTC Droid Eris is available today for Verizon Wireless. The second smartphone running Google's Android OS also sports HTC's Sense experience, which will allow users more customization of the device and the ability to access text messages, e-mails, phone calls and even Flickr streams and Facebook updates from a single contact card. The Google smartphone will also sport a 5-megapixel camera, WiFi, a 3.5mm headset jack, GPS with a digital compass, a pre-installed 8GB microSD card for storing pictures, tunes and more. To get a closer look at the HTC Droid Eris check out Verizon Wireless' demonstration video below.

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	Cell phone plans	Smart phones
	Business Use	WiFi	GPS	HTC
	Android	Google

Both Verizon Wireless and Sprint announced availability of the BlackBerry Curve 8530. Both models will sport the new trackpad found on the BlackBerry Curve 8520 that's available for T-Mobile. The trackpad is a lot like the touchpad found on laptop computers, so it's different than the trademark trackball. Additionally the new model will be WiFi-enabled, sport a 2-megapixel camera, GPS and everything else you've come to expect in a BlackBerry smartphone. Both companies will offer the BlackBerry Curve in Black and Violet (see below for Sprint's version). While there was no mention of an availability date from Sprint, Verizon Wireless said they would have it on November 20th.

On a separate note, I look forward to hearing the names people think of to call the Violet version. Anyone have ideas, post them below.

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	Sprint	Cell phone plans
	BlackBerry	Smart phones	Business Use	E-mail
	T-Mobile

The Samsung Rogue for Verizon Wireless is one of the first multimedia cell phones to require a data plan. Is it a worthy investment? Watch the review of the Samsung Rogue below to decide for yourself.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Verizon Wireless	Cell phone plans	Samsung
	Video

The BlackBerry Desktop Charger for the Bold does more than just charge a cell phone. It has a few other surprising uses. Watch the video below to see what else it can do. Have a different kind of BlackBerry? No worries, there are Desktop Chargers available for a slew of different models.

Topics:

Phone Smarts

BlackBerry

Smart phones

Accessories

Accessories, like cell phones, are personal. Picking one that's right for you isn't always easy. However, you should know that some cases do more than just keep your BlackBerry safe, like this one from BlackBerry for the Bold. (We should note that this case is available for more than just the Bold.) Watch the video below to see what's different about this case.

Topics:

Phone Smarts

BlackBerry

Smart phones

Accessories

Google unveiled Google Maps Navigation, a free turn-by-turn GPS app for Android 2 smartphones - currently that's Verizon's Motorola Droid. It has many of the features found in navigation apps for cell phones plus quite a few additions such as street view -so you can see the street you're turning on (I know landmarks always help me when following directions), satellite view, and the ability to add stops (such as ATMs or gas stations) along the way finding the closes spot along your route. To see it in action watch the Google video below:

Topics:	Somethin' To Talk About	Motorola	Verizon Wireless	GPS
	Android	Google

The much-anticipated Motorola DROID for Verizon Wireless launched today with an availability date of November 9th, which is less than 2 weeks away. The smartphone, which runs Google's Android v2.0 operating system will sport both a slide-out and touchscreen QWERTY keyboard, 5-megapixel camera, WiFi, 3G connectivity, and 16GB of on-board storage (expandable up to 32GB). Additionally, this smartphone is all about personalization with the ability to customize three home screens where you can add folders, apps and widgets for easy one-touch access. It also comes with Amazon's MP3 store. If you want the DROID, you'll need to subscribe to a nationwide voice plan and an Email and Web for Smartphone plan. Nationwide voice plans begin at $39.99 for monthly access for 450 minutes and an Email and Web for Smartphone plan is $29.99 for monthly access.

To get a better idea of what the DROID has to offer, check out the demonstration video below from Cesar Da Costa, marketing consultant for Verizon Wireless.

Topics:	In The Know	Motorola	Sports	Verizon Wireless
	Music	Cell phone plans	Storage	WiFi
	Video	GPS	Android	Google

Sprint announced an availability date of November 15th for the Palm Pre's sibling the Palm Pixi. The new model ditches the slider design in favor of an exposed full QWERTY keyboard. Like the Pre, the touchscreen Pixi will run Palm's latest webOS with easy access to information from Google, Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, Linked In and now Yahoo! The Pixi will also have a new Facebook app that will allow users to see and comment on all updates.

As for the specs, the Pixi will sport a 2-megapixel camera with a LED flash, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, and 8GB of internal storage space. The new model will also be a bit more customizable with the availability of optionalstylish back covers from a variety of artists.

Topics:	In The Know	Text messaging	Sprint	Palm
	Camera	Bluetooth	Accessories

There have been a slew of new additions for cell phone plans. I sit down with LetsTalk.com Merchandising Manager for AT&T Jack Cooper to learn more about AT&T's A List. Find out if you should add it to your existing plan by watching the video below:

Topics:

In The Know

AT&T Wireless

Cell phone plans

The BlackBerry Storm2 9550 will be available with Verizon service on October 28th. The companies first debuted the first BlackBerry Storm touchscreen phone a little less than a year ago. The new model has a few noteworthy updates - most notable is the inclusion of WiFi. It also has Bluetooth v.2.1 with support for features like phonebook access. The previous version came with 1GB of memory on board, while this model has 2GB of on-board memory and comes with a 16GB MicroSD card in the box. It will also work with BlackBerry Desktop Manager for the Mac as well as PC. Like the 9530, the 9550 Storm2 has a similar form factor, display, GPS, a 3.2-megapixel camera, and is a true world phone with the ability to work on GSM and CDMA networks.

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	Cell phone plans	BlackBerry
	Smart phones	Business Use	WiFi	E-mail

Both Verizon and Sprint offer the BlackBerry Tour 9630 world phone. However, Sprint's version seems to be a bit more sporty. Watch the video below to see what we mean.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Sports	Sprint	Cell phone plans
	BlackBerry	Smart phones	Business Use	Video
	E-mail

RIM announced the update to the popular BlackBerry Bold, the BlackBerry 9700 with 3G connectivity. The newest member of the BlackBerry family will sport a trackpad for navigation instead of the familiar trackball. It also appears to be a little more streamline and lighter than the original Bold and instead of the entire back of the smartphone covered with a leather-like back, it has some gripping to keep it secure when placed on a table. Additionally, the Bold 9700 will have a 3.2-megapixel camera (an upgrade from the 2-megapixel camera found on the original Bold). While slightly smaller, the display will be sharp and easily readable in direct sunlight. This model will also support WiFi and the T-Mobile version will support calls over a WiFi network. (Think: T-Mobile's HotSpot @ Home). The smartphone will have 256MB of memory on board plus a 2GB microSD card will come in the box and at time of shipment will support up to a 16GB microSD card (32GB microSD card when available). The new model will be available for both AT&T and T-Mobile before the end of the year.

Topics:	In The Know	AT&T Wireless	Cell phone plans	BlackBerry
	Smart phones	Business Use	WiFi	E-mail
	T-Mobile

We asked our blog readers, "Which social networking sites do you access on your cell phone most frequently?" The most popular site by far was FaceBook garnering 59% of the votes. This makes sense to me since out of the options listed it had a mobile application early on and is easily found on many cell phones or can be downloaded. Twitter, however, seems like it should be a popular cell phone app; while it can be found on some phones, if the handset you're using doesn't have a decent web browser it's not the easiest site to manage. Twitter seems like a natural to me especially since leaving a tweet tops out at the same character count as a text message. If anyone has discovered any great mobile twitter apps, let us know. It's a popular topic on twitter. In the meantime, here's a recap of the survey results:

FaceBook 59%

None 20%

Twitter 13%

Other 6%

MySpace 2%

That’s the latest poll results; please participate in the new poll posted on the right.

Topics:

Somethin' To Talk About

Text messaging

E-mail

In this installment of Questions and Answers, we discuss smartphone plans with AT&T and changing Ringback Tones on Verizon cell phones. Got a question you want answered? Submit your question here. Got something to add to the answers below? Leave a comment.

I currently have the Propel with AT&T, but I want to get the BlackBerry Curve. Will getting this cell phone add to my monthly bill? – boopbie

In short, yes since you’re going from a messaging phone to a smartphone. As of September 6, 2009, AT&T set forth a new mandate that all smartphones must have a data plan associated with them. This mandate applies to both new and existing smartphone users. The minimum monthly data plan for smartphones is $30.

How do I change the Ringback on the Samsung Alias 2? – Trinka

If you'd like to change the Ringback Tone on the Samsung Alias 2, you'll need to log onto your account with Verizon Wireless on the web and select Ringback Tones. There you'll be able to change the tones based on songs already purchased or purchase a new one. We should note this is the case for changing the Ringback Tone on most Verizon Wireless cell phones.

Topics:	Verizon Wireless	AT&T Wireless	Cell phone plans	Samsung
	BlackBerry	Smart phones	Accessories	Q&A

The Samsung Comeback for T-Mobile may seem like a typical messaging phone since it has both a numeric and full QWERTY keyboard, but there's a bit more that makes this cell phone interesting. Watch the video below to see what we mean.

Topics:

Phone Smarts

Text messaging

Samsung

T-Mobile

Let's face it, Nextel push-to-talk cell phones haven't been the most attractive phones available to date. That's all about to change with the Motorola i856. The new slider cell phone sports a 1.3-megapixel camera, a 3.5mm headset jack so you can use your own headphones to listen to music, and Bluetooth 2.0. Combine that with its sleek design and red slide-out keypad and you've got a pocket friendly push-to-talk phone. Additionally, you can add up to an 8GB microSD card for storing pictures and music. Speaking of music, you can even have music playing while you text and talk on a direct connect call. Finally, this lightweight cell phone also has access to Sprint's mobile web features such as TeleNav Navigation, NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile and NFL Mobile Live.

Topics:	In The Know	Motorola	Sports	Music
	Text messaging	Sprint	GPS

The BlackBerry Tour for Verizon offers a lot of business-centric features in a stylish design. Is it the perfect fit for you? Watch the video below to find out.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Verizon Wireless	BlackBerry	Smart phones
	International	E-mail

A little over a year ago, the first Android cell phone was announced. Although, there haven't been a lot of new google cell phones released over the past year that's about to change as evidenced by the announcements this week. First, T-Mobile announced the Samsung Behold II, an Android based smartphone that will be available later this year. Verizon Wireless announced a partnership with Google to develop Android based cell phones.

Today, Sprint and Samsung announced the Moment. The Samsung Moment will be available with Sprint's Any Mobile, Any Time plans. The smartphone sports all the features expected including WiFi, GPS, 3.2-megapixel camera, 3.5mm headset jack for listening to music or videos, Bluetooth 2.0, and of course access to Sprint's plethora of content such as Sprint TV and NFL Mobile live. The cell phone will be available at the beginning of next month. Let's not forget, that next week, Sprint's first Android phone, the HTC Hero will be available if you don't want to wait.

What does all this mean? In short, it means consumers will have a lot more choices in hardware if they want an Android cell phone and more carriers will be offering models than just T-Mobile. More choices is always good news for consumers, but it will be interesting to see which smartphone OS emerges as the most popular in the US this time next year.

Topics:	Observed	Verizon Wireless	Sprint	Cell phone plans
	Samsung	T-Mobile	Android	Google

Windows Mobile 6.5, the update to Windows Mobile 6.1, was released today. There aren't a whole lot of advancements found in this smartphone OS update, but there are a few noteworthy ones listed below.

• Along the lines of customizations, people can now create more personalized themes for their Windows Mobile phones. You can find out more information on how to do that by clicking here. 
• Windows Live has been enhanced to include new feeds and improved photo sharing to sites such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and Flickr. We should note that many non-smartphones already offer similar photo sharing features. 
• There's an icon to access Windows Marketplace for Mobile for purchasing and downloading apps directly to the phone. 
• Windows Internet Explorer mobile browser has gotten a facelift with support for Adobe Flash Lite2. This will improve the mobile web surfing experience. 
• If you're interested in picking and choosing specific content for backup, such as pictures, appointments and contacts, check out My Phone. It's a free service that lets you sync this info to a web site so that all is needed is an Internet connection to see and manage your data. If you're someone who tends to lose your cell phone a lot, check out the Premium package (it's free until November 30th and after that can be purchased for $4.99). In short, if you lose the phone in the US, it will locate it for you on a map found on the My Phone site. This service is available for people who have Windows Mobile 6.0, 6.1, and now 6.5. 

There are some new cell phones coming out that have Windows Mobile 6.5 loaded, which include: HTC Pure and HTC Tilt 2 for AT&T, HTC Imagio for Verizon Wireless, and the Samsung Intrepid for Sprint (it should be available on October 11th). If you have a Windows Mobile 5.0 or 6.0 running on your existing Windows Mobile smartphone you will not be able to upgrade it to Windows Mobile 6.5. However, if some Windows Mobile 6.1 phones are eligible for updates, however, there's no announcement of when that will be. Here's the list of eligible smartphones:

HTC Dash

Samsung Jack

Samsung Mirage

Samsung Omnia Pro

HTC Ozone

HTC Snap

HTC Touch Pro 2

Pharos Traveler 137

Finally, here's a peak at what the new interface looks like on the HTC Tilt 2:

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Samsung	Windows Mobile	Smart phones
	GPS	HTC

T-Mobile announced the latest iteration of the Samsung Behold, named the Samsung Behold II (a.k.a. SGH-t939). There are couple of big differences between the original Behold and the just announced Behold II; namely, the Behold II runs the Android OS (so, it's a smartphone), this model works on 3G networks, and it has WiFi. It also sports Samsung's AMOLED display, which means it has a brighter, sharper screen that also helps conserve battery life. Since this is a Google cell phone, it naturally supports Google Talk, YouTube, and Google maps. However, we should note that although the Behold II has built-in WiFi, it's not UMA-enabled so you won't be able to use it with T-Mobile's HotSpot @ Home service.

The first Behold to hit the market last year featured Samsung's TouchWiz interface for easy customization and a 5-megapixel camera. Both can still be found on the new version of the cell phone.

Topics:	In The Know	WiFi	T-Mobile	Android
	Google

The HTC Ozone might look a lot like a couple of other smartphones currently available; namely the HTC Dash 3G and the HTC Snap. Each model is a little different. See what sets the Ozone apart by watching the video below.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Verizon Wireless	Windows Mobile	Smart phones
	International	Business Use	Bluetooth	HTC

I've been playing with the Samsung Rogue for about a week now and here are some of my first impressions. First of all, this is the first multimedia messaging cell phone in the Verizon line-up to require a data plan and I'm beginning to see why - you really will want to experience video and the web on it. About that web experience, it's fairly easy to navigate through web pages and zoom in and out when needed. It's fast too - didn't have to wait too long for it to load and use web-based mail, such as AOL, Yahoo! Mail, and Gmail. There's even Verizon.net for all you folks who have a Verizon e-mail address, which comes with the Verizon broadband service.

The Rogue is one of the first Samsung cell phones that I've seen in a while to sport a 3.5mm headset jack instead of using a proprietary headset connector that also uses the same port as the charger. I think the last time I saw this feature on a Samsung cell phone was with one of the first MP3 player phones to hit the market, the Samsung Uproar. I really appreciated seeing it again. Other enhancements include the AMOLED display, which is bright, extremely viewable in direct sunlight and even helps with battery life. On the battery life front, so far so good. I've only had to recharge once in my week of usage. That's pretty good for a cell phone battery. Of course there's a 3-megapixel camera with a flash and tiny mirror for self portraits, which actually takes decent pictures.

Now for some of the surprises: it has Samsung's widget bar along the left hand side of the display. Something I didn't expect to see on a Verizon Wireless cell phone (Read more)

Topics:	Observed	Verizon Wireless	Text messaging	Cell phone plans
	Bluetooth

The latest flip phone from Motorola, the Entice W766, for Verizon Wireless is all about keeping you connected on the go. The cell phone sports a 2-megapixel camera, music player, Bluetooth and support for up to an 8GB MicroSD card. While that's not as large as what other cell phones will accept - many cell phones can accept twice that capacity - it's still plenty of storage space for music and pictures. The Motorola Entice will support many Verizon features such as VZ NavigatorSM, Family Locator, Mobile Email, Mobile IM and Dashboard. Perhaps the most attractive feature of this cell phone is the external one-touch access to the music player and camera even while the flip phone is closed.

Topics:	In The Know	Motorola	Verizon Wireless	Music
	Text messaging	Camera	Bluetooth

Sound ID just announced two new products the Sound ID 400 and the CompanionLink Remote Microphone. The latest Bluetooth headset has many of the features found in previous models such as the ability to connect to two devices simultaneously and NoiseNavigation, a feature that removes background and wind noise while boosting speech for clear conversations. This model now has an Environmental Mode, which lets users hear equally out of both ears in-between calls so you won't actually have to remove the Bluetooth headset to hear people around you better.

The headset also works with a new product from the company, the CompanionLink Remote Microphone. It's an accessory for the accessory. It can be worn by someone you're having a conversation with or just place it by a sound source (cell phone) to enhance the audio even more. For example, if the person you're having a conversation with is in a noisy environment such as a restaurant or trade show, if they're using this device and you're using the Sound ID 400, chances are it will sound like they're right next door.

Both products will be available before the end of the year. The Sound ID will have a suggested retail price of $129.99 while the CompanionLink will cost $79.99.

Topics:

In The Know

Driving laws

Bluetooth

Accessories

Sprint's latest calling plan, Any Mobile, Anytime is all about expanding the calling circle for people who already have unlimited data plans (Everything Data Plan). The good news is that if you already have an Everything Data plan, this feature will automatically be added to your plan. Essentially, Any Mobile, Anytime means that you can now call any cell phone number in the U.S. and it doesn't count against your monthly minute plan. In short, you'll be using the minutes in your plan for placing calls to landlines. If you were thinking of going cell phone only, this option means you don't have to invest in a ton of minutes to ensure you'll be able to call all the people you want whenever you want. Another way to look at it is if you wanted to get an Everything Data plan so you can surf the web, check e-mail, or even watch videos on a cell phone, but thought with a large minute plan and data combined it might be cost prohibitive - this might make sense for you since you can limit monthly voice minutes to 450 and probably still be able to make all the calls you need.

Topics:

In The Know

Sprint

Cell phone plans

We just got in the Samsung Intensity, one of the latest messaging phones for Verizon Wireless. While it might not have a ton of high-end features it might just be the perfect fit for budding text messagers on-the-go. Watch the video below to see why:

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	Text messaging	Samsung
	Camera	Bluetooth

The big Motorola news today is a new Google Android phone, the CLIQ, which will be available for T-Mobile's network. The big wow in this announcement is that it seems that Motorola has given the Android phone its own spin and it's called MOTOBLUR. Essentially the MOTOBLUR enhances the Android experience by automatically syncing conversations, contacts and contents. That description doesn't really do it justice. If you want to know all about the MOTOBLUR experience, check out the simulator.

The CLIQ is chocked full of features, as well. First it has a slide-out keyboard and 3.1-inch HVCA touch-screen (that's going to be pretty bright). It also sports a 5-megapixel camera with auto focus and the ability to record video. There's a 3.5mm headset jack for listening to music. For checking e-mail (it supports a ton of options Exchange Server, POP3 and IMAP e-mail, as well as Yahoo! and Windows Live Hotmail) and surfing the web (yes, there's a full web browser), the CLIQ has WiFi and supports 3G. The Motorola CLIQ will be available before the end of the year in two colors: Titanium and Winter White.

Topics:	In The Know	Motorola	Smart phones	WiFi
	T-Mobile	Android	Google

The Samsung BlackJack was such a popular smartphone that it's now up to its third version. Simply called Jack this smartphone AT&T has a lot going for it: Windows Mobile 6.1, WiFi, slim form factor and more. Watch the video below to see if the latest version of the BlackJack is a worthy upgrade.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	AT&T Wireless	Samsung	Windows Mobile
	Smart phones	Business Use	WiFi	E-mail
	Bluetooth

Verizon Wireless announced two new cell phones the Samsung Rogue and the Samsung Intensity. Both are new messaging centric cell phones with slide-out keyboards. However, the Rogue has 3.1-inch touch screen as well. The real news is that the Rogue is one of the first messaging phones that will require a data plan. There will be two plans to choose from: Eithe a 25MB plan for $9.99 that includes surfing the web, and checking e-mail or a 75MB option for $19.99, which is ideal for people who like to visit web sites on the cell phone daily. Also, if you're interested in any of the V Cast offerings that will be an additional monthly fee depending on the service you want.

The Rogue (featured below) comes in a black and bronze color scheme and sports an AMOLED display. This screen is bright and visible in direct sunlight and also helps conserve battery life. The cell phone also has 3-megapixel camera with flash and the ability to record videos. The Rogue supports full HTML web browsing. What's really interesting about this multimedia cell phone is that it has file viewer so you can view Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF documents on the cell phone. A feature typically found only on smartphones.

As noted, the Samsung Intensity is also a messaging phone only it doesn't have a touch screen display, but it does have a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. This cell phone is probably more geared to those just getting their feet wet with a messaging phone since it offers Mobile Web instead of a full HTML browser, a 1.3 megapixel camera. That said it does have all the messaging capabilities and comes in two different colors charcoal grey and flamingo red (that's right, flamingo red). Check it out below:

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	Text messaging	Cell phone plans
	Samsung

In this installment of Questions and Answers, we discuss choosing between the Propel Pro and the Samsung Impression as well as using a cell phone as a tethered modem. Got a question you want answered? Submit your question here. Got something to add to the answers below? Leave a comment.

I am tied between the Samsung Impression and the Propel Pro. Can anyone help me make a decision? Pros/Cons? – Thanks!

In short, the big difference between the Propel Pro and the Samsung Impression is that the Propel Pro is a Windows Mobile smartphone and the Samsung Impression isn’t: it’s a multimedia phone. While both the Propel Pro sport a tactile slide-out QWERTY keyboard the display is going to be much brighter and larger on the Impression. The emphasis on the Propel Pro is really all about staying connected to work. It will also have a slightly smaller display than the one found on the Impression. Whereas, the Samsung Impression has a touch screen and isn’t a smartphone. The Impression has an emphasis on multimedia functionality (viewing videos, web access, etc.) and easy customization. You'll still be able to get web-based email on this cell phone with ease.

I have a Dell Inspiron 5150 with a regular wireless card installed. However, I have a Motorola w315 with USB cable and have installed its drivers to my laptop. How do I use this w315 as a modem for my laptop. - Jeff

There are a few things you need to check before getting started. First, you need to make sure you have a data plan that will support using the phone as a modem. Next, you don't need the wireless card installed - that can interfere with using the phone as a modem. So either remove the card or turn off the wireless functionality on your computer. Next, if you have Bluetooth on, you'll need to turn that off, too. On some computers it can interfere. Then if your service is with Verizon you'll need to follow these directions from Verizon Wireless.

However, if you already have a wireless card you'll likely get faster service with that than the cell phone you want to use, but that does require its own data plan.

Topics:	Motorola	Verizon Wireless	AT&T Wireless	Cell phone plans
	Samsung	Windows Mobile	Smart phones	Q&A

Sprint announced that it will be offering the HTC Hero smartphone based on Google's Android OS starting in early October. The smartphone will be loaded with quite a few features including, WiFi, 3G connectivity, integrated GPS, Sprint TV, a 5-megapixel camera with the ability to record videos. The Hero will come with a 2GB microSD card and will accept up to a 32GB microSD card. Additionally, it will have access to popular social networking sites such as FaceBook, Flickr, and Twitter. Although, this smartphone lacks a tactile QWERTY keypad, there's a full QWERTY touch keypad on screen. To make the most out of the touch screen experience, the Hero will have a fingerprint resistant coating.

Currently, Android phones are only available from T-Mobile so it looks like Sprint will be the second carrier to offer a Google cell phone. Here's what the HTC Hero looks like, only it will have a Sprint logo in the upper right hand corner.

Topics:	In The Know	Sprint	Smart phones	WiFi
	Video	Bluetooth	HTC	Android
	Google

There's no doubting that Bluetooth headsets are popular, but when it comes to listening to music on your cell phone in stereo lots of people still turn to corded headsets. While it's true that cell phones with a 3.5mm headset jack work with your own 3.5mm headset for music, you still won't be able to take a call over them. Stereo headsets that are designed specifically for cell phones allow that functionality. We take a closer look at two such models from BlackBerry - one with an answer/end button and the other with music controls built-into the cord. Both models support a 3.5mm headset jack and ear cushions for extra comfort. Watch the video below to see which model is right for you?

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Music	BlackBerry	Video
	Accessories

Sprint announced that the HTC Touch Pro2 would be available next week. The latest Windows Mobile 6.1 phone from HTC is an update to the HTC Touch Pro. The new model sports a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, touch screen, the TouchFLO 3D interface, and of course 3G connectivity over Sprint's network. This phone is also a true world phone working on both CDMA and GSM networks. It will have an Opera browser and access to Sprint TV service. A nice plus is that the smartphone has a 3.5mm headset jack, which is a departure from the occasional proprietary headset jack found on some HTC smartphones.

Topics:	In The Know	Sprint	Windows Mobile	Smart phones
	Business Use	HTC

It's great that cell phones are coming with YouTube already included. Uploading videos to YouTube directly from your cell phone is another story. Want to learn how to do it? Watch this LetsTalk video featuring Angelica.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	AT&T Wireless	Samsung	Camera
	Video

According to this Information Week article, AT&T will start requiring data plans for all smartphones. If you are already an AT&T subscriber with a smartphone and don't already have a data plan, you will not have to get a data plan until you upgrade to a new smartphone. Everyone else who plans on getting a smartphone with AT&T will need to purchase a data plan as well. Here's a rundown on the data plans AT&T offers:

• Baseline plan: For $35 a month, this plan will provide you with unlimited data. Text messages are not included in this plan.
  
• Bundle Unlimited Data plan: This plan includes unlimited data and unlimited text messages. This plan will add an additional $50 a month to your plan.
  
• Tethering and Text plan: For an additional $60 a month, this plan includes unlimited data on your smartphone, plus the ability to use it as a wireless modem with your computer. Connect the cell phone to your computer via a synching cable or Bluetooth and you can use the phone's data connection to surf the web on your computer and even check e-mail. This plan does not include text messages so you'll need to add that o,n as well. Not sure what tethering means? Watch the video below to see how it works.
  

Topics:	In The Know	AT&T Wireless	Cell phone plans	BlackBerry
	Windows Mobile	Palm	Smart phones	Business Use
	E-mail	Android

The HTC Dash 3G may run the same OS as the original Dash, but this model has quite a few upgrades that are worth checking out. Most notably: It sports 3G connectivity. Take a closer look at what else it has to offer by watching the video below.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Windows Mobile	Smart phones	Business Use
	WiFi	T-Mobile	HTC

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 seemed to be built with the consumer in mind. It includes items like a missed call list, a ton of games, and even dedicated keys for playing music. But that's not the only thing that sets this BlackBerry Curve apart. Watch the video below to see what we mean.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	BlackBerry	Smart phones	WiFi
	E-mail	Games	T-Mobile

When the Palm Pre was first announced at CES earlier this year, it got its fair share of ooohs and aaahs from the audience. But then the Touchstone was revealed and it really got people excited about the idea of the Palm Pre. Watch the video of the Touchstone Charging Kit below to see what we mean.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Sprint	Palm	Smart phones
	Accessories

Whether you're a developer for BREW, Android, Windows Mobile or BlackBerry here's your chance to win $50,000 and a featured spot on the launch of V Cast apps for Verizon Wireless. The company is asking for application submissions in the following categories: Connect, Entertain, Guide, Save Time, and Enhance Living. Simply submit your entry here by September 20th. Applications will be voted on by members of the Verizon Developer Community (VDC). Semi-finalists will be announced October 6th with the Grand Prize winner (that's the $50,000 award and featured spot on V Cast apps, plus 200 percent of the application's actual revenue for a year - additional restrictions apply) and People's Choice along with category winners announced on October 30th.

Here's the fine print: Developers must register for the VDC to be eligible to enter the contest. Registration, as well as the latest information on the VDC and the Apply Your Ideas contest, is available here.

What are you waiting for? The contest starts today.

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	BlackBerry	Windows Mobile
	Smart phones	Android

Verizon Wireless offers its fair share of messaging phones and quite a few come from LG, but which is right for you? I sit down to talk with LetsTalk.com's Director of Merchandising Harrison Lynch to discuss the differences between the LG enV 3, LG Versa, and the LG enV Touch. Watch the video below to see which model best fits your messaging lifestyle.

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	Text messaging	Cell phone plans
	LG	Bluetooth

July was Cell Phone Courtesy month and we asked readers "In which of the following places, if any, do you feel it is generally acceptable to speak on your cell phone?" The most interesting result was 19 percent of those surveyed think it's acceptable to talk in a bathroom. That was the second highest rating, with the supermarket being the top answer. Also of note is that less and less people think it's acceptable to use a cell phone at a restaurant (5 percent) or while in a car with other passengers also in the car (12%). However, the fact that people do not think it's acceptable to talk on the phone in a movie or theater hasn't changed much. In previous LetsTalk surveys on cell phone etiquette, talking on a phone in the movies or in a theater is at the bottom of the list of acceptable places. Does this mean those funny trailers about using a phone or talking loudly during a movie are working? Maybe.

Here’s a recap of the survey results:

In the supermarket 29%

In the bathroom 19%

On public transportation 18%

While having a conversation with someone who is texting 15%

In the car with other passengers also in the car 12%

In a restaurant 5%

At the movies or in a theater 1%

That’s this month’s results; please participate in the new poll about using social media sites on your cell phone, posted on the right.

Topics:

Somethin' To Talk About

Etiquette

I've been checking out the BlackBerry Curve 8520 for T-Mobile and the first thing that's noticeably different about this Curve is its design. First, the trackball is gone and replaced with a trackpad. Think: the same sort of trackpad found on a laptop only infinitely smaller. The trackpad is fairly easy to use, however, if you're a long time BlackBerry trackball user it will take some adjustment to master navigation. Additionally the trademark four navigation keys aren't raised buttons; instead its a smooth surface and you simply press down on a preferred action (Send, Menu, Back, or End/Power). Another noticeable change in appearance is the rubberized sides. There are no actual buttons to press, instead, volume keys appear as bumps on the Curve 8520's spine. While there is a slot for a MicroSD card it is hidden beneath the battery cover. Good news is that you don't need to remove the battery in order to swap out a memory card. While the display is bright it's not nearly as sharp as that found on the BlackBerry Tour or BlackBerry Bold. All of this adds up to a device that's decidedly more geared toward a consumer.

The BlackBerry menu is as you'd expect from the latest BlackBerry OS for the most part. There are a few changes, for example, there's a dedicated icon for MyFaves, FaceBook, Music, and Web2Go. It also has 5 games pre loaded: BrickBreaker, Texas Hold'Em King 2, Soduku, Klondike, and WordMole. Clearly this BlackBerry is meant more for fun than business. This smartphone also sports WiFi and is UMA compatible so you get extended calling coverage via WiFi. It also has a 2-megapixel camera (sans a flash) and sports a 3.5mm headset jack, so you can use your own headphones with it to listen to music.

First impressions: Overall, the friendly icons, games, dedicated music icon, easy-to-customize web interface, and rubberized casing found on the BlackBerry 8520 definitely gives this smartphone a more fun than business feel to it. We'll have a full expert review of the new BlackBerry Curve 8520 up next week. Check back then for the full story.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Music	BlackBerry	Smart phones
	WiFi	T-Mobile

The latest Samsung cell phone with a touch screen to arrive at AT&T is the Samsung Solstice (SGH-a887). Following the trend of other cell phones to recently hit the market, the Solstice offers access to popular social networking sites such as FaceBook and MySpace out-of-the-box. Additionally, it sports a 2-megapixel camera and video recorder, 2,000-entry phonebook, MP3 player, GPS, and of course Samsung's TouchWiz interface that essentially allows you to customize the main screen of the cell phone by moving and adding widgets for easy access to your favorite features. The item that sets the Solstice apart is its onscreen keyboard. You can access a full QWERTY keyboard in landscape or portrait mode. That means you're not going to physically turn the cell phone into landscape mode, just to type out a quick message.

Topics:	In The Know	AT&T Wireless	Samsung	Camera
	Bluetooth

Verizon Wireless fans of Pearl Jam can hear snippets of the band's new album Backspacer (available at the end of September) by downloading ringtones and ringback tones (the music that plays instead of a ring while waiting for the person to answer the phone) right to a Verizon Wireless cell phone. Here's a list of songs and availability dates.

· Available Now: “The Fixer” and “Got Some” 

· Aug. 6: “Amongst The Waves” 

· Aug. 13: “Just Breathe” 

· Aug. 20: “Gonna See My Friend” 

· Aug. 27: “Supersonic” 

· Sept. 3: “Force of Nature” 

· Sept. 10: “Speed of Sound” 

· Sept. 17: “Johnny Guitar” / “Unthought Known” / “The End”

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	Music	Ringtones
	Accessories

Recently, I rented a car and was on my way to return it at the airport. Seeing as I review cell phones, I always like to put them to the test whenever possible. In this situation, I didn't remember how to get to the airport so I decided to use the GPS service in the LG enV Touch that I had on me. The GPS service had a hard time locating the airport in the search, but it did find several other locations on the same street, so I simply selected that option. The directions were great - even gave me a shortcut to get through traffic. Once I was in the vicinity and started seeing the signs for the airport, I ended the application (it drains the battery a bit too fast for my tastes) and threw the cell phone on the front passenger seat. As far as I was concerned it was smooth sailing from there. Until I realized I had 45 minutes to return the car, board the rental car shuttle to the airport, check-in and get through security in time to board the flight.

After pulling into the rental car return parking lot, I checked out, grabbed my bags and ran for the bus. It wasn't until I got on the bus that I realized I had left the cell phone in the car. Gasp! I decided the wheels were in motion - literally. Thankfully, I had other cell phones with me in order to call the rental location. I know that's not the case for everyone, but the check-in counter has a phone that they would have allowed me to use. After spending 5 minutes calling the wrong 800 number on the envelope of the rental agreement, I looked deeper and found that I needed to call the number on the actual agreement. That's the number to the local office. Here's a tip: Call the number on the rental agreement and ask for lost and found. Through this method, I was able to inform them of the lost cell phone and get a direct number to call the next day.

Thankfully, in that time my cell phone battery died so I knew my information on the device was secure. I knew this because when i landed I called my number and it went right to voice mail. Next step: call Lost and Found. They had found the phone and are sending it back to me (at my expense). Here's another helpful tip: If you ever worry about the information on a cell phone set a lock code for the phone. This feature is available on most smartphones out-of-the-box.

All and all, if you lose a cell phone, best bet is to call the phone first. You might just get lucky. If not, retrace your steps and chances are you might just find it. Of course, you can always use a service like YouGetItBack for a different kind of insurance. It all helps, but the thing to really think about is how important is your cell phone to you? Have a story and tips to share? Post a comment below.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Verizon Wireless	Customer service	LG
	GPS

We used a Samsung Exclaim to put the Sprint GPS service that's included free with the company's Everything Plan to the test in downtown San Francisco. See if the service is right for you by watching the video below.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Sprint	Cell phone plans	Samsung
	Travel	GPS

If you have a Sidekick LX '09 and always wanted the ability to get email on your device in real time as well as the ability to view attachments, you'll be happy to learn that feature is now available via Sidekick Sync. The new service can be downloaded directly to the Sidekick by finding it and selecting it from Download Catalog. It will cost you $4.99 a month to add this feature, but you can also use it to sync contacts from a corporate directory and sync with calendars hosted on Exchange. Sounds to me like the latest Sidekick just got a little smarter.

Topics:	In The Know	Cell phone plans	Business Use	Sidekick
	E-mail	T-Mobile

Ever wonder how the GPS services work on cell phones and if they're worth the extra monthly fee? Find out for yourself. We tried out Verizon Navigator using a LG enV Touch cell phone. Watch the video below to see if it got us to our destination.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Verizon Wireless	Cell phone plans	LG
	Travel	Bluetooth

The Nokia e71x is more than just a smartphone for work, it can also be a reliable shopping companion. Watch the video below to see what we mean.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	AT&T Wireless	Symbian	Camera
	Business Use	WiFi	E-mail

Although, the Nokia Surge for AT&T looks like a messaging phone, it's actually a smartphone that runs the Symbian S60 3.2 Operating System. See what else this cell phone has going for it, by watching the video below:

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Nokia	Text messaging	AT&T Wireless
	Symbian	Smart phones	Business Use	Video
	Bluetooth

We just got in a BlackBerry Tour for Verizon Wireless. Get a closer look at the latest BlackBerry smartphone and learn more about what sets it apart in the video below.

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	BlackBerry	Smart phones
	International	Business Use

BlackBerry Storm users will find a slight change appear on their smartphones over the next few days. What's the new addition? A Slacker Radio icon will appear on the home screen. Click on the app and you'll have free access to the personal radio app. The application that will appear on the BlackBerry is also connected to Verizon's V Cast Music service, so if you end up listening to the radio and wanted to buy that song, you can from the V Cast music library. No worries if you don't want the application - just delete it or movie it to another folder on the Storm.

Note: Slacker Radio is included with Email and Web for BlackBerry plans, which begin at $29.99 when added to any Nationwide voice plan.

Topics:

Phone Smarts

Verizon Wireless

Music

BlackBerry

T-Mobile announced availability of a new multimedia-centric phone, the Samsung Highlight. This 3G-enabled touch-screen cell phone is loaded with all the fun-to-use features you'd expect: 3-megapixel camera, video recorder, music player (ability to play MP3, Microsoft WMA, and Apple AAC music files), stereo Bluetooth, expandable memory supporting up to a 16GB microSD card, and GPS with TeleNav. The real story here is the web access. Not only does this world phone work on T-Mobile's 3G network, it also comes loaded with web2go widget, so you can customize the web experience complete with icon-based bookmarks to favorite sites and receive a live news feed. The Samusng Highlight is available in Fire (an orange color shown below) or Ice (looks like cobalt blue).

Topics:

In The Know

GPS

T-Mobile

One of the latest trends in messaging-centric cell phones is access to social media sites pre-installed. The Samsung Exclaim for Sprint service is one such cell phone. It's also a dual-slider phone. But is it a winning combo? Watch the video below to find out.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Music	Text messaging	Sprint
	Samsung	Video	Google

The GPS phone from Pharos, the Traveler 137, will come with a customized version of SPB software. On board will be SPB Mobile Shell for a widget-based desktop with 3-D animation; SPB Keyboard; and SPB TV for watching live TV. The SPB software will add a few other features, as well. The SPB software is essentially an overlay over the Windows Mobile OS that makes using the smartphone much more user friendly and customizable.

Topics:	In The Know	Windows Mobile	Smart phones	GPS
	T-Mobile

The LG enV 3 is the among the latest in the line of enV cell phones. While it has a lot going for it, has enough features been updated to make it time for an upgrade? Watch the video below to find out:

Topics:

In The Know

Verizon Wireless

Text messaging

LG

We've all encountered some people with absolutely no cell phone etiquette. In fact, LetsTalk.com has been doing surveys on the topic since 2000. According to this Huffington Post article, Jacqueline Whitmore, author of "Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work" and President of The Protocol School of Palm Beach, Inc., officially founded National Cell Phone Courtesy Month in 2002. Since then, cell phones have become even more a part of everyday life. People seem to be getting better about their cell phone usage or at least views have changed a bit about what is acceptable according to these cumulative results.

At any rate, now seems like a good time to remind people of some simple etiquette rules to keep in mind when using a cell phone. Remember, you may not be aware of your surroundings when you take a call, but depending on your behavior other people will be aware of you.

When in doubt, mute

Many establishments ask customers to refrain from using cell phones, but no one wants to actually miss a call. Most cell phones have a vibrate feature, set it to that if you're afraid of missing a call and then take or return the call in an appropriate setting.

Choose Ringtones You Won't Regret

Personalized ringtones have become a certifiable hit. Your kids may love your Fred Flinstone “YabbaDabbaDoo!” ringtone, but it might not be a hit in the board room.

Talk, Don't Yell

For some unknown reason, most of us speak louder when we dial. Stop the urge to act like a primitive Neanderthal and scream into your cell phone.

When in Earshot Keep it Short

People around you don't really want to be privy to your personal conversations.

Don't Text and Drive

Talking on a cell phone while driving isn't just dangerous, it's actually illegal in many states.

Excuse Yourself Before Taking the Call

The call may be important to you, but realize you're also important to the person in front or next to you.

Say Please Before They Say Cheese

The proliferation of camera phones (Read more)

Topics:

Somethin' To Talk About

Etiquette

The LG enV Touch is a full-featured cell phone with a ton of social media features already on-board. Is it the ideal cell phone for a social media junkie? Watch the video to find out:

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	Music	Text messaging
	LG	Bluetooth

T-Mobile has announced a program that takes "Going Green" to a whole new level. The company's Green Perks mobile app is essentially a way to receive electronic coupons on a T-Mobile cell phone. Green Perks is a web portal where companies can create coupons and promotions for eco-friendly (i.e. fit within the sustainable category) offerings. If you install this application on a T-Mobile cell phone, you'll receive coupons for those offerings on your phone that can then be redeemed at local stores. Users of the service can expect to receive coupons from companies such as Roxy, Quicksilver, JambaJuice and others. While the application is free to download by visiting www.t-mobile.com/mobilize on a T-Mobile cell phone, you still need a data plan if you want to receive the coupons.

Truth be told, it's an interesting way to get consumers interested in mobile commerce. The idea has been talked about for quite some time, now let's see if people will use it. How about you? Would you like to receive coupons on your cell phone for cool eco-friendly offerings? Let us know!

Topics:

Phone Smarts

Cell phone plans

T-Mobile

The Motorola Rival for Verizon Wireless is a new messaging phone that keeps revealing itself to you. Watch the video below to see what we mean:

Topics:

In The Know

Motorola

Verizon Wireless

Text messaging

The Samsung Memoir for T-Mobile is a touch-screen phone comes with an 8-megapixel camera built-in. Is it time to trade-in the digicam for a cell phone? Watch the video below to find out.

Topics:	In The Know	Camera	Video	E-mail
	T-Mobile

In this installment of Questions and Answers, we discuss ringtones for the Samsung Trance and streaming music on the Nokia E71x. Got a question you want answered? Submit your question here. Got something to add to the answers below? Leave a comment.

I just got a Samsung Trance and would like to install my OWN ringtones from a CD I have. How do I do that? – Thanks, Martha

Unfortunately, the Samsung Trance can only use ringtones downloaded from Verizon Wireless. You will not be able to use ringtones from your CD on this cell phone. However, if the CD is in MP3 format you can still transfer those MP3s to the cell phone and listen to them in the music player.

I have a Nokia E71x smartphone and want to know if when using AT&T music are you also using the Internet? – Zoo

If you have music stored on the Nokia E71x and want to play it back, you won't be using the Internet to play it back. However, you can stream music from a website on this smartphone and in that case you would be using the Internet. Additionally, you can access the Internet from the Nokie E71x as well by selecting Media Net from the main menu. We suggest getting an unlimited data plan if you're going to do a lot of web surfing.

Topics:	Nokia	Verizon Wireless	Music	AT&T Wireless
	Samsung	Ringtones	Symbian	Smart phones
	Q&A

First of all, yes, there is such a place as Nokia World. Since Nokia is a company all about mobility, it makes sense that Nokia World is a moving location. This year it will be located in Stuttgart, Germany. It's essentially a place for people passionate about mobility to talk about it, try out new things, and more.

So how do you get free tickets to Nokia World? Simple. Just enter Nokia’s Calling All Innovators competition, a program where mobile and web app developers submit apps and ideas for use on Nokia devices. If you've got an idea or app for Internet Innovation, Flash, Emerging Markets and Mobile Necessities, or Apps on Maps for Nokia products, check out the competition before June 30th - that's the last day to submit.

If you're a finalist, you'll find out on August 17th and get a free trip to Nokia World in September.

Topics:

Somethin' To Talk About

Nokia

Symbian

Smart phones

The Samsung Eternity for AT&T is a touch-screen phone that's loaded with multimedia features such as a 3-megapixel camera, tons of music apps and support for Mobile TV. Is this cell phone as much fun as it sounds? Watch the video below to find out.

Topics:	In The Know	Music	AT&T Wireless	Samsung
	Camera	GPS

A cell phone designed specifically for staying in touch via social media applications? Well, that's the idea behind the Motorola Karma QA1 for AT&T. The cell phone has one-touch access to FaceBook and MySpace. The 3G slider phone has a full QWERTY keyboard and a 2-megapixel camera with 8x zoom so you can easily update your status and post pictures. The Karma QA1 will be available on June 28th. The cell phone will also have a music player and 100MB of available of storage out-of-the-box, which is roughly enough room for storing around 20 songs and a few pictures. If you want more than that, the Motorola cell phone will support up to a 16GB MicroSD card.

Topics:	In The Know	Motorola	Music	Text messaging
	AT&T Wireless	Camera

T-Mobile announced the availability of the next generation Android smartphone, the myTouch 3G. The new Android smartphone sports a 3.2-inch touchscreen, virtual keyboard, 3.2-megapixel camera, and enhanced video capabilities for easy viewing of YouTube videos on the myTouch 3G. Since the smartphone supports WiFi, you can always watch videos streaming over a WiFi network. The big news about the next generation Android cell phone is the enhanced customization features provided by Sherpa that features GENIE (Geodelic ENgine for Interest Evaluation), a learning engine that automatically customizes itself to the user’s preferences. Through behavior and user feedback, the application learns a person’s likes and dislikes, prioritizing recommended retailers, restaurants and attractions. It's kind of like when TiVo recommends shows based on what you're already recording.

The myTouch 3G will be available for pre-order to existing T-Mobile customers on July 8th, with the smartphone becoming available later in the summer.

Topics:	In The Know	Cell phone plans	Smart phones	WiFi
	T-Mobile	HTC	Android	Google

The HTC Dash, which was first announced at CTIA a few months ago, is already getting an upgraded version. The new model, the T-Mobile Dash 3G, will look a bit like the original version but will have some added connectivity options such as WiFi and 3G connectivity for faster web surfing speeds. Good news is that you won't have to wait long for this Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone, since it will be available in July - that's just a few weeks away.

Topics:	In The Know	Windows Mobile	Smart phones	WiFi
	T-Mobile	HTC

LG Electronics hosted a national texting championship and the finals were this week in New York. The winner, according to this CNN article, was a 15-year old girl from Iowa who sends about 500 messages a day. It's a good thing she's on an unlimited messaging plan and I'm thinking that maybe some of her texts come in the form of an IM conversation, since each IM sent counts as a text message. The competition judged speed, accuracy, and well, skill - one test was based on texting blind folded. The prize for her texting prowess? $50,000.

You think you could win a texting competition?

Topics:

Somethin' To Talk About

Text messaging

LG

Like your BlackBerry Curve 8900, BlackBerry Bold, or BlackBerry Storm, but wish it could have a snazzier exterior? Now it can. iSkin has a line of Vibe skins for those BlackBerry models. The come in a few colors and styles for each model and cost about $30 depending on the model you select. The skins go on the back of the device and also add an extra layer of protection. Though, BleckBerry's are pretty durable when it comes to daily wear and tear.

Topics:

Observed

BlackBerry

Smart phones

Accessories

The LG Lotus is a fairly compact, fun-filled cell phone for Sprint that incorporates a full QWERTY keyboard. But is the form factor right for you? Watch the video below to decide:

Topics:	In The Know	Music	Sprint	Camera
	LG

I took the LG enV Touch with me on a recent roadtrip to see how the cell phone performs. First off, the enV Touch looks an awful lot like the LG Voyager only its thinner, has a better display, improved camera with faster shutter, and it won't weigh you down. The enV Touch is definitely an impressive cell phone and those looking for easy access to social media sites such as FaceBook, YouTube, and Twitter should definitely consider this new cell phone for Verizon. The cell phone comes preloaded with one-touch access to FaceBook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter and PhotoBucket. You can also easily check web-based e-mail from the Verizon Home page. Additionally, the LG enV Touch has an accelerometor and it's easy to switch from landscape to portrait mode in just about any application. You can even type something out on the internal QWERTY keyboard, close the phone and switch to the numeric or QWERTY keyboard on the screen. Better yet, use the internal keyboard to type and the external touch screen to navigate through Web sites. Another plus for those who are big fans of web surfing is the Zoom capability. You can zoom in and out on any page just by using a scroll bar to set the desired view. All of this makes surfing the web infinitely easier.

Also, on board is VZ Navigator with traffic updates. Not only can this service ($9.99 extra a month) navigate you pretty smoothly to your destination, it also can let you know when traffic is approaching so you can take an alternate route. However, re-calculating a new route is less than intuitive. Still, I like the feature and if you're prone to get lost or abhor traffic it's well worth it.

In short, if you've had a LG Voyager and liked it. The LG enV Touch is an ideal upgrade - fixing some of the shortcomings of the LG Voyager and adding enough extras that you'll find something you didn't know you wanted.

Topics:	Somethin' To Talk About	Verizon Wireless	Camera	LG
	GPS	Bluetooth

RIM announced a new BlackBerry today: The BlackBerry Tour. It looks like a cross between the Curve and the BlackBerry Bold. The new BlackBerry is a true world phone with the ability to roam on both GSM and CDMA networks. Other key features include:

• 3.2 MP camera with flash, variable zoom, image stabilization, autofocus and video recording
• Full HTML web browser, including support for streaming audio and video
  
•  Advanced media player for videos, pictures and music
• 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and support for the Bluetooth® Stereo
• 256MB Flash memory and support for MicroSD cards of up to 32 GB
• Built-in GPS with support for geotagging, BlackBerry® Maps and other location based applications and services  
  
• Preloaded DataViz® Documents to Go®, allowing users to edit Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the smartphone
  

Additionally, Sprint announced they would be offering the BlackBerry Tour later this summer.

Topics:	In The Know	Sprint	BlackBerry	Smart phones
	Business Use	E-mail

We take a quick tour of the next generation Instinct, the Samsung Instinct S30. But how much has really changed in the new model? Find out by watching the video below:

Topics:

Somethin' To Talk About

Sprint

Cell phone plans

Samsung

On June 19th, Verizon Wireless will begin selling a new BlackBerry - The Flip 8230. It will be a 3G-enabled version of the BlackBerry that will have a 2-megapixel camera with flash and zoom, the SureType keyboard found on the Pearl, and will support up to a 16GB external MicroSD card. The BlackBerry Flip first arrived towards the end of last year for T-Mobile service. That smartphone really has a lot going for it, so if that's any indication of what can be expected from the Verizon model, it's definitely worth checking out.

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	BlackBerry	Smart phones
	T-Mobile

I've been playing with a LG enV3 for Verizon Wireless for the past few days and here are some of my initial first impressions. At first glance, the LG enV3 is immediately more visually appealing than the LG enV2. Perhaps that's because of the layout of the the keys when the cell phone is closed and the larger external display. Now, there's a four-way navi-key for easier navigation instead of the ability to only move up and down as was the case on the previous model. There are other upgrades as well including a 3-megapixel camera (instead of a 2-megapixel camera), a more stylistic internal QWERTY keyboard, crisper display, and some features found on newer Verizon Wireless cell phones such as a tutorial on customization.

Overall, the newer version of the enV3 is a bit sleeker, has an impressive display and is a decent choice for those looking for a messaging cell phone that won't weigh them down.

Topics:

Somethin' To Talk About

Verizon Wireless

Text messaging

LG

According to this Early Show segment, there's a new ailment affecting cell phone users and it's called Cell Phone Elbow. Reminds me a bit of tennis elbow. According to the story, you'll begin to feel the effects of cell phone elbow in your hand - in particular, the lateral part of your ring finger and pinky. What's the cure? Stop holding the cell phone up to your ear for long periods of time, of course. There are a few ways you can do this:

1. Use the speakerphone feature on your cell phone if surroundings permit.

2. Use a Bluetooth headset or similar portable Bluetooth accessory.

3. When you start to feel a bit of agitation while on a call either end your call or change the method in which you are conducting it.

Topics:

Somethin' To Talk About

Bluetooth

Maybe it's the company name or the fact that the product fills a need for many BlackBerry users that makes this product interesting, but gwabbit for BlackBerry provides an easy way to populate contacts in a BlackBerry just from scanning the signatures in e-mails received on the device. Essentially, once you install the gwabbit software on your device, it will automatically scan all incoming BlackBerry e-mails and locate contacts in those e-mails. Once it has found that information in an e-mail, it will transport the signature info and create a new contact in the address book placing the correct info in the right fields. No longer is there a need to copy/paste, though it's great that BlackBerry has that feature. This is just a simple way to easily and quickly populate the address book on the BlackBerry. The product will work with current generation BlackBerry devices with 4.2 OS and higher. It costs $9.99 for a year, but you can download a free trial version at gwabbit.com and you can also download it from BlackBerry App World.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Verizon Wireless	BlackBerry	Smart phones
	E-mail

The Samsung Trance is loaded with music features, most notable is the ability to simultaneously connect two stereo Bluetooth headsets to the cell phone and allowing both headsets to hear music. It's also loaded with fun music features as well, watch the video below to see what we mean:

Topics:

Phone Smarts

Verizon Wireless

Music

The Samsung Alias 2 for Verizon Wireless is unlike any other cell phone available today. What makes it so? The E-Ink technology found in its chameleon keypad. Watch the video below to see why.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Verizon Wireless	Text messaging	Camera
	E-mail

Verizon Wireless has added three new cell phones to its line-up and they're all from LG. The new phones are the LG enV3, LG Touch, and LG Glance. All the cell phones have got the basics covered including features like support for Verizon's Chaperone, which helps parents keep track of kids with cell phones. The Glance is a thin phone, while the enV3 and the enV Touch are the higher-end models. Both the Touch and enV3 have full html web browsers, visual voice mail, QWERTY keyboard and support for up to a 16GB MicroSD card. The enV3 also boasts a 3-megapixel camera and a more refined design over that of the enV2. While the enV Touch has an external touch screen, a 3.2-megapixel camera, and has the ability to read office documents from a MicroSD card without needing a Smartphone OS to do so.

LG Glance

LG enV3

LG enV Touch

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	Text messaging	Camera
	Bluetooth

It's well known that the LG Chocolate 3 for Verizon Wireless is all about the music, but this music phone offers more than just one way to hear it. See what we mean in the video below:

Topics:

Phone Smarts

Verizon Wireless

Music

LG

If you or someone you know bought a Jitterbug cell phone between March 2008 and May 2009, they may have one of the 160,000 Jitterbug phones being recalled by Samsung. The problem with those cell phones (in particular, SPH-a110 and SPH-a120) is that they are having a problem reaching 911 in certain rural areas.

If you or someone you know has one of these cell phones, here's all the information needed about the recall.

Topics:

In The Know

Samsung

In this installment of Questions and Answers, we discuss syncing a BlackBerry with a Mac and changing ringtones. Got a question you want answered? Submit your question here. Got something to add to the answers below? Leave a comment.

How do I transfer my contacts on my Mac to my BlackBerry Bold? How do I get my photos from my BlackBerry to my Macbook Pro?– B

There is software from BlackBerry that should help with transferring contacts and synching other data. You can find that information by clicking here.

As for getting your photos from your BlackBerry to the MacBook Pro, you might want to try it via Bluetooth. You can connect your BlackBerry to your Mac via Bluetooth and you can then probably move photos from your BlackBerry to your Mac. However, if that doesn't work, I've always found the easiest way is to save the pictures to a microSD card on your BlackBerry and then take the card out of the smartphone and insert it into a memory card reader that connects to your Mac via USB. The card will appear as a drive on your Mac and from there it's as simple as drag-n-drop.

How do I change the ringback tones on my Samsung Flipshot U900? The built-in tones are lousy. –S

Unfortunately, you can't use any songs that you transfer from your computer to your cell phone as a dedicated ringtone. However, if you get tones from Verizon's Get It Now service, here are the steps to change the ringtone.

1. While in standby mode, press the OK button for Menu

2. Highlight Settings & Tools, using the navigation keys

3. Select Sound Settings (4)

4. Select Call Sounds (1)

5. Select Call Ringtone (1)

• Highlight the desired (Read more)

  Topics:	AT&T Wireless	Samsung	Ringtones	BlackBerry
  	Bluetooth	Q&A

The Samsung Impression is getting a lot of buzz because of its AMOLED touch-screen. But that's not the only thing this cell phone has going for it. Watch the video below to see why this Samsung phone will leave an impression.

Topics:

Phone Smarts

Text messaging

Samsung

At the TED Conference, Pattie Maes from MIT shows off her vision of what cell phones will be able to do the future. It takes touch and data connectivity to a whole new level. Watch the video from ABC 7 News below to see for yourself.

Topics:

Somethin' To Talk About

Availability of the long-awaited Palm Pre has finally been announced by Sprint PCS. The new smart phone, debuting the new Palm OS, will be available on June 6th. According to Sprint, the Pre will cost $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year service agreement on an Everything Data plan or Business Essentials with Messaging and Data plan.

Topics:	In The Know	Sprint	Cell phone plans	Palm
	Smart phones

The Samsung Omnia is a touch-screen Windows Mobile smartphone for Verizon Wireless that has a lot going for it. Perhaps the feature that sets this smartphone apart from the rest of the pack is what it has in common with the Samsung Behold. Watch the video below to see why.

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	Samsung	Windows Mobile
	Smart phones	Video

Smartphones aren't just for checking e-mail and staying connected to the office when you're working remotely. They can actually be a lot of fun to use and actually quite affordable. Case in point: the Nokia E71x. This smartphone has tons of multimedia functionality and whether you're using AT&T's 3G network or a WiFi connection, you can even stream live video while your record it using a free app from Qik. To show you what I mean, watch the video below to find out just how much fun you can have with the Nokia E71x.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Nokia	AT&T Wireless	Cell phone plans
	Symbian	Smart phones	WiFi	Video

I just got in a Samsung Alias 2 for Verizon Wireless. The big idea behind the Samsung Alias 2 is the metamorphic keypad - it's called an E-Ink keypad, which literally changes what appears on the keys depending on the function that is being used. It's an interesting concept, though admittedly takes a little patience when getting familiar with it. That said, in many ways it's a much cleaner keypad. At first glance, the 42 white squares on the keypad reminded me a bit of something you might see used in the movie Tron, but the phone itself looks like a standard flip phone with an interesting hinge. Like its predecessor, the Alias this cell phone is a multifunction device trying to meet the needs of two different uses: open it standard flip style and it's a typical cell phone; open it sideways so that the screen is in landscape mode and it becomes a functional texting/e-mail device with a full QWERTY keyboard. The nifty feature here is that depending on what application you're in when you flip open the screen horizontally the ink on the keys change to fit that application - thus E-Ink.

The other interesting change is the user interface, it's got a fun feel to it along the lines of the LG Dare. It looks a lot like you're looking at bookshelves and when you press the Menu key there are more shelves that have correlating images of the applications. Once you access one of those applications, you're taken into the typical Verizon menus. Additionally, the Samsung Alias 2 is a music phone with correlating keys on the front display that you can use to play, rewind and fast forward through songs in your library. Music sounds pretty good through the cell phone's speaker. There's also a 2-megapixel camera.

First impressions: This is an interesting cell phone and there are enough changes here that sets it apart from the original Alias. We'll have a full expert review of the Alias up next week. Check back then for the full story.

Topics:

Somethin' To Talk About

Verizon Wireless

Text messaging

Samsung

In the market for a Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone? The Samsung Epixhas a lot in common with another Windows Mobile phone - only the Epix might be a little more fun to use. Watch the video below to see which smartphone it resembles most.

Topics:	In The Know	AT&T Wireless	Samsung	Windows Mobile
	Smart phones	Business Use

The LG Rumor 2 has some noteworthy updates to the original model, namely an improved screen and larger keyboard. Watch the video below and let us know what you think of the new model.

Topics:	In The Know	Text messaging	Sprint	Camera
	LG

Want a smartphone that has a hidden keyboard and will fit in shirt pocket with ease? The Samsung Propel Pro for AT&T might be what you need. Check out the video below to see what we mean:

Topics:	In The Know	AT&T Wireless	Samsung	Windows Mobile
	Smart phones	Business Use	Bluetooth

There are a few services that you can download that will help you find the places you want to go whether on the road or in your own backyard. Let’s add another service to the list that can be downloaded to your BlackBerry from the App World, it’s called Poynt.

Basically it’s a search service that includes info on local businesses, movies and map it in its current form. You can use the GPS on your cell phone to automatically find your location or enter one manually. In a couple of weeks the service will include restaurants that will incorporate available info from OpenTable and Yelp. So you’ll get ratings from Yelp and be able to determine availability and make reservations using OpenTable. If you have an OpenTable account just log-in once and you’ll be remembered, so you can earn all those OpenTable points (these will get you something…eventually, but at the very least offers convenience and efficiency now) and if not, you can create an account on the BlackBerry.

This service is free and will work on the BlackBerry Storm, Bold, and all Pearls and Curves running the BlackBerry 4.2.1 OS and higher. We’re going to take the app for a spin once restaurants are incorporated and report back on how it works for us.

Topics:

In The Know

BlackBerry

I saw an interesting demo from HP at WES 2009 that will essentially let you print from your BlackBerry to anywhere. It’s called HP CloudPrint and what this service will do is essentially let you print anything on your BlackBerry on any printer (not just HP) virtually anywhere.

Think of it like this: You have something on your BlackBerry that you need to print out – maybe it’s an article someone sent you and you like the feel of reading something on paper instead of on a device. You could go into a local store, such as a Kinkos, press print, pay for the paper/ink used and be on your way – no need to spend extra time logging onto a computer to try and find the URL to print it out from the store’s computer. With HP CloudPrint and a BlackBerry, press print, collect printed paper, done.

Or maybe you’re a business person and you’re on the road or vacation and somebody at another office needs a copy of your presentation – If you’ve been to that office and have the printer info on your phone you can tell them to go over to the specific printer, press print from your phone and voila the presentation on your BlackBerry miles away will be printing out of a printer in a totally different location.

Finally, one more scenario: say, you’re coming back from vacation and you’re Mom is going to pick you up at the airport, but needs your flight info. Just find the info on your phone, select print and print it to your Mom’s printer in her house. You can tell her to check the printer, she’ll be confused. Then she’ll go to the printer and be amazed. Well, that’s the idea of CloudPrint.

When will we be able to use this feature? Realistically, it’s a few years out for consumers. It’s in testing now and should be able for businesses to try sometime next year. It’s an interesting idea that could make you a lot more mobile and solve a problem you didn’t know you have.

Topics:

In The Know

BlackBerry

If you’ve been watching this season of Amazing Race, you might have caught the episode where contestants had to sing Karaoke in a cab in Asia. Of course, on Amazing Race the cabs came complete with backup singers. If that’s something you want to do, you don’t have to go to Asia to sing Karaoke in a cab. If you have a BlackBerry, you can get the lyrics to songs playing on radio stations worldwide. You can download the app from BlackBerry App World on your device or go directly to www.Nobex.com.

Basically, this service lets you listen to radio stations around the world in real-time. You don’t need anything special to add to your BlackBerry to hear the radio stations since it’s all streamed over the Internet – just be sure to have an unlimited data plan or connect via WiFi.

Here’s how the karaoke part of the equation works:

When you’re listening to a song on the radio, just click the Menu key (the one with all the dots on it) and select Lyrics and voila! the lyrics will appear on the screen so you can sing along – karaoke style. There are other features as well, such as the ability to hear the last 10 items (it’s not only songs sometimes it’s commercials or an interview) and Get Music, which will send a link to your BlackBerry with a place to buy the song. The service will work with any BlackBerry that has OS 4.2 or higher and is free to download.

Topics:

In The Know

BlackBerry

Loads of details about the new BlackBerry BES 5.0 have been revealed at the WES 2009 show in Orlando, Florida. BES is basically a server that is used by the enterprise. If you got your BlackBerry through work, there may be a chance that you’re on a BES. If you got your BlackBerry in another way and get e-mail, access the Internet and have a wireless data plan, then chances are you are on a BlackBerry Internet Server (BIS), so these enhancements don’t really apply to you. If you are on a BES and your company upgrades to 5.0 there are a few more things you’ll be able to do.

Here’s the short list:

• Access files on your computer remotely
• View attachments in calendar appointments and forward invites
• Flag e-mails and manage e-mail folders on your BlackBerry
• Support for Symphony attachement

Topics:

In The Know

BlackBerry

Smart phones

Want a cell phone that looks good, but isn't weighed down by a lot of bells and whistles? The LG CF360 for AT&T might be a perfect fit. Check out the video below to see what we mean:

Topics:

In The Know

AT&T Wireless

LG

Verizon's got a new music phone, the Samsung Trance. This fairly compact slider cell phone comes in two colors: black and red. Though the face of the cell phone looks almost glass-like it's actually a hard plastic surface that feels durable to the touch. It might seem like the Trance is a touchscreen cell phone from first glance, but it definitely isn't. Looks aside, the real news is that this music phone has audio by Bank & Olufsen and has the ability to let two people listen to music on the phone simultaneously using two different stereo Bluetooth headsets. A few other nice music-centric features worth mentioning are the 3.5mm headset jack so you can use your own headphones to listen to music, the charger which incorporates a removable USB cord so it does double duty as a synching cable making it easy to get your music on the phone, and finally it's got about 1GB of storage for saving tunes on the phone. Of course it has a 1.3-megapixel camera and even a tiny mirror next to the lens so you can snap self portraits

Topics:

In The Know

Verizon Wireless

Music

Samsung

This weekend is time for the Live NFL Draft picks and if you're not by a TV, you can still stay on top of all the details with your Sprint cell phone. Here's a preview of how you can get the information you want:

• Draft Tracker, featuring live updates during the draft, including the previous selection, the current team on the clock with a live countdown clock, the next team drafting, and continuous access to all previous draft selections.
  
• Text alerts so fans know who their favorite NFL team picks and when their favorite college players are selected.
  
• Blogs from former University of Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford and former University of Southern California quarterback Mark Sanchez offering a behind-the-scenes look at their experiences leading up to draft day.
  
• Exclusive live Draft Day blog by NFL expert Adam Schefter through Rounds 1 and 2.
  
• The latest news, opinion and analysis, including mock drafts, from NFL.com's draft experts Steve Wyche and Pat Kirwan and NFL Network's Charles Davis and Jaime Dukes. 
  
• A variety of mock drafts created by fans.
  
• Player bios.
  
• An extensive library of NFL Network-produced interviews with players, coaches and general managers, including video of the top players, all available on-demand.
  

If you already have a data and text plan with Sprint, you can catch all the NFL Network draft programming. To download the NFL Mobile Live, text NFL to 7777. If you already have a Sprint Simply Everyting plan that started at $69.99, the service is already included. With other Sprint plans, customers can get NFL Mobile Live by adding a Data Pack, starting at $15 per month.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Sports	Sprint	Cell phone plans
	Video

T-Mobile announced a new Sidekick - the Sidekick LX looks a lot like the previous Sidekick, but this model has a world of enhancements; most notably: 3G support so watching videos (record and share functionality, as well) and surfing the web on the cell phone should be a good experience. Here are a few other key features:

• 3.2-megapixel camera with flash
• Built-in GPS
• Streaming audio functionality with the MP3 player
• Stereo Bluetooth with file transfer
  
• It will come with a 1GB MicroSD card
• After launch it will support Exchange Active Sync

The new Sidekick LX will hit stores in May. All and all, if you like the Sidekick phones, the LX sounds like a worthwhile upgrade. We'll keep you updated with more details.

Topics:	In The Know	Text messaging	Sidekick	Video
	T-Mobile

LG teamed up with music pro Mark Levinson to help create the LG Rhythm. Besides having great audio functionality it's got another music centric feature that we don't see on many music phones these days. Watch the video below to see what we mean:

Topics:

In The Know

Music

LG

According to this Information Week article, the BlackBerry Storm is about to get an over-the-air software update (this means the fixes will be pushed to cell phones - users do not have to do anything to get the software update). The new 4.7.0.113 update is scheduled to fix a number of bugs - some that many users may not have even experienced. Here are a few of the fixes expected with the software update:

• Users will now have a full QWERTY keyboard in portrait mode,
• Mute and End buttons will now work correctly while using an A2DP Bluetooth headset on a call.
  
• When playing streamed video content you will now be able to time out the backlight in order to help preserve battery life.
• Improved speed when composing messages.

There's no set date as to when Storm users can expect these updates, however, they should start appearing in the next few weeks. You can see more information on the complete list of bugs to be fixed in this additional Informaiton Week story.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Verizon Wireless	BlackBerry	Smart phones
	Business Use

What is it? Verizon's LG Voyager in Titanium has kept all of the amazing features from the original Voyager, and now includes Visual Voicemail & V CAST Music with Rhapsody capabilities! The Voyager offers both an interactive touch screen and a full QWERTY keyboard. You can also tune-in and turn-on with V CAST Mobile TV and a full HTML Internet browser. The ways to entertain yourself with this cell phone just keeps on coming with a music player, dual speakers for stereo sound, Bluetooth and a 2-megapixel camera and camcorder.

How much? The LG Voyager is now FREE out-the-door on all individual lines and primary lines of family share plans, with a 2-year contract of $59.99 or higher plan. The Voyager is also FREE out-the-door on certain added lines!

Why is it such a good deal? The LG Voyager has all the functionality you could want without the requirement of an expensive data plan!

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	Text messaging	LG
	Deal of the Week

The LG Xenon for AT&T is a messaging phone with a touch screen and a few other high-end features. If you want many of the features of a smartphone without a complex operating system, you should watch the video below to see if the Xenon is a perfect fit:

Topics:	New at CTIA	Text messaging	AT&T Wireless	Cell phone plans
	LG

The Nokia HF-510 Bluetooth speaker has a whole new twist on the portable speaker. Check out the video below to see what we mean:

Topics:

New at CTIA

Nokia

Bluetooth

Accessories

First announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona earlier this year, HTC showed off the HTC Touch Pro 2. There are quite a few enhancements made on this cell phone, but what's most interesting is that unlike the previous model - this one is a GSM cell phone. So if you're trying to guess a U.S. carrier - it would have to be T-Mobile, AT&T or sold unlocked. To see other enhancements, check out the video below:

Topics:	In The Know	AT&T Wireless	Windows Mobile	Smart phones
	International	T-Mobile	HTC

This week was National Cell Phone Recycling Week, so if you've got an old phone consider recycling it. There are lots of options for recycling your cell phone. You can go to your provider, many stores will have buckets available to collect old cell phones, and you can even donate an old cell phone to your favorite cause. Additionally, LetsTalk.com has a recycling program as well, that can earn you dollars towards your next LetsTalk purchase. Although, this week was officially "National Cell Phone Recycling Week" the ability to recycle your old phone is always available. Just remember before you recycle any phone be sure to delete your personal info and if at all possible reset it to factory settings.

Topics:

In The Know

Just before CTIA got into full swing, AT&T announced a few new cell phones. Among them the LG Neon. A pocketable cell phone with a slide-out keyboard, but that's not all this new LG model has going for it. Check out the video below to see what we mean:

Topics:

New at CTIA

Text messaging

AT&T Wireless

LG

Check out this new cell phone for Verizon from a not so new company. That's right, the cell phone is from a company called PCD, however, they've been around for quite some time. You might have know them before as UTStarcom and before that as Audiovox. Check out the CDM-8975 PTT in the video below:

Topics:

New at CTIA

Verizon Wireless

Music

The new Nokia BH-216 Bluetooth headset comes in a couple of colors and has some high-end features at a not so high-end price. Check out the video below to see what we mean:

Topics:

New at CTIA

Nokia

Bluetooth

Accessories

We got closer look at the new Nokia E71x smartphone for AT&T. The phone runs the Symbian OS, supports WiFi, and best of all won't break the bank. Check out the video below to see what we mean:

Topics:	New at CTIA	Nokia	AT&T Wireless	Symbian
	Smart phones	WiFi

Motorola showed of the EM330 for AT&T. This music phone is a great value. Check out the video below to see what we mean:

Topics:	New at CTIA	Motorola	Music	AT&T Wireless
	Cell phone plans

We've teamed up with PhoneDog to bring you even more coverage of CTIA. Check out Noah Kravitz's coverage of the Sony Ericsson T707.

Noah goes hands-on with the new T707, a Sony Ericsson "Glam" phone designed with tennis star Maria Sharapova.

Topics:

New at CTIA

Sony Ericsson

Motorola showed of the MOTOROKR S305 stereo Bluetooth headset. They've got the look of old-school headsets that have been updated for the younger set. Check out the video below to see what we mean:

Topics:	New at CTIA	Motorola	Music	Bluetooth
	Accessories

You may have heard of the Pico projector, but have you had a chance to see it in action? We got a chance to see the MicroVision Picop projector at work at CTIA. The idea here is that if you connect the pocketable pico laser projector to your cell phone you can watch any video stored on your cell phone at a much larger size - and never lose focus. And since it's essentially a portable projector you can also use it to show a PowerPoint presentation stored on your smartphone just about anywhere - so long as your cell phone has TV out (a feature we'll see on more cell phones in the future). Check it out for yourself in the video below:

Topics:

New at CTIA

Nokia

Video

Here is a product that's like nothing I've seen before for listening to music and taking calls without being totally tuned out from the rest of the world. It's called the S1 Audio NxSET Mobile 2. It's not your run of the mill headset because it actually rests around your neck with two speakers positioned perfectly for your listening pleasure. The great thing is since your ears aren't covered you can still hear what's going on around you. The product should be out in August and will cost $159. The model I'm demonstrating below is the NxSET Music and it will be available in a couple of months for $79.95. Although the NxSET Music won't be able to take calls, you can still use it to listen to music through your cell phone so long as it has a 3.5mm headset jack.

Topics:

New at CES

Music

Accessories

We've teamed up with PhoneDog to bring you even more coverage of CTIA. Check out Noah Kravitz's coverage of Palm Pre apps.

Noah gets a demo of the latest Palm Pre apps at CTIA '09 in Las Vegas. Pandora looks sweet - but still no launch date or price info!

Topics:	New at CTIA	Music	Sprint	Palm
	Smart phones

We got a closer look at the HTC Diamond 2. The GSM smartphone was unveiled at Mobile World Congress. There have been some upgrades to the new model. See what's improved about the second generation Diamond in the video below:

Topics:	New at CTIA	Storage	Windows Mobile	Camera
	Smart phones	HTC

We got to check out EA's Need for Speed on the LG Versa at the show. What's cool about this game is that you're actually using the entire handset to steer the car around the track. Kind of fun and worth checking out. If you have a LG Versa for Verizon Wireless you can buy a $3.99 subscription or pay $9.99 one time download.

Topics:

New at CTIA

Verizon Wireless

LG

Games

You might remember SoundID from last year's CTIA coverage, it's the company that focuses more on improving audio quality than simply adding features. This year the company announced two new Bluethooth headsets: the Sound ID 200 and the Sound ID 300.

Sound ID 200: This Bluetooth headset is all about reducing background noise through NoiseNavigation technology, making this a good option for people who tend to talk on a cell phone in noisy environments. There's also automatic volume control for seamless volume adjustment to fit the environment where you're using the headset.

Sound ID 300: This Bluetooth Headset is filled with technology that helps you set it to your own preferences. This model comes with NoiseNavigation and PersonalSound technology, which helps eliminate background noise and choose from three listening modes for better clarity without actually having to increase the volume. This lightweight (0.28 ounces) headset comes in black and sports a universal micro USB charger. You'll be able to find this headset in a couple of weeks at AT&T for about $100.

Topics:

New at CTIA

Driving laws

Bluetooth

Accessories

At a press conference at CTIA in Las Vegas, Samsung unveiled the WiMAX-ready Mondi and the next version of the Instinct (the S30). Also, mentioned but not shown was the Impression and Magnets, cell phones that sport an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display. These screens are suppose to be gorgeous. Those phones weren't on hand at the press conference, but we'll get a closer look at the show. Here's the scoop on the two models announced:

Samsung Mondi: This is the WiMAX-enabled device. It's got a touch screen (rather large one, in fact - 4.3 inches) and runs Windows Mobile 6.1 with Oulook and Windows Mobile Office. If you don't want to use the touch screen for everything, there's also a slide-down QWERTY keyboard (close-up look at the Mondi reveals the keys are a decent size and well-spaced apart) It comes with 4GB of internal memory, which is enough to store photos (perhaps taken with the 3-megapxiel camera), music, documents and other files as well. The web browser is Opera 9.5. You shouldn't get lost with the Mondi in hand because there's GPS Navigation included. If you can't get a WiMAX connection, there's always WiFi - a nice plus.

Samsung Instinct S30: Honestly the new Instinct cell phone isn't a whole lot different than the existing Instinct. Noticeable changes are rounder corners, it comes preloaded with Calendar Sync and IM clients, and finally it will now accept up to a 32GB MicroSD card.

Topics:	New at CTIA	AT&T Wireless	Sprint	Samsung
	Windows Mobile	Business Use	WiFi

What is it? Verizon's LG Dare has all the functionality you would want in a compact, sleek design. It has a large 3-inch touch screen that recognizes your handwriting and gives you tactile feedback. The touch screen also works as a virtual QWERTY keyboard for facilitating emails, texting and chatting. The Dare has a 3.2-megapixel camera/camcorder with flash and has advanced features like face detection and photo/video editing software. This device is great for listening to music -- with its stereo Bluetooth and 3.5mm headset jack (you can use your own stereo headphones with the Dare) -- and surfing the Internet with its HTML web browser. If that's not enough, the LG Dare also supports up to an 8GB removable memory MicroSD card and is VZ Navigator capable for turn-by-turn directions.

How much? The LG Dare is now FREE out-the-door on all individual lines and primary lines of family share plans, with a 2-year contract of a $59.99 or higher plan. If you want more lines, we have other great deals on added lines as well!

Why is it such a good deal? The sleek looking LG Dare has all the functionality you could want without the requirement of an expensive data plan! Plus, it's FREE out-the-door on select service plans through LetsTalk.com!

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	Music	LG
	Video	Deal of the Week

The BlackBerry Curve 8900 for T-Mobile is more than just a slick new BlackBerry. It's lightweight, easy on the eyes, and just plain fun to use, check out the video below to see what we mean:

Topics:	Phone Smarts	BlackBerry	Camera	Smart phones
	Business Use	WiFi	Video	T-Mobile
	Bluetooth

It's that time of year where manufacturers, carriers, and application developers display what will be hot in cell phones this year. That's right, it's time for CTIA and we're heading to Vegas to see what's going to be in store for cell phone users. This year, I'll be taking the Sony Ericsson C905 with me and putting it to the test at the show. This cell phone has an 8.1-megapixel camera and we'll be taking photos for the PhoneTalk blog with this cell phone so you can check out the quality. You'll be able to read all about it after the show in our Cell Phones In Action series. We've also teamed up with PhoneDog to bring you even more coverage of CTIA 2009. So check back for daily updates to find out more about new phones, accessories and trends we see at the show. For up-to-the-minute updates follow me on Twitter where I'll be commenting on events as they happen.

Topics:

New at CTIA

According to this CNET News article, the BlackBerry App store will be open for business as soon as April 1st. That's the first day of the CTIA Conference in Las Vegas (this is the show where new cell phones and services are unveiled and we'll be there to keep you updated on all the news). The store will be called BlackBerry App World and RIM already has a page on the company's site dedicated to the store. You can check there to verify your BlackBerry will be compatible with the store when it launches. This is not the last of the App stores that we'll see for specific smartphone operating systems. Indeed, the major players (Nokia, Google, Microsoft, and Palm) have already announced their intent to create such stores. That said, if you have a BlackBerry, you may be able to get more apps for your phone as soon as next week.

Topics:

Phone Smarts

BlackBerry

Smart phones

Business Use

T-Mobile has gotten into the wireless data card game with the introduction of the webConnect USB Laptop Stick. In case you don't know what all this means it's essentially a mobile modem for your computer (compatible with Mac and PCs). The USB drive works with T-Mobile's 3G networks (as well as T-Mobile's EDGE and GRPS data networks - slower speeds) where available so you can surf the web at decent speeds on your notebook. Additionally, if your laptop doesn't support WiFi this modem will turn your computer into a WiFi-compatible notebook so you can surf the web and check e-mail via a WiFi connection. Like many USB modems available today the webConnect USB Laptop Stick also has 8GB of memory so you can also use it as a portable flash drive. These devices require a data plan that is separate than your cell phone plan, so if you want a data card modem you don't need to stay with your cell phone carrier to get one.

Topics:	In The Know	Cell phone plans	Travel	Business Use
	WiFi	E-mail	T-Mobile	Accessories
	Apple

The newest addition to the Verizon Wireless line-up is the Nokia 7205, a.k.a. the Intrigue. It is actually a bit intriguing. It's a fairly light weight (just a little over 3 ounces), so it won't weigh you down and it has a slick black casing, which makes you wonder when it might make its debut in a movie. Other than that, it's got the standard fare of features: music with Rhapsody, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, a few more Bluetooth connectivity options (always nice to see), 2-megapixel camera with flash, and 150MB of internal memory (it will also support up to an 8GB MicroSD card) for storing pics and music. All and all, the Intrigue seems like a cell phone that will be fun to use and one that will get its fair share of "ooohs" and "ahhhs" when it's pulled out of a purse or pocket.

Topics:	In The Know	Nokia	Verizon Wireless	Music
	Camera	Video	GPS

The Samsung Behold sports a 5-megapixel camera and a touch screen. There are also some fun apps on this cell phone, check out the video below to see what we mean:

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Text messaging	Samsung	Camera
	T-Mobile

By the end of the month, there will be two color options available for the recently announced LG Rumor 2. According to the Sprint news release, the LG Rumor 2 will be available on March 15 in Black Titanium and on March 29 in Vibrant Blue. The new Rumor, looks a lot like the original Rumor. The new model, a.k.a. the LG Rumor 2, is about the same size as the Rumor but sports a slightly different navigation key. It also has a removable back cover so it can easily be customized to fit your personal style. Plus, the new Rumor will support up to a 16GB MicroSD memory card whereas the previous model only supported up to a 4GB card.

The good news is that when new phones are announced you can usually get a great deal on the pre-existing model. So if you're interested in a LG Rumor and can live with just a 4GB expandable memory card slot or and pass on changeable back covers, check out the LG Rumor. LetsTalk.com has it for a great price: You make $50 after a mail-in rebate when you get it with a new plan. Want to wait for the new model? It will be available at other Sprint Authorized retail stores, such as LetsTalk.com, on April 19th.

Topics:

In The Know

Sprint

Cell phone plans

I'm always looking for ways to add music to my cell phone. Seriously, cell phones have more and more expandable memory - at least that of many portable MP3 players - and the MicroSD memory cards are becoming more and more affordable. For example, you can get a 4GB card for $15. That's a lot less than an MP3 player. So what can you do with all that extra space?

I'm all about the music and I had some Sony MusicPass cards and once I figured out they were DRM free I thought I can use them anywhere - even a cell phone. I went to the site, entered the code, and downloaded the music. Once on my computer, I used a card reader to copy music from my computer to the MicroSD card. I put the card in the cell phone and viola I had quite a few albums at my disposal. Fast and simple to do.

Better yet, I put the same MicroSD card into a BlackBerry 8900 and was able to assign songs from that card as ringtones for different contacts in my address book. Of course, I can still download those songs to an MP3 player as well or as many cell phones as I want. Buy once, use often and on multiple devices. Pretty nifty. When it comes to cell phones the possibilities are there to make it the all-in-one device that you want it to be, sometimes you just have to think outside the box to make that happen.

Topics:

Phone Smarts

Music

BlackBerry

We just got in a BlackBerry Storm for Verizon Wireless. Get a closer look at what makes this BlackBerry so interesting in the video below.

Topics:

Phone Smarts

Verizon Wireless

BlackBerry

Smart phones

The LG Versa is more than just another pretty touch screen cell phone. This Verizon phone has a got a style all its own. Check out the video below to see what we mean:

Topics:

Phone Smarts

Verizon Wireless

Text messaging

LG

According to this Digital Trends story LG and the the Consumer Product Safety Commission are recalling 30,000 LG 830 Spyder cell phones. The recall is for poor voice quality on calls to 911 emergency services and difficulties maintaining connections.

If you want to know if your cell phone is one of the models being recalled, choose Phone Information from the phone's Settings menu and check if you have software versions T83LGV03 and T83LGV04. If you do have an affected cell phone you can get more information by visiting this LG web page.

Topics:

In The Know

LG

What is it? The new LG Versa is the runaway favorite for MVP — Most Versatile Phone. Thanks to next-generation technology, the home screen is transformed into a sizzling, animated 3D user interface. Quickly customize up to 3 different home screens with your favorite features, apps, or contacts. The built-in accelerometer rotates screens automatically from portrait to landscape or controls games using rotation movements. The slim, sleek candy bar-style design with its stylish chrome border stands out from the crowd. Also at your fingertips: a 2-megapixel camera with flash and camcorder, detachable QWERTY keypad, integrated music player optimized with Bluetooth stereo capability, microSD™ memory port, visual voicemail & HTML web browsing. If you’re looking for smart technology, sophisticated style and the ultimate in versatility, take a good look at the new LG Versa.

How much? The LG Versa is now $169.99 after a $30 mail-in-rebate.

Why is it such a good deal? The sleek looking Versa has all the functionality you could want without the requirement of an expensive data plan. Plus, get $30 back with most 2-year service plans through LetsTalk.com!

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	Text messaging	LG
	Bluetooth	Deal of the Week

In this installment of Questions and Answers, we discuss ringback tones and how Bluetooth works on cell phones. Got a question you want answered? Submit your question here. Got something to add to the answers below? Leave a comment.

What does "discovery mode" mean on a Samsung SCH-u620? -Vivian

Discovery mode is the same on just about any cell phone. It means that the cell phone is available to start identifying other Bluetooth devices in order to make a connection. When a Bluetooth-enabled device appears that will work with your cell phone the name will appear on the screen and you will be prompted through the steps necessary to make a connection. You can learn more about Bluetooth in our Bluetooth Buying Guide.

How do you get a tone on your phone for people to hear while they wait for you to answer? – Lil

What you're referring to is called a ringback tone. You can get them directly through your cell phone. There is typically an application under ringtones or personalization that will allow you to download a ringback tone. There is usually a large selection of popular songs available. Once you pick a song that's what callers will hear instead of a traditional ring while they wait for you to answer the phone. Think of it as cool elevator music for your cell phone. Ringback tones are usually not free, so be sure you know how much it costs before you select one.

Topics:

Samsung

Ringtones

Bluetooth

Q&A

Verizon Wireless announced the LG Versa, a cell phone that has a different take on the QWERTY keyboard. Oh, this cell phone has one, it's just removable. And that's not all it has going for it. The Versa has a 3-inch touchscreen interface with with tactile feedback (touch it and you'll feel a response). Plus, this LG phone has an HTML Web browser that will support Flash and even RSS feeds. So this isn't your standard Verizon web interface. It's got everything else you'd expect in a higher-end Verizon phone: GPS, expandable MicroSD memory (up to 16GB), 2-megapixel camera with a flash and auto focus, V Cast music and video services, Bluetooth (no music transfer support, but it does have Bluetooth stereo), and of course the ever so fun-to-use accelerometer. This is one slick new phone that will be available as early as next week.

Topics:

In The Know

Verizon Wireless

Text messaging

LG

The Motorola Krave ZN4 is a flip-style touchscreen cell phone that comes with its very own protective cover (that incidentally has its own magic touch). It looks a lot like the Motorola Ming and is just fun to use. Check out the video below to see what we mean:

Topics:

Phone Smarts

Motorola

Verizon Wireless

Text messaging

And the music just keeps on coming! Now it's T-Mobile, well the T-Mobile Sidekick, that's bringing customers the latest tunes. Earlier this month, T-Mobile offered customers a chance to cover the GRAMMY's. Now, the company has teamed up with The Recording Academy to present a five-city 2009 GRAMMY Celebration Concert Tour. The tour will kick off on April 9th at the Hollywood Palladium in L.A. Other tour stops include San Francisco, Boston, Miami, and finally end in New York on May 28th, with a performance by two-time GRAMMY winner LL Cool J will conclude the tour.

Just visit the Sidekick web site for exclusive concert event information, photos and activities, and a chance to enter to win a VIP concert package.

Topics:

In The Know

Music

Sidekick

T-Mobile

Last March, Verizon Wireless gave customers an opportunity to win tickets to a Keith Urban concert. The company has teamed up with Keith Urban again. Only this time, it's in conjunction with Keith Urban's "No Frills" Tour. Prior to the tour, Verizon Wireless customers can download Keith Urban music to their handsets using Verizon Wireless’ V CAST Music service. As early as next Friday customers will be able to download ringtones and ringback tones of "Hit the Ground Runnin'." If you download Keith's songs or videos from V Cast Music service, you just might get a mobile ticket on your Verizon cell phone, which would give you VIP access to one of his local shows.

Here's the line-up:

3/18: House of Blues, Dallas

3/24: The Fillmore, San Francisco

3/27: House of Blues, Los Angeles

3/30: Joe's Bar on Weed Street, Chicago

4/1: Webster Hall, New York City

4/3: Theater of the Living Arts, Philadelphia

Topics:

In The Know

Verizon Wireless

Music

Cell phone plans

In addition to the coverage we've been bringing you from PhoneDog's Noah Kravitz, I've been following the coverage of Mobile World Congress 2009 closely. It's always interesting to see what comes out of that show. The Palm Pre, though announced at CES, did seem to get a lot of attention and rightfully so. It's definitely an impressive smartphone that many (including myself) are excited to try. It seems to me the big news at the show were touchscreen smartphones with a little something extra as you can see from this RCR Wireless photo round up. While many might be running Windows Mobile OS, they also seem to sport an overlay design of some sort that makes those smartphones more interesting. PC Magazine's coverage of the show is a great place to see more of the exciting things we can expect to be doing with cell phones in the future and how they'll be taking the next step into true portable entertainment devices. If you want to see a wealth of phones announced at Mobile World Congress (including those that won't be available in the United States) CNET's coverage is comprehensive with a ton of detailed information.

All of these sites offer an overview of Mobile World Congress that tells me entertainment will likely be the "next big thing" in cell phones. Sure we'll still text, check e-mail and make calls, but there seems to finally be some momentum around viewing cell phones as portable entertainment devices and that we are at the moment in time where devices and technology are finally catching up to each other. It's an exciting time in cell phones for sure and how we interact with them will evolve, as well. Will this change happen overnight? Probably not. It will be subtle, but Mobile World Congress 2009 seems to be providing a nice peak at the future. By the way, what did you think was the most interesting announcement at Mobile World Congress? Leave a comment below and let us know.

Topics:	Somethin' To Talk About	Nokia	Sony Ericsson	Samsung
	Windows Mobile	Palm	Symbian	Camera
	Smart phones	LG	International	Video
	Games	HTC	Android	Google

Mobile World Congress started this past weekend in Barcelona, Spain. This is the big International cell phone show. We've teamed up with PhoneDog to bring you all the Mobile World Congress 2009 coverage. Check out Noah Kravitz's coverage of the show.

Check out the Nokia's all-touch 5800 XpressMusic's media and messaging features live from MWC 2009 in Barcelona.

Topics:

Phone Smarts

Nokia

Music

International

Mobile World Congress started this past weekend in Barcelona, Spain. This is the big International cell phone show. We've teamed up with PhoneDog to bring you all the Mobile World Congress 2009 coverage. Check out Noah Kravitz's coverage of the show.

Sony Ericsson's "back with a vengeance" with the Idou. This multimedia monster sports a 12.1-megapixel camera, full toucshcreen, and Symbian OS. It won't ship until later this year, but Noah got a demo of the current prototype at MWC 2009 in Barcelona.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Music	Sony Ericsson	Symbian
	Camera	Smart phones	International

Mobile World Congress started this past weekend in Barcelona, Spain. This is the big International cell phone show. We've teamed up with PhoneDog to bring you all the Mobile World Congress 2009 coverage. Check out Noah Kravitz's coverage of the show.

It won't ship until late May or so, but Noah got some time with Nokia's new flaghship, the N97, at MWC in Barcelona. Touchscreen, QWERTY, and 32GB of internal storage? Yup. Check it out.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Nokia	Storage	Symbian
	Smart phones	International	WiFi

Mobile World Congress started this past weekend in Barcelona, Spain. This is the big International cell phone show. We've teamed up with PhoneDog to bring you all the Mobile World Congress 2009 coverage. Check out Noah Kravitz's coverage of the show.

Share/Save/Bookmark Seeing is believing - the AMOLED display on the Omnia HD is sick. Crazy good. And it supports 720p HD video playback - check out the demo.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Samsung	Camera	International
	Video

What is it? The BlackBerry Curve 8330 --now available in both Black and Pink from Verizon Wireless -- is one of the best devices for combining your work life and personal life. It's small, sleek, has a full QWERTY keyboard, and features the popular trackball navigation for easier use. The Curve is also the first BlackBerry to support BlackBerry Media Player and Stereo Bluetooth headset capabilities. The 2-megapixel camera has a 5x zoom and flash that will take crisp and clear pictures. There is also a microSD expansion slot capable of expanding up to 8GB for storage of music, video, games, and many more applications. With the Curve, you can use spell check in your e-mails and even travel in over 125 countries with global voice and data roaming.

How much? The BlackBerry Curve 8330 is FREE out-the-door for lines 1-2 of any 2 year contract. If you have more members of your family that want a Curve, it's just $59.99/lines 3-5

Why is it such a good deal? The BlackBerry Curve on the Verizon Wireless network is the best of both worlds. It provides you with the latest mobile technologies as well as the most reliable 3G network. Browse the web faster and lose fewer calls! Plus, for a limited time, the Curve is absolutely FREE!

Topics:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	Cell phone plans	BlackBerry
	Smart phones	International	Business Use	E-mail
	Deal of the Week

Mobile World Congress is started this past weekend in Barcelona, Spain. This is the big International cell phone show. We've teamed up with PhoneDog to bring you all the Mobile World Congress 2009 coverage. Check out Noah Kravitz's coverage of the show.

LG's new flagship multimedia phone is the KM900 "Arena." Arena rocks the new S-Class 3D user interface, and features a 5MP camera, full touchscreen, HSDPA/WiFi, and all kinds of goodies. Noah checks it out at MWC 2009 in Barcelona.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Music	Camera	LG
	International	WiFi	Video

Mobile World Congress is started this past weekend in Barcelona, Spain. This is the big International cell phone show. We've teamed up with PhoneDog to bring you all the Mobile World Congress 2009 coverage. Check out Noah Kravitz's coverage of the show.

Noah gets his hands all over the T-Mobile Samsung Memoir, an 8-megapixel camera phone with a full touchscreen and 3G connectivity. Marvel at the Xenon flash, be amazed by the 720x480 video capture, and astound yourself to the TouchWiz UI and full HTML Web browser. Live from Barcelona, Baby.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Samsung	Camera	International
	T-Mobile

Mobile World Congress is started this past weekend in Barcelona, Spain. This is the big International cell phone show. We've teamed up with PhoneDog to bring you all the Mobile World Congress 2009 coverage. Check out Noah Kravitz's coverage of the show.

HTC's Touch Pro2 is bigger, brighter, and badder than the original. And the QWERTY is to die for. Check it out, hands-on from Barcelona.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Windows Mobile	Smart phones	International
	Business Use	HTC

Mobile World Congress is started this past weekend in Barcelona, Spain. This is the big International cell phone show. We've teamed up with PhoneDog to bring you all the Mobile World Congress 2009 coverage. Check out Noah Kravitz's coverage of the show.

Gone is the faceted "diamond" back, but the HTC Touch Diamond2 gets some upgrades over the original. A 5-megapixel camera, bigger display, and a revamped TouchFlo 3D interface that digs deeper into Windows Mobile than before. Sounds good, right? Noah gets hands-on with the new diamond.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Windows Mobile	Camera	Smart phones
	International	HTC

Mobile World Congress is started this past weekend in Barcelona, Spain. This is the big International cell phone show. We've teamed up with PhoneDog to bring you all the Mobile World Congress 2009 coverage. Check out Noah Kravitz's coverage of the show.

Live from Barcelona, Noah gets a demo of the Nuvifone M20, Garmin-Asus' navigation-focused Winodws Mobile smartphone.

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Windows Mobile	Camera	Smart phones
	International	GPS

The latest plans from Verizon Wireless are all about letting you decide the numbers you want to call whenever and wherever you want nationwide. The Friends & Family plans are designed to let you choose up to 10 cell phone or landline phone numbers (depending on your plan) that you can call at any time. Better yet, you can change the numbers included in the Friends & Family plans at any time. You know in case someone leaves the country to go on vacation for a couple of weeks or you find that you’re just not calling one of the pre-defined numbers as often as you thought you might. Really, you can change one of the selected numbers at any time and there’s no limit on the amount of times you can change it. The new plan isn’t too far off from a similar Alltel MyCircle offer and seeing as the acquisition of the company is complete, it’s nice to see Verizon Wireless picking up and extending the company’s offerings. That said, this is Verizon Wireless’ plan and has its own specifications. So here’s how it works:

• Existing and new customers can take advantage of Family & Friends plans, there is no extra fee to get this new feature.
  
• If you subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Single Line plan with 900 or more Anytime Minutes you only get to add 5 numbers to the Friends & Family directory.
  
• If you’re on a Nationwide Family SharePlan, you need a plan that has 1,400 minutes or more to get this feature. If this is the case, you can use the Family & Friends directory and can select up to 10 numbers that can be shared among all account users on the plan. So if you have 4 people on your plan, you can choose 10 numbers total that any of the 4 cell phones on the account can call. Each phone owner on the account does not get to select their own 10 numbers. Families on this kind of plan should decide together the 10 numbers they want in their Friends & Family directory.
  
• Existing customers who qualify for these plans should log onto their MyVerizon account for further details.

Is this a good deal? In short, if you tend to call a few people who still have landline phones or use a carrier other than Verizon or Alltel it’s a good idea. If you’re a single user and trying to decide between getting a lower minute plan of say 450 minutes, it’s a much better deal to up it to a 900 minute plan and be able to call literally any 5 phone numbers of your choosing nationwide and talk for as long as you want. The thing that really makes this a great deal is that you can change the numbers at any time as often as you’d like. That said, if you’re a single user and don’t make a lot of calls, 450 minutes might be just fine for you because don’t forget you still get free unlimited calling to other Verizon Wireless users via the included IN program and maybe some of the company’s 80 million subscribers are already among your closest Friends & Family.

Topics:

In The Know

Verizon Wireless

Cell phone plans

Mobile World Congress is starting this weekend in Barcelona, Spain. This is the big International cell phone show. We've teamed up with PhoneDog to bring you all the Mobile World Congress 2009 coverage. Check out Noah Kravitz's preview of what to expect at the show.

Noah heads down to Mountain View to get a preview of Skyfire 0.9, and then heads back to the East Bay to get ready for MWC. Samsung, LG, HTC, Nokia, Sony Ericsson - everyone in the mobile industry is headed to Barcelona, Spain to show off their newest phones and services. Noah's going, too ...

Topics:	Phone Smarts	Nokia	Sony Ericsson	Samsung
	Symbian	LG	International	HTC
	Android

Going "Green" is popular and if you want to extend the philosophies of being "Green" to cell phones, now you can. The Motorola Renew, which was shown at CES this year, is currently available from T-Mobile. Besides being a cell phone that does its part for the environment it also sports great battery life. We asked Motorola about that fact and it's a result of a more efficient use of the battery. While that's not "Green" it sure is an added bonus. Just think of it as the added mileage you might get from a hybrid.

Topics:

In The Know

Motorola

T-Mobile

This sound familiar? One day it's sunny and beautiful; the next day temperatures have dropped to near freezing degrees and it might even be snowing. It can be so hard to follow. That's exactly the kind of info you want to know when it happens. Now you can with your Verizon cell phone. The company teamed up with WeatherBug to offer customers WeatherBug Protect, a service that essentially monitors potentially threatening weather conditions (storms, lightning, extreme winds, or heat waves) and will send alerts to your cell phone when they occur in your area. The service costs $5.99 a month.

Topics:

Phone Smarts

Verizon Wireless

Cell phone plans

In this installment of Questions and Answers, we discuss SIM cards and deleting songs from the internal memory of Verizon Wireless cell phones. Got a question you want answered? Submit your question here. Got something to add to the answers below? Leave a comment.

I have an old AT&T Family plan that I won’t give up. I also have an old blue SIM card. My wife wants a cell phone with a good organizer on it. We don’t use data or text. Will my blue SIM card work in most unlocked smartphones? Thanks. – Chauncey

Wow, an old blue SIM card that’s before AT&T was Cingular and then AT&T again. First, changing a SIM card doesn't mean you have to change a plan. In short, your SIM card should work in many unlocked cell phones, but there has been an occasion where an older SIM card might not work in some cell phones. This is usually a compatibility issue resulting from the new advances made in cell phone technology. If that turns out to be the case, you can request a new SIM card from AT&T and get all the content stored on your existing SIM card migrated to the new SIM card.

I just got the LG VX10000 Voyager. In your review you said "The LG Voyager sports an MP3 player and comes with a spacious 180MB of internal memory, so you can store tons of music (at least a couple of albums' worth of tunes) and pictures on the cell phone." I put a few songs in the internal memory and wanted to know if there’s a way to delete them? Thanks for your time. – Cody

You can easily delete songs from the LG Voyager’s internal memory. I would suggest making sure you have a backup first, since once it’s gone, it’s gone. Here are the steps you need to do and we should note this should work the same on most Verizon Wireless cell phones.

1. Go to the Get It Now menu.

2. Select Get Music & Tones.

3. Choose My Music.

4. Select Songs.

5. Choose a song.

6. Press Options.

7. Select Erase Song.

Once the songs are erased, this will free up memory in your cell phone.

Topics:	Verizon Wireless	Music	AT&T Wireless	Cell phone plans
	Smart phones	Q&A

If you've been having any issues with your T-Mobile G1 Android phone, help is on the way. A new fix is being pushed over-the-air to Android cell phones. T-Mobile customers will receive the update over the next couple of weeks. Here are a few of the fixes you can expect:

• Google Search by voice

• Google Latitude, a new feature of Google Maps for mobile used for finding a friend's location on a map, sharing your location and status with friends and then being able to contact them via IM, text, or call

• Get reminders for calendar appointments

• The ability to check for upgrades directly from your G1

You can find out more information about the update at T-Mobile Forums.

Topics:	In The Know	Smart phones	T-Mobile	Android
	Google

A recent In-Stat study says wireless modems are on the rise. In case you don't know, a wireless modem is a device that works with your laptop computer and essentially gives you Internet access anywhere you can get cell phone service. Now, of course, you will have to get a data plan to use with these modems, but if you travel a lot or even want to get some work done on a commute it can be well worth it. Especially now that you'll experience DSL like speeds when using it and while WiFi is popular it's not always available.

The other good news is that wireless modems or wireless data cards have come a long way. At first, they came in a PC Card form factor, which a lot of laptop computers did support. Then when there was the slimmed down PC Card making its way into laptops, a standard PC Card wouldn't fit. This then forced users to upgrade the card and re-install the software, which to be fair was usually easy but might take a call to technical support. Now, they come in the universal USB form factor that can be found on PC laptops as well as most Macs. Once you get one in this form factor chances are you won't have to upgrade it to use it with another laptop.

I've been using some sort of wireless modem for quite a few years now. I got my first taste of one way back when PocketPCs were still around (you know, the predecessor to the Windows Mobile phone) and data connections were about as slow as dial-up. Like I said, they've come a long way since then and if you've never given one a chance, now would be the time. You won't be disappointed. How about you? What's your wireless modem experience?

Topics:

Somethin' To Talk About

Travel

WiFi

Accessories

Verizon Wireless has come out with a new device that could make managing and organizing home life a little more stream-lined. It's called simply, the "Verizon Hub." The idea behind the Hub is to help provide easy and fast access to calendar info, the ability to check traffic conditions, get directions, and even purchase movie tickets. It's also suppose to be integrated with the cell phones in the house. For example, if you see a calendar appointment for one of your kids, you can send them a text message reminder to their cell phone.

How does it work? It connects to the Internet only there isn't traditional web access available. So the information on movie show times and traffic are in real time as they would be on the Web, however, you don't have to go to the Web to start searching for it. Simply click a related icon and get the info you need. About that connection to the Internet, that's how the included phone works as well. So you'll be making any calls using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) instead of over the traditional landline networks.

A few quirks: You can only send messages from the device to other Verizon Wireless phones so if one of the family members has say a Sidekick, you'd still have to send them a text message from your cell phone instead of directly from the system. Also, currently, you can't sync the Verizon cell phones with the hub to update calendar and contact information, which is the feature I would want to see.

All and all it does sound like an interesting product with a ton of potential. Who knows? It might even be able to re-invent the "mission control" area of the home. You know, the place where everything gets logged into one place - whether it be birthday parties or just reminders to pay bills. Most homes have one, it just might not be called "Mission Control."

Topics:

Somethin' To Talk About

Verizon Wireless

Parents

Cell phone plans

Last year, T-Mobile offered Sidekick users an opportunity to attend the GRAMMY awards and this year the company is back with more opportunities. Besides the winners who will be attending the 51st GRAMMY awards next month, T-Mobile is offering an opportunity to be the official T-Mobile Sidekick Reporter at the annual Pre-GRAMMY Gala on February 7. The winner will get a chance to be a reporter with an entertainment news show at the exclusive red carpet event, interviewing and mingling with the music industry’s elite. Think you've got the chops for this gig? Bring your Sidekick and music knowledge to Sidekick Reporter auditions that will take place on Jan. 31 at participating Los Angeles T-Mobile stores.

Topics:

In The Know

Music

Sidekick

T-Mobile

We're accustomed to using cell phones as a routine part of our daily lives, but they can also be a real life saver during unexpected occurrences. So we asked Bloggers around the Internet to share their thoughts on just how useful a cell phone can be during an emergency. Our final post comes from Joshua Howe. To read more from Joshua, check out Maine VRC.

Mobile phones have much to offer parents of children of all ages. The calling, texting, GPS and cameras give parents a variety of tools to stay in touch with their kids and keep them safe.

There is the obvious and initial abilities cell phones were designed for, calling. This allows parents to let kids know that they'll be late being picked up or for kids to ask permission to go to a friends house after school. Beyond this though, it could allow first responders to contact parents of the child is unable to give information about who they are. Programming a child's cell phone address book with the acronym ICE, meaning "in case of emergency" allows a responder to call that number and connect with a responsible party immediately.

Text messaging allows children and parents another way to communicate which is less intrusive than calling, and can be received or sent while at school or in meetings. It also allow schools to communicate immediately to all parents and students in case of cancellations or school emergencies. It is already in use by some states to inform subscribers of citizen alerts, and could be easily applied for use in schools.

GPS or Global Positioning Technology is another tool in the cell phone tool box. Various commercial products allow a parent the ability to track a child's location on a map using GPS. Whether a parent tracks a child during their day to ensure they are where they say they are or whether its used in emergency circumstances only is a choice only the parent can make, but can be loaded with privacy and trust issues.

A cell phone camera could be a life saver should a child go missing in a public place. A parent can take a picture before a public outing to the beach, amusement park or the mall. Should the child go missing during the trip, they have a current picture of the child to show responders, but more than that, it has the actual clothing the child is wearing. No more guessing whether they had the blue or red jacket on, the picture will provide them all of the information they need as well as a image to distribute to searchers.

There are a variety of tool which (Read more)

Topics:

Phone Smarts

We're accustomed to using cell phones as a routine part of our daily lives, but they can also be a real life saver during unexpected occurrences. So we asked Bloggers around the Internet to share their thoughts on just how useful a cell phone can be during an emergency. Our next post comes from Joshua Howe. To read more from Joshua, check out Maine VRC.

There are many things that are possible with cell phone technology, but the question becomes how we use that technology. Though something is possible should we employ it? Under what circumstances? For whom and by who?

Safety is a big issue, it raises issues of privacy and the greater good. Given the ability to track cell phone gps, should we be aggregating that data to view and track traffic flow? Sould we use it to shape or modify traffic patterns during heavy flow? If it's possible to identify all the drivers heading towards an accident on the highway by their GPS signal, should we aggregate that data and text them to alert them of the problem ahead and to be cautious, or tell them to get off the highway at the next exit to avoid the traffic ahead? This could have the potential downside of all the drivers simultaneously checking their cell phones and distracting them simultaneously from their driving. This could be overcome through layering the texts; e.g. people within 1mi of the accident first then in a minute texts those at 1mi again, as a new set of drivers would be that much closer to the accident. Seems like ththese would serve the greater good, but would people want to have their GPS information being tracked even if it could prove convenient and safer for them.

A survey by the American Management Association revealed that some employers are using GPS technology to track their employees. It showed that, though the rates were low, 3% were using GPS to track company telephones, and 8% used it to track company vehicles.

Parents can use the GPS to track their children. Even if this enabled, should they monitor this on a regular basis or do we use this only in emergencies? As a parent of a 2 year old, I'd love to have a tracker on my son whenever we're in public "just in case", but this is different than tracking a 16 year old to see whether he's at Jimmies house like he said. It then becomes a matter of trust and teaching responsibility.

Beyond the GPS capability children's cell phones (Read more)

Topics:

Phone Smarts

GPS

The MOTOZINE ZN5 is one of those camera phones that takes shooting pictures on a cell phone to the next level. And we're not just talking about its 5-megapixel camera and fast shutter. Check out the video below to see what we mean:

Topics:

Phone Smarts

Motorola

Camera

T-Mobile

Ever wonder how people easily switch service between cell phones when using GSM service (AT&T and T-Mobile)? Well, it's actually an easy process that you can do on your own in most cases. Check out the video below to see how it's done:

Topics:

Phone Smarts

Motorola

AT&T Wireless

A few months ago, Motorola announced a high-end cell phone made of stainless steel and a 62 Carat Sapphire Crystal Lens. We got a chance to get a closer look at the Aura at CES 2009 and it really is quite captivating. Check out the video below to see for yourself:

Topics:

New at CES

Motorola

Camera

We've teamed up with PhoneDog to bring you all the MacWorld 2009 coverage starting this week. Check out more of Noah Kravitz's coverage.

Noah from PhoneDog brings you the latest iPhone and iPod gear from MacWorld. Cases, audio, accessories and more from Speck, iSkin, moshi, Logitech, Macally, Ten 1, and many more.

Topics:

Phone Smarts

Music

Accessories

Apple

As I mentioned in a preivious post, there were quite a few "green" technologies on display at CES. One that really caught my eye was Medis Technologies' Extreme 24/7 Power Pack Fuel Cell. This is another "green" product that lets you easily charge a cell phone or other gadget such as GPS device from a portable charger that already has all the juice you'll need. Check out the video below to see how it works:

Topics:

New at CES

We got a chance to check out the latest Motorola Windows Mobile smartphone the Surf (a.k.a. A3100). The cell phone runs Windows Mobile 6.1 and in what seems to be a new trend, Motorola has added its own overlay interface for an improved user experience. But what stood out for us was the classic game we saw on-board. Learn more about it in the video below:

Topics:	New at CES	Motorola	Windows Mobile	Smart phones
	Games

We've teamed up with PhoneDog to bring you all the MacWorld 2009 coverage starting this week. Check out more of Noah Kravitz's coverage.

Topics:

In The Know

AT&T Wireless

Accessories

Apple

We've teamed up with PhoneDog to bring you all the MacWorld 2009 coverage starting this week. Check out more of Noah Kravitz's coverage.

Sling Media demo'd their iPhone-ready version of SlingPlayer Mobile -- too bad Apple won't yet let them sell it via the App Store. Soon, we hope, Sling Heads. Noah checks it out from MacWorld 2009.

Topics:

Phone Smarts

Smart phones

Accessories

Apple