Dialed In

On Call: Reporting a lost phone

Q: I lost my Alltel phone at a restaurant. I need to report it at once. Whom do I call? - Caroline

A: You should report your lost phone to Alltel immediately. You can find a customer service phone number on Alltel.com or your billing statement. Alternatively, you could go visit your local Alltel store. Once you let your carrier know that your handset is missing, it will suspend your service and put a hold on your account. You also can make arrangements to get a new phone.

Q: I recently unlocked an iPhone so I could use it … Read more

Dialed In 77: Palm Pre launch date in June?

There's no shortage of hot phone rumors this week, with hints of a Palm Pre release date, new Verizon phones, and more indications that Apple and Verizon are in talks about a joint project. We also cover the week's news and reviews, plus we answer your questions, too.

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Rumors of the week Palm Pre rumor of the day: June 7 release date Unlocked GSM Palm Pre for sale? Rumor: HTC, Motorola messaging smartphones bound for Verizon More Verizon/iPhone reports

News Android-powered Samsung I700 debuts Aliph Jawbone Prime with EarCandy Samsung announces the Trance … Read more

The 411: Comfy headsets, please

Welcome to the 411, my new Q&A column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have the same questions, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I'm stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at nicole.lee@cnet.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, let me know in the e-mail.

PS: I received a lot of feedback asking me to name this column the 411, so that's the new column title. Thank you!

A lot of you had questions about Bluetooth headsets, especially after our reviews of the Plantronics Voyager Pro and the Aliph Jawbone Prime. Here are just a few:

Q: Thank-you for your review (of the Aliph Jawbone Prime). I haven't owned a JB. Do you believe the new gels with ear-loops will hold it against my face when chewing gum or eating food? I could position it straight out from my ear and that would place it on a face bone that doesn't move (all bones resonate?). If you could test the chewing scenario that would be great. Prime offers NC when not touching, but if the sensor is constantly lifting, the SoundID 200 would perform as well or better and save me $50. Thanks for your help. -- William

Yes, the new Jawbone Prime will hold the Voice Activity Sensor (that tiny little white nub on the back of the headset) much more securely to your face than previous versions thanks to the new ear gels. The important thing is to find the right size ear gel; a bigger or smaller one could result in an imperfect fit, which might result in the sensor slipping off. I did test the Prime a little while chewing and it doesn't slip off that easily (Though you shouldn't be eating while talking anyway! :-)) The sound quality without the sensor touching is on par with any other noise-canceling headsets, as you said, but if the sensor works as it should, you should experience better sound quality than most headsets. If ear comfort is more important to you, however, the Sound ID 200 or Sound ID 300 might be slightly better.… Read more

Dialed In 76: T-Mobile's got a new Sidekick

Kent's vacationing in Australia (lucky duck), so it's just Nicole and me this week. We've got plenty to talk about though, including details on the new T-Mobile Sidekick LX, and we tackle more rumors about an iPhone for Verizon. Also, the new Samsung Instinct S30 is out, and we've got a full review of the Instinct successor. Plus, Nicole's found what could be the best-sounding Bluetooth headset she's ever heard. All this and more on this week's Dialed In podcast. Happy Earth Day, everyone!

Listen now: Download today's podcast Rumors of the … Read more

Dialed In 75: A possible Pre launch date?

As the first half of the year draws closer to its end, we're hearing initial rumors of a Plam Pre launch date. May 17 could be the magic day, and it would fulfill Palm promise of a live device by July. We also discuss a trio of interesting models to clear the FCC, Nicole dishes on the new version of Bluetooth, and Casio steams up YouTube with a provocative video of its new phone.

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News Virgin Mobile offers new plan to help ease your wallet Bluetooth 3.0 to be official Samsung introduces rugged phone … Read more

Dialed In 74: CTIA hangover

This week, we reminisce over our coverage of CTIA 2009 and rant even more about the Palm Pre. We also go over our most recent reviews and answer your questions.

Listen now: Download today's podcast News CTIA 2009 T-Mobile to get HTC Snap, Touch Pro2, and more

Reviews Nokia 7205 Intrigue Samsung Propel Pro Peek Pronto LG Xenon

Upcoming reviews T-Mobile webConnect USB Laptop Stick

On Call: Lessons from CTIA

The best place at any trade show is your departure gate at the airport. While events like CTIA certainly can be interesting, and even fun, they're also a lot of work. What's more, I don't enjoy being away from my family, my friends, and my own couch. Yet, even with those caveats I can always count on CTIA, CES, and the GSMA World Congress to teach me lessons about what's happening in the cell phone world. Even when the show is relatively quiet, as CES 2009 was, I wind up learning something.

Times are tough Even before the CNET crew arrived in Las Vegas we knew that CTIA wouldn't be too lively. Such was the case at both CES and GSMA, so we couldn't imagine that CTIA would be different. As I said in my CTIA wrap-up, the economy is a likely factor, but CTIA also has the unfortunate position of following two events with worldwide profiles.

As expected, attendance was down by a noticeable amount. I don't have figures to back me up right now, but there were plenty of telling signs that fewer people made the trip to Vegas. For instance, I didn't have to wait in line to get lunch and at times you could go bowling down the convention floor aisles. More importantly, while horrendous taxi lines are very common at McCarran Airport, I waited only a few minutes. I seriously think that the length of the Vegas airport cab line should be a new economic indicator.

News at the show was also pretty light. In its usual fashion, Samsung made the strongest showing with LG and Kyocera following closely behind. Yet, the total numbers of new phones introduced was far smaller than in previous years, and we didn't hear any hot tidbits around high-profile items like the Palm Pre or the Google Android OS. Moto, Nokia, and HTC had just one major announcement each, and Sony Ericsson had none. Sony Ericsson even shared a booth with parent company Ericsson, a sure sign that it the company is laying low.… Read more

Palm Pre vs. iPhone 3G: Which do you want?

The CTIA 2009 spring show is just a few days away, and there are sure to be new product announcements. HTC, Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, LG--they'll all be there. However, there's one company in particular that's at the forefront of my mind, and it would be Palm. I'm sure you can guess why.

Both Palm and Sprint will be in Las Vegas for the show, but the companies don't have any news conferences or major events scheduled--just an invite-only VIP Lounge where they'll have the Palm Pre on display.

I really hope we'll learn some new information at CTIA (ahem, pricing, release date), since we clearly didn't during their last Webcast. However, I fear it'll be more of the same and we'll come home none the wiser. Part of me also thinks that they'll wait till the last possible moment (June) to deliver on their "first half of 2009" promise, but I hope I'm wrong.

Palm and Sprint are running into dangerous territory right now. We said at CES 2009 that it was risky for the companies to announce the smartphone (though smart in many ways) back in January and they had to careful to deliver on their promise and not delay the phone.

On the one hand, I commend Palm for better communication with the public whether it be through its blog or Twitter feed, but there's comes a point where the canned responses get old and things like the Webcast look like a stalling method or shameless self-promotion. I think it's pretty safe to say, we're at that point, and the masses are getting restless.

Also, with the new iPhone OS 3.0 and all its new features, the Pre has lost some of its competitive edge. (The chart below gives you a side-by-side comparison of the basic features of the two smartphones.) Plus, there's a chance we could see a new iPhone at WWDC in early June and that could certainly steal some of the Pre's thunder.… Read more

Dialed In 73: Countdown to CTIA

We're headed to Vegas...again. But before we take off for CTIA, we discuss this week's latest news and rumors, including the possibility of the HTC Touch Pro2 landing at T-Mobile and Verizon's new Nokia Intrigue 6205. Is it really that intriguing? Plus, we review the Motorola i9 and HTC S743 and answer more listener mail. All this and more on this week's Dialed In.

Listen now: Download today's podcast Rumors of the week HTC Touch Pro2 headed to T-Mobile Where will the BlackBerry Niagara land?

News Nokia Intrigue 6205 launches on Verizon Alltel launches the LG Banter … Read more