Ever since Research In Motion Co-CEO Jim Balsillie announced the road map for BlackBerry App World 2.0, we've been waiting to hear the magic words "carrier billing" as a payment option. According to some online reports on Wednesday, that time may be at hand.
We've heard that while BlackBerry App World 2.0 will still offer PayPal as a billing option for commercial apps, RIM will drop the requirement to captain a PayPal account. Instead, RIM will reportedly work with carriers to add the cost of a downloaded app or game to the monthly phone … Read more
Samsung has been very busy lately pumping out a steady flow of Android handsets. Indeed, almost every time I open my RSS readers, I'm learning about another upcoming Galaxy model.
Tuesday was no exception as I read that the i8520 Galaxy Beam will head to Singapore next month. Formerly known as the "Halo," the Galaxy Beam will be the first Android handset to feature a pico-projector. Created by Texas Instruments, the projector has 6 lumens and can project images anywhere from 5 to 50 inches.
Aside from the projector, the Beam boasts impressive hardware. Powered by Android … Read more
"Reliability" is a word that comes to mind when I think of BlackBerry phones. Research in Motion may not have the flashiest smartphones around, but they've won a well-deserved reputation for being functional and user-friendly e-mail machines. And in the process, the company has garnered a loyal following.
As time develops, however, I'm becoming a little concerned for RIM's future. Though RIM continues to introduce new handsets, the BlackBerry operating system is looking staid, especially as Apple rolls out iOS4 and Google unveils Android 2.2. And even though Microsoft hasn't said much since … Read more
There's a lot we like about Palm's WebOS platform, but when it comes to the App Catalog, there are some decisions that leave us scratching our heads.
The latest is Palm's new free program, called Featured Apps, that rotates through a roster of "great handpicked apps each week" on U.S. phones in the Pre and Pixi family.
The app certainly looks good, and it's polished enough that we wish Palm would hurry up and replace its entire spartan App Catalog with the Featured Apps design.
However, with a channel dedicated to EA Games, … Read more
Just in time for Father's Day, T-Mobile has announced a one-of-a-kind deal to take place on Saturday: for only one day, every single phone in every T-Mobile store across the nation will be free. The catch? A family plan is required; either sign up for a new one, or add another line to an existing plan. Individual plan subscribers are out of luck.
And when T-Mobile says every phone, it means every phone. This even includes recent smartphones like the myTouch 3G Slide, the HTC HD2, and the Garminfone. Of course, the phones are only available while supplies last, … Read more
Got a song stuck in your head that you can't place?
Instead of clicking up Shazam, music-ID app SoundHound may soon be the first stop for budget-conscious, Android-loving music aficionados.
Today, SoundHound for Android, ordinarily $4.99, followed in the footsteps of its iPhone kin by debuting a free version.
Like Shazam, SoundHound (known as Midomi, once upon a time) can record a few seconds of song straight from the source and return a plethora of information about the tune's title, artist, related videos, and where to buy it.
What impresses us with SoundHound is that it takes … Read more
Early Tuesday morning, Apple updated its online retail store so that you can now preorder the recently announced iPhone 4 for either delivery or in-store pickup. As was announced, the iPhone 4 is available in 16GB and 32GB versions, for $199 and $299 respectively, as long as you're a qualified customer. Strangely, while you are free to preorder the black version of the iPhone 4, the white version is unavailable at the time of this writing. You may also preorder the $99 8GB iPhone 3GS if you wish. Apple promises the phones will be delivered on June 24, the … Read more
Apple's new iPhone 4 marks the company's latest push in the smartphone wars. With a revamped design, an assortment of new features, and the new iOS 4 operating system, iPhone 4 is the device's biggest leap forward since the iPhone 3G. We now have long-awaited features like multitasking, the "Retina" display puts it on par with the iPad, and Apple's FaceTime feature has the potential to finally bring video calling into the mainstream.
Though Apple CEO Steve Jobs barely mentioned Android in last week's keynote address, Google's operating system has become Apple's biggest rival in the smartphone space. Sure, Microsoft is developing Windows Phone 7, RIM continues to pump out new handsets, and Palm is hanging on, but Android is expanding and innovating by leaps and bounds. And as the two companies face off, Apple and Android fans are not afraid to hash it out in online forums.
So what do iPhone 4 and iOS 4 mean for Android? How will Apple's latest handset affect Android's steady advance? Honestly, there's no correct answer and anyone who covers the industry will have their own opinion. That's why I got together with smartphone guru Bonnie Cha to debate these issues. And after you read what we have to say, tell us what you think.
First off, since the iPhone 4 is just one phone and Android is an entire OS, can you really compare them?
Senior Editor Kent German: Absolutely, because you need to look beyond the hardware at the core software. Regardless of how many phones each OS is on, the Android and iPhone operating systems represent two different visions for how smartphones will develop. Apple offers a highly organized and polished experience, but user-customization and choice on the iPhone are lacking. Android, on the other hand, is all about choice and personalization, but Google's OS can seem too technical for some users, and a bit ungainly.
You can argue that one side is better, but then you'd miss the point of what's happening here. The iPhone and Android are natural rivals and consumers get to select the vision that's best for them. Do they want want everything in Google's cloud or do they prefer Apple's ecosystem? As each camp continues to innovate, the fight will continue to be heated.
Senior Editor Bonnie Cha: I think the better and fairer comparison would be between Android OS and iOS. It's been interesting to watch the development of these two OSes, and how much the gap has closed between them, especially with Android 2.2 and iOS 4, but they're also very much doing their own thing.
With iOS 4, Apple is now on par with Android and other operating systems in terms of multitasking, folder management, and e-mail, among other things. However, Apple's focus still seems to be very much on entertainment features (e.g., iBooks and iMovie for iPhone). Meanwhile, Android seems to be concentrated on some performance issues like making the OS faster, allowing you save apps to an SD card, and mobile hot-spot capabilities.
Android and iOS 4 are the two hottest platforms right now, so the comparisons are going to be inevitable. However, they should also be celebrated for their differences. In the end, I still think it's not about which one is better (stand down, fanboys) but rather, about having a choice in OSes and finding the one that's right for you. … Read more
Pantech just announced the Pantech Ease, a messaging handset which, according to the company, focuses on simplicity and ease of use. It has a 3.2-inch touch-screen display and a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard.
As with its entry-level Breeze, the Pantech Ease has two modes: easy and advanced. The easy mode has a simplified menu interface along with large legible font that you can increase for even larger text. Pantech isn't marketing the Ease as a senior-friendly device only; however, the company makes it clear the Ease was designed with senior citizens in mind.
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