Dialed In

LAS VEGAS -- Even though the LG Arena debuted at GSMA 2009, we had yet to see it arrive on U.S. shores. That is, until a month or so ago when AT&T announced it would be bringing the Arena to the States complete with support for AT&T Mobile TV, AT&T's live mobile television service.

The Arena has a very interesting 3D user interface. It has multiple home screens that rotate as if they were on a three-dimensional cube when you swipe across the screen. Also, the main menu interface divides up the … Read more

It's been a long wait but the HTC HD2 is officially available for purchase from T-Mobile starting today. You can buy the mega-multimedia smartphone for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement or $449.99 with an Even More Plus Plan, which doesn't require an annual contract.

However, could the timing be any worse? People are all abuzz over the just-announced HTC Evo 4G for Sprint and smartphone fans are anxious for Windows Phone 7 Series devices to debut this holiday season. With all this great stuff on the horizon, is there any interest left in the HD2? … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Samsung and Sprint continue to jostle for the spotlight on the second day of CTIA 2010. Sprint and HTC deserve a lot of attention for launching the Evo 4G, but Samsung is holding its own with its new Galaxy S. Though we still don't know details regarding U.S. availability, the handset's sharp display and loaded feature set are worth a serious look. We got the opportunity to take the device for a short test-drive, and we like what we see so far.

Samsung claims the Galaxy S is the thinnest smartphone out there, and at 0.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--MetroPCS leaped ahead two of its larger rivals today when it announced that it would introduce 4G LTE networks in the second half of this year. The network, which will come first to Las Vegas, will run on a Samsung-powered infrastructure. Sammy also will provide Metro PCS's first LTE phone, the SCH-r900.

Samsung didn't reveal any details about the SCH-r900, but we know that it will run support CDMA and LTE. Metro PCS's remains light on smartphones so we don't expect the SCH-r900 to go that route. Previous Metro PCS Samsung handsets include the touch-screen … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Samsung released a couple of new Bluetooth headsets here at CTIA 2010, and they are the Samsung Modus 3500 mono-to-stereo headset, plus a simple mono headset called the Samsung HM1000. Both headsets will be available in Q1 of this year.

The Samsung Modus 3500 is Samsung's response to what it says is the popularity of the WEP870, which is one of the company's first mono headsets that could convert into a stereo headset with the addition of a lanyard.

The Modus 3500 is yet another mono-to-stereo convertible headset, but this time all you need to do is … Read more

No one enjoys being locked down to a carrier contract, but it's often a necessary evil to get discounted prices on handsets. However, if you refuse to be tied down and can afford to get an unlocked phone, two of the top devices that money can buy are the Nexus One and the HTC HD2.

Both smartphones offer high-end features, such as luxurious touch screens, 1GHz processors, and advanced cameras, so, naturally, we had to throw the two into the Prizefight ring. See who comes out swinging in our Nexus One versus HTC HD2 prizefight.

Despite its heavenly name, the LG Cosmos does not quite reach for the stars when it comes to features. However, it is a pretty decent starter messaging phone for Verizon customers. The Cosmos is essentially a rejiggering of the LG Rumor 2 for Verizon. The design is about the same--it has a candy-bar appearance with a number keypad when closed, and slides out horizontally to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard on the right side. When you slide out the keyboard, the display changes orientation from portrait mode to landscape mode. From the brief few minutes we had with it, the … Read more

CNET's cell phone crew has been on the ground in Las Vegas covering CTIA 2010 since Monday, and, boy, did we have plenty to cover! Here's a brief overview of the news that broke on the first day of CTIA 2010:

Palm Pre Plus, Pixi Plus headed to AT&T

AT&T snags a Dell Android phone, the Dell Aero

Nextel goes Android with Motorola i1

LG Remarq is LG's new eco-friendly phone

Kyocera launches the Zio M6000, Kyocera's first Android phone

Verizon unveils the LG Cosmos

AT&T execs want more spectrum… Read more

Every year at CTIA, the show's organizers hold an Emerging Tech Awards contest to pick the best products at the show. Samsung entered its previously announced Strive and Sunburst phones in the contest, but then it threw the SCH-U820 into the ring.

When we arrived in Las Vegas, the SCH-U820 was nowhere to be found, and Samsung representatives declined to say why. However, we're going to tell you about the phone anyway. The SCH-U820 has a three-inch touch screen that uses Samsung's TouchWiz 2.0 interface. Below the display are the standard navigation controls.  Behind the … Read more