Dialed In

On Call runs every two weeks, alternating between answering reader questions and discussing hot topics in the cell phone world.

It's been a long time since I've devoted an On Call to reader questions, but e-mails about the Motorola Droid have poured in following the device's debut last month. Some have offered nothing but effusive praise for the handset, while others have raised concerns. I've included a sampling of e-mails from the latter camp below. And be sure to catch my follow-up to a previous Android post at the end of the question-and-answer session.

Q: I think you described switching to Google Android quite well. I like the Droid, but I'm thinking of waiting for a GSM version. Will there be a GSM version and do you think that Verizon Wireless will carry it?
- Tandon55

A: A GSM version of the Droid already exists. The Milestone, as it's called, is almost identical to the Droid except that it has pinch-and-zoom multitouch. We're not sure why it has the extra feature--believe us when we say we're not happy about the disparity--and neither Verizon Wireless, Google, nor Motorola is offering an answer. The Milestone will land first in Europe and Germany, but it won't come to Verizon Wireless. Verizon uses CDMA, which is an incompatible technology to GSM, and Verizon already carries its own version of the phone. ... Read more

AT&T recently launched a service that will convert English and Spanish language voice mail to text. Powered by Nuance Communications, the service will then deliver the messages via SMS, e-mail, or both. You can then choose to respond, either by returning the call or replying via text or e-mail. The service costs $9.99 a month, on top of your existing plan, and you can still dial in to your voice mail as usual if you wish.

LG Expo

(Credit: LG)

And you think your smartphone is powerful. Announced Monday, LG's new Expo offers a couple of "firsts" for AT&T, and we don't quite know which excites us the most. Not only does the Expo have a 1Ghz processor, but it also supports an optional pico projector for sharing videos, photos, and presentations stored on the phone.

On the outside the Expo sports a standard candy bar design with a 3.2-inch, 16 million-color touch-screen. You'll also find a QWERTY keyboard behind the sliding face. As you can imagine, the features set is rather high end, with a 5-megapixel camera with a flash, a microSD card slot, Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional, a personal organizer, e-mail and messaging, and a media player.

The Expo will be available December 7 for $199 with a two-year contract (a minimum $69 per month service plan is required) and after a $100 mail-in rebate. The LG Mobile Projector, which snaps on to the back of the handset, will cost you an additional $179. According to AT&T it will be available in the coming weeks.

With four Android phones in its stable, T-Mobile remains the Google Android leader. Its latest model is the Samsung Behold II, which offers a brilliant display and one of the best media players we've seen on an Android phone so far.

But just a week earlier, and the same day it introduced its Motorola Droid, Verizon Wireless unveiled the HTC Droid Eris. Also a touch-screen phone without a physical keyboard, the Droid Eris offers all the features you'd expect from an Android phone, while adding full multitouch and deeper levels of customization with the HTC Sense interface.

The two devices are similar, but they're distinct in their own way. So how will they fare in the CNET Prizefight ring? Read our Samsung Behold II vs. HTC Droid Eris Prizefight find out.

Rumors about me are just rumors.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)

Almost as soon as the iPhone debuted on AT&T back in 2007, rumors started swirling that the popular touch-screen handset would head to Verizon Wireless as soon as AT&T's exclusivity ended. And since then, as AT&T's network has struggled to keep up with the demands of iPhone users, the rumor has only intensified. Indeed, every day I hear it repeated somewhere, whether it's from a tech/gadget site, a random Facebook friend, or a stranger I meet on the street.

Analysts have also dished the rumor on occasion, and just last week Brian Marshall, an Apple analyst with Broadpoint AmTech in San Francisco, mentioned it in an interview with Bloomberg News. Marshall suggested that Apple pursue Verizon Wireless as a possible carrier after AT&T's exclusivity contract ends next year.

The problem with Marshall's argument, and the rumor itself, is that it relies on a "fact" that has yet to be proven. To date, neither Apple nor AT&T have publicly said when the exclusivity contract will end. Though the summer 2010 is the most common time frame given--it would mark the third anniversary of the original iPhone--the details of the contract have yet to be released. We know that AT&T's exclusivity will end at some point, but we don't know exactly when that will be. Perhaps Marshall was told something in confidence, but I can promise you that I haven't heard anything of the sort.

Like I said back in August, I think that a Verizon iPhone is still possible (remember that Verizon's misfit toy ad is slamming AT&T's network and not the iPhone). Yet, I don't think it will happen until Apple produces a hybrid GSM/CDMA phone or adopts LTE technology (Canada's Telus did something similar with an HSPA device). Otherwise, I think it's unlikely that Apple would produce a CDMA-only version, even for America's largest carrier. I could be wrong, but I'm not going to believe any rumors about a Verizon iPhone until I hear something from Apple and Verizon. And similarly, I'm not going to believe anything about AT&T's exclusivity until I hear it from AT&T.

Until that time I can speak only to the rumor as I've always done. No matter what you heard through the grapevine or from a customer service rep in a Verizon store, we still don't know when, or even if, the iPhone will come to Verizon. Until that changes, I wouldn't take the rumor--and that's exactly what is it--seriously.

Nokia 7230

(Credit: Nokia)

Nokia announced two new slider handsets at its Finnish headquarters Tuesday. We don't know exactly which markers will get the phones first, but models include support for North American cellular networks.

The 6700 Slide is a variation of the previously announced Nokia 6700 classic. It comes in six bright colors: aluminum, pink, blue, red, lime, and purple. Its features include a 5-megapixel camera, a microSD card slot, a speakerphone, messaging, a personal organizer, e-mail and chat, an FM radio, a music player, and Bluetooth. Set for a first quarter, 2010 release, the 6700 Slide should cost about $240.

Nokia 7230

(Credit: Nokia)

The 7230 has a slight oval shape and comes in silver and pink. Inside you'll find a speakerphone, a 3.2-megapixel camera, messaging, access to social networking and Nokia's Ovi Store, a microSD card slot, a FM radio, Bluetooth, and a personal organizer. The 7230 also should be out in the first quarter of next year; the price will be about $150.

Pantech Impact

(Credit: Kent German/CNET)

Pantech's kooky Impact is now available at AT&T. The phone was announced last month at the fall CTIA show.

The Impact has a unique design that's quite unlike the Pantech Reveal. On the exterior you'll see a touch keypad with vibrating feedback and a small display that lets you access a limited number of menu options. Inside is a full QWERTY keypad and a landscape display. The keyboard features plenty of shortcut options, though the keys are a tad cramped. We'll have to see whether the design works for long-term use. In our brief tour at CTIA it seemed fine, but the plastic shell felt a tad fragile.

Features on the world phone include a 2-megapixel camera, messaging and e-mail, a personal organizer, a music player, a speakerphone, voice dialing, USB mass storage, and a full HTML browser. The 3G support also brings access to AT&T's Cellular Video service.

The Impact is available in pink or blue for $99.99 with a two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate. The full price with no contract is $249.99. We'll have a review in the next week.

(Credit: HP)

This post was updated on 11/24, 12:33 p.m., PT with pricing after rebate.

Well, here's a name we haven't heard in the smartphone space for a while, HP. The company announced on Tuesday the upcoming availability of its latest smartphone, the HP iPaq Glisten, which will arrive in the "coming weeks" for AT&T and cost $179.99 with a two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate.

Designed with business users in mind, the iPaq Glisten runs Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional Edition and features a 2.5-inch AMOLED touch screen as well as a full QWERTY keyboard. The smartphone also offers 3G support (UMTS/HSDPA 850/1900/2100), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

Despite the business focus, you do get a 3.1-megapixel camera with HP Photosmart Mobile software for editing photos. A Facebook app is also preloaded on the device so you can upload photos directly to the social-networking site or post them to the Web via Snapfish.

Other highlights include Voice Commander software, a 3.5mm headphone jack, 32GB of expandable memory (256MB SDRAM/512MB Flash), and a high-capacity 1590 lithium ion user-replaceable battery.

The HP iPaq Glisten will be sold through AT&T business channels, HP, and third-party online retailers.

Motorola i410

(Credit: Motorola)

Motorola added a new handset to its iDEN workhouse line today when it introduced the i410. Destined for Boost Mobile, the i410 has a rugged flip phone design in black and silver. The small external display sits in the middle of the etched front panel, while inside you'll find a color display and the standard navigation array and keypad.

Features are firmly on the low end. There's no camera, but you get GPS, Bluetooth, a speakerphone, messaging, an Opera browser, and a personal organizer. Pricing was not immediately disclosed.