fall

Oh, Microsoft. It's no secret that I think you could and should do more to win hearts and minds over to Windows Phone's cause. I proclaimed it loudly a year ago, and I'll say it again today. By relying solely on your partner manufacturers to trot out your few Windows Phones this CTIA, you've missed another golden opportunity for showing off the goods.

That's a big problem. When Samsung and Google delayed their Ice Cream Sandwich and Galaxy Nexus unveiling, it left a void in the show that any number of companies could have stepped … Read more

"Not another 7-inch tablet!" you say. Well, hold that thought and feast your eyes on the T-Mobile SpringBoard, first announced at CTIA.… Read more

SAN DIEGO--As we walked by the PCD booth here at CTIA, we noticed that Pantech had two phones up for display that we haven't seen before. They were the Pantech Jest 2 and the Pantech Hotshot.

The Pantech Jest 2 is slightly curvier and rounder than the Pantech Jest messaging phone we reviewed last year, and the screen size is a touch smaller at 2.4 inches.

The biggest improvement that the Jest 2 has over its predecessor is that it has a dual-mode GSM/CDMA chipset so it can be used internationally. This is one of a few … Read more

The interesting thing about CTIA's fall show is that you never know what you're going to get. We all expected it to be small this year, and it is, but it turned out far busier than we imagined. (Here's a look at Day 1.)

Ever since Google and Samsung pulled out of their big, not-so-secret secret event, we expected a quiet--and frankly boring--show. Instead, Nicole and I wound up shooting 16 videos last night and spent all of today getting you our photos and first impressions. In the meantime, Roger ran around like an interviewing machine. Here'… Read more

SAN DIEGO--As the HTC Sensation XL is currently only available in Europe and Asia, we leapt at a chance to take a look at it here at CTIA in San Diego.

It does seem a lot like the Android version of the HTC Titan, with its large and imposing 4.7-inch WVGA LCD display. It feels rather big in small hands, but the payoff is that you get a very generous and colorful display for watching videos or surfing the Web. It has HTC's usual excellent design aesthetic, with a slim silhouette and comfortable feel. The one we handled was white all around with a bit of silver on the back.

Features of the Sensation XL are impressive as well. It ships with Android 2.3 Gingerbread with the HTC Sense 3.5 overlay, and is powered by a 1.5GHz single-core processor. You get 16GB of onboard storage, but it seems that it's not expandable, which seems odd to us. There's also an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video capture, and it features several cool camera features like an automatic panorama mode.… Read more

SAN DIEGO--LG Optimus handsets here in the U.S. broke ground by proving that entry-level Android handsets need not be deprived of features. LG continues that mantra with the LG Optimus Slider, which as its name implies, adds a sliding QWERTY keyboard to the Optimus form factor.

As a result, the LG Optimus Slider is substantially thicker and bulkier than its nonsliding cousin. But to those who love to text, the cost should be worth it, as you get a very roomy four-row QWERTY keyboard in exchange. The keys are also nicely raised above the surface for easy texting, and we like that there are navigation controls on the keyboard too. … Read more

They're tough, they've got rock-hard bodies, and they can communicate. We're talking about the Kyocera DuraCore and DuraMax phones, of course, the first two in Sprint's lineup to use push-to-talk over 3G CDMA.… Read more

SAN DIEGO--While we liked what we saw of the Motorola Atrix 2, we were probably more intrigued by the Pantech Pocket, which was also announced for AT&T this week. It's a lower-end handset, yes, but its unusually wide form factor caught our eye.

Which is exactly why Pantech made it look that way. We had a closer hands-on look at the Pantech Pocket today, and one of the reasons the Pocket is wider than other Android handsets is precisely to stand out among all the rectangular black boxes that make up the Android landscape.… Read more

SAN DIEGO--We had a chance to take a look at the Motorola Atrix 2 here just hours after it was announced, and while it is very similar to its predecessor, it does have a number of improvements that are worth noting.

The design, for example, seems sleeker and more striking. It has a longer and larger 4.3-inch qHD display, and Motorola bumped up the resolution to 960x540. As a result, pixels seem crisper and denser than the display on the Droid Bionic, and it seems more colorful as well. We're glad Motorola swapped out the glossy back with a more textured surface for a better feel in the hand.

On the whole though, don't expect tons of changes with the Atrix 2. It still has a dual-core 1GHz processor, albeit with TI instead of Nvidia. And no it's not an LTE phone, but AT&T did bump up the speeds to HSPA+ 21Mbps. It also has that same Webtop connectivity that turns the phone into a portable PC whenever it's docked into a corresponding Webtop accessory. Motorola says it'll be compatible with the upcoming Lapdock 100, which is smaller than the previous Lapdock and should fit more than just one Motorola handset. … Read more