Cell phones

As the story of the iPhone 4's antenna troubles eclipses the handset's record-breaking sales, users remain understandably frustrated. And so far, Apple's responses haven't been entirely satisfying. On June 24, the day that the iPhone 4 went on sale, Apple acknowledged an "attenuation" problem when the device is held in a certain way and it suggested that users either move their hand or buy a bumper. The company mentioned the issue again in a letter to users posted last Friday, but it also promised a software fix to address an incorrect calculation of signal … Read more

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.

I was wondering if you could recommend a good Android Phone with GSM capability as I travel internationally extensively.  The Evo 4G and Incredible are both CDMA, so I am unable to buy due to that. Your advice on the matter is much appreciated. -- Chaitanya, via e-mail.

That's a good point, Chaitanya. As much as we praise the HTC Evo 4G and the HTC Droid Incredible, we have to admit they are not very useful when traveling abroad. When traveling, we still prefer GSM phones, especially those with quad-band support. Luckily for you, there are several good GSM Android phones, such as the HTC Aria for AT&T and the MyTouch 3G Slide for T-Mobile.

However, perhaps my favorite choice for international travelers is the HTC Nexus One. You can buy the Nexus One unlocked, so you can use it with T-Mobile or any other GSM carrier. You might not be able get 3G data speeds with it, as T-Mobile has a different 3G frequency than what other carriers' use, but you can still make and answer calls. While the Nexus One may not be as flashy as some of the newer Android phones are, it's still a solid handset with a nice screen and decent performance. Also, Google tends to push Android firmware updates to the Nexus One first, so it's nice to get the new OS features and fixes first.… Read more

Count LG as yet another phone maker that's in the app store game. Indeed, the company just launched the LG Application Store, which it promises will deliver apps not just to smartphones, but to most of its feature phones as well. In other words, we wouldn't count on this replacing your Android or Windows 7 app market any time soon, but if you do have an LG smartphone, you'll likely have more than just one store to pick from.

There are currently only around 3,000 apps in there, and it's available only in around 23 … Read more

Breaking news! According to Microsoft, it's killing the Kin! Also, Apple unleashes the juggernaut that is the iPhone 4 last week only to suffer tales of antenna woes soon after. We also talk about the latest Android news--the Droid X, Evo 4G problems, and the Samsung Galaxy S devices, just to name a few--plus the silliest phone name of all time.

News All the iPhone news you can shake a stick at iOS4 review iPhone 4 is out, complaints are in AT&T improves its coverage, really? … Read more

Get ready for a slew of jokey headlines with this one--Verizon Wireless just announced on Tuesday a new slider messaging phone called the Pantech Jest. One unintended implication of the name is that phone itself is a joke, but it actually looks like a decent QWERTY phone.

It has a 2.6-inch display, an optical sensor that works like a mouse, a 2-megapixel camera, EV-DO, GPS with VZ Navigator, V Cast Music access, stereo Bluetooth, and direct connections to social networks like Twitter and Facebook. It'll be available starting July 5 for $69.99 with a new two-year service … Read more

As we continue to test the iPhone 4, we're doing our best to track the handset's signal strength, particularly in light of the ongoing issues with the antenna. Though we've also noticed that we occasionally lose bars when we hold the iPhone 4 on its lower left side, the number of bars isn't the most accurate indicator of a cell phone's reception. For more details, we turned to the iPhone's Field Test indicator, but that option doesn't seem to be available on the iPhone 4.

On previous iPhones, you could access a wealth … Read more

Industry groups naturally tend to protect their own, and after playing with San Francisco for several years the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) is now taking its ball and going home.

On Tuesday, the association said in a statement that it would no longer hold its autumn trade show in San Francisco after this year's event in October. CTIA, which represents the wireless industry in the United States, is not happy that the city's Board of Supervisors recently voted to require cell phone manufacturers (PDF) to display the specific absorption rate (SAR) for each handset sold.

"Rather than inform, the ordinance will potentially mislead consumers with point of sale requirements suggesting that some phones are 'safer' than others based on radio frequency emissions," the statement said. "In fact, all phones sold legally in the U.S. must comply with the Federal Communications Commission's safety standards for RF emissions. According to the FCC, all such compliant phones are safe phones as measured by these standards."

Though the CTIA is correct that a lower SAR phone isn't necessarily safer, it's ironic that in the process of accusing San Francisco of oversimplifying the issue, the CTIA is doing the exact same thing. Yes, all phones sold in the United States must conform to FCC standards (a SAR of 1.6 watts per kilogram or lower), but there is still no scientific consensus that cell phone radio frequency is or is not harmful. That's a fact CTIA should face, whether it likes it or not. … Read more

Over the past few days, Samsung has unveiled the identities of a couple of Galaxy S phones heading to the U.S., including the Samsung Captivate for AT&T and the Samsung Vibrant for T-Mobile.   But it seems as if Samsung has plenty of Android love to spread around as it announces three additional models for Sprint, Verizon, and U.S. Cellular. Though the Galaxy S handsets share many core features, they all have unique designs and carrier-specific services, so here's a quick rundown of each one.

Samsung Epic 4G for Sprint: As you might have guessed from the name, the Epic is a 4G network-capable phone--the second one for Sprint after the HTC Evo 4G--and it has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a 4-inch Super AMOLED capacitive touch screen. According to Samsung, its Super AMOLED display has a higher contrast, wider viewing angles, faster response time, and lets it create a thinner phone than a traditional LCD does. We've seen the Super AMOLED screen on the Samsung Wave, and we can say that most of the benefits are true.

Armed with such a display, 4G, and Samsung's 1GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird processor, multimedia will, once again, play a central role on the Epic, much like it did on the Evo 4G. However, Samsung will make it even easier to get  and watch TV shows and movies on the phone by including a video store. Samsung has not revealed where the content will come from,  but according to the company,  it includes "some of the biggest names in entertainment."

The phone's other goodies include a 5-megapixel camera with HD video capture, a front-facing VGA camera for video calls, and the capability to act as a mobile hot spot for up to five devices. Samsung will ship the Epic  running Android version 2.1 and its TouchWiz interface; however, if you're concerned about another Behold II situation, don't worry: the Epic will get the Android 2.2 Froyo update. According to Sprint, it plans to announce pricing and release date in the coming months, but you can sign up for updates via its Web site. If you're an Android developer, Samsung has a 4G Developer Guide available now for anyone who wants to create apps for the Epic. … Read more

We typically think of prepaid phones from AT&T's GoPhone lineup as rather basic and lacking in features, but the LG Prime is certainly not either of those.

The Prime sports a sizable 3-inch touch-screen display (400x240 pixels); a 2-megapixel camera; and mobile e-mail. It won't have 3G, but you will be able to purchase and download songs from AT&T Mobile Music. You also get a microSD card, a 2-megapixel camera, and quad-band GSM. The LG Prime is available now for $99.99 without any contracts.