verizon

PALO ALTO, Calif.The great thing about the development of future mobile computers is that no one school of thought has come to dominate the territory. Of course, that's also a problem.

A group of panelists from the world's leading mobile operating system developers, including representatives from Symbian, Microsoft, MontaVista, and newcomer Google, perused a wide number of topics Tuesday afternoon at the Palo Alto Research Center, birthplace of so many technologies that changed the world. The panel, which also included executives from Nokia and Research in Motion, would like to do the same, but the hard and exciting … Read more

In a move that some have called "groundbreaking" and I have called "a disgusting attempt at trying to look cool", Verizon Wireless has announced that it will be opening its network to "any apps and any device...that meets a minimum technical standard."

What a waste of valuable editorial space. Why is this even news? Does anyone actually believe that Verizon Wireless has become the cell phone industry's latest (or is it first?) good guy? I certainly don't.

One of the more laughable parts of this story is Verizon's insistence on its new service becoming the haven "small device manufacturers and developers" have been waiting for. For some reason, I can't quite grasp why this is true.

In order to get your device or app on the Verizon service, you'll need to send it to the newly created $20 million test lab Verizon has set up and the company will need to approve it for use on its network. Also, it'll need to meet certain technical standards, which could mean it simply needs to light up and make noise, or it could mean it'll need to fly to Mars if it's not made by a well known firm.

To make matters worse, Verizon has yet to announce how it will accomplish this newly devised system and if you've been keeping score, this company that's trying so hard to be "open" has yet to join Google's Android Open Handset Alliance. That seems a bit odd, doesn't it?

But I digress. The real story here is not that Verizon Wireless has announced something without any real details, the real story is the fact that Verizon exemplifies everything that's wrong with the cell phone industry -- it's a place where common sense is thrown out the window and customer loyalty and respect have never existed.… Read more

Slowly but surely, we're reaching the point where future mobile computers will be able to hook up to the wireless Internet just like a PC.

Verizon Wireless' announcement that it will open its network to outside devices and applications by the end of next year is the latest step in the dismantling of the traditional wireless industry. For years in the U.S., we've been locked to networks, saddled with expensive two-year contracts, and restricted from doing things we'd like to do with the products we buy.

It seems like that is finally starting to change. Verizon'… Read more

Verizon Wireless announced plans Tuesday to let any cell phone compatible with its technology run on its network, and to let owners of those devices run any application they desire, by the end of next year.

That would mean that any U.S. customer of Sprint's, which also uses the CDMA (code division multiple access) cellular networking technology, could use his or her phone on Verizon's data network. But the decision to open up the network to outside applications is a clear nod to the growing interest in mobile phones as an application development platform by companies like Google, … Read more

If nothing else, the threat of Google appears to have pushed Verizon into opening up its network to any device and any software, as the Wall Street Journal reports. The wireless industry has long thrown around the canard that it had to restrict access to protect its networks, but Verizon's move casts this policy into doubt and paves the way for the mobile Internet to become as big as the desktop Internet.

Of course, we still have the problem created by having different network standards in the US (CDMA, which Verizon uses, versus GSM, which AT&T uses, … Read more

It's become a rite of passage that the autumn season brings more than pumpkins and turkey dinners; it also brings another high-end messaging cell phone from LG and Verizon Wireless. Two years ago, we said hello to the LG VX9800; last year, it was the LG enV VX99000; and now in 2007, we greet the next model in the series, the highly anticipated LG Voyager VX10000. More of a thorough revamp than a simple redesign, the Voyager features everything that we liked from the VX9800 and the enV, but it raises the bar immensely by offering redesigned controls, V … Read more

Heads up, everyone, Samsung has announced another new cell phone. I know that's a shocker; it's not as if the company has announced any other new models in this short holiday week, but try to contain your surprise. The new Samsung FlipShot, aka the SCH-U900, is a high-end multimedia phone for Verizon Wireless. Not only does it offer the full slate of 3G features, but also it marks the return of the swiveling flip phone, a trend which briefly climaxed two years ago. Though it differs from the previous Samsung SCH-A970 in that the front flap can rotate … Read more

Yes, we've finally reviewed the LG Venus, the unique dual-screen slider handset from Verizon Wireless. If you recall, this phone has two screens--the upper one is a typical QVGA display, while the lower is a touch screen with onscreen navigation controls. The great thing about the touch screen is that the navigation layout changes depending on what's needed. For example, when the music player is activated, music player controls are revealed, and when the camera is activated, the camera's controls are revealed. Sure it's a little gimmicky, but it works great all the same. Features are … Read more