verizon

Palm Treo 755p lands at Verizon--yawn

Sure, it's been available through Sprint for about eight months now, but hey, if you still want it, Verizon Wireless customers can now finally get their hands on the Palm Treo 755p. It replaces Verizon's aging Palm Treo 700p and aside from a new teal green color, there isn't much difference between the physical characteristics and core features of the Sprint version and the Verizon model. The Palm-based smartphone offers built-in support for Microsoft Direct Push Technology and Exchange ActiveSync; EV-DO; and Bluetooth 1.2. The Treo 755p is currently available online for $299.99 with a … Read more

LG Voyager and I part ways, but amicably.

So I'm back from vacation where I tested the Voyager for twelve days. You know I love to take phones into the wild and really live with them. It was very revealing in this case.

Being on vacation I used the camera a lot. The pictures were acceptable, not great. I expected better phone quality. Isn't that quaint? But it's very important to me and the Voyager didn't have the greatest. Along those lines, I found you can't use the speakerphone unless the Voyager is in its rather ungainly open clamshell mode. Overall the Voyager … Read more

Try cell phones before you buy, online

The buying experience of cell phones has always been frustratingly full of unknowns: you don't have a good idea of what the service coverage will be like before switching plans, you don't know what reception your specific phone will get, and you are usually stuck with a dummy non-operative phone to look at in the store that gives you little idea how it will actually work.

A new Web site has come into beta that aims to plug that last hole. TryPhone provides onscreen simulations of handsets and shows how different button presses let you navigate through the … Read more

GPL lawsuits: A reason to rejoice(?), not panic

BusyBox has been busy. With the help of the Software Freedom Law Center, it recently sued Verizon for infringing the GNU General Public License (GPL). This marks a distinct shift in strategy for Eben Moglen, the SFLC's counsel, as Pamela at Groklaw notes:

Remember how Eben Moglen used to say that negotiations were the best solution years ago, because the GPL was new and funds were limited? And then when he went to the Software Freedom Law Center he said he'd be in a position to do more? I think he told us the truth.

For the record, I like the conciliatory approach. As a lawyer by training, I heartily dislike the use of the law as a club. Occasionally it is needful to right wrongs against the otherwise weak and defenseless, but I'm not sure this is the case with BusyBox. I don't remember Erik Anderson (primary developer behind BusyBox) being particularly litigious when we worked together at Lineo back in 2000, but something seems to have changed.

Maybe he got fed up with people free-riding on open-source software, using it without abiding by its license terms. This certainly seems to be the case with Eben, who let loose on Tim O'Reilly at last year's OSCON for not being enough of a friend to free software.… Read more

Opera Mini browser getting ready for Verizon--sort of

Verizon users with high-end phones may soon have another choice for surfing the Web--Opera Mini 4 (on CNET Download.com). Opera Software announced on Thursday compatibility with Qualcomm's BREW platform, on which Verizon and many other carriers worldwide run.

Although Opera Software has ported code for its mobile browser to the BREW platform, you won't be downloading the app tomorrow. It will remain unavailable until BREW carriers certify or license the browser, and decide if it will be made available through the Opera Mini Web site or through the carrier's interface. The only exception? Verizon BlackBerrys, … Read more

LG VX8350 now in red

Just in time for the holidays, LG and Verizon Wireless have come out with a glossy red version of the VX8350. It has all the same features as the original gray version, which include V Cast support, a microSD card slot, stereo Bluetooth, and a 1.3-megapixel camera. The LG VX8350 is one of my favorite phones of the year, thanks to its compact design and powerful feature set, so a nice red version like this is a welcome addition to Verizon's lineup. It's currently available at $79.99 after a $50 discount and a two-year service agreement.… Read more

Verizon Wireless launches the Motorola Z6c World Edition phone

Verizon Wireless and Motorola have introduced the Motorola Z6c, a new dual-mode CDMA/GSM world phone. It's the second such offering from Verizon (RIM's BlackBerry 8830 was the first), and you can use the Motorola Z6c with Verizon Wireless's CDMA network while in the U.S., but once you're abroad, you're free to pop in any SIM card of your choosing to access the phone's GSM functionality. This is a huge boon to Verizon customers who wish to use their phones internationally, since GSM is much more accepted worldwide.

But you won't want … Read more

Verizon Wireless warms up to Google's Android

It's been an interesting week for America's second-largest cell phone carrier. First, Verizon Wireless announces it would support unlocked handsets and third-party applications on its CDMA network, and yesterday the company's CEO said the carrier may support Google's new Android platform. "We're planning on using Android," said Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam in an interview with Business Week. "Android is an enabler of what we do."

McAdam didn't say when, or if, Verizon would release handsets that use Android, and a Verizon spokeswoman also declined to elaborate in an e-mail. "… Read more

LG Chocolate in 'Blue Ice'

I had no idea chocolate came in so many colors. Yes, LG has once again added yet another color to its very popular LG Chocolate product line, this time in a wintry "Blue Ice." The VX8550 Chocolate already comes in Blue Mint, Black, and Black Cherry, and the Blue Ice version will have the same exact specs and features as the others--a 1.3-megapixel camera, music player, EV-DO, V Cast support, and that cool mechanical scroll wheel with the trace motion light. You can pick it up for a reduced price of $79.99 after a $50 mail-in … Read more