Cell phones

Ballmer: Phones are like remote control for life

Updated 4:40 p.m. to note Microsoft not interested in bidding for wireless spectrum.

SAN FRANCISCO--Cell phones are so great these days that some people have started carrying two.

Well, that's not exactly true. A growing number of people do have multiple cell phones, but it's actually a failure, not a success of the industry, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said on Tuesday.

People are finding they need one phone for work and another for home, or one phone for e-mail and another for making phone calls.

"That strikes me as incredibly odd," Ballmer said in … Read more

Living up to the 'Ultimate' smartphone's name

i-Mate is not the most famous of brands when we talk about handhelds, but the Dubai-based company created quite a buzz a few months back when it introduced the Ultimate series of PDA-phones. A name like that needs to be backed up, which i-Mate did with some impressive specs for its announced 8150 and 6150 devices.

Fast-forward to today, however, and we have yet to see those smartphones on the market. And we all know that a few months in this industry is a lifetime--specs and features can get old fast. But i-Mate has introduced two more in the series … Read more

CTIA sticks out its tongue at Mossberg

As the CTIA show sets to open tomorrow, President and CEO Steve Largent fired off a brisk, and may we say somewhat catty, response to Wall Street Journal technology analyst Walt Mossberg for a column Mossberg wrote that blasted U.S. cell phone carriers. In the column called "Free my Phone," which was published yesterday, Mossberg criticized carriers for exerting too much control over the U.S. cell phone market. As Mossberg said, "[carrier control] severely limits consumer choice, stifles innovation, crushes entrepreneurship, and has made the U.S. the laughingstock of the mobile-technology world, just as … Read more

Nokia N81 released into the wild

Today, Nokia announced the global availability of its Nokia N81 multimedia computer, which also ships with a preview of the N-Gage gaming service. As you may or may not recall, the N81 is available in two versions--an 8GB model and one with a microSD expansion slot that can accept cards up to 4GB--and both are optimized for gaming and music. They are equipped with 3.5mm headphone jacks and dedicated game keys (when held in landscape position). And while the N-Gage service won't be available till later this year, the devices will come with playable demos of EA Sports' … Read more

Sound the alarms: Verizon actually releases Samsung SCH-i760

Yes, you read that right. After what seemed like ages (heck, this video shown here was taken way back at CES 2007), Verizon Wireless today officially announced the availability of the Samsung SCH-i760 smartphone.

A bigger, badder version of the Samsung BlackJack, this Windows Mobile 6 (Professional Edition) device adds a slide-out QWERTY keyboard with an external dial pad, a touch screen, and integrated Wi-Fi. If that weren't enough, it also serves up EV-DO, Verizon's V Cast services, Bluetooth with A2DP support, and a 1.3-megapixel camera.

Of course, all this goodness comes with a cost. The i760, … Read more