smartphones

Samsung Jack coming to AT&T on May 19

Heh. I'm thinking of all the corny headlines I could use for this post, but I will spare you the cheesiness and just say that AT&T announced on Thursday the upcoming availability of its latest Windows Mobile smartphone, the Samsung Jack.

The Jack is the successor to the Samsung BlackJack II and will be in stores May 19 for a lovely price of $99.99 with a two-year contract. Like its predecessor, the Jack is a messaging-centric device, with its full QWERTY keyboard and support for multiple e-mail accounts, instant messaging, and of course, text and multimedia … Read more

Dialed In 79: Bring on the Android phones

This week, we take a break from the Palm Pre (well, almost) and talk about other happenings in the cell phone world, including new rumors of Google Android devices and the not-so-shocking news that the Garmin Nuvifone is delayed again. Also, we tackle what feels like a gazillion Samsung phones and oh boy, Kent's not too happy with Alltel. Find out why on this episode of Dialed In. Happy early birthday, Nicole!

Listen now: Download today's podcast… Read more

T-Mobile Sidekick LX 2009 available now

Just a friendly little reminder that the T-Mobile Sidekick LX 2009 is now available for purchase at T-Mobile stores nationwide and online. The new Sidekick is available in orchid or carbon and is priced at $249.99 with a two-year contract, though previous Sidekick owners get a $50 price cut. New features include a brilliant display, 3G, GPS, and Facebook and Twitter integration.

While still best for the younger crowd, we'd have to say the Sidekick LX is maturing quite nicely. For more information about the device, check out our full review of the T-Mobile Sidekick LX 2009.

Verizon puts the kibosh on BlackBerry Storm update?

Verizon Wireless might win over new subscribers with its largest 3G network claims, but the carrier could be facing some backlash from current customers, more specifically BlackBerry Storm owners, if it doesn't take some action soon.

We're, of course, talking about a firmware update for the bug-riddled Storm. While Canadian service providers, Bell and Telus, have officially signed off on BlackBerry OS version 4.7.0.113, Verizon's Storm is working off version 4.7.0.75, which was released way back in December 2008, and is still experiencing such problems as the device locking while typing … Read more

T-Mobile G2, T-Mobile G1 v2 details surface

While the Android 1.5 Cupcake update is on its way to T-Mobile G1 owners, the bigger question on some people's minds is when we're going to see a new Android device here in the United States. The HTC Magic, which was first introduced at GSMA 2009, has launched in several European countries, and Canada will get its Android devices in June, so how far behind could we be?

Well, according to the Boy Genius Report, July will be the hot month. BGR posted what it says is Wal-Mart's roadmap of upcoming mobile phones and under the … Read more

More Palm Pre launch rumors

Ugh. Another day, another Palm Pre rumor.

The latest one comes from the Boy Genius Report and adds more fuel to the fire that the Pre will launch on or around June 7. An "anonymous tipster" sent BGR an internal Palm memo that outlines a schedule of events around the Pre for employees starting on June 3 and ending with a "LAUNCH LUNCH!" on June 5 at noon.

As Engadget Mobile points out, there could be several scenarios to come out of this: 1) It could all be prep for a June 7 release, which would … Read more

Intel and Novell take aim at Android with Moblin

Google's still-nascent efforts to dominate the mobile market, already reeling from Apple's surging iPhone platform, were dealt another blow on Thursday when Intel and Novell announced that they will collaborate to promote Intel's Moblin operating system, a rival Linux distribution for mobile devices.

Whereas Google is initially targeting smartphones with Android (though an Android-based Netbook has apparently been released), Intel is targeting Moblin at Netbooks.

Additionally, Android and Moblin aren't simply two different Linux distributions, in the way that Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server are. Android and Moblin use Linux in different … Read more

Cupcake party: Android 1.5 update coming to T-Mobile G1 owners next week

Finally, the moment all T-Mobile G1 owners have been waiting for! T-Mobile announced on Wednesday that it will start rolling out the official Android 1.5 (aka "Cupcake") update to G1 users starting at the end of next week. The update will be delivered over the air in random batches over the next several weeks, and T-Mobile expects to reach all G1 customers by the end of May.

Android 1.5 will bring a number of user interface improvements, better performance, as well as new features, such as an onscreen full QWERTY keyboard, video recording and playback, and … Read more

Palm Pre headed to Canada's Bell Mobility

Oh, Canada, Palm delivered some pretty good news on Wednesday morning, announcing that it will bring the Palm Pre to the Great White North through Bell Mobility.

Bell Mobility, a CDMA carrier, will offer the Pre some time in the second half of 2009, so now, Canadians can also agonize over an exact release date just like us here in the States. You can sign up to be notified via e-mail of its availability here.

(Source: The Official Palm blog)

Nokia E52 keeps going and going

On Wednesday, Nokia introduced its latest E series device, the Nokia E52--a voice-centric smartphone that claims 8 hours of talk time and 23 days of standby time.

In addition to the impressive battery life numbers, the E52 features noise-cancellation technology to bring you better call quality and also comes with a feature called Call Connect, which allows you to hook up your corporate phone system with your mobile phone.

While the extremely thin candy-bar-style handset doesn't feature a full QWERTY keyboard, it is e-mail capable with support for Nokia Messaging, Mail for Exchange, and Lotus Notes Traveller. Other highlights … Read more