smartphone

The HTC Mogul is about to get fast...real fast. Today, Sprint released a software upgrade that brings an EV-DO Rev. A upgrade to the Windows Mobile smartphone, making it the first such handset in the United States. EV-DO Rev. A is an evolution of EV-DO which boosts download speeds from the 400Kbps-to-700Kbps range to 600Kbps-to-1.4Mbps range, while upload speeds will average about 350Kpbs to 500Kpbs (compared with EV-DO's 50Kpbs to 70Kbps). In short, you're going to get faster Web browsing, e-mail, and downloads--that is, if you're lucky enough to live in a coverage area.

According … Read more

I'm all tingly: Cell phone store Wirefly is offering the Palm Centro smartphone for free with a two-year Sprint service plan. Normally, the Centro runs $99.99 after a mail-in rebate; this deal requires no rebate and even includes free shipping. Hence the tingling.

I won't go into major detail about the Centro, as I've already written a fairly exhaustive review. What I'll add is that after several months of ownership, I'm very happy with it. It does flake out at times, to the point where I have to yank the battery to reset the … Read more

Research in Motion is merging social networking with music on its Blackberry smartphones in the hopes of attracting more consumers.

This week the company announced that it is partnering with pop artist Will.i.am by making his Dipdive online community and content available to Blackberry users. Will.i.am is a founding member of the group Black Eyed Peas and his "Yes We Can" Barack Obama video has been a huge hit on YouTube.

Research in Motion dominates the business smartphone market. And business users make up roughly two-thirds of its 12 million Blackberry customers. But the … Read more

It looks like a new ultra-mobile PC brand will soon be coming to Asia. When CNET Asia spoke to Singapore-headquartered MWg (formerly O2 Asia) during the Atom V launch in the island state yesterday, Vice President Sanjay Sabnini revealed in an aside to us that the company plans to bring in more "IT-connected devices" before the end of this year. Three to six products are expected to be unveiled, among them PDA-phones, smart phones and, yes, UMPCs.

It's been awhile since we've seen a new smartphone coming out of O2, so it'll be interesting to … Read more

If the spare contents of your wallet dictate your dining destination, you'll want to know of this reprieve. Cellfire (hands-on review), offers coupon deals with more than 10,000 local U.S. restaurants and services, and chains. With custom-built applications for BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Symbian, the RAZR, and Nokia phones, Cellfire has rounded the smartphone bases. A WAP site--www.cellfire.com--that works with iPhone and other Internet-enabled devices brings the app home.

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What do you want in a mobile computer?

How much performance do you want to give up for longer battery life? Would you buy a clunky mobile computer that can run anything you throw at it? If you're the envy of the digerati when you walk down the street with your new phone, but you can't use it to make reservations at Nobu, are you still cool?

Chipmakers are struggling with these questions as well as how to adjust their recipes for the future of mobile computing. It's not so much the about chips themselves, but how … Read more

As expected, today AT&T announced the addition of the Palm Centro to its lineup of smartphones. Unlike the Sprint's red and black models, AT&T's version comes in white and features lime green buttons. And while it carries the same affordable $99 price tag (with a two-year contract and after rebates and discounts), you do lose the 3G speeds and have to settle for ho-hum EDGE. However, it does support the carrier's push-to-talk service and AT&T Music. Otherwise, the GSM version of the petite Palm smartphone is very much like its CDMA … Read more

I just got back from a winter-camping weekend with some buddies, where the greatest shock was not how many of them snore like chainsaws, but how few of them knew about AmazonMP3. Clearly I've been remiss in my Cheapskate duties!

For others unfamiliar with it, AmazonMP3 sells DRM-free MP3s for 89-99 cents apiece; most albums sell for $9.99 or less. The key phrase here is DRM-free: Songs purchased from the service (which currently boasts about 3 million tracks) have no copy protection whatsoever, meaning they'll work with any gadget that plays MP3s: iPods, Zunes, smartphones, Creative Zens, … Read more

Good news for Sprint business customers who want a world-roaming smartphone but don't want the RIM BlackBerry 8830 World Edition. Today, the carrier introduced the Samsung Ace, a Samsung BlackJack lookalike, that offers dual-mode CDMA/GSM functionality so you can use your smartphone internationally. This means that the Ace will use Sprint's CDMA network for all domestic calls, and then you can use the included SIM card to make calls on GSM networks abroad. In addition, the SIM is unlocked so you're not restricted to the one packaged with the smartphone. That means travelers can buy a … Read more