smartphone

MWg plans wireless charging (when products arrive)

While we're still waiting for MWg to release its first products, the Singapore company has made another announcement. This time, it isn't new smartphones, but a partnership with U.K.-based Splashpower to provide wireless charging for its future devices.

If and when this is implemented, MWg's phones will not need to be plugged in for power. Instead, a base station will allow wireless charging using electromagnetic induction. Such technology has been in the works for some time, but there's hardly any use of it in commercially available products.

Few details have been provided by MWg … Read more

AT&T wireless data outage reported

Some AT&T wireless customers in the Midwest and Southeast are having trouble accessing 3G and EDGE data services on certain handsets, the company confirmed Thursday.

Problems were reported as early as 6:30 a.m. EST, according to Mark Siegel, an AT&T spokesman. Siegel was not able to say how many subscribers have been affected or what exactly is causing the problem.

He also couldn't specify which specific handsets were having trouble accessing the data network. He would only say they were smartphone handsets. Some users on blogs and message boards have reported that the … Read more

Garmin unveils Nuvifone

Garmin makes GPS devices. Garmin makes navigation software and accessories for cell phones and smartphones. Garmin makes cell phones...wait, what? Yep, you read right. Today, the GPS manufacturer took the wraps off its first smartphone at a press event in New York: the Garmin Nuvifhone. It's a GSM/HSDPA mobile that runs on Garmin's own operating system and focuses on, no surprise, navigation. The device will come preloaded with maps of North America (or Eastern or Western Europe for all our international readers) and points of interest. In addition, it offers turn-by-turn voice directions, Google Local Search … Read more

Celio puts a notebook face on a smartphone

Here's a new twist in the ultramobile computer concept.

The Redfly Mobile Companion from Celio is a mini notebook-size device that effectively serves as a hand- and eye-friendly shell for Windows Mobile smartphones. It has a larger, relatively standard keyboard so you don't have to thumb type and an LCD screen measuring 8 inches in diameter. Connect the Redfly to the smartphone and the data going to and from the phone shows up on the larger screen instead.

You can also type e-mails or surf the Web while talking at the same time, explains CEO Kirt Bailey. Thus, … Read more

Skyfire brings desktop-quality browsing to your phone

The twice-yearly new product orgy called Demo 08 kicks off tomorrow, but we have a few previews of presenting companies we wanted to write up before the CEOs take the stage. First up: SkyFire, a browser for smartphones.

CEO Nitin Bhandari told me that his goal with Skyfire is to do "true desktop rendering," including media support, on a tiny screen.

Bhandari showed me a demo during our Skype call, and it appears that his browser does just what he intended. Displaying a sports site, Skyfire played the video and audio on it very well. The browser also … Read more

Verizon's RIM BlackBerry Pearl now in pink

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Verizon Wireless has released a pink version of the RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8130, making for a nice little mate to the silver model. We first caught wind of this blush-colored smartphone at CES 2008 when RIM, perhaps without Verizon's knowledge, showed it off at their booth, but all is rosy now. You can grab the pink Pearl starting today for $149.99 with a two-year contract and after discounts and rebates. We suspect Sprint's red BlackBerry Pearl won't be too far behind.

Research In Motion unveils BlackBerry updates

This week, Research In Motion announced that it will roll out a series of updates to its BlackBerry platform (both to the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry device software), with some big ups on the e-mail and productivity fronts.

BlackBerry OS 4.5, as it's being called, is scheduled for release during the first half of the year and includes some noteworthy features such as HTML and Rich Text e-mail support so you can see messages in original formatting and remote message search for finding e-mails, even if they've been deleted on your BlackBerry smartphone.

In addition, the … Read more

Windows Mobile 6 upgrade available for Samsung BlackJack

Attention Samsung BlackJack owners, starting today at 2 p.m., PST, you'll finally be able to get upgrade your current device to Windows Mobile 6. The update will be available as a free desktop download from Samsung's Web site and brings such enhancements as the full Microsoft Office Mobile Suite for viewing and editing documents, more robust calendaring, and support for HTML e-mail. You'll also get added capability for AT&T Video Share, the carrier's video-calling service.

You can download the Windows Mobile 6 upgrade here but again, please remember that it won't be … Read more

Scoop up e-books on the cheap

I love e-books. For years I've read them on whatever PDA or smartphone I happened to be carrying at the time. (Currently it's a Palm Centro.)

Sure, the screens are small, but you get used to that pretty quickly. For me, nothing beats the convenience of having a good book in your pocket (or clipped to your belt) everywhere you go.

eReader, one of the oldest e-booksellers, was recently acquired by another e-book veteran, Fictionwise. To celebrate, the company just dropped the prices on over 8,000 titles: Every book over $10 has been discounted up to 20 … Read more

Pretty-in-pink Palm Centro now available for Sprint

Hey ladies (and gentlemen, too, don't mean to discriminate), Sprint and Palm have just released a powder pink version of the Palm Centro smartphone if the current red and black models don't tickle your fancy. It's available starting today for the same bargain price of $99.99 with a two-year contract and after rebates and discounts, and has all the features of the original release, including Palm OS 5.4.9, EV-DO, and Bluetooth. For those of you who don't know, the Centro is Palm's smallest and lightest smartphone and really takes aim at the … Read more