smartphone

Updated March 4, 4:08 p.m. PT: This post has been updated with information on Webcast registration.

Wednesday morning there was a bit of a Palm Pre false alarm when Sprint announced the March 15 availability of the Palm Treo Pro. The one-letter difference in the product names can be oh-so-misleading. However, I just received a very enticing e-mail in my inbox and I read it twice to be sure, but looks like we might indeed be getting some Palm Pre news soon.

On Thursday, March 12, Sprint and Palm will co-host a Webcast centered around the Pre, complete … Read more

Updated 4:24 p.m. PST with RIM's response about a March launch and more information on the app store.

BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion announced that its upcoming application storefront will officially be called BlackBerry App World. The developer site will be updated Wednesday night to make appropriate changes but will be live again by 7 p.m. PST, according to RIM. In addition, anyone interested in finding out when the store goes live can sign up for alerts on the BlackBerry App World site.

RIM opened up application submissions in January, and the store is scheduled to … Read more

First, let's just be clear that we're talking about the Palm Treo Pro, with an O and not an E, since that one letter and wishful thinking can lead one to see otherwise and incite mild hysteria (uhh, not that we know anything about that).

On Wednesday, Sprint finally confirmed the rumors and announced that it will add the Palm Treo Pro to its smartphone lineup starting March 15. The Windows Mobile 6.1 device will be available online and in retail stores on that date and will go for $199.99. That is, of course, after rebates … Read more

Given that I travel a fair bit, I'm personally interested in the evolution of the devices that we carry with us on the road.

On the one hand, I don't want to be a parody of Dilbert, carrying a bag full of gadgets that have to be charged, synchronized, and corralled. On the other hand, I'm inclined to agree with this statement from a column by travel writer Joe Brancatelli:

And where, I wonder, is my convergence machine, the one that makes calls flawlessly around the world, doubles as my music play, triples as a fully functioning … Read more

Nearly a quarter of all handsets sold in the U.S. during the fourth quarter were smartphones, according to the NPD Group, a market research firm.

A new study released on Tuesday indicates that about 23 percent of all handset sales in the U.S. during the fourth quarter of 2008 were smartphones. This was up from 12 percent of all handset sales in the fourth quarter of 2007.

But as sales soared, prices for these advanced phones dropped. In fact, the average price of a smartphone during the quarter dropped by 23 percent from $216 in the fourth quarter … Read more

Back at GSMA 2009, I spotted a mysterious Mio GPS Phone (pictured below) at the Microsoft booth but couldn't find much information on the device other than what was printed on the spec card. Well, it looks the mystery smartphone had its official coming-out party on the opening day of the CeBIT 2009.

On Tuesday, Mio Technology took the wraps off its Mio Explora K70 GPS Phone, a Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone with an integrated Qualcomm gpsOne chipset. The handset offers turn-by-turn navigation and quad-band connectivity (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) with 3.5G support (HSDPA/HSUPDA 850/… Read more

Updated at 9:35 p.m. PST with updated list of Atom Z5xx series processors.

A lot happened in the chip world Monday. Amid all the commotion, Intel announced a new line of Atom processors.

In addition to Intel's watershed deal with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to essentially co-manufacture Atom processors, Advanced Micro Devices officially split in two, and Spansion filed for bankruptcy protection.

But in case you missed it, Intel also rolled out new Atom Z5xx series processors. Four "unique" new versions in all, according to Intel. What's different about this Atom announcement is that … Read more

The largest cell phone operator in Japan said Friday that it has stopped selling Research In Motion's BlackBerry Bold because the phone overheats while the battery is being recharged.

NTT DoCoMo began selling the Bold in Japan last week. And so far it has sold about 4,000 devices. Of those devices, NTT DoCoMo says it has received complaints from about 30 users that the phone's keyboard area had heated up, Reuters reported. The company said it doesn't know of anyone getting burned from the overheating nor has it received any reports of the phone catching on … Read more

Bonnie and Kent are back from a busy week at the GSMA World Congress in Barcelona. Android news was limited to the HTC Magic, but new multimedia phones debuted from Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Nokia. On this week's Dialed In we recap all the events of the show and discuss the latest developments elsewhere in the cell phone world. And of course, we'll dish on the latest reviews and take your questions.

News GSMA wrap-up LG Versa rumors … Read more