smartphones

Twenty-four hours after teasing us with news of a major product announcement, Nokia officially took the wraps off its mystery smartphone on Tuesday at the Nokia World 2008 conference in Barcelona, Spain. And despite some close guesses, no one got it quite right, so without further ado, let us introduce you to the Nokia N97.

Part of the company's high-end N series of multimedia computers, the N97 trumps all previous models with a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard and a tilting 3.5-inch touch screen (anyone else reminded of the AT&T Tilt or Sony Ericsson Xperia X1?). Yes, there's the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet, but the N97 includes phone capabilities and is designed for the "needs of Internet-savvy consumers."

For example, the smartphone provides easy access to a number of social-networking sites, and the Web browser supports streaming Flash videos. The N97 also introduces something Nokia calls "social location," which uses the capabilities of the integrated A-GPS sensors and electronic compass to automatically update users' social networks, or let them share their location via photos or videos with friends.

The Home screen can be personalized with widgets of favorite Web and social-networking sites. Finally, the N97 is fully compatible with Nokia's Ovi Internet services, which include the Nokia Music Store, Nokia Maps, and the N-Gage gaming platform--though these services have yet to fully launch in the United States.

The Symbian-based smartphone also features a music and video player, a 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, and a whopping 32GB of onboard memory that can be expanded with a 16GB microSD card.

The quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) world phone is HSDPA-capable handset, but it currently supports only the 900/1900/2100MHz bands (AT&T's 3G network runs on 850/1900MHz, while T-Mobile runs on 1700/2100MHz). There is integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, however. … Read more

OK Crave readers, I need your help. The CNET Prizefight ring is setting up for a few final battles before the end of 2008, and one contender just waiting for its chance in the spotlight is the RIM BlackBerry Bold. Now usually, the editors make the decision about which two devices to compare, but frankly, I'm having trouble choosing the right competitor. I've got some ideas, but thought it would be nice to get your feedback as well.

I've already received a lot of reader e-mails wondering how the Bold stacks up to the iPhone 3G. However, … Read more

In the tech world, it's rare that a new product remains a complete secret from the prying eyes of gadget enthusiasts and bloggers, but somehow Nokia has done it. On Tuesday, in conjunction with the Nokia World 2008 Conference in Barcelona, Spain, the Finnish cell phone manufacturer will reveal a new device, and it's a complete mystery.

According to Robert Scoble, Nokia executives have been bragging that "the Internet has no clue" what it's about to announce, and that all guesses, including a new touch-screen cell phone (Engadget Mobile thinks it could possibly be a … Read more

Verizon Wireless is giving its customers a bit of an early holiday gift by cutting the price on the Samsung Omnia, which debuted less than a week ago. Originally priced at $249.99, you can now get the touch-screen Windows Mobile smartphone for $199.99 with a two-year contract and after a mail-in rebate.

Unfortunately, this drop comes a bit late for anyone who already ordered the Omnia online, but since the device won't hit stores till December 8, you'll save yourself 50 smackers. For more information on the smartphone, check out our full review of the Samsung Omnia.… Read more

Samsung and wireless technology provider InterDigital have reached a settlement in their long-running patent dispute involving 3G and 2G technologies, InterDigital announced Monday.

Under the agreement, Samsung will receive a royalty-bearing license to cover all of its 3G products through 2012. The agreement, which also resolves a dispute over Samsung's royalty obligations for its 2G sales, will also include products built on WCDMA and cdma2000 standards and related extensions.

The parties did not disclose the terms of the agreement, however, a report in the Wall Street Journal cites a telecom analyst who puts a value of $400 million to $… Read more

Well, Verizon Wireless is certainly kicking off the holiday season with a bang. In just the past couple of weeks, we've seen the release of the RIM BlackBerry Storm, the Samsung Saga, the HTC Touch Pro, and now, the Samsung Omnia.

The Samsung Omnia will cost $249.99 with a two-year contract and will be available online and through business channels first starting November 26. The Windows Mobile smartphone will then make its way to stores on December 8.

Verizon's Omnia offers a lot of the same great features as the unlocked GSM version, which we reviewed in … Read more

OK, we hate to be teases, but heck, why not? The holidays are just a couple of days away, and we're feeling a little frisky.

On Tuesday morning, a new smartphone is set to debut, and we've had a couple of weeks to check out the device. Unfortunately, we can't say much since we're bound by secrecy by the manufacturer and carrier. However, if you check back on Crave and CNET on Tuesday morning at 6 a.m. PST/9 a.m. EST, you'll get all the details, including a full review and photo gallery. … Read more

On Monday, T-Mobile set free the white version of the T-Mobile G1, joining the previously released black and bronze models. The white G1 will cost the same as the others at $179.99 with a two-year contract and is available online and in stores.

According to Silicon Alley Insider and DigiTimes, HTC, the manufacturer of the first Google Android smartphone, expects to ship 1 million G1s by the end of 2008, which is 67 percent more than its original estimate of 600,000. It's unclear how the sales break down in terms of region and demographics, but it's … Read more

Without much fanfare, the HTC Touch Pro popped up on the Verizon Wireless Web site on Monday, complete with specs and pricing. The Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone is available for purchase online and through telephone sales now and in stores on December 1 for a pricey $349.99 with a two-year contract and after a mail-in rebate.

Verizon's version of the Touch Pro costs about $50 more than the Sprint model and AT&T's HTC Fuze, but offers many of the same features including a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, and a 3.2-megapixel … Read more