u.s. cellular

HTC Merge review: Rare CDMA world phone

In most respects, the HTC Merge for U.S. Cellular is a fairly standard Android 2.2 Froyo smartphone. It's got a decent but standard touch screen, a nice but not superlative 5-megapixel camera (with 720p HD video capture and playback, we might add,) and an unremarkable keyboard that's nevertheless sufficient.

The phone's primary point of difference lurks below the back cover, a SIM card slot that international travelers can use while taking the phone abroad. Even if you never step foot outside the continent, there are plenty of other features to keep you handy and connected. … Read more

U.S. Cellular to launch eight smartphones, two tablets by end of 2011

Sprint isn't the only one ramping up its lineup today. U.S. Cellular just announced its product road map for the remainder of the year, and it includes eight smartphones and two tablets.

Seven of the eight handsets will run Android 2.3 Gingerbread and the eighth will be the carrier's first Windows Phone 7 handset. One of the models among the group will also be U.S. Cellular's first 4G LTE smartphone, due out in November.

HTC will provide four of the devices, beginning with the Windows Phone handset due out this summer. This will be … Read more

Samsung Chrono review: It makes calls!

The Samsung Chrono may not stray much from the well-worn path tread by Samsung's flip phones before it, but we will say one thing: the phone can make calls.

Large dial pad buttons keep it simple, and a call quality so unclouded we had to ask several times to make sure our callers were still on the line is a rarity among most cell phones, period, no matter how many rabbits their software pulls out of a hat.

Of course, we wouldn't say no to a few more software tricks and to updated specs in general, but for … Read more

U.S. Cellular gets HTC Merge and LG Genesis

U.S. Cellular scored quite a coup today with the announcement of two new Android phones, the HTC Merge and the LG Genesis.

The HTC Merge is U.S. Cellular's first "global ready" smartphone, meaning it supports both CDMA and GSM chipsets for travel abroad. It has a 3.8-inch touch screen and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, plus it ships with Android 2.2 Froyo. Other features of the phone include a 5-megapixel camera, GPS, Wi-Fi, and mobile hot-spot capability. There were rumors that the Merge might head for Verizon Wireless, but it looks like U.S. Cellular beat it to the punch. The Merge ships with an 8GB microSD card.… Read more

Samsung Chrono arrives at U.S. Cellular, for a penny

U.S. Cellular gains another budget flip phone for its repertoire of entry-level feature phones. The Samsung Chrono has Bluetooth, speakerphone, and is Web-capable.

It also includes GPS and texting with predictive text. Physically, it sports a 2-inch QVGA screen and a VGA camera.

The Chrono weighs just over 3 ounces and stands 3.7 inches tall, 1.8 inches wide, and is 0.7 inch thick. It promises 4.45 hours of talk time.

The Chrono costs just a penny ($0.01) on contract, or $19.99 as a prepaid option.

U.S. Cellular announces 4G LTE plans for 2011

U.S. Cellular announced today its plans for bringing 4G LTE coverage and cell phones to more than a quarter of its customers in 2011.

The nation's sixth largest mobile operator will roll out 4G service in stages, starting with Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin.

"In addition to our line-up of cutting-edge devices, customers who switch to U.S. Cellular get unique benefits like faster phone upgrades without continuously signing contracts, and join the happiest customers in wireless," said Mary Dillon, U.S. Cellular's president and CEO, in a statement.

U.S. … Read more

Samsung Gem review: Edgy personality in a basic Froyo phone

Does it have Samsung's signature high-polish glossy body? Of course! But the Samsung Gem, an Android 2.2 Froyo smartphone for U.S. Cellular, also has some style all its own. With its swooping lines and repeated pentagonal, superhero-esque accent, it doesn't look like just any other Android phone.

We're pleased that Samsung left its custom TouchWiz interface off this model, giving us the default (some would call it "pure") Android experience.

The specs are typical for a … Read more

U.S. Cellular offering prepaid Androids

U.S. Cellular will start offering Android smartphones for its prepaid customers tomorrow, April 15. Handsets include the LG Optimus U and the LG Apex, which cost around $199.99 and $249.99 respectively. While the initial cost might be high, the monthly plans are quite affordable. U.S. Cellular prepaid customers can get 450 minutes, unlimited messaging, and 2GB of data for $60 a month, or unlimited talk and text plus 2GB of data for $70 a month.

If you would rather go without the data plan, you can opt for just the unlimited minutes and messages for $50 … Read more

U.S. Cellular picks up $30 Samsung Gem

Starting tomorrow, U.S. Cellular customers will be able to buy the Samsung Gem for $29.99, after an $80 mail-in rebate.

Granted, it's not the cost savings you get with Alltel, which offered the Gem for free in February after a $50 mail-in rebate, but that's still a good price for any smartphone.

The specs are largely the same as the Gem on Alltel. There's a 3.2-inch touch screen and 3.2-megapixel camera. However, this Gem runs Android 2.2 Froyo, instead of Android 2.1 Eclair, which means you get support for features like … Read more

U.S. Cellular updates Samsung Mesmerize, BlackBerry Curve and Bold

The long wait is at last over for U.S. Cellular customers who have been wondering when they'll see OS updates to their Samsung Mesmerize and BlackBerry Curve 9330 and Bold 9650 phones.

That's right, the carrier began rolling out Android 2.2 Froyo to the Mesmerize and Blackberry OS 6 to the Bold and Curve.

As a refresher, Froyo includes speed improvements, an updated Android Market, Flash 10.1 support, and hotspot capability (you'll need a tethering plan for this.) Blackberry OS 6 has a brand new design, plus the extremely useful universal search.