Smartphones

I'll admit that I'm a little cranky, but I think I have every right. Almost two months ago, I posted a list of expectations that I had for Sprint's Evo 4G smartphone. At the time, I had just seen the device at CTIA 2010 in Las Vegas and I was duly impressed with its design, features, and zippy 4G speeds. And because I want spiffy phones to sell well I advised Sprint to take care with the Evo's marketing, pricing, and performance and to widen its 4G coverage as quickly as possible.

I wasn't able … Read more

AT&T looks like it is ready to be taken seriously when it comes to Android. A recent string of leaks indicate that a rather powerful Samsung handset is right around the corner, ready to battle the likes of the Droid Incredible.

The latest phone to surface, the Samsung i897 is rumored to be running Android 2.1 and powered by a Snapdragon 1GHz processor. In fact, almost every hardware detail from the i897 matches up to the Samsung Galaxy S.

Late last week, the AndroidGuys published the first "in the wild" shots of the phone, which … Read more

I've had my fun in the recent past pointing out holes in Google Voice, particularly when it comes to its humorously terrible computer-aided transcription. Yet it's high time for an anecdote that paints a more flattering portrait of Google's free call-forwarding and visual voice mail service.

Last weekend the screen on the cell phone I primarily use for personal calls inexplicably imploded, leaving behind a staticy and illegible display. To make matters worse, I was traveling, couldn't access my address book, and had complicated plans I needed to coordinate with multiple people. Luckily, I could still … Read more

One of the biggest complaints people have had about the iPhone is that if they drop it, lose it, or it gets ripped off, they're out of luck. AT&T doesn't offer any insurance programs for the iPhone like it does for other handsets; I'd wager to guess that's because the iPhone is, indeed, more expensive than the others when not subsidized.

But that appears to be changing. Boy Genius got his recently manicured hands on some evidence that on June 6, AT&T will roll out an insurance program for iPhone users. Awesome. … Read more

We've got some good news and bad news for Samsung Behold II owners. We'll start with the good first: you're getting an update to Android 1.6. The bad? You won't be getting anything beyond Android 1.6.

Samsung dropped the bomb late Thursday evening via its Twitter account, and its official statement reads:

Samsung Mobile and T-Mobile USA are planning to update the Behold II to Android 1.6 which provides access to Google Maps Navigation, Google Voice Search capability and quick search box for Android.

The update will also supply additional benefits including Swype, … Read more

Acer has officially announced its next Android smartphone on Thursday, the Acer Stream.

The handset maker bills it as the "Perfect Entertainment Machine" and the Acer Stream certainly has the the hardware to back up that claim. It features include a 3.7-inch AMOLED display and a 5 megapixel camera capable of recording 720p HD video. The inclusion of an HDMI output port makes watching videos on large screens a breeze and the 1GHz Snapdragon processor keeps things humming along.

While some of the Stream's features resemble those of the HTC Evo 4G and Droid Incredible, to … Read more

Remember the fracas when Google launched Google Buzz this past February?

We described the desktop manifestation of Google's then-new social networking as a privacy nightmare that was aggravating to disable, and the mobile version of Google Buzz as a confusing service lacking in unity--though one that does have some use to social butterflies, especially those using Google Maps for mobile (video).

Since then, Google has changed some of its ways and continues to push Google Buzz as a social tool. On Thursday, Google announced a new version of Buzz online (buzz.google.com) that's written in XHTML and … Read more

Android owners who use the IM and VoiP app Fring on their smartphones will now be able to place two-way video calls like their iPhone and Symbian S60 counterparts.

A Thursday update to Fring for Android 2.1 adds free video chatting as a method for reaching out. You'll recognize it by the blue icon of a camcorder now sitting alongside a chat bubble and telephone image when you tap a contact's name to initiate a conversation. As far as we know, this is a first for Android telephony.

Of course, there are a handful of caveats any … Read more

Rumors are swirling this week that AT&T and HTC are gearing up to announce an Android 2.1 device called the Aria.

The smartphone may be the one that was outed by the FCC in late April, but there is still very little known about the phone other than it will run the HTC Sense UI.

However, of all the days for the carrier to announce a new phone, I'd recommend against its rumored launch date of June 7 as that is the day Apple takes the stage at its Worldwide Developers Conference. Anything AT&T … Read more