Smartphones

Back in January when the Nexus One was unveiled, we got our first glimpse at Google Earth for Android. When the Nexus One officially shipped, I was surprised to learn that the application wasn't loaded on the phone. In fact, there wasn't even a mention of it after the unveiling. I assumed it would arrive at some point on either Android 1.6 or later.

Now it's more than a month later and Google finally snuck Google Earth into the Android Marketplace yesterday.

On paper, the Google Earth app sounds fantastic. Not only does it feature the … Read more

Global sales of mobile phones dipped slightly in 2009 overall but did stage a fourth-quarter recovery, according to new figures from Gartner.

Last year, consumers worldwide bought 1.21 billion cell phones, a 0.9 percent decline from the prior year. However, a surge in smartphones from the likes of Apple and Research In Motion and in low-end devices boosted fourth-quarter sales to 340 million units, an 8.3 percent gain over the fourth quarter of 2008, the market researcher said Tuesday.

Selling prices also took a hit last year. Intense competition forced cell phone manufacturers to keep prices low, … Read more

Despite returning to a dreary, cold day here in New York, it's nice be back home here in the States. It's hard to believe that only a week ago Mobile World Congress 2010 was just kicking off in Barcelona, Spain--all of us eager to see what news and products would be unveiled at the world's premier cell phone show.

Despite some logistical nightmares, MWC 2010 certainly didn't disappoint. Interestingly, it wasn't so much the new handsets that made headlines this year (in fact, several cell phone manufacturers, including Nokia and LG, didn't even have booths), but rather, it was the software that stole the show.

If you think about it, this makes sense. We're getting to a point where it's getting harder for companies to differentiate themselves by hardware. Most smartphones these days all have a full range of wireless options, touch screens, 3.5mm headphone jacks, and next-generation processors. So how do you get a leg up on the competition? By offering better software and mobile content options. … Read more

I find all of this talk about Apple helping publishers by charging more than Amazon for e-books amusing. Sure, the larger iPad may be more suitable for reading e-books than the iPhone or iPod Touch, but if you follow the e-book market in Apple's App Store, you know that outside a few Bible apps only a handful of the "top paid" apps in the book category cost more than a couple of bucks--and most sell for 99 cents. Moreover, if you look at the top-50 paid apps overall, I count only 16 that cost more than 99 … Read more

The U.S. men's hockey team still has a long way to go before they reach Olympic gold in Vancouver, but last night's 5-3 victory over Canada takes them a step closer to their goal. In other words, Jeff has never been more proud to be an American hockey fan, and be sure to catch today's Calls From The Public to hear me attempt to define a power play in less than 10,000 words. And in unrelated news, if you thought our studio was overrun with equipment before, wait until you see what Wilson did to it over the weekend!

Today's episode of The 404 Podcast needs a youthful street team, since they can apparently be bought with string cheese and fizzy drinks. In the United Kingdom, large corporations including the makers of Fanta and Cheesestrings are hiring "brand ambassadors" to evangelize their products on popular social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Bebo. The job comes with a pretty decent wage, as well, with many pre-adolescents getting paid in money-off vouchers worth ~$40 per week in addition to free samples of said products.

Next up we've got another story about kids, this one coming from a school in Philadelphia that spied on students using their own Web cams and remote software pre-installed on loaner laptops. The students became suspicious of this breach in privacy after an administrator confronted a kid about his "improper behavior in the home," and even showed him a picture taken using his MacBook Web cam. Other students have also corroborated this story, telling reporters at Gizmodo that they would notice the camera light on their MacBooks turning on at home, which the school district claimed was "just a glitch." Tune in to hear the full story in all its shady glory.

If you've ever struggled with acne,a new iPhone app called AcneApp promises to "zap wrinkles and acne" away while you chat on your smartphone. Dr. Greg Pearson from Houston, TX claims that the app uses 420 nanometer blue light and 550 nanometer red light to kill bacteria and promote collagen growth to eliminate wrinkles and unslightly pimples on the face. Understandably, some dermatologists are skeptic about AcneApp, citing third party studies that show the red and blue lights require several dozen treatments throughout the day before seeing actual results. In other words, it'll be awhile before we start to see people other than Wilson rubbing up on their iPhones, so don't go out and waste your $1.99 on this app just yet.

You cannot always answer your phone every time it rings, right? You might be in a meeting, paying for merchandise, pumping gas, or engaged in a conversation over coffee with a friend. Of course, all of these are just a short list of the many excuses you might have for not answering your phone. This week's tip will teach you two ways to control the way you answer incoming calls on your iPhone.

Send callers directly to voice mail

Press the power button, on the top of your iPhone, twice during an incoming call and the caller is sent … Read more

As at many a convention, press conferences are a staple of Mobile World Congress (MWC). Tens of companies have them, but Samsung, Nokia, Microsoft and Sony Ericsson tend to make the biggest push. And now that I've been to three shows in Barcelona, I have to lodge a couple of complaints. I don't think I'm being overly fussy here--really, I'm actually pretty easy to please (see last paragraph)--but I do have some advice for my friends in Korea, Finland, and London.

I may be in the minority here, but I'm at a press event … Read more

As we told you a few days ago, LG played it cool at Mobile World Congress. Rather than operate a booth on the show floor, it just held an "Open House" event in the sleek Mies van der Rohe Pavillion adjacent to the Fira de Barcelona. The Google Android-powered LG GT540 was the star attraction and I snapped some photos for your perusal. I wanted to get video of the smartphone as well, but CNET's TV's Ariel Nunez was off chasing HTC with Bonnie Cha so I pulled out my admittedly dated Kodak V570 (my other … Read more

Correction: The number of Sprint WiMax markets is now 27.

Sprint is denying that one of its execs told Forbes this week that the carrier will introduce WiMax phones by the summer. According to spokeswoman Michelle Mermelstein, Sprint will keep its earlier promise to deliver WiMax devices by the end of the year, but she would not set a specific time frame.

Even as AT&T and Verizon Wireless pursue LTE for their 4G networks, Sprint and its partners have planted their flag firmly in the WiMax camp. After annnouncing the 4G network in 2006, the carrier chose Baltimore … Read more