Smartphones

What's the only thing worse than paying that monthly AT&T bill? Paying an even higher AT&T bill, which happens when you blow through your allotted talk time and/or text messages.

That's why I'm a newfound fan of OverMyMinutes Alerter, a free app that alerts you via e-mail and/or SMS when you're getting close to your talk/text limits.

At first blush, this may seem unnecessary. After all, you can use AT&T's own MyWireless app to review your minutes and data usage, or just dial *646# to get … Read more

It doesn't matter if you are a Mac or PC user; the iPhone and iPod Touch behave similarly when plugged into a computer using the USB sync cable that Apple provides. They both cause iTunes to launch for syncing media and they initiate photo and video syncing by recognizing both devices as a digital camera. This week's tip is is about disabling the digital camera notification in Windows and Mac OS X.

Steps for Windows Vista and Windows 7

1. Connect your iPhone or iPod touch to your computer. 2. Open the Windows Control Panel. 3. Choose Hardware … Read more

Sony Ericsson is finally stepping into the Android smartphone market.

The company announced Thursday that it will launch its first Android smartphone in April in Japan. Sold through the large Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo, the Xperia X10--or SO-O1B as it will be known in Japan--will sport a 4-inch WVGA touchscreen and 8.1-megapixel camera. It will include both entertainment and social networking features.

The X10 is set for release in other regions, including the U.S., later this year.

Despite any hopes that the X10 might take advantage of the latest 2.0 version of Android, the phone will … Read more

Sony Ericsson usually sneaks in a couple of phone announcements shortly before the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC), and this year is no exception. Indeed, with Barcelona's cell phone extravaganza just three very short weeks away, the company unveiled a new multimedia handset Thursday called the Vivaz.

Though we have yet to hold the Vivaz in our hands, its slim, candy-bar design is appealing. The tapered ends give it a streamlined look, and we like the four color choices (cosmic black, moon silver, galaxy blue, and Venus ruby). Its most prominent feature is a 3.2-inch touch screen that … Read more

Apple and Nokia each control big chunks of the worldwide mobile market and are duking it out for more.

In the final quarter of 2009, Apple's iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPhone operating system reigned in markets in Western Europe, North America, Latin America, and Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, and nearby countries), according to an AdMob report (PDF) released Thursday.

Meanwhile, Nokia's mobile devices and the Symbian OS led in Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe,

AdMob sells text and banner ads to publishers on mobile platforms; as such, it tracks and measures which phones and mobile devices are used … Read more

Joining the other carriers, Alltel added the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8530 to its lineup. It's available now for $49.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate, with a one-year contract and qualifying Smart Choice Pack (rates start at $69.99 per month for unlimited data, e-mail, and Web access).

Though more of an entry-level device, the Curve 8530 offers plenty of features, including Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth, and GPS. The smartphone also has a 2-megapixel camera, 256MB Flash memory (expandable up to 32GB via the microSD/SDHC slot), dedicated media controls, and optical trackpad.

The RIM BlackBerry Curve 8530 for Alltel … Read more

Palm didn't make quite as big of a splash at CES 2010 as it did the previous year, but the company still had plenty of news to share, including the introduction of the Palm Pre Plus and the Palm Pixi Plus.

Both WebOS devices will be launching on Verizon Wireless on January 25 and bring improvements over their Sprint counterparts. The Palm Pre Plus is the more exciting of the two, offering double the memory, a more streamlined design, and a better keyboard than the original Pre. Meanwhile, the Pixi Plus didn't receive a makeover, but it did … Read more

Other than "stop the presses!" the next best thing a journalist can say is that a colleague is "on assignment." It sounds so mysterious and important and I was glad to be able to say it this week about Bonnie. Ms. Cha had to miss Dialed In this week because she's off to a Nokia press event in New York City. We don't know exactly what will happen, but Ovi should take front and center.

Without Bonnie and Skype Nicole, Jason and I managed to hold down the fort with talk of bling-worthy phones, … Read more