Smartphones

Nokia World 2009 began on Wednesday in Stuttgart, Germany, and to kick things off, the Finnish cell phone manufacturer introduced several new handsets, including the Nokia N97 mini.

As the little brother to the Nokia N97, the smartphone actually isn't all that much smaller than the N97. The mini measures 4.4 inches tall by 2 inches wide by 0.5 inch thick (compared to the N97's 4.6 inches by 2.1 inches by 0.6 inch) and features a 3.2-inch tilting touch screen. It still offers a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard sans the directional keypad, … Read more

Joining T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless, Alltel announced on Tuesday that it is now offering the HTC Snap for $79.99 with a one-year contract and after a $70 mail-in rebate.

The Windows Mobile 6.1 device is geared for messaging fanatics with its full QWERTY keyboard and we're happy to see that HTC's Inner Circle feature is included in this model, which lets you prioritize e-mails with a press of a button. In addition, the Snap offers world-roaming capabilities, EV-DO Rev. A support, Bluetooth, and a 2-megapixel camera.

While Verizon offers the HTC Ozone, the Snap is … Read more

Dell has already said the smartphone it recently unveiled in China may not be the final product and was just meant to show the company's intention to enter the market. Well, that hasn't stopped Chinese site Sina.com from snapping a ton of photos.

In these newer and clearer shots, we see exactly how the Mini 3i sizes up against the Apple iPhone. The phone interface is also more apparent and you can tell how the OPhone interface differs from the vanilla Android operating system on which it is based. Once again, there's no indication from Dell … Read more

Start saving your pennies, Sprint customers. The carrier announced on Monday that it will finally release the HTC Touch Pro2 on September 8 through its Web site and telesales, but like the T-Mobile model, it'll cost you a hefty $349.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 rebate.

The Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone does offer a couple of advantages over the carrier's other smartphones, however, including the Palm Pre and RIM BlackBerry Tour. For one thing, it has world-roaming capabilities in addition to a brilliant 3.6-inch, WVGA, tilting touch screen.

Plus, the Touch Pro2 … Read more

Verizon Wireless is offering a buy-one, get-one-free deal on its BlackBerry selection and has lowered the price of the RIM BlackBerry Storm even further to $49.99 (with a two-year contract and an instant rebate).

This is the second price drop for the Storm (first was from $199.99 to $149.99), leading many to believe that the carrier is clearing out inventory to make room for the RIM BlackBerry Storm 2. While RIM has confirmed only that it is working on the device, it has not commented on a release date, pricing, or final specs.

Rumor has it, however, … Read more

The WebOS Internals crew on Friday released a virtual keyboard patch for the Palm Pre.

Now, with the homebrew patch installed (homebrew apps are developed and distributed through third-party sources, not Palm or through the official App Catalog), Pre users can type without opening the slider keyboard.

Having an onscreen keyboard is a godsend for browsing the Web in landscape mode. Instead of rotating the phone and using the built-in keyboard, users can now just double-tap the gesture area and type away--without all the twisting, sliding, and pressing.

The patch modifies the operation of the onscreen keyboard that WebOS uses to insert symbols … Read more

Passionate cell phone geeks know that the Federal Communications Commission holds a treasure trove of information on upcoming handsets. This week the highlights are the Nokia 3710 and the Samsung SCH-M720.

Because the FCC has to certify every phone sold in the United States, not to mention test its SAR rating, the agency's online database offers a lot of sneak peeks to those who dig. And to save you the trouble, Crave has combed through the database for you. Here are a selection of filings from the past week on new and upcoming cell phones. Click through to read … Read more

The hot trend of 2009 has to be augmented reality, particularly with all the impressive tech demos and futuristic games currently in development across the world.

On the iPhone in particular, several companies have promised Twittering, search, and other navigation using layers of real-time data overlaid onto live video from the iPhone's camera. Imagine a heads-up display on reality itself, and that's what augmented reality is promising.

Apple has been onboard with these developments, promising that the upcoming OS 3.1 will provide full compatibility for AR apps. But it turns out we don't need to wait … Read more

Another day, another cell phone study from J.D. Power and Associates. This time, it's not customer service--T-Mobile, Alltel, and Verizon Wireless tied for that honor earlier this month--but a survey of the all-important call quality.

Just like last year, Verizon was the overall winner this time around. The carrier ranked highest in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Southwest regions. According to the study, Verizon had particular success with limiting dropped calls, failed initial connections, and late or failed text and voice messages.

In the Western region, Verizon tied with Alltel and T-Mobile (in its press release, Verizon … Read more