android 2.3 gingerbread

When U.S. Cellular picked up the Samsung Galaxy S II, it gave me a chance to lay some fresh eyes on a familiar device long after it ceased being the de facto best Android Gingerbread phone around.

I'm happy to report that it's still a terrific phone, and one with components that can stand against most of the next wave of more advanced phones, with one major and one minor sticking point. The major caveat: it won't support LTE. The minor one: it's U.S. Cellular's priciest offering, at $230 after a $100 mail-in rebate (so you're out over $300 up front).

However, if you can afford the cost, and if 4G data speeds aren't your primary concern, then you're looking at the carrier's newest flagship phone.

Check out the video, the photos, and all the pros and cons in this full review of the Samsung Galaxy S II for U.S. Cellular.… Read more

Don't let its 5.3-inch size fool you; the Samsung Galaxy Note for AT&T is no tablet.

What it is, is a very large Android 2.3 smartphone firmly rooted in the Galaxy S II family tree. Yet the Note branches off in two places: that huge screen that makes the phone awkward to hold, and the stylus--called the S-Pen--that lets you navigate, write, and doodle in all sorts of apps.

Not everyone's going to like the size; in fact, I suspect it'll be a niche group who does. And yes, some people who are … Read more

Owners of certain LG Optimus smartphones can look forward to a bite of Ice Cream Sandwich in the near future.

The mobile phone maker confirmed via its Facebook page today that it will be deploying the latest version of Android to select Optimus phones. Included in the upgrade will be the Optimus 2X, the Optimus Black, the Optimus 3D, and the Optimus LTE, all of which hit the market this past year.

LG is also examining Ice Cream Sandwich to see which of its other smartphones can run the new OS in an effort to upgrade as many users as … Read more

Samsung still isn't releasing information about the pricing or availability of the forthcoming Samsung DoubleTime, but the company did bring the phone to our CNET offices in New York for some glamor shots.

What makes this Android 2.2 Froyo handset distinct is its double-screen design. Instead of sliding out a keyboard for this text-centric phone, you flip it open like a book to read the screen on the inside. A razor-thin phone this will not be.

Check out all the specs and the 360 view in this Samsung Doubletime photo gallery.… Read more

I nearly did a double take when lifting AT&T's HTC Vivid out of its cardboard box. It's one of the first HTC phones in a long time whose form looked cheap to my eyes.

Shiny black plastic all around with just a thin metal plate on the battery cover, the handset lacks the thoughtful build quality typical of most HTC phones, and very unlike recent phones like the HTC Rhyme, the Evo Design 4G, the Amaze 4G, and so on.

Now, perhaps this isn't exactly fair. After all, I argued with myself, doesn't substance … Read more

To absolutely nobody's surprise (twice), HTC today announced the HTC Rezound for Verizon, the first U.S. smartphone to use HTC-owned Beats Audio.

Originally known as the Vigor, the Rezound is HTC's stateside answer to Europe and Asia's HTC Sensation XL with Beats Audio, which CNET got a chance to see in early October at CTIA.

The Rezound, which features the same integration with the Beats headphones as the Sensation XL, will run on Verizon's ultrafast 4G LTE network. In addition, it's packing a 4.3-inch 720p HD display, which should make mincemeat out of … Read more

Most Android smartphones sold for $100 or less are basic hardware shells that do an adequate job, but won't blow you away with their features. Not so the HTC Evo Design 4G. Sprint's fifth member of the Evo family is a slightly smaller (but hardly tiny) handset that's beautifully designed and imbued with a robust set of features, including 4G speeds and a decent front-facing camera.

The good: The HTC Evo Design 4G has an understated black-on-black design, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and two cameras, and is a world phone. It comes with 8GB of memory preinstalled.

The bad: The stubborn back cover is hard to remove and the speakerphone could be better. A dedicated hardware shutter button wouldn't go amiss.

The bottom line: The HTC Evo Design 4G gives you a lot of smartphone for the money--fast 4G speeds, a good camera, a strong processor, and a sophisticated design. It's an excellent choice for Sprint customers, except those who are specifically looking for a dual-core phone.

Watch the video, see the pictures, and read about all the pros and cons of Sprint's HTC Evo Design 4G.… Read more

Samsung is a company with a penchant for sequels, and just a few months after releasing Exhibit A, here comes Exhibit B: the Samsung Exhibit II 4G.

The specs are modest to be sure, and very similar to the original. It starts with Android 2.3 Gingerbread running behind a 3.7-inch WVGA touch screen and powered by a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. There's a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera and a front-facing VGA camera. In addition to the usual Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth support there's also T-Mobile TV and the Samsung Media Hub.

Of course, there's also … Read more

Boost Mobile has cultivated a reputation for offering slick, good-looking smartphones--which is why I'm pleasantly surprised to see the ZTE Warp enter Boost's no-contract lineup.

ZTE isn't well-known in the U.S., and definitely not for higher-end devices, but the specs are promising so far. The Android 2.3 Gingerbread ZTE Warp offers up a 4.3-inch display, a 1GHz processor, and a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash.

The screen won't be the most brilliant with its 480x800-pixel resolution, but it should serve, and in theory the 5-megapixel camera could be pretty good--it all depends on the light sensor and the camera software. It'll all become clearer in a few weeks when we can get our hands on the phone.

The ZTE Warp goes public on November 2 for $249.99 without a contract. That's $20 more than Boost's Samsung Transform Ultra, which also runs Gingerbread, and has a 3-megapixel camera, a front-facing VGA camera, and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.… Read more