Verizon HTC Thunderbolt 4G Review
It’s time to review the very first smartphone on Verizon’s new LTE 4G network, and we haven’t seen this much hype for a phone (outside the iPhone, that is) for a very long time. We’ve been waiting for this phone to come out for a good 4 years; we are, of course, talking about the [...]
HTC Scribe Hands-on and First Impressions at CTIA 2011
“Wait – a tablet is coming out with a stylus? In 2011?” I asked myself that question upon hearing the announcement of the HTC Flyer, an Android Gingerbread-powered 7” tablet at MWC 2011 last month. I couldn’t bring myself to accept the idea that HTC actually expected anyone to use a pen this decade, but [...]
The Worst of CTIA Spring 2011: 4 Losers Below the Rest
Earlier I covered the best of CTIA Wireless Spring 2011, and where there are winners, there must be losers. Today let’s discuss the companies that definitely did not bring their A-game to this week’s show. 1. AT&T/T-Mobile Merger This was the big elephant in the room for the entire show, so let’s get it out [...]
Solar-Powered Screens May Soon Charge our Phones
Until this week, French startup Wysips was not well known to the general public. They sure made their mark at this year’s CTIA Spring show by showing up to one of the show’s big press events with a very intriguing prototype in hand. Wysips has found a way to shrink a solar panel into a [...]
ZTE Style S and a 10-inch LTE Honeycomb tablet headed to the US in the second half of the year
Back in February at Mobile World Congress, ZTE showed the first signs that it is willing to push more products to Western markets, when it unveiled a couple of smartphones, among which the high-end Skate stood out. This was a 4.3-incher running Android, and having an (arguably mid-tier by now) 800 MHz processor. In the [...]
Kyocera Releases Developer Kit for Echo’s Dual-Touchscreen Tablet
In my earlier post about the dual-touchscreen nature of the Kyocera Echo, I mentioned that the opportunity was strong for developers interested in taking advantage of both screens. I think it could be very innovative to see what developers can come up with, and see how it can benefit our lives. Fortunately, yesterday Kyocera formally [...]
Checking Out the HTC Merge, Hands-on at CTIA 2011
We just heard yesterday that Alltel is beginning pre-orders for the HTC Merge starting on March 28, and Verizon is twiddling its thumbs trying to decide if it wants to launch it or not. But either way, this horizontal QWERTY slider has been talked about for months and months. Finally I got the opportunity to [...]
Jabra Announces New FREEWAY Speakerphone at CTIA 2011
I currently use a Jabra Cruiser as the bluetooth speakerphone in my car because it includes an FM transmitter so I can talk on the phone and listen to music in my car directly through my car stereo. However, the speakerphone itself is pretty quiet so I have no choice but to use it for [...]
AT&T HD7S Shows its Face at CTIA 2011
Unlike a couple other devices we saw last night from AT&T that weren’t actually the official AT&T versions, we got a chance to play with the HTC HD7S Windows Phone 7 device that really was AT&T-branded. It’s pretty much what you would expect: an HD7 WP7 phone with a few tweaks geared toward AT&T, and [...]
Going Hands-on With the HTC Flyer WiFi, Coming to Best Buy Mobile
Best Buy Mobile made an appearance at CTIA yesterday, and they had a treat to show off: the WiFi-only HTC Flyer. Best Buy will be the exclusive launch partner of the device in the US, and other versions will likely follow soon after, such as the HTC EVO View 4G. HTC is also working to [...]
T-Mobile 4G Mobile Hotspot and Rocket 3.0 Hands-on at CTIA 2011
On Tuesday morning T-Mobile announced two new data-only devices to go along with its announcement of the network’s push to get 42 Mbps up and running: the T-Mobile 4G MiFi mobile hotspot, and the Rocket 3.0 USB stick. The Rocket 3.0 will be capable of reaching max theoretical speeds of 42 Mbps in those particular [...]
AT&T Acer Iconia A501 Hands-on at CTIA 2011
Earlier yesterday AT&T announced the upcoming availability of the Acer Iconia A501 (codenamed Picasso, according to an AT&T rep showing off the tablet to me), a 10-inch Android 3.0 tablet with 4G capability. I was able to hunt down the elusive Iconia A501 and get some hands-on time with it. The firmware will launch with [...]
Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 Hands-On at CTIA 2011 (video)
The Galaxy Tab 8.9 was the worst-kept secret of CTIA 2011. Then again, it’s not like Samsung really tried that hard to keep it one; the teaser site made it clear enough that another Tab was in the plans for the US, one that was in between the 7-inch and 10.1-inch versions. Samsung is trying [...]
T-Mobile Sidekick 4G Hands-on at CTIA 2011
I’ll admit, I’ve never been the biggest Sidekick lover. It’s not that I’ve ever had any problems with the phone; it’s just not my style. The Sidekick lineup has always been very consistent in its look and feel, with the full QWERTY keyboard for messaging and the flip-twist type sliding mechanism that was quite trendy [...]
T-Mobile G2X Hands-on at CTIA 2011
Having a sliver of time in between press conferences today, I managed to swing by the LG booth and get a few minutes of one-on-one time with the T-Mobile G2X, an LG phone that is known globally as the LG Optimus 2X. The T-Mobile version is basically a pure vanilla Froyo experience with a little [...]
Verizon CEO Mead: We’re Not Interested in Buying Sprint
Over the last 48 hours we’ve seen and heard a lot of talk about the proposed AT&T acquisition of T-Mobile, which has given cause to worry about what may happen with Sprint, another national US carrier that has had a recent history of struggling not only financially but with the number of subscribers as well. [...]
Blackberry Playbook Now Ready for Pre-Order, Price Starts at $499
Sometimes a company just needs a trade show to get motivation to launch a product, it seems. Research in Motion’s tablet, the Blackberry Playbook, is now finally available to be pre-ordered. The Playbook will officially go on sale beginning April 19. This is a little later than the March timeline originally set by the company, [...]
T-Mobile G-Slate Priced at $529.99 With Contract
So we were really, really hoping that the Motorola Xoom’s pricing scheme would be the exception for Honeycomb tablets rather than the rule. As we hear more information about T-Mobile’s answer, the G-Slate, we’re starting to realize that this may well be a standard for Honeycomb. T-Mobile dropped a few more pieces of information about [...]
T-Mobile Introduces the G2X at CTIA 2011, its Version of the Optimus 2X
When we first laid eyes on the LG Optimus 2X at CES 2011 in January, there were no plans for the phone in North America. It certainly didn’t take long for T-Mobile to be convinced and pick it up. Now at CTIA 2011, T-Mobile just announced the Optimus 2X, rebranded as the G2X. T-Mobile is [...]
Verizon-Branded Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Seen at CTIA 2011, We Go Hands-on (Video)
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is nothing new on the trade-show floor, but a Verizon-branded version of it is. We caught some footage and pics of the Xperia Play and had some good play time with the device here at CTIA 2011. We found the Xperia Play to be running on Android 2.3 Gingerbread; specifically, [...]