News Blog

RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8220

(Credit: RIM)

While the fall CTIA show isn't really known for handset announcements, Research in Motion paid no mind and started the show off with a bang by introducing the RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 on Tuesday night. While much of the attention has turned to the rumored BlackBerry Thunder as of late, the Pearl Flip 8220 shouldn't be forgotten, as it's the first BlackBerry to sport a clamshell design.

The flip phone, which comes in black or red, measures 3.9-inches high by 1.9-inches wide by 0.6-inch deep and weighs 3.5 ounces. It features a 65,536-color, 128x160 pixel external display and front-facing 2-megapixel camera, while you get a 65,536-color, 240x320-pixel TFT display on the inside. As part of the Pearl series, you get the SureType keyboard (groan) and trackball navigator. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 also comes equipped with a 3.5mm headphone jack and an external microSD expansion slot.

Moving onto features, the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; GPRS/EDGE) Pearl Flip 8220 offers true world roaming, a speakerphone, smart dialing, and background-noise cancellation. Wireless options include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support. There's no GPS, but the BlackBerry Maps application is onboard to at least provide you with maps and text-based directions.

Supported e-mail solutions include BlackBerry Enterprise, Microsoft Exchange, IMB Lotus, Novell GroupWise as well as POP3 and IMAP4 accounts. There's also an attachment viewer for Word, Excel, PowerPoint files, PDFs, and JPG images.

(Credit: RIM)

When you're done working, you can enjoy MP3, WMA, AAC, MPEG4, WMV, and other music and video formats with the built-in media player. In addition, the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 has a 2-megapixel camera with flash and video-recording capabilities.

In all, there aren't a whole lot of surprises, as the smartphone keeps very much in line with the RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8120. Research in Motion was a little vague as to release date, but it will be offered by carriers worldwide sometime this fall and the company did confirm that T-Mobile will be one of the U.S. carriers. No word on pricing.

Now, here's the question: Will the flip-phone form factor work for BlackBerry? There's only been a handful of smartphones to come in the clamshell design, such as the Pantech PN-820, but they never seem to really take off. Will the RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 be any different?

While the official announcement wasn't supposed to cross the wires till next week, The Wall Street Journal went early with its story (please don't get me started on this) and published a review of the HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint.

Yes, that's right. The Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone is officially part of the Sprint family; not that it was a complete surprise. The HTC Touch Diamond, as well as the HTC Touch Pro (no announcement on this model yet), were long rumored for a CDMA carrier months before Wednesday's early coming-out party. So now that the floodgates are open, here is what we know.

Word's out on the HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint.

(Credit: Sprint)

There are a number of differences between the Sprint HTC Touch Diamond and the unlocked version we reviewed in late June. First, it sports a purple/burgundy backplate to add more flash to an already sexy phone. The smartphone is also a smidge thicker and heavier at 4 inches tall by 2 inches wide by 0.6 inch deep and 4.1 ounces, but keeps the same 2.8-inch, 262,000-color TFT touch screen.

Of course, one of the highlights of the HTC Touch Diamond is the TouchFLO 3D interface, which provides a toolbar along the bottom of the screen where you can move left to right with the swipe of your finger to launch applications. Sprint's version is optimized so that you can access things like live TV, weather, e-mail, photos, contacts, and more.

In addition to the toolbar, there are several programs, such as e-mail, the camera, and music, where you can go flip through your files and messages by swiping your thumb/finger up or down the screen with a cool animated 3D effect.

Moving on to the features, the HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition, but rather than being content with the standard Microsoft Office Mobile Suite, the smartphone also ships with Dataviz's Documents to Go Suite and the Opera Web browser. We're sure many will be pleased with inclusion of these applications, which are arguably more robust than the former. Wireless options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (with A2DP support), EV-DO Rev. A, and GPS with support for Sprint Navigation.

It's so hard to keep a good secret these days. Just ask T-Mobile. Word of its new Sidekick model, code-named Gekko, got out months ago and was all but confirmed about a week ago when the ruthless blogosphere got hold of some internal T-Mobile documents about the upcoming model.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)

Well, today, the wraps were officially taken off the new model. Simply called the T-Mobile Sidekick (more on this new, puzzling naming scheme below), it's the first Sidekick to debut since device manufacturer Danger was acquired by Microsoft.

The Sidekick isn't a revolutionary, new product, but we think there's enough there to attract the young, hip messaging fanatics. The big highlight is the new level of personalization, as you can add your own graphics, images, and designs to the outer shell for a one-of-a-kind model. You can read all about this as well as the handheld's other features and performance in our full review. The T-Mobile Sidekick is available in select stores and online today for $149.99 with a two-year contract and after discounts and rebates.

Finally, for those of you who are curious about why T-Mobile has reverted to simply calling the handheld Sidekick, here's the official statement from the carrier: "The T-Mobile Sidekick family is going to have two lines of devices, the T-Mobile Sidekick and the T-Mobile Sidekick LX. Both Sidekick lines will have their own unique set of features so that consumers can choose the one that best fits their lifestyle. The T-Mobile Sidekick will focus on personalization at an affordable price while the T-Mobile Sidekick LX will be a little higher-end and have more of a 'luxury' emphasis; it will also likely include future limited edition models."

Alcatel-Lucent's CEO and chairman are stepping aside as the company continues to face big losses and increased competition from Asian suppliers.

The telecommunications equipment giant said Tuesday that CEO Patricia Russo and Chairman Serge Tchuruk will leave later this year. Russo will finish out the year as she helps the company look for a new CEO, and Tchuruk, who helped architect the mega-merger between Lucent Technologies and Alcatel, will leave October 1.

The company said the two executives had stepped down on their own accord. It is a move, however, that shareholders have urged for months.

And who could blame them. Since the combined Alcatel-Lucent started operating as a single company in December 2006, it has lost more than half its value. It has faced six consecutive quarters of losses and has shed critical market share in several telecom equipment categories.

Executives sold the merger to investors two years ago as a great way to cut costs and compete more effectively with emerging rivals in Asia. But the reality has been much different. Combining any two large companies rarely goes smoothly. But the task of combining the U.S.-based Lucent and France-based Alcatel was further complicated by cultural differences between the two companies, which analysts say remain unresolved.

As the company tried to combine forces despite the hurdles, its competitors rallied and began stealing customers. In addition to facing competition from the usual players, such as Ericsson, Nortel Networks, and Nokia Siemens, the company also faced increasing competition from new players like Chinese rivals ZTE and Huawei.

These competitive forces, combined with the company's inability to make decisions quickly enough or to retain key executives, have fueled major losses. The company has issued profit warning after profit warning.

Despite promises from Russo last year that a turnaround was in the works, the company's shareholders and board of directors apparently have lost confidence.

For the second quarter, the company reported sales and profits slightly ahead of expectations. It also reported a major loss due to writedowns.

Its immediate future looks bleak amid concerns over the economy. As a result, the company has cut its forecast for third-quarter sales, saying it expects revenue to remain flat or decline compared with the previous quarter. Investors had hoped for a 2.5 percent increase in sales. The company also expects 2008 revenue to fall "in the low to mid single-digit range."

In addition to the departures of Russo and Tchuruk, Henry Schacht, who preceded Russo as Lucent's CEO prior to the merger, will resign from the board immediately, the company said.

The Remote App puts control of iTunes--or Apple TV--in the palm of your hand.

(Credit: CNET)

We've had a few minutes to play with the Remote App (download) for the iPhone. The (not surprising) verdict? It's an easy must-have for any iPhone or iPod Touch owner who enjoys listening to music at home.

Once you've upgraded your iPhone (or Touch) to version 2.0, just go to the App Store and search on "remote." (Amazingly, that--not "iRemote"--is the program's official name.) You can download it straight to the phone over a Wi-Fi connection (tap the word "free" on the upper right corner), and it auto-installs, adding a new icon to your home screen.

If you're planning on waiting in line for an iPhone, be sure to do your homework and bring all the necessary items with you. Or, watch Wednesday's edition of the Daily Debrief where I talk to CNET News' Tom Krazit about the lines and the purchase process. Apple has finally disclosed that stores will start selling the phones at 8 a.m. The company has also said it will let customers into the stores in groups of 30. This part of the system sounds similar to last year, but this year's big unknown is what the activation process will be like. Simple and easy in 10 minutes? Or mired in paperwork and chaos to the tune of 30 minutes?

Some critics have already gotten their hands on the phone and have written largely positive reviews. But, for those of you abstaining from the Apple Kool-Aid, one of our CNET News colleagues, Marguerite Reardon, takes a look at seven other smartphones that rival the iPhone.

(Credit: Apple)

Update at 10:08 a.m. PDT, with clarification on how users' e-mail will be handled.

Apple's MobileMe service is primed to be relaunched this week, ahead of the Friday launch of the iPhone 3G. That means subscribers to .Mac will find the service taken offline for a six-hour stretch as Apple makes the transition, according to a post in MacRumors.com.

The www.mac.com site will go down on Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. PDT, leaving .Mac subscribers unable to access the site or use .Mac services, except for .MacMail via their desktop applications, iPhone or iPod Touch. In fact, existing .Mac users may have already noticed the ability to receive and send e-mail at an @me.com address if they so request. Other mac.com subscribers will be grandfathered in, allowing them to continue receiving e-mail at their mac.com address, while also receiving a new me.com address.

When the site relaunches as MobileMe, users will find a few changes, according to MacRumors.com:

The revamped .Mac service will offer Web-based e-mail, calendar, address book, photo gallery, and storage capabilities as well as "Push" sync services.

A one-year subscription to MobileMe will cost $99, which is similar to the .Mac price, but purchasers of an iPhone 3G will be able to score a subscription for $69 on Friday, the report notes.

If you thought gas prices were rising too quickly, check out what's been happening to text messaging.

Since 2005, rates to send and receive text messages on all four major carrier networks have doubled from 10 cents to 20 cents per message. This percentage of increase is on par with similar price hikes at the gas pump as crude oil prices skyrocket. In 2005, Americans paid on average about $2.27 per gallon for gas compared with more than $4 a gallon today.

Last October, Sprint Nextel was the first to introduce the new price of 20 cents per text message. AT&T and Verizon Wireless soon followed with their price hikes going into effect this spring. And this week Engadget reported that T-Mobile USA will match the other big three wireless operators in jacking up SMS texting rates to 20 cents per message. The price increase goes into effect August 29.

On Tuesday, AT&T announced that texting will cost new iPhone users more than it had previously. The old iPhone plan included 200 text messages in the $59.99 voice and data plan. But plans for the new iPhone 3G that hits store shelves next week will cost $5 extra for 200 text messages, bringing the total price of a comparable voice and data plan on the new iPhone 3G to $74.99 a month. (This is with the $69.99 "Nation 450" bundle plus $5 for the 200 text messages.)

The new wave of price hikes comes just one year after all the major carriers raised individual text messaging rates from 10 cents a message to 15 cents per message.

So what's with the 100 percent price hike in two years? Well, there's nothing that has changed in terms of the cost associated with delivering this service. In fact, text messages cost carriers very little to transmit. And when compared with what carriers charge for transmitting other data services, such as music downloads or surfing the Web, the text messaging rates seem exorbitant.

Carriers limit the number of characters that can be transmitted in a text message to 160 characters. Each character is about 7 bits, which works out to a maximum of about 140 bytes of data per text message. This is peanuts compared with the size of sending or receiving an e-mail or downloading an MP3 song over a cellular network.

One blogger has done the math. If the same pricing was applied on a per-byte basis to downloading one 4MB song it would cost the user almost $6,000 to download a single song via SMS texting.

One can easily assume that the mark-up on a text message is several thousands times what it actually costs carriers to transmit this little bit of data, considering that mobile operators are only charging $30 to $40 a month extra for mobile data plans that offer 5MB worth of data per month.

The reason that carriers are charging so much for text messages is because they can. Even at 15 cents and 20 cents a pop, people are willing to pay for it. The carriers are also trying to get consumers to sign up for text messaging packages and unlimited plans that vary in price from $5 a month extra for 200 messages to $20 a month extra for unlimited texting on AT&T's network, for example.

The massive price markup on texting and the growing popularity of texting have resulted in huge profits for mobile operators. Verizon reported that for the first quarter of 2008, its wireless customers spent $11.94 a month on data services, an increase of about 33 percent from a year earlier. The carrier didn't break out what percentage was spent on text messaging versus other services, but there's a good guess that a lot of the additional revenue from data came from texting. In total, mobile data accounted for about 20 percent of all wireless sales for Verizon's first quarter.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like consumers have much legal recourse for getting carriers to adjust their pricing to a more reasonable rate. There's nothing illegal about charging as much as the market will bear for any service.

But that doesn't mean that consumers like it. What do you think about the high cost of texting? Are you feeling the pinch in your wallet yet? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the "Talk Back" section below.

Update at 10:52 a.m. PDT: Information about monthly text messaging added

AT&T reaffirmed pricing for the iPhone 3G on Tuesday, noting that eligible customers can snag the new smartphone for a discount: $199 with an 8GB flash drive and $299 for 16GB.

AT&T will begin offering Apple's iPhone 3G at its retail stores beginning July 11 at 8 a.m. local time. AT&T is the exclusive iPhone carrier in the U.S.

Under the plan, the discounted price will be available to customers who have purchased any iPhone before July 11, who are activating a new customer line with AT&T, or who were eligible for an upgrade discount at the time of purchase. (Eligibility for an upgrade discount, the carrier said, is generally determined by amount of time remaining on a current contract and the payment history.)

To be eligible, customers must also sign a two-year contract. Apple had revealed the $199 and $299 pricing for the iPhone 3G at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

Those who are not eligible for an upgrade discount can buy the iPhone 3G for $399 for the 8GB model or $499 for the 16GB version. Both require a two-year contract as well.

Customers who purchase the phone without a contract will pay $599 for the 8GB version or $699 for the 16GB model.

The phones will come with the iPhone 2.0 software preloaded on the devices, which includes such business-class e-mail through Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and the iPhone Software Development Kit for creating customized applications. AT&T will also offer its Yellowpages.com Mobile for iPhone on the devices.

There will be an activation fee of either $18 for existing customers eligible for an upgrade, or $36 for new customers.

AT&T is requiring customers to activate their phones in the stores, as the carrier looks to reduce the number of customers who may try to unlock, or hack, the phones to run on other carriers' networks.

AT&T is launching four voice and unlimited data plans for the iPhone 3G.

The AT&T Nation Unlimited plan will include unlimited anytime minutes for $129.99 a month, while the AT&T Nation 450 plan includes 450 anytime minutes and 5,000 night and weekend minutes for $69.99 a month.

The carrier is also offering its Nation 1350 plan, which includes 1,350 anytime minutes for $109.99 a month, and Nation 900 plan that includes 900 anytime minutes for $89.99 per month. Both of these plans include unlimited night and weekend minutes.

And for folks who engage in tons of text messaging, AT&T is charging $5 for every 200 text messages; $15 for every 1,500 messages; and $20 for unlimited text messages.

For more details on the device, see Crave's iPhone 3G FAQ.