Crave

Time to play with your new toy.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)

If an iPhone awaited you under the tree this Christmas, we understand if you're a bit excited. Reception woes aside, the iPhone is a remarkable device in many respects. It offers a great multimedia experience, efficient e-mail integration, a spiffy Web browser, and thousands of third-party apps that do everything from helping you choose a seat on an airplane to guiding your way to the airport. And now that it has multimedia messaging, we're no longer waiting for any basic cell phone features. Granted, those pesky network issues won't go away soon, but you may get lucky and have no problems. And even if you do, at least you have a shiny new gadget, right?

If you've never used an iPhone before, getting started can be a bit overwhelming. With so many apps and accessories available, it's not easy to separate the wheat from the chaff. And even if you're a veteran iPhone user who's graduating to the newest model, exercising discretion, particularly when purchasing apps, is wise. You might say, "It's just 99 cents!" but 99 cents multiplied scores of times can result in a hefty iTunes bill. ... Read more

Best Bluetooth headsets of 2009

Even though many still think wearing a Bluetooth headset is a terrible fashion statement, they're often a necessary evil if you want a hands-free cell phone solution. Besides, many Bluetooth headsets are quite stylish and discreet these days. So if you want to get a new headset for your phone this holiday season, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Sound quality: Before you start thinking about design and features, you should be looking for a headset with superior audio quality. This applies to both outgoing and incoming sound. After all, what's the point of a good-looking headset if it sounds terrible? Be sure to look for headsets with dual-microphone noise-canceling, and find out if it's possible to return a headset if it's not to your liking. Do note that you'll pay more for better quality. Some headsets, like the Plantronics Voyager Pro and the Plantronics Discovery 975, have wind-noise resistance that make them particularly helpful with wind noise, whereas the Motorola Endeavor HX1 is unique in that it blocks out extraneous sound altogether. If you want to get a stereo Bluetooth headset, music audio quality should also be a consideration.

2. Comfort: Equally important to quality is comfort. A headset must be comfortable to wear, especially if you plan on wearing it for hours a day or if you plan on keeping it on while driving. This is where design comes into play as well, as some people like wearing an ear hook for stability, but others prefer the freedom of not having one. You should make sure a headset comes with different-sized ear gels or ear buds so you can play around with the fit. Some headset manufacturers do provide additional ear buds if you ask.

3. Features: Headsets can do more than just make and answer calls these days. Some of the higher-end headsets have features that cheaper models don't. They include multipoint technology, which lets you connect up to two different devices simultaneously. This means that you can pair and connect to two phones, for example, and the headset will seamlessly switch from one to the other without having to disconnect and reconnect. This works especially well if you have to use one phone for work, and the other for personal use. If you're looking to use the headset for music as well, you need to get a headset that is compatible with A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile). All stereo Bluetooth headsets support this of course, but some mono headsets do as well, like the Jabra Stone">Jabra Stone for example.

4. Design: Though this is not quite as important as the other factors, sometimes looks do matter. For example, while we like the Plantronics Voyager Pro, it's quite a bulky headset that is reminiscent of something a telemarketer would wear. Some of our favorite stylish headsets include the Jabra Stone for its unique and discreet style, the Plantronics Discovery 975 for its one-of-a-kind pin design, and, of course, the Aliph Jawbone Prime with its luxury look and feel.

5. Price: Last but not least, price is an important consideration. Bluetooth headsets come in all different price ranges, from the very cheap to the terribly overpriced. You generally get a better headset if you pay more, but you can get decent Bluetooth headsets that are affordable as well. The Samsung WEP470, for example, is under $30, and makes for a good, basic headset. Most of the top headsets are over the $100 price range, however, but you do get what you pay for.

With these factors in mind, I've compiled a gallery of the top Bluetooth headsets of 2009 to help you make a decision if you're in the market for a headset. Take a look and feel free to agree or disagree in the comments. If you want more information, please check out our full Bluetooth headset buying guide feature.

(Credit: Device Daily)

Thanks to Saygus, a small firm that specializes in video-calling software, Verizon will be the first to carry a two-way video-conferencing phone complete with a large touch screen, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and a 3D accelerometer.

They're calling it the VPhone, which may outshine its brother, the Droid, and its rival, the iPhone.

VPhone will be the first mobile device approved through Verizon's Open Development initiative, a program that encourages developers to build technologies to run on Verizon's network. So far, the company has only approved nonconsumer products.

Utah-based Saygus walked away with the Best of Innovations award in the wireless handsets category at the 2010 Design and Engineering Awards on November 10.

And it was deserved. Besides two-way video calls at 24 to 30 frames per second, the phone can serve as a wireless access point for up to eight devices. There's also a rear-facing camera with flash and a 5-megapixel lens, FM radio, and compass. Just for kicks.

Unfortunately, you won't find the VPhone in ... Read more

Nokia 2330

(Credit: Nokia)

The Nokia 2330 is a recent addition to AT&T's lineup. The candy bar phone is a simple device in all regards with a slim, silver body, a 65,000-color display, and a standard keypad and navigation array. Inside you'll find a VGA camera, an FM radio, Bluetooth, a speakerphone, a basic personal organizer, messaging, a 500-contact phone book, and a WAP browser. AT&T is offering it for free with a service contract.

What the heck is this?

(Credit: Nokia)

Cleaning your office/desk is an annual preholiday ritual at CNET. It's amazing what you can collect in a year, and because I'm the polar opposite of a hoarder, I actually look forward to the task. Mostly I toss old press releases and outdated cables--I promise that I recycle everything that I can--but occasionally I'll find a museum-worthy gadget from another age.

Take for instance, the Nokia Fun Camera, which I found at the bottom of a box filled with old wired headsets.

Back before cameras made it into phones, they existed briefly inside attachable accessories. If memory serves, Sony Ericsson developed one of the such products, but Nokia jumped on the trend as well. And as Nokia usually does, it did so wholeheartedly. The orange and red Nokia Fun Camera, aka the PT-3, is shaped like a tear drop. You'll notice a few buttons, a circular display, and a detachable viewfinder. The camera lens and flash sit on the back side, and the whole thing comes on a lanyard for taking it on the go. And you thought wearing a Bluetooth headset around the neck was silly.

Smile!

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

You can use the Fun Camera by itself, though you must connect it to a compatible phone or USB cable if you want to get pictures off the camera. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to perform a transfer by either method so I couldn't test the image quality. I haven't seen a USB cable that uses the old Nokia connection in years, and the only compatible phone I could find--a Nokia 2115i Shorty from Virgin Mobile--is missing its battery.

Still, I did connect the phone and the camera to see what would happen. The fit between the two devices is secure, even if it's a cumbersome arrangement and the plastic flap covering the camera's connecting pins gets in the way. The body feels relatively solid, it's lightweight (3.17 ounces), and it fits easily in a pocket.

Research In Motion has pushed out new software to correct a problem that left some BlackBerry users high and dry Tuesday.

Blame BlackBerry Messenger for Tuesday's data service outage.

(Credit: RIM)

A new version of BlackBerry Messenger is available that apparently fixes the problems experienced by BlackBerry customers, according to a report by BusinessWeek. For several hours on Tuesday, BlackBerry users were unable to use the data services on their phones, preventing e-mails from being received and applications from working correctly.

In a statement provided to CNET, RIM said the "root cause is currently under review, but based on preliminary analysis, it currently appears that the issue stemmed from a flaw in two recently released versions of BlackBerry Messenger (versions 5.0.0.55 and 5.0.0.56) that caused an unanticipated database issue within the BlackBerry infrastructure. RIM has taken corrective action to restore service."

BlackBerry Messenger version 5.0.0.57 is the one to install, if you're currently running either version described above, and that should be available ... Read more

(Credit: Cory O'Brien via Twitter)

We know that one of the hottest Google Android phones out there is the one you can't get yet. Well, unless you're a Google employee of course. So the question remains, when will the general public be able to get a Nexus One of their very own? Well, according to the latest rumor, it could be as early as January 5.

A tipster told Engadget Mobile on Wednesday that the Nexus One will be available on that date but by invite only. The invitations will be sent out by Google but the tipster didn't have any information as to how the company is deciding who to send the invites to and no word on pricing. It seems a little suspect to us, but hey, we know Google likes to pull surprises.

In addition to a possible release date, Engadget Mobile posted full specs for the smartphone:

• Android 2.1
• Support for T-Mobile's 3G bands, quad-band GSM/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS

We've already listed our top cell phones and smartphones of the year, but we think the messaging phone has emerged as a strong enough category in 2009 that we think it deserves a top-10 list of its very own. Not quite smartphones, these handsets have full QWERTY keyboards and are made mostly for sending text messages. They come in all different shapes and sizes, some with touch screens with plenty of multimedia features, and others with just a basic feature set.

Top messaging phones of 2009 (photos)

In picking our top-10 list, we chose the ones with the highest ratings that fit within our messaging phone category. The two most obvious are the Samsung Rogue and the LG enV Touch, which both won our Editors' Choice this year. In fact, Samsung and LG dominated this list in general, with stand-outs like the Samsung Impression and the LG Xenon. There were a couple of phones that aren't from those two manufacturers, but you'll have to take a look at our slideshow to find ... Read more