CES - Cell phones and smartphones

Our problem with Wilson Electronics' cell phone signal boosters has never been their performance--they actually work quite well--but rather with their complicated and clunky setup. Though the company's Mobile Professional Amplifier Kit from 2008 was relatively compact, we're more used to products like the Wireless Amplifier Cradle Kit that involve a few parts.

Luckily, Wilson continues to evolve. At CES, the company showed its new Sleek Cell Phone Signal Booster that offers a compact, easy-to-use design for in-car use. It consists only of a small cradle with adjustable arms, a power adapter for your car's cigarette lighter, … Read more

Just when you thought that Sonim cell phones were the pinnacle of mobile durability, the company raised the bar just a bit at CES with the announcement of the Sonim XP3.2 Quest Pro. The handset is similar to the XP3 Quest that we reviewed last year--you can drop if off the roof, dunk it in water, and stick it in the freezer--but it offers a few upgrades over the current model.

New "Gorilla Glass" adds extra protection to the display. We'll be eager to try it to see exactly what that means; when we tried to … Read more

LAS VEGAS--HTC reminded us to expect the unexpected Thursday when it announced a new cell phone, the HTC Smart. Though it looks like your standard HTC smartphone, the handset runs on Qualcomm's BREW platfrom. The result isn't quite a smartphone, but it will use HTC's Sense user interface that's currently found on the company's Windows Mobile and Android devices like the HTC Hero.

Features on the quad-band GSM/EDGE handset include a 300MHz processor, a 2.8 inch touch-screen, 3-megapixel camera with flash, stereo Bluetooth, a 3.5mm headset jack and a microSD card slot. … Read more

It wasn't announced at CES, but T-Mobile will stop selling its @HomeVoIP service. First released in June 2008, the $10 per-month let T-Mobile subscribers make calls from a landline phone using a Linksys router installed with a SIM card.

According to a Fierce Wireless report, T-Mobile did not give a reason for discontinuing the service. In a statement, a company spokesperson only said that the needs of its customers "are constantly changing, and T-Mobile must foresee and adapt to these changes." T-Mobile will continue supporting the service for current customers.

LAS VEGAS--In addition to its new Backflip Android phone, Motorola also announced updates to its other Android handsets at a CES press conference Wednesday night.

The Cliq is the biggest winner. Currently running on Android 1.5, the Motoblur-equipped device will jump past Android 1.6 to 2.0. Though Moto CEO Sanjay Jha didn't say when the update would take place, it's a welcome change to what we consider to be one of the better Google Android devices around.

Over at Verizon Wireless, the Droid will get Flash 10.1 for the Web browser and a maintenance … Read more

LAS VEGAS--On the eve of CES, Sprint announced its Overdrive 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot, a 4.5-ounce device measuring 3.15 by 3.14 inches by .61 inch that creates its own Wi-Fi hot spot.

The Overdrive can serve up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices with a range of about 150 feet. I'm using it now with my laptop, an iPhone, and the new HTC Nexus One smartphone, which runs Google's Android operating system and supports Wi-Fi connectivity.

The device, which is manufactured in an unlocked state, can support Sprint's 3G and 4G networks. 3G connectivity, which supports … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Google created some buzz at the giant Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, even though it introduced its Nexus One smartphone at a press conference in California two days before the start of CES.

At the Digital Experience press party the night before the show, I caught up with Google's Erick Tseng to talk about the phone. Earlier that day, Google loaned me a Nexus One that I'm currently testing (and initially like).

I asked Tseng what's so special about what Google is calling a "super phone."

LAS VEGAS--After introducing the showstopper at last year's show, Palm is back again making new device announcements at CES 2010, including revamped versions of the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi. Read along with CNET's live blog for the full scoop.

10:54 a.m. Seated and waiting for the press conference to start. Not as big or packed as last year's event. Just got a 5-minute warning.

11:00 a.m. Palm Chairman Jon Rubinstein is on stage. Talking about all the various awards Palm has won over the year, including Best of Show last year.

11:… Read more

Since there's no such thing as too many music apps, Thumbplay has announced at CES its plan to turn its song and ringtone e-store into a downloadable, cloud-based, on-demand music player for desktops and smartphones.

Thumbplay Music launches on Thursday as an invitation-only beta for Windows, Mac, and select BlackBerry smartphones. A single Adobe AIR app will run Thumbplay Music on Windows and Mac. At launch, the app supports BlackBerry Tour (9630), Bold (9000), and Curve (8900) phones. Compatibility with a greater number of BlackBerry models, and apps for iPhone and Android, are next on Thumbplay's road map.… Read more