phones

Being a PC person, I've encountered the dreaded "blue screen of death."

I've never seen a comparable thing on Apple products. (I have heard of the sad Mac face, or the sick iPod face.) So, much to my surprise, starting a couple days ago I noticed what appeared to be a "black screen of death." Everything stops working. The time bar at top is there, but the rest of the screen is black. No touching. No prodding of the home key. No pressing of the upper right key will get the thing working again.… Read more

If it seems that most mobile phones are either silver or black, there's good reason: Most are silver or black. Then there's LG, which is trying to split the difference between the two with a new finish called "Titanium Black."

Perhaps the company thought its designers had taken the name of its "Shine" line too literally and wanted to tone it down a bit. LG says the metallic-gray casing is "edgier than black and more chic than silver," according to Luxurylaunches, so it will provide "the best of both looks and … Read more

I really don't like the iPhone. OK, I just don't like its horrific typing interface. I've tried to convince myself that I like hitting a flat panel, but I don't. I hate it. Some things are best left tactile...

But I must admit I was tempted when John Robb shot me an e-mail indicating that Zimbra was developing its application to run "on" the iPhone. Then I read about it again in Dan Farber's blog. Fortunately, there's $600 worth of reasons not to cave in on this one.

But I'm tempted. … Read more

With all the hype that led up to the release of the iPhone, paired with all the coverage once it was actually launched, one could almost believe we had seen the end of the wild Apple speculation for a while. I'm here to tell you--and if you're a longtime Apple fan you know this already--when it comes to Apple, the rumor mill never stops. You may have already heard the rumor about the iPhone Nano--a smaller, less expensive version of the iPhone. Though it sounded like an interesting concept and got plenty of coverage, it did indeed turn out to be only a rumor. Personally, I wouldn't want a smaller, cut-rate iPhone--I say let's keep it the way it is and bring the price down. I'm sure I'm not alone on that idea.… Read more

Apparently, somewhere deep in cyberspace, there's a hidden Verizon Wireless Web site that holds some of the carrier's juiciest secrets, such as upcoming handsets. And though there's no specific mention of which site (so take this news for what it's worth), according to Engadget Mobile, some enterprising individuals have discovered the Samsung SCH-i760 on this site, fueling rumors that the unique slider smart phone will come to the CDMA carrier. There were no details as to release date or pricing, but we do know that the Windows Mobile 6 device has passed FCC testing and features … Read more

Who needs a $100,000 iPhone from eBay when you can get a pile of dust instead? The metallic remains of the iPhone from the notorious Will It Blend video are now up on the auction Web site, along with a brand new Blendtec Total blender and a Will It Blend T-shirt and DVD.

The video, which has now been seen by over a million people since its debut two days ago features Blendtec founder Tom Dickson pulverizing a brand new iPhone into a pile of dust and twisted metal. It's part of a viral marketing campaign for Blendtec … Read more

New legislation has been introduced in the Senate to make it easier for people to keep their current telephone numbers when they switch carriers.

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), vice chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) on Wednesday introduced legislation that would expand the number portability rules.

The legislation would help expedite the number portability process, which allows people to transfer their existing cell phone number to another provider. Specifically, it proposes that the Federal Communications Commission establish timelines for cell phone operators and other voice providers to follow in porting phone … Read more

After two days of timing and comparing the iPhone's download speed between AT&T's EDGE network and Wi-Fi, our CNET Lab has just released its official results.

EDGE averaged a download time of 15.69 minutes for a 9.4MB file, while Wi-Fi required a mere 1.18 minutes. In the end, our test results indicate that the iPhone's Wi-Fi connection is about 13 times faster than using EDGE.

Tests were run at different points throughout the day to account for changes in network bandwidth, and the iPhone was reformatted after each download to ensure that … Read more

It's not enough that anyone with a computer can blog these days (and it sometimes seems that they all are). Phone makers want to make sure that they can also post from any location, on the go, with their mobile handsets.

Nokia was one of the first we noticed to jump on the blogwagon, in a partnership with blogging service Vox. Now Samsung has gotten into the act as well, according to Fareastgizmos, with its Mobile Blog 3G Phone SGH-L760. The Bluetooth slider handset has a 2-megapixel camera, which is built for Europe's 3G networks, is headed for … Read more