chocolate

Welcome to the 411, my Q&A column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have the same questions, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I'm stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at nicole.lee@cnet.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, let me know in the e-mail.

I'm moving to Europe some time in the next month, and would like to get an Android phone in the interim. I'm interested in both the Nexus One and the Droid. Do you know which one I should get? -- Hank, via e-mail

Since you're moving to Europe, a Nexus One would probably be best because it's an unlocked GSM phone that you can use with any SIM chip in the world. I would definitely opt for the no-contract version here of course, since you don't want to be tied down to T-Mobile. The Motorola Droid, on the other hand, is a Verizon/CDMA product that you would not be able to transfer over easily. But if you have your heart set on the Droid, you can try to get the Motorola Milestone, which is its GSM cousin. As far as I can tell, it's virtually identical in almost every other way.

I saw your CNET article concerning cell phone radiation. Do you have any information on cell network extenders like the Verizon Wireless Network Extender that supposedly improves your cell coverage within the home. I assume the unit would emit radiation, but would it be anymore than say from a wireless router? Also since the cell phone receives a stronger signal would it decrease the level of radiation? -- Albert, via e-mail

That's a good question. I would assume that extenders do emit some radiation, but I don't think it is a significant amount. Plus, you're not keeping the extender next to your head the whole day.… Read more

Tcho, a San Fransisco-based chocolate company, gets its cocoa beans from farmers in Peru, Ghana, and other countries. Although many of the families there have been growing cocoa beans for generations, some have never actually tasted chocolate, much less the products made from their own crops. Aside from not being able to enjoy the fruits of their own labor, they have no way to directly understand the relationship between their growing techniques and the final product.

Tcho has solved the problem by bringing the factory to the farm. Using what co-founder Louis Rossetto calls "appropriate technology," the company … Read more

Perhaps the biggest letdown of the LG Chocolate Touch VX8575 from Verizon Wireless is that it's not the LG Chocolate BL40. After getting teased for months by the sexy shots of the LG BL40, we thought there might be a chance we would see it stateside. Alas, the LG Chocolate Touch VX8575 looks nothing like its European cousin. In fact, the touch-screen interface reminds us a lot of previous LG touch screen handsets, like the LG EnV Touch for example. The geometric shapes on the back of the phone and the bloblike buttons underneath the display are about the … Read more

When it rains it pours. On Thursday, Verizon Wireless opened the floodgates and unleashed a handful of cell phones and smartphones that should make their way into your hands just in time for the holiday shopping season. It looks like there's a little something for everyone, so let us know which you are most excited about in our comments section.

Here is a roundup of all of today's news:

Verizon's Droid Eris offers Android for less Verizon introduces BlackBerry Curve 8530 LG Chocolate Touch is now official Samsung's Convoy goes rugged Verizon offers prepaid wireless for laptops … Read more

We've been waiting for months for Verizon to finally unveil the latest in the line of LG Chocolate phones, and it's here at last. The LG Chocolate Touch VX8575 is officially available today, making it the first touch-screen version of the Chocolate phone lineup. As we suspected, it's very different from the LG BL40 and looks a lot more like the other LG touch-screen handsets we've seen, like the LG Dare for example.

The Chocolate Touch continues the Chocolate tradition of music-specialized phones, with music features like the Dolby Mobile equalizer, an FM radio, integrated song … Read more

If the rumors are true, we might finally be seeing the LG Chocolate Touch VX8575 for Verizon as soon as next week. Leaked sources have informed Engadget that the phone will be announced November 5, while we've seen a few comments on Boy Genius Report that say it might come out either on the 5th or the 6th.

The phone, if you'll recall, is the touch-screen version of the famous Chocolate brand, and looks nothing like the LG BL40 that debuted in Europe not too long ago. In fact, it looks little more than a refresh of the … Read more

You know how you always wanted that fountain in the back yard? That chocolate fountain? Imagine it: a 16-foot-tall tower of gushing chocolate, always ready at your disposal. Wake up in the morning, look out through the window and across the lawn, and gaze upon one of mankind's greatest treasures. Simply go outside, take your morning cup of coffee, and hold it under the flowing waterfall of chocolate.

Unfortunately such simple pleasures can be monstrously unattainable. Luckily, the Select Home Chocolate Fondue Fountain can fill in the gap until you can afford your dream fountain. Standing at a respectable … Read more

We've seen leaked photos of the elusive LG VX8575 Chocolate Touch before, but nothing as clear and close up as these pics on PhoneArena. Unfortunately, it does seem like Verizon's version of the Chocolate Touch will look nothing like the luscious LG BL40 that the Europeans are getting this fall.

PhoneArena's source mentioned that apparently a few focus groups didn't care so much for the BL40 and so we got stuck with this scaled-down version (thanks a lot, "focus groups").

Still, it doesn't look too bad. It looks to have a 3.2-megapixel … Read more

Much has been made about the elongated touch-screen beauty that is the LG BL40 Chocolate phone. It has a really nice 4-inch display with the 21:9 wide-screen ratio, a 5-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and lots more--you can read CNET UK's early hands-on with the BL40 to get more details.

But we haven't talked much about the BL40's lesser sibling, the LG BL20. The LG BL20 looks a little like a stretched LG KG800. It appears to have a very impressive display, as well as a sliding keypad and tons of cool features like a 5-megapixel camera, … Read more