verizon

Yes, you read that correctly. America's least fashion-conscious carrier is changing its ways with a possible new phone from Samsung. Though we've seen it a few times at CES and CTIA, the Samsung SCH-U470 (and its GSM cousin, the SGH-X830) has existed in the United States only behind glass thus far. It's a striking phone in many ways; not only does it take Samsung's obsession for thin handsets to a whole new level but it also brings back the swivel design, which never seemed to catch on in North America.

In our opinion the design was … Read more

Verizon recently launched the Wireless Coupe, a UTStarcom handset that comes with three unique emergency speed-dial buttons underneath the internal display. The buttons spell out ICE (In Case of Emergency) and provide instant access to 911 and two other emergency phone numbers you can assign yourself. The Wireless Coupe (I don't get it--is there a Wireless Sedan phone somewhere I'm not aware of?) is otherwise a pretty basic phone--no camera or Bluetooth, for example--but this is clearly meant for those who just want a phone around for emergency's sake. The phone is available for $20 with a … Read more

Though the Motorola W385 for Verizon Wireless isn't officially part of the Moto Krzr K1m family, there's no escaping that it is basically a repackaged--and slightly downscale--version of the earlier phone. It borrows the Krzr's slim shape while adding a few design touches of its own, and it offers a respectable feature set minus support for Verizon's EV-DO network. The result is a satisfying, functional phone with decent call quality. Read our W385 review for a full analysis or check out our slide show.

Yep, LG has finally come out with the most appropriate color for the EnV--green. Or as it looks like to me, army green. It's an exclusive to Circuit City stores though, for $79.99 after a $50 rebate (Quite a price drop from $149). The specs are about the same as the original LG EnV, so no rush to get this if you're not a fan of the color.

SAN FRANCISCO--Opponents of a controversial surveillance program told a federal judge on Thursday that the government has admitted to eavesdropping on private communications of American citizens--with the help of several telecoms--and must not be allowed to hide behind executive privilege.

Attorneys representing now consolidated class-action lawsuits against Verizon Communications and the government for allegedly violating federal privacy laws faced off with lawyers from the carriers and the Department of Justice here Thursday.

The government wants the case thrown out and told U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker that the other side doesn't know whether federal laws were broken because … Read more

Much has been made of an El Paso Times interview last week in which Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell acknowledged the "private sector" has assisted in the president's so-called Terrorist Surveillance Program. Some opponents of the phone-call-and-email-snooping regime promptly pounced on the remarks, suggesting they implicate telephone companies like AT&T and Verizon, which have been accused in numerous lawsuits of consumer privacy violations and illicit cooperation with the Bush administration.

"Now if you play out the suits at the value they're claimed, it would bankrupt these companies," McConnell told the paper, … Read more

Well, I'll be darned. Wouldn't you know it? Verizon Wireless finally landed itself a new smart phone and a pretty exciting one to boot. Today, Verizon and Motorola announced the long-awaited successor to the Motorola Q and thy name is the Motorola Q9m.

The Q9m has added some notable improvements, including an excellent full QWERTY keyboard, a sexy red trim, and Windows Mobile 6 Standard Edition. Motorola also decided to give the Q9m a heavy multimedia focus, given the Q's popularity with the younger crowd and consumers in general. (Did you know that 90 percent of the … Read more

(UPDATE: RealNetworks has filed an 8-K form with the SEC that contains some more details about Rhapsody America. Most notable: MTV is contributing a $230 million note to the deal, and RealNetworks will in exchange be required to spend that amount with MTV on advertising. The joint venture is between RealNetworks and MTV, with Verizon as a distribution partner.)

The 2007 Consumer Electronics Show must've held some awkward moments for Microsoft.

The previous year, the company had trumpeted MTV's Urge music store as the showcase for the Windows Media Player 11 that was due to ship with Vista. … Read more

With their new joint digital music initiative, MTV Networks, RealNetworks and Verizon Wireless are taking a direct aim at Apple's iTunes powerhouse.

Called Rhapsody America, the yet-to-launch collaboration among the three companies will combine MTV's relatively unsuccessful Urge music store, the Real-owned Rhapsody subscription download service, and Verizon's V Cast mobile media service to create a music store that reaches across the PC, digital music player, and mobile phone platforms.

The new Rhapsody America company is officially a joint venture between MTV Networks and Real Networks, with Verizon Wireless as its exclusive mobile partner. Urge as a … Read more