Ad: Manage updates with the Download App
ie8 fix

Samsung

Sprint sends green message with Samsung Seek

At first glance, Sprint's latest handset, the Samsung Seek, looks like your typical messaging cell phone, with a slider QWERTY keyboard, threaded text messaging, IM, and social-networking integration. However, it also has a green conscience.

The Seek is part of a new trial recycling campaign from Sprint and Samsung that enables customers to use the Seek's packaging to ship back old wireless phones, batteries, accessories, and data cards with a postage-paid paper mailing label. Sprint will then recycle both the equipment and packaging material.

The Samsung Seek will be available in three colors: cool blue, scarlet red, and … Read more

Samsung, Motorola tops in U.S. mobile subscribers

Motorola and Samsung both took home leading market shares of 21.9 percent among U.S. mobile subscribers for the first quarter of 2010, according to data released Thursday by ComScore, though Samsung won the tip-top spot by a fraction of a percent.

Ranking the top mobile handset makers among U.S. cellular subscribers age 13 and older, ComScore also found LG following closely in third place with a 21.8 percent slice of the market. Research In Motion and Nokia filled out the top five, both with shares of 8.3 percent. Among the five players, Samsung and RIM … Read more

Another 23-inch hybrid monitor from Samsung

Monitor-HDTV hybrids are nothing new. In just the last year, we've reviewed several, including the Samsung SyncMaster P2770HD, the P2370HD, and the LG Flatron M237WD. We've finally gotten around to reviewing the SyncMaster 2333HD.

While the relative performance between all four monitors is, roughly, on par, Samsung distinguishes its 2333HD by including an extra HDMI port and a built-in headphone jack. Also, the 2333HD is the cheapest of the four monitors.

Check out the full review to see just how much cheaper it is and for our insights into its other features. Also, be sure to stop by … Read more

Boost Mobile introduces free 411 calls

Boost Mobile is sweetening its $50 monthly unlimited deal--which includes voice, messaging, and Web--with a very nice bonus. Boost Mobile customers can now make free, unlimited 411 calls. This bonus is for both the $50 unlimited customers as well as those who are on the $60 a month BlackBerry unlimited plan. Boost Mobile also announced unlimited e-mail and instant messaging in addition to the 411 service.

Boost also announced that it will be offering a version of Sprint's Samsung Rant on May 19. The sliding messaging phone will be the first of its kind on the prepaid carrier. The … Read more

Last year's cameras, this year's bargains

Every year, compact camera manufacturers announce their latest models in January and February. Many of them are refreshes or replacements of models released in the third quarter of the previous years. That leaves a whole lot of inventory for retailers to get rid of, which translates into potentially big discounts on cameras that are less than a year old.

I've collected up a dozen of these deals worth considering in the slideshow below. Several of them have had $100 knocked off their original prices; one is even marked down $150 (though that still might not be enough to get … Read more

Don't buy a sound bar, unless. . .

There's no shortage of new sound bars to review, and I still believe they're a great solution for some home theater buyers. They simplify setup chores, and eliminate the hassles associated with placing five or more speakers and running wires to all the speakers. Some self-powered sound bars offer a range of inputs, including HDMI connectivity, so there's no need to buy a receiver.

The best ones get close to the room-filling sound of a bona-fide 5.1 system. The latest Yamaha Sound Projectors like the YSP-4100 and YSP-5100 do a better job at creating a passable facsimile of a surround experience than most, but those two models are priced around $2,000! And those substantial MSRPs don't include the price of a subwoofer. So figure another 300 or more dollars for a sub.

For that kind of investment you can buy a significantly better-sounding 5.1 channel component-based system. If sound quality takes priority over ease of setup and installation, check out Aperion's Intimus 5B Fusion SD satellite/subwoofer system ($1,559) mated with an Onkyo TX-SR507 receiver ($399).

It'll trounce the YSP sound bars on every count, with dramatically better, more-enveloping surround sound, greater dynamic impact--plus, the Aperion/Onkyo system will sound better with music. That last one is a common failing; few sound bars cut it with two-channel music. So if you intend to play CDs in your home theater, steer clear of sound bars.… Read more

Samsung goes simple with the Stride

Samsung has been putting out new phone after new phone recently, with the Samsung Reality and the Samsung Restore announced just this past week.

Now another Samsung phone joins the family, and it's the Samsung r330 Stride for U.S. Cellular. Yes, it's an entry-level flip phone, but sometimes people just want the basics. It does have Bluetooth, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and a speakerphone, but that's about it. It's only $29.95 with a contract, so it'll go easy on your wallet.