2.3

Score one for Cricket, whose Huawei Mercury is arguably the most feature-rich phone in its lineup.

I say "arguably" because the Android 2.3 Gingerbread smartphone lacks Muve Music, the all-you-can-download music portion of the unlimited voice and data plan for select Cricket handsets, such as the Samsung Vitality.

Muve would be the icing on the cake, but if you're no audiophile, the Mercury is absolutely a phone that Cricket fans should eye.… Read more

We've all used sticky notes, the ubiquitous yellow squares that work great for affixing notes to paperwork, computer monitors, and planners. StickyPad is one of many programs that seek to replicate the usefulness of sticky notes on your computer desktop. It's actually one of the more elegant and useful options we've seen, and it's worth checking out if you could use an unobtrusive but handy way to keep track of important information.

StickyPad appears as an icon in the system tray, and clicking it launches a small menu with options to create a new note or … Read more

There are a couple of unique features that will help the announced, but not-quite-released, Samsung Galaxy Attain 4G stand out when it hits store shelves.

First, and most importantly, there's the 4G LTE compatibility for this Android smartphone. MetroPCS doesn't have a 3G network to speak of, so the speed differences between the 2.5G network and the LTE are significant.

Second, and equally important, is the price. At $200 off-contract, it'll cost $100 less than the LG Esteem. It's got the advantage there for more-price-conscious buyers who still want a premium smartphone, even if it … Read more

LAS VEGAS--ViewSonic is mostly known here in the states for its monitors and tablets, but did you know that trio of finches the company uses for a logo marks cell phones as well?

Chances are it's one that's still going to swim below most people's radar. Like so many of the phones we've seen here at CES, the ViewPhone 3 runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The company has added its own skin on it, which includes a rotating carousel of panels for you to easily switch among. One nice touch--each panel (for weather or the clock, … Read more

Anyone with a digital camera knows that the file names that are automatically assigned to your images are often jumbles of letters and numbers that don't tell you anything about the images themselves. For that reason, file-renaming tools have become pretty popular; they let users rename batches of images using words or dates that give meaning to the file names. Unfortunately, Image Renaming is one of the less elegant tools for this task that we've encountered. It works, but it's not particularly intuitive.

The program's interface is less than welcoming, consisting of a blank gray screen … Read more

LAS VEGAS--I'm starting to think that LG has a thing for HD, and I'm not complaining.

Not long after launching the LG Nitro HD, LG and Verizon announced the LG Spectrum, one of two new smartphones to inaugurate Sprint's all-new 4G LTE lineup.

Although I didn't have as long as I would have liked to acquaint myself with the Android 2.3 Gingerbread phone (eventually upgradeable to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich), I immediately liked it. In fact, I can say I clicked with it even more than the pretty lofty Nitro HD.… Read more

It's earning eco cred with its lower-impact packaging and build, but tree huggers aren't the only ones who will eye the Samsung Replenish for Boost Mobile.

Budget-followers will also gravitate toward Boost's first smartphone priced at about a hundred bucks, a rock-bottom cost for a market where prepaid smartphones typically cost between $200 and $300.

The Android 2.3 Gingerbread device has a candy bar shape that supports a full QWERTY keyboard. It also has a 2.8-inch touch screen and a 2-megapixel camera with video capture, among the other Android goodies like access to Google's apps and services.

The Replenish, which was initially released last spring for Sprint, also hosts Mobile ID, the offshoot of Sprint ID that offers packs of thematic apps, wallpaper, and so on to install on your phone in one fell swoop.

The Replenish becomes available for Boost on January 16, for $99.99.… Read more

Digital signatures aren't just common in business, they're critical. Digitally signing your documents protects your rights and helps reassure your clients and customers. DigiSigner is a compact, free tool for digitally signing PDFs as well as verifying signatures. The signatures it produces are completely compatible with Adobe Reader, and vice versa. It can also use a variety of key files, including Windows' key store, smart cards, and PFX or PKCS#12 files.

DigiSigner requires an up-to-date version of Java, which its setup wizard can install if necessary. Its efficient interface opened with an optional tutorial that explained each … Read more

Our mobile reviews team checks out a fair number of unlocked phones. It's fun to see what's available elsewhere in the world, and it's a window into models that might come out here soon with a carrier.

Unfortunately, these phones rarely perform as well as they would if they were tied to a network, especially a fast one. Still, there's much to glean from checking them out, even if their high prices keep us from recommending them to U.S. shoppers.

The Huawei Honor is a case in point. The Android 2.3 Gingerbread device is a midranger that looks pretty good and has some notable additions, like an interesting virtual keyboard. It also has a 4-inch screen, a 1.4GHz processor, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a 1,900mAh battery for longer life.

Call quality and data speeds were poor on the unlocked unit, and the cameras underperformed in some situations. Still, if the specs and design strike you, you'll also be able to check it out stateside as the Huawei Mercury for Cricket.… Read more