smart phones

We tell you everything you need to know about smartphones and answer questions about Windows 7 and more.

CARLSBAD, Calif.-- Palm is fortunate that the Nokia doesn't yet have any U.S. carrier partners for its N97 smart phone. The phone, which was unveiled on stage at D: All Things Digital conference has some very impressive features. But, because the phone isn't subsidized by a carrier, anyone who wants one will have to pay $699. The soon-to-be-released Palm Pre will cost $199 with a two-year cell phone contract. The 8 GB iPhone also sells for $199.

At the moment, Palm is getting a lot of attention ahead of its June 6 release of the Pre, … Read more

Most popular products is a Top 5 we do monthly. It's pretty popular. It used to be a constantly changing list, often dominated by game consoles, but lately it's been taken over by phones. All phones. We've even considered changing the name to most popular smartphones.

In any case, we're still giving away a little prize for the Top 5, even if the guy from the Mailbag thinks it's lame. And since the list is all phones, we're giving away a phone...sort of. Well, it's a squishy phone.

Watch the video to … Read more

When we saw that HTC passed something through the FCC this week, we didn't really know what it was. The model number was "TOPA100", which doesn't sound too familiar. That is, until we saw this post from Engadget Mobile that suggested it might be a codeword for "Topaz" also known as the HTC Touch Diamond 2. This appears to be just the European version though, and not anything for the U.S. market. Still, it's a good sign that a quad-band unlocked version might be available.

Because the FCC has to certify every … Read more

According to Microsoft, Tags create unlimited possibilities for making interactive communications an instant, entertaining part of life. They transform physical media (print advertising, billboards, product packages, information signs, in-store merchandising, or even video images)--into live links for accessing information and entertainment online.

This is all possible after installing some software and using your smartphone's camera, which in turn allows you to interact with these 2-D multicolored triangles in forming a square-like bar code (HCCB format). But unlike traditional tag readers, MS tags don't store the information, but a unique ID that it sends to Microsoft's servers. … Read more

Motorola, which has been struggling to find a home run hitter to replace its Razr, appears to be gearing up to debut a social-networking smartphone that uses Google's mobile operating system, Android, according to a BusinessWeek report.

Motorola's Android phone, according to the report, is expected to feature a touch screen similar to Apple's popular iPhone, as well as a slide-out QWERTY keyboard that allows users to connect to such social-networking sites as MySpace and Facebook. It is unclear how similar it will be to T-Mobile USA's newly released G1 phone, manufactured by HTC, which also … Read more

If talking over the phone is not enough (as it's never enough for me, personally), you will probably soon have the option to place video calls, too. That is, of course, if your mobile phone supports VideoEngine Mobile platform Global IP Solutions (GIPS), the company that introduced the VoiceEngine for iPhone recently, announced on Monday.

The technology enables peer-to-peer video calling as well as multipoint video conferencing on mobile phones. GIPS says that its VideoEngine Mobile pave the way for wireless carriers, application developers and mobile handset manufacturers to provide high-quality video calls, even under adverse network conditions.

The … Read more

Samsung Electronics has agreed to sell its investment stake in Symbian to mobile phone maker Nokia, according to a Reuters report.

In June, Nokia announced plans to acquire the remaining stake in smartphone software developer Symbian that it didn't already own. Nokia, by having full ownership of Symbian, wants to beat back the competition from Apple's iPhone and other competitors by accelerating its product development and serve as an open-source operating system platform for other handset makers, wireless carriers, and software developers.

Nokia, according to the Reuters report on Tuesday, will pay $410 million for its Symbian stake. … Read more

Update at 10:52 a.m. PDT: Information about monthly text messaging added

AT&T reaffirmed pricing for the iPhone 3G on Tuesday, noting that eligible customers can snag the new smartphone for a discount: $199 with an 8GB flash drive and $299 for 16GB.

AT&T will begin offering Apple's iPhone 3G at its retail stores beginning July 11 at 8 a.m. local time. AT&T is the exclusive iPhone carrier in the U.S.

Under the plan, the discounted price will be available to customers who have purchased any iPhone before July 11, … Read more