Smartphones

Three weeks after teasing us with a promo of its first Android handset, we finally get pricing and a release date for the Sanyo Zio. The Zio, which will ship by August 21, is $229 if you place a preorder on Cricket's Web site. The full price without the Web discount is an additional $20, but keep in mind that Cricket won't make you sign a contract.

It was originally known as the Kyocera Zio M6000 when it made its debut earlier this year at CTIA; Kyocera owns the Sanyo brand. The Zio is a touch-screen device with … Read more

As we're fond of saying, even the fanciest cell phones aren't worth much if they can't make a decent call. And though we've always included a subjective analysis of a handset's call quality in our reviews, we realize that you have to trust our opinion. After all, you're not on on the phone with us, so you're not going to know how the handset really sounds until you try it.

Yet, that's about to change. Starting this week, CNET will include audio clips in our smartphone reviews so you can hear a … Read more

We've seen the leaks and now we have official confirmation from T-Mobile that the T-Mobile G2 is, indeed, real.

The carrier posted a teaser site for the T-Mobile G1's successor on Wednesday, with an opportunity to sign up for e-mail updates. The G2 will be the first smartphone to run on T-Mobile's HSPA+ network, which promises 4G-like speeds, but for now, there are few other details about the Android phone. T-Mobile said it will reveal more in the coming weeks and will give current customers exclusive first access to the G2.

If you weren't convinced that HTC was working on an alleged Desire HD, this should do it for you.

Amazon UK briefly listed the phone as being for sale on Monday night before getting pulled almost instantly. Thankfully, someone over at Electric Pig grabbed a screen shot of the HTC 99HLZ001-00 ACE/Desire HD listed with a price tag of ?415, approximately $645 U.S. The codename "Ace" has been tossed around since the rumors began a few weeks ago, but the final name of the product is still unclear.

For those unfamiliar, the Desire HD is … Read more

Would you eat a burger created by The 404 Podcast? CNET social-media expert Caroline McCarthy joins us on today's episode and tell us about the burger joint of the future.

Rex Sorgatz, one of the founders of Fimoculous and former guest of The 404, consulted on 4Food, a new restaurant that adds a social-media twist to the burger by letting customers save their unique burger creations in the 4food system; a profit-sharing system even gives the creator 25 cents of in-store credit for every custom burger sold! Since Caroline knows practically everyone in Web 2.0, expect to see … Read more

Nokia announced Tuesday that its X3 smartphone will hit the European consumer market sometime in the third quarter and sell for around 125 euros ($160).

The Finnish mobile phone maker is touting the X3 as a "Touch and Type" model, offering users both a touch screen and traditional keypad. The 2.2-inch touch screen offers a resolution of 320x240 pixels. And at 9.6mm (less than 0.4 inches), the X3 will also be one of the company's slimmest, according to Nokia.

"We have given people a larger screen with clear icons and menus plus kept … Read more

The BlackBerry Torch, which launched Thursday, is being offered at a discount on Amazon.com and other online retailers.

According to Amazon's Torch page, the smartphone is being sold for $99.99--as of this writing. The device's official price is $199.99.

The smartphone from Research In Motion is being offered for $99.99 at Wirefly, as well. At AT&T stores and on AT&T's Web site, the device is still selling for $199.99 with a two-year contract.

On Monday, meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that analysts were disappointed with Torch sales. … Read more

Tucked neatly at the end of last week's Verizon Wireless announcement for the Droid 2 was a short paragraph promising a "Star Wars"-inspired R2-D2 version of the hot new smartphone. Without giving many special details, interested buyers were told to look for it online in September. Well, that's just not good enough to Android and "Star Wars" fanboys. We had to know what a phone with "hardware designed to look like the trusty Droid" actually looks like. And thanks to the power of the Internet, we do now.

Over the weekend, … Read more

It was 50 years ago today that Air Force Capt. Joe Kittinger stepped off of a gondola that was suspended under a helium balloon 102,800 feet from the ground and fell back to Earth. It set a world record for a parachute jump that stands to this day and it cemented his place in the histories of both space exploration and badassery.

It's not something I'd want to try myself--indeed, Kittinger nearly reached the speed of sound and I get scared on a rollercoaster. But with today's digital technology, I don't have to put myself … Read more