Smartphones

There's something to be said for instant gratification, and if you're the sort who wants to know where you are without pausing to open a map app, one of the handful of changes to Google Maps for Android (version 4.1) has your name on it.

To turn your wallpaper into a live, real-time map that tracks your location, press and hold the home screen, choose Wallpaper, then pick Maps from the Live Wallpaper folder. Before setting the wallpaper, you'll be able to choose satellite, terrain, or line map mode and whether you want to show traffic. … Read more

iPhones can be great driving companions--unless you routinely tweet, text, or otherwise fiddle with the device while behind the wheel. That's a surefire way to get yourself--and possibly others--killed.

Aha Radio for iPhone helps you keep your eyes on the road. The app provides a dashboard-friendly, oversize interface for everything from podcasts and local traffic to Facebook and iPod playlists.

That interface consists of four giant icons per page, the idea being to make them more at-a-glance accessible to drivers. You can customize the arrangement of these icons to your liking and choose exactly what content Aha Radio should … Read more

As we approach another CTIA, it's time to travel back a year ago to the wireless extravaganza that was CTIA 2009. Back then, we named two phones, one accessory, and one software title as the top products from that show. Now that they've had several months to face consumers, we're comparing our initial impressions with our final assessments.

Of the 12 products we're revisiting (four "Best of show" picks, plus a few notable extras that made their debuts), we've had the chance to review all but one. That's a pretty good record … Read more

Looks like Apple may be the latest to succumb to the geomadness gripping the mobile-development space right now.

Patently Apple dug up an Apple patent application Thursday for a social-networking service called iGroups that uses geographic location data to connect iPhone and other mobile-device users.

iGroups would let friend groups attending an event to stay in touch and share information in real time. If that sounds familiar it's because similar geolocation apps that accomplish the same thing are popping up more frequently--apps like Foursquare, Gowalla, Whrrl, Loopt, and others. According to the patent, iGroups is a bit different underneath, … Read more

Yesterday, my colleague David Carnoy posted a list of the 20 cell phones in the United States with the highest SAR, or specific absorption rates. And now, as promised, I offer the 20 handsets at the opposite end of the scale. Currently, these models have the lowest SAR levels. Some are sold by carriers, and others are unlocked, but all of the handsets are available in the U.S. market today. Please note that some older models listed lower SAR levels, but as a carrier or manufacturer phases out a handset we replace it with a newer device.

A phone'… Read more

If you're one of the many BlackBerry-toting hot shots who fret about the fastest, least laborious way to get their work contacts onto their phones, I have an answer for you. Or rather, Xobni does.

Xobni for BlackBerry is a utility that dramatically expands your mobile address book by ingeniously scanning all incoming and outgoing e-mail for contacts and phone numbers it can capture. It builds a profile for every e-mail it detects, regardless of whether you've typed it yourself, or if it's already in your address book. That includes people who have been copied in an e-mail, and e-mail addresses contained within the message body.

Xobni for BlackBerry is the first mobile version of the highly useful Outlook add-on. We got a sneak peek at it at the BlackBerry Developer conference last November, and we're only too happy to take a deep dive now that it's available to everyone. We like the convenient and time-saving features, but there's still room to grow for this brand-new app. Be forewarned that Xobni is a premium app; although it's expensive for the casual 'Berry owner, the price point fits in with other BlackBerry apps geared toward business users.

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Nicole is waiting for her flight home from Austin, so Maggie Reardon joins Kent and Bonnie to talk CTIA. The fun starts next Tuesday in Las Vegas, thus we spend this episode of Dialed In dishing on what we'll see at America's favorite wireless trade show. 4G is the expected name of the game, but we should also see new handsets from Samsung, HTC, and Kyocera. We also get the scoop on the FCC's broadband plans, and we make one listener very happy.

Dry those tears, dear Sprint user, because you've finally received your invite to the Nexus One party. The carrier announced on Wednesday the upcoming availability of Google's Android "superphone" and promised to release an exact release date and pricing soon.

Like the other models, the Sprint N1 will be sold directly from Google, but Fared Adib, Sprint's vice president of product development, said that a pricing plan has not been determined for the smartphone.

The Nexus One will support Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A network and will feature Android 2.1, a 3.7-inch AMOLED … Read more

AT&T raised the stakes in the fight for the world's toughest phone Wednesday when it announced the new A25is from Airo Wireless. Billed as the word's first "intrinsically safe" smartphone, the A25is won't produce a spark so it's built for people working in potentially explosive environments like process and chemical manufacturing, petrochemicals, the military, utilities, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods manufacturing.

Like the ultra-rugged Sonim XP3 Quest, the candy bar A25is isn't a looker, but it's certified to military specifications for durability. Among other things, Airo promises that it can … Read more