Smartphones

It's J.D. Power and Associates time again! The marketing information firm that loves to give awards spun out another this week with its 2010 wireless customer care performance study. Verizon Wireless emerged as the winner with an index score of 753 points on a 1,000-point scale. Verizon's score was 14 points higher than the industry average.

This wasn't a total blowout, however. T-Mobile, which tied with Verizon and Alltel in a similar study last August, was close behind with 752 points. T-Mobile and Verizon have traded the title back and forth over the last couple … Read more

We cheated a little, but we couldn't wait until Google flipped the switch to deliver this week's software update to our Nexus One. We just had to have that mutlitouch, so we grabbed the update online and loaded it on our phone. It involves a few steps (Android Forums has an easy guide), but we were all set after about five minutes.

Indeed, the addition of multitouch fixes one of the Nexus One's biggest flaws. We gave it a spin and were impressed by just how well it worked. Like on the iPhone and the Droid Eris, … Read more

Though we always want to be amazed with new phone releases, occasionally a cell phone manufacturer will unveil a device that feels lackluster. At first glance, the new Motorola Devour appears to be that type of phone, but upon closer inspection, it promises to hold its own in Verizon Wireless' lineup. Rather than releasing a successor to the popular Droid, the Devour aims lower as an entry-level device.

A few things about the Devour distinguish it from other Google Android handsets. Though it's Verizon's third Android device, it's the carrier's first handset to feature MotoBlur, which … Read more

Greetings, sports fans. We're proud to present another cell phone Prizefight. This time we threw the iPhone 3GS into the ring with the new kid on the smartphone block, the Google Android-equipped Nexus One from HTC.

It goes without saying that each of these handsets packs a powerful punch. The iPhone excels at multimedia and is compatible with thousands of apps, but the Nexus One counters with a fast processor and multitasking. And just this week the Nexus One gained multitouch support in a software update.

We promise you: this is an epic battle. So, to see it for … Read more

On Wednesday, Verizon Wireless introduced the newest addition to its Android family, the Motorola Devour. Previously known as the Motorola Calgary, the Devour is a bit like the Motorola Droid's little brother and features a sideways slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 3.1-inch HVGA capacitive touch screen, and touch-sensitive navigation pad. Similar to the Motorola Cliq, the smartphone also uses Motoblur software, which lets you merge contact information from various accounts and social networking sites and stream content from sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, through a Happenings widget on your home screen.

The Devour will ship with Android … Read more

2010 started off positively: an amazing CES visit, an uplifting State of the Union Address, and an entertaining Grammy Awards show. Yes, 'twas a great January...too bad that filthy, overgrown rat Punxsutawney Phil had to show up and ruin it with a dreary six more weeks of winter, which wouldn't be so bad except that Wilson won't have his iPad for another nine weeks.

Unfortunately, it turns out our furry little friend might be an amazing meteorologist, but his texting skills can use some work. It took Phil over two hours to send out his inaugural text message to awaiting subscribers. Phil took even longer to tweet out his prediction. Come on, Phil, are there no tween girls in Gobbler's Knob, Pa., that you can enlist to speed up your T9-ing? Maybe it's time for an upgrade.

Unfortunate news aside, we've also got plenty of exciting news to discuss, including this year's Oscar nominations! Of course, Avatar's nine nominations only make us that much more embarrassed about all of our trash-talking prior to watching the movie. But hey, we're big enough to admit our mistakes, however, infrequent.

And since that's more than I can say for some directors, we also have to take some time to run down this year's Razzie nominees. Will Transformers 2 take down G.I. Joe for worst movie of the year or Big Momma's House 2 circle back and reign supreme? Listen in to hear our predictions!

As usual, we've also got a few sticker pictures, but it's not even close to the number we've sent out so far, so SEND US PICTURES if you got them in the mail! Send all your tattoo and sticker pictures to the404(at)cnet{dot}com- we want to see them all!

Finally, today marks the premiere of CNET TV's newest show, preGAME! Hosts Jeff Bakalar and Mark Licea bring you all the latest gaming news plus in-house demos of the hottest games a week before they're released. The show starts today and runs every Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET. Check out all the preGAME action on CNET TV!

The launch of the Nexus One hasn't exactly been a smooth one, what with all the issues around upgrade pricing, early termination fees, and 3G issues. However, here's some news that's sure to bring smiles to Nexus One owners.

On Tuesday, Google announced that it has begun rolling out an over-the-air software update that will not only provide a general fix to the 3G connectivity issues, but also bring multitouch capabilities and support for Google Goggles to the smartphone.

The update is being released in batches, but Google expects most users will have it by the end … Read more

One of the biggest cell phone trends of 2009 was the rapid rise of quick messaging handsets. Not quite a smartphone and made for more than making calls, quick messaging models like the Samsung Impression typically offer QWERTY keyboards, support for 3G networks, and a full HTML browser. And depending on the carrier, GPS, streaming video, and music downloads may be onboard as well.

Messaging phones have become popular because they appeal to consumers who want more than a basic device--particularly one that is centered on texting--but don't want the extra features and required data plan that come with a smartphone. On that last point, however, the landscape is changing quickly.

As customers began to take advantage of the needed features on messaging phones, carriers wanted to capitalize on the extra revenue involved. Verizon Wireless was first out of the gate last year when it required customers purchasing a Samsung Rogue and an LG enV Touch to select one of two data plans ($9.99 for 25MB of data and unlimited e-mail or $29.99 for unlimited data and e-mail). And last month, the carrier added the data plan requirement to five other quick-messaging devices. As my colleague Maggie Reardon wrote then, Verizon instituted the plans because it doesn't want customers to be upset if they incurred expensive data charges from services that they didn't realize they were using.… Read more

On Tuesday, Sony Ericsson announced the latest addition to its Greenheart series of eco-friendly phones, the Sony Ericsson Aspen. However, it's not the green angle that's catching people's attention (though it certainly is a plus), it's the fact that the Aspen is the first smartphone to run Windows Mobile 6.5.3.

This update to Microsoft's mobile operating system brings additional enhancements to the user interface, including more finger-friendly menus and touch controls and support for capacitive and multitouch gestures. In addition, Microsoft made improvements to the Web browser, so you should see faster page … Read more