Smartphones

T-Mobile unveils new contract-free plans

T-Mobile on Sunday took the veil off of its rumored new aggressive pricing plans and made them official. And they're not just attractive, they're simple as well.

They are split into two major categories: the Even More Plus plans that don't include hardware subsidization but has no contract, and the Even More plans that include hardware and have a two-year contract.

The noncontract Plus option looks great for people who already own hardware that would run on T-Mobile's network, like an unlocked GSM phone. The top plan, at $79 a month, includes unlimited airtime, texting, and even Web browsing. That's about $20 less than the full unlimited plan that is offered by Sprint, until now the best all-in plan around.

Don't need data and just want talking and texting? That'd be just $49 a month for all-you-can-eat on both. Like we said, aggressive.

But just because they're not subsidizing hardware with these Even More Plus plans, it doesn't mean someone would be stuck with their current phone. T-Mobile's offering these plans in conjunction with its Equipment Installment Plan, which allows a user to break up payment on a new phone into 4 or 20 installments on top of what they're paying for their bill, and it's interest free. A $399 G1 would be just $19.95 a month for 20 months. If you're anti-contract, that's a great way to go.

Of course, one could still go the traditional route and get a phone with the Even More plans and get a handset subsidized, but the Even More plans don't offer an unlimited everything plan. Adding a data and text plan to the same G1 available on the installment plan takes the unlimited side up to $99 a month, on par with Sprint. In addition the G1 costs $129, leaving $270 to be made up for by subsidization. On a two-year contract that's $11.50 per month.

But what's the best way to go? This can get confusing, but bear with us here.… Read more

A Moment for Samsung

In case you haven't noticed, the Google Android dam has broken. For almost a year HTC was the only manufacturer to offer handsets with the operating system, but in the past month, Motorola and Samsung almost fell over each other to offer Android smartphones of their own. Moto gave us the satisfying Cliq and Samsung countered with the Moment.

The Moment offers everything you'd expect from an Android phone while adding Sprint-specific media services. Other features are plentiful, and the sturdy design and comfortable physical keyboard offer a nice contrast to Sprint's other Android phone, the HTC … Read more

Twitter goodness: Twee for Palm Pre

Hey, Palm users. If you've been waiting for the WebOS Twitter app Twee to leave Homebrew status and graduate to Palm's App Catalog, get moving. Twee 1.0, by Delicious Morsel, has hit prime time.

The Twee Twitter app comes in two versions: free and pro ($2.99). TweeFree has more features than other WebOS Twitter apps, including photo support via TwitPic, yfrog, TweetPhoto, and Img.ly, and you can track Twitter trends with Twitturly. A favorite Twee feature is that it previews a thumbnail of a friend's image URL without having to open it first. Twitter … Read more

Motorola Droid specs get posted then pulled

Oops! It looks like a mistake on Motorola's part is giving Google Android and smartphone fans plenty to talk about on this fine Friday morning.

On Thursday night, Boy Genius Report was sent a tip that Motorola had posted an official product page for the upcoming Droid smartphone for Verizon Wireless. The site has since been pulled but not before screen grabs were taken of the feature list and spec sheet.

Some things we already knew about, such as the Android 2.0, 5-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. According to the page, however, the Droid will offer a … Read more

Free iPhone app streams short films, documentaries, cartoons, and more

Like indie films? Documentaries? Animation? Ho, boy, have I got an app for you: NFB Films lets you watch over a thousand movies on your iPhone. For free.

The "NFB" stands for National Film Board, a kind of Canadian PBS. The app taps the NFB's mammoth library of documentaries, animated films, trailers (for upcoming NFB releases), and more.

All the movies are streamed to your iPhone, but there's also an ingenious "watch later" option that downloads a selected movie for later viewing. However, these downloads expire after 24 hours, not unlike App Store movie … Read more

Dialed In Podcast 101: Verizon launches Droid attack

The Droid is coming! The Droid is coming! In case you haven't heard, Verizon's first Google Android phone is on the way and the carrier isn't holding anything back, taking some not-so-subtle swipes at the beloved iPhone. We're not going to lie; it's pretty fun to watch. Also on this week's episode, we take a look at the new BlackBerry Bold 9700 and some new senior- and wallet-friendly cell phones from Consumer Cellular.

Subscribe now: iTunes (audio) | iTunes (video) | RSS (audio) | RSS (video)

Rumor of the week Motorola Calgary to be Verizon's second Android phone? … Read more

Motorola Calgary to be Verizon's second Android phone?

While the Motorola Droid might be hogging the spotlight at the moment, rumors of Verizon's second Google Android device are starting to bubble to the surface.

According to the Boy Genius Report, a handset code-named the Motorola Calgary will be the carrier's other Android smartphone. It'll be a lower-end device than the Droid and have a lower-resolution touch screen and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard that BGR calls "workable."

Below the display, there will be three touch-sensitive buttons while the traditional d-pad will be replaced by an optical trackpad. Other reported features include a 3-megapixel camera, … Read more

On Call: Hello, Moto

Sixteen months ago I wrote in On Call that I was not prepared to dance over Motorola's grave. While some analysts and tech journalists weren't sad to see Moto go, I wouldn't savor a cell phone world without a company that had such a pioneering role.

Over the following year, however, Moto has done little to step up its game. Besides a few decent handsets like the ZN5, its product line mainly stuck to the tried and true of rugged and thin designs. It was all getting a bit worrisome until the Google Android operating system became … Read more

iPhone app shares your whereabouts with ease

During a recent visit to a friend's house in backwoods Kentucky, I got lost while jogging on deserted country roads. I had my iPhone, luckily, but no good way to tell my buddy where I was so he could talk me back.

What I needed was Glympse, a fantastic new app that shares your location via e-mail, text message, and/or Twitter--and does so for a set amount of time.

Tapping Google Maps, Glympse quickly zeroes in on your current location, then gives you the option of sending it to one or more e-mail addresses and/or phone numbers. If you elect to link your Twitter account, you can just type in "Twitter" in the To field.

From there you choose a duration: anywhere from 0 minutes (meaning Glympse sends your current location and that's it) to four hours. For anything higher than zero, the recipient can track your movement in real-time, in Google Maps, for the designated period.

Recipients don't need to sign up for anything or install any software; they just click a link.… Read more

Also in Android news

It's been a big day for Google Android news, but Verizon's upcoming Droid phone (and the accompanying TV commercial) are only part of the story. T-Mobile put its Cliq handset on preorder and juicy tidbits leaked out from other sources.

We told you last week that a GSM version of the Motorola Sholes cleared the FCC, but we failed to notice that a CDMA handset also got the government's nod (the FCC ID is IHDP56KC5 instead of IHDP56KC2). The consensus in the tech world is that this device is the Droid. Unfortunately, specs are few and there … Read more