Smartphones

New AT&T features coming to iPhone?

An AppleInsider report cites an anonymous tip claiming Apple and AT&T may be working on two enhancements for the iPhone specific to AT&T's network:

Overage alerts would notify users via push notification badges, messages, or sounds when they approach their monthly anytime minutes limit. New voice mail options would let users disable the custom voice mail greeting (including AT&T's standard voice mail introduction) and allow them to skip greetings (standard or otherwise) or other automated instructions when calling other AT&T customers.

Unfortunately, the tipster mentioned no warnings from AT&… Read more

iTwinge: iPhone dream keyboard?

If you're an iPhone owner who just hates typing on the device's virtual keyboard, Mobile Mechatronics has something for you: the iTwinge, a $30 BlackBerry-style, slide-on keyboard that mounts right on the iPhone.

Now iPhone purists are probably thinking this should be called the iCringe, but if you're heavy into texting and e-mailing and aren't proficient with the virtual keyboard, I can see some merit to using this device. However, it obviously covers up a good 40 percent of the iPhone's screen, which would seem problematic.

According to Mobile Mechatronics, the iTwinge Keyboard is a … Read more

And you thought your HTC Touch Pro2 was big...

We've heard rumors of the HTC Leo and saw a rendered image two months ago, but it looks like there's finally something concrete to back those up. Leaked photos have emerged of this upcoming Windows Mobile (WM) device and they show a product that dwarfs the HTC Touch Pro2.

The WVGA display on the Leo is absolutely massive with a diagonal screen size of 4.3 inches. The largest panel on a WM device currently on the market is the Toshiba TG01's 4.1-inch LCD. According to a screenshot showing its specs, the Leo is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm processor and has 320MB of RAM. More information and pictures after the jump. … Read more

Most popular products: September

Time once again to check in on the most popular, and the trend away from cell phone domination continues this month! Hooray for Netbooks and TVs! Maybe it's the fall shopping season finally starting to turn people's minds away from phones. It's so much nicer to buy a gift that doesn't come with a two-year contract.

And of course there's a prize in this Top 5. So watch it, and answer the question in the comments below. One of the first 10 people to answer correctly wins the racing shirt. Properly laundered, I promise.

LG enters Android fray with GW620

On Monday, LG Electronics introduced its first Google Android handset, the LG GW620, which is set to hit select European markets in Q4 2009. The Korean consumer electronics company wasn't too forthcoming with device details, but we do know that the smartphone features a 3-inch touch screen and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

It seems social networking will also play a prominent role, and LG said the GW620 will live up to the company's philosophy of making the "smartphone experience more accessible for typical users." Perhaps that means LG will add its S Class user interface (a … Read more

A bug fix for arranging apps on iTunes

Prior to the release of iTunes 9 (Windows | Mac), arranging pages apps directly on your iPhone or iPod Touch was tedious and unpleasant. So when Apple touted app arranging as a new in iTunes feature this week we got very excited. We've spent the last three days with iTunes 9 and the new app arranging feature. While we're satisfied with it there is one bug that made it less than perfect. Luckily, we have a workaround.

Arranging app icons After connecting your device to a computer and launching iTunes 9, just go to the Applications tab as shown below. Once there, you can drag apps between thumbnails that represent the 11 home screens. Exciting, right? Well not so fast, since the process still is a bit painful if an app isn't currently assigned to one of the 176 spaces on the home screens (four spaces are reserved for the Dock). We have the same problem when arranging (or deleting) app icons on the iPod or iTouch.

If an app icon doesn't exist in a space, you won't be able to manage it until you figure out a secret. The check mark on the app on the left side of the window tells you that it's currently synced to your device. You can't manipulate "checked" apps unless they are sitting on a home screen. If the app is not on one of the 11 home screens you have to do the following.

Uncheck the app so that it won't sync with your phone. Place the app on one of the 11 home screens. Re-check the app so it will sync again.

If you forget to recheck it, you will delete the app from your device the next time you sync it with iTunes. Indeed, it's not a very intuitive process; I only stumbled on it accidentally. You'll also need to remember it for the tasks below. … Read more

Road test: AT&T Navigator GPS iPhone application

So far I've tested four flat-fee GPS applications for the iPhone with built-in offline maps: Navigon, iGo My Way, TomTom, and CoPilot Live. They all have pros and cons, but they share a few common shortcomings: a lack of real-time traffic, no support for text-to-speech (except for Navigon with its recent update), and outdated maps.

I've just finished testing a GPS navigation app that offers all of those previously unavailable features: the AT&T Navigator (version 1.2i.5). The catch? It doesn't have built-in maps (meaning you will need a working data connection to download the maps in real time) and it requires a monthly subscription of $10. The app itself is free.

This is one of the first GPS navigation applications made for the iPhone. It's actually a product by TeleNav and is also available for other cell carriers, including Sprint and Alltel.

Unlike the other aforementioned apps that take an hour or so to download using Wi-Fi, the AT&T Navigator has no built-in maps and therefore is a snap to install on the iPhone, even via a 3G or Edge connection. This makes it a perfect quick add-on when you suddenly need a GPS navigator.

The app also launches very quickly, taking just a second or two on my iPhone 3GS. When it can (more on this later), it also picks up GPS signals very fast. After about a week of use, I can say I really like the real-time traffic updates--which warn you both onscreen and audibly--and the text-to-speech features. This is especially helpful when you are in a unfamiliar town.

However, I found out that the traffic updates are available mostly for freeways only, unlike Google Maps, which offer them all the way down to street level for major cities.… Read more

Nokia 5230 clears FCC

The stars of the Federal Communications Commission this week are the budget-friendly Nokia 5230, the T-Mobile Pulse from Huawei, and an HTC device that could end up at AT&T.

Because the FCC has to certify every phone sold in the United States, not to mention test its SAR rating, the agency's online database offers a lot of sneak peeks to those who dig. And to save you the trouble, Crave has combed through the database for you. Here are a selection of filings from the past week on new and upcoming cell phones. Click through to read … Read more

First impressions: Motorola Cliq

It was a big day for Motorola. The handset manufacturer unveiled its first Google Android device, the Motorola Cliq, to a packed house at the Mobilize '09 conference in San Francisco. While much of the interest was in seeing Moto's premier Android handset, many were also curious to see if it would deliver something that would breathe new life into a company struggling behind the competition.

Is the Motorola Cliq the answer? Well, we're not completely sold at this point. We finally got some hands-on time with the device, and while we're impressed with the hardware and … Read more