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Samsung Intensity III QWERTY slider hits Verizon for $80

Samsung and Verizon continue their line of QWERTY keyboard phones in the Samsung Intensity III, a horizontal slider that this time has an edge of the rugged. The durable Intensity III passes military specification (8010F) for withstanding the elements, like heat and cold, fog, humidity, dust, and solar radiation.

On the features front, the Intensity III is a feature phone that comes with a 2.4 inch QVGA screen (240x320 pixel-resolution), text and multimedia messaging and social networking, and a 2-megapixel camera. You'll also find voice commands on the intensity III, VZ Navigator, and a microSD card slot that … Read more

Samsung resolves Galaxy S III shipping delays

Sprint warned last week that delivery of the Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone would be delayed because of "overwhelming demand and limited supply." Around the same time, AT&T and Amazon distributor BluTekUSA announced the same.

It appears Samsung Electronics wasn't quite prepared for the wild popularity of its mobile phone. The smartphone-maker has said it was expecting to sell more than 10 million units in the first two months of sale, according to Reuters. Delays in shipping this device may have cost the company 2 million units of sale in just one month.

The Galaxy … Read more

Always On Episode 2: The iPad gets the worst of it

I don't want to spoil anything for you, but dudes. iPad. In our first ever Always On Torture Test, we froze it, overheated it (and not by playing Angry Birds, I'm talking electric oven), dropped it multiple times, dropped several things on it, and dumped a glass of water on it. I was sweating by the end of it.

A few people accused me, when they first saw the trailer for the torture tests, of pulling a "Will it Blend" style stunt by shoving the iPad in an ice chest. But let me assure you that … Read more

T-Mobile's pricier Samsung Galaxy S3 will not get LTE

If your decision to buy Samsung's Galaxy S III (S3) on T-Mobile comes down to the LTE radio within, prepare yourself for disappointment.

A T-Mobile spokesperson confirmed to CNET today that despite the same LTE radio in every GS3 model coming to the U.S., Samsung's new flagship Android 4.0 phone will not ride T-Mobile's forthcoming LTE network:

The Samsung Galaxy SIII won't run on T-Mobile's LTE network in the future, but we will continue to operate our HSPA+ 42 network when we launch LTE in 2013.

T-Mobile's AWS spectrum is the culprit … Read more

AT&T's smartphone lineup: Stodgy no more

Back in January there was no question which carrier had built the best portfolio, and I'll give you a hint: it wasn't AT&T.

By December, Verizon already had an embarrassment of riches, and the toughest high-end Android decision for holiday shoppers was which Big Red phone to get: the angular Motorola Droid Razr, the HTC Rezound audio genius, or the world's first Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich phone, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. With the budget HTC Rhyme and the broadest LTE coverage in the nation, Verizon was on fire.

Verizon fueled its momentum with the astounding long-life Droid Razr Maxx just after Motorola introduced the handset at CES.

Yet in the past few months, Verizon's verve has begun to flicker just enough for AT&T to illuminate its renewed vigor. Now before flinging your biting anti-AT&T protests my way, hear me out.… Read more

Facebook removes controversial feature

Break off a piece of that BlackBerry and friend some strangers on Facebook:

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has long been struggling to turn the company around. With thousands of layoffs ongoing, it could be time for the company to try something drastic. One report says RIM is considering spliting itself into two companies by diving the messaging network from the hardware side, and possibly selling the hardware division. RIM didn't comment on specifics of this report by The Sunday Times. But RIM did say it is examining a wide-range of strategies. Perhaps new BlackBerry 10 devices can shake … Read more

Samsung's new Galaxy S III ads: Apple fanboy now owns Samsung

Sometimes, you can tell when a company rather likes the product it's advertising.

It manages to restrain some of the baser impulses of its marketing department and displays the product with a certain understatement.

I have a feeling Samsung rather likes its Galaxy S III phone.

There have now been three ads to accompany the launch. While you couldn't say they necessarily hang together as a whole, you can definitely say that Samsung is over trying to tell you that you're a sad little Apple fanboy sheep, working part time as a barista.

Well, almost.

There was … Read more

Wait for Windows Phone 8 or buy a Samsung Galaxy S3?

Microsoft's newest mobile OS -- Windows Phone 8 -- will add some key functionality to Microsoft's smartphones, but is it worth waiting for?

The new software offers a few more bells and whistles in terms of functionality for smartphone subscribers. But the bigger deal is that it will offer the necessary hooks for developers and device makers to build more advanced hardware. Finally, this could mean that Microsoft's live tile interface may finally be installed on some heavily spec'ed devices.

In this edition of Ask Maggie I help one reader figure out if he should wait … Read more

iPhone 5 versus Samsung Galaxy S3: Wait or buy now?

Editors' note, September 14, 2012: On September 12, Apple announced the iPhone 5. CNET compared the iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3, and Nokia Lumia 920 spec to spec, and threw in some of our own predictions and analysis. We'll have more when we review the phones in full.

"The Samsung Galaxy S III (S3) is a great phone, but should I wait for the iPhone 5 instead?"

This is the kind of question we CNET editors are asked all the time, and with good reason. Given the breakneck pace of the smartphone world, there's always something good now, but something better around the corner -- and you want your investment to last.

In some ways, the answers are obvious if you prefer one OS over another, have a Mac at home, or need a phone right now. However, if not, there's a lot to like about each platform's superphone (we surmise; one of them hasn't even been announced yet), and we can't make your decision for you. So here's what we'll do. We're going to break it down by some of the phone features that we think could sway your decision.… Read more