Phones

It must be nice to own a phone from Vertu, maker of handsets for the rich and famous. For one thing, you have to be able to afford one. (A Signature Standard platinum model lists for for $31,850.) Second, you may need connections just to track it down, as only hundreds of models are made in particular lines.

Now Vertu has finished the last of its "Racetrack Legends" series, completing the set with the "Monaco" and "Nurburgring" editions, in yellow and titanium gray, respectively. Like others in the line--limited to 1,000 phones … Read more

If you're an "America's Next Top Model" watcher who can't get enough of the CW network reality show, you might be interested in this. Thanks to a new tie-in, you can play your own version of the game on your cell phone. It's a product of CBS Interactive, the new-media wing of CW co-parent CBS; and Hong Kong-based avatar and mobile-game company Artificial Life--yes, the creator of the V-Girl cell phone girlfriends. (Artificial Life also created the far awesomer V-Penguins.)

But the "ANTM" collaboration doesn't seem to be a virtual-girlfriend … Read more

It's great that solar rechargers are starting to catch on, but we're not thrilled at the idea of carrying one that's 10 times the size of the phone it's supposed to power. Brunton's "SolarPort 4.4" isn't that big and won't give us a hernia (we hope), but it's still not as portable as we'd like.

The charger, which Red Ferret says is designed for handheld devices and nothing bigger, weighs 19 ounces and measures 9.3 by 6 inches and 1.5 inches thick. That would stow easily … Read more

This sounds almost too good to be true: a wireless technology that can be used to charge all devices simultaneously, regardless of type or brand. Yet that's what a company called WildCharge claims to do with its new product.

All you need to do is lay your cell phone, PDA or other device on or near its "WildCharger," a flexible roll-up pad with a power adapter attached to one edge. The devices, which can even include laptops, then absorb their electrical charge wirelessly, the company says.

Pricing for the WildCharger, which is slated for debut at CES … Read more

So you can't live without your smart phone, but even the smallest ones are still too bulky to carry comfortably in your pocket. And you refuse to relive the days when you had a calculator strapped to your belt. (We can't blame you.)

The "Koffski No. 1 Wallet" might be just the answer. No ordinary case, it looks like a shoulder holster that would have fit nicely under one of Eliot Ness' three-piece suits.

This is no cheap knockoff either: "Made from fine Rugato calfskin in Tuscany, the wallet-bag features a premium look with water … Read more

Samsung showed off phones for the coming HSUPA (that's High Speed Uplink Packet Access) standard at the ITU Telecom show in Hong Kong this week, paving the way for universal understanding between nations and fast video downloads.

HSUPA will deliver downlink speeds of 14.4 megabits per second, but a 5.76 megabit uplink. That means uploading five MP3 songs will only take about a minute. By contrast, the same procedure takes about five minutes on the WCDMA standard.

Samsung is one of the more aggressive cellular companies and for the past few years has tried to leapfrog past … Read more

If I had known the price of an unlocked Dolce & Gabbana Razr V3i was going to drop to about $350 from $700, I would have held out and bought that phone instead of the Razr V3 I ended up getting. Granted it's only gold-plated, not solid gold, but it still makes some kind of fashion statement. Best of all, I can just swap out the SIM card from my current Razr and slap it into this D&G Razr and instantly become blinged out. Now if I could just get a gold-plated MP3 player...

Not long ago VoIP phones were among the most utilitarian in design. But if the "Luna" handset from Ireland's Futiro is any indication, Internet phone makers have quickly learned the value of aesthetics in the consumer marketplace.

Regardless of what you think of the Luna's gently sloping lines, you've got to hand it to Futiro for trying. And according to Ubergizmo, it hasn't sacrificed functionality for the sake of appearance: "This unique device is Skype-certified and comes with a full telephone keypad, a speakerphone function that enables you to type as you talk, … Read more

Sometimes it seems that the entire population is wearing a headset or earphones. So why should there be a different pair for every function?

Sony Ericsson thinks there shouldn't, so it's come out with a wireless headset kit that can be used for Bluetooth cell phone signals, USB connections and even VoIP calls. It can run for up to 12 hours of continuous talk time or 300 when idle, according to Electronista.

Now if we can just figure out how to make it work with an iPod, we'll be all set.