smart

Stick a fork in it; day two of CTIA 2007 is done-zo. By this point, most of the big product and service announcements have already been made, but that doesn't mean the show's over people. No, no. There were still cell phones to be seen, accessories to be touched, and smart phones to be examined. Plus, with all the madness of opening day over with, we were able to spend more time scouring the show floor looking for those hidden treasures that are sometimes overlooked. So, here's a roundup of today's news.

Cell phones: Verizon Wireless … Read more

We had a chance to sit down with the Windows Live for Mobile team this morning, and chat about life, love, and the pursuit of all things mobile. As you may remember, one of the new features of Windows Mobile 6 was the Windows Live integration, bringing with it improvements to contact synchronization, search, and instant messaging. And we should expect to see more integration of core applications in the near future, according to Matt Champagne, director of mobile product management for Microsoft. Already the team has released a local search client for the U.S. and U.K. markets … Read more

We were pretty stoked when Samsung told us they had a Samsung Ultra Smart F700 that we could actually touch and drool over, but the excitement was short-lived when we found out it wasn't a working model. Bummer. Still, we got some hands-on time with F700 and came away with a couple of thoughts. First, the VibeTonz technology is a little startling. This feature causes the phone to slightly vibrate when you slide up the cover or use the keyboard. Personally, I think this would get old after a while, but hopefully there's an option to turn it … Read more

Well, good on ya, Palm. Today, the company announced that it will offer Treo 750 owners an update to Windows Mobile 6 Professional Edition. Not only does this bring the new e-mail search functionality, Calendar Ribbon, and Windows Live for Mobile integration, but for Cingular/AT&T customers, it also adds support for the carrier's UMTS/HSDPA 3G network. Sweet. Palm said it will release the upgrade later this year, but we're trying to get a hard date--or at least a more specific time frame from the company, so check back for more details.

Start saving your pennies, Cravers: the much-coveted Nokia N95 is coming to the United States. That's right, baby. Scheduled for a late spring release, the N95 brings an innovative two-way slider design, integrated GPS, Wi-Fi, and a 5-megapixel camera, just to name a few of the phone's goodies. Unfortunately, it looks like the HSDPA support will be stripped out of the U.S. version though. What the? Booooo! For now, the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; EDGE) N95 won't be released with any carrier, so the good news is it's not tied down to one … Read more

Symbian chose CTIA 2007 as its stage to unveil the latest version of its smart phone operating system, Symbian OS v9.5. The revamped OS brings a number of improvements to e-mail, multimedia, and performance. Notable enhancements include Exchange ActiveSync integration, automatic RAM defragmentation, 35 new camera features, and more support for GPS and location-based services. Symbian also claims that v9.5 will reduce battery, processor, and memory consumption, making it a more affordable solution and allowing more handset manufacturers to use the OS in midrange devices and not just high-end smart phones. Version 9.5 won't be available … Read more

We stopped by Motorola's booth today at CTIA 2007 and among other things, got an update on the whereabouts of the Motorola Q GSM and Motorola Q q9. Apparently, the GSM Moto Q won't be coming to the States because there isn't much interest. Ohhhh, really? I would have thought otherwise based on the number of reader e-mails I get about this device. Then again, we can understand how interest for the GSM Q would wane in the shadow of the faster, more powerful Motorola Q q9, which, by the way, has been renamed the Motorola Q … Read more

Last night at Pepcom in Orlando, Nokia demoed Real's recently-released version of Rhapsody for the N800 Internet Tablet. Or at least that was the plan: as I'm not actually at CTIA, I can't confirm that the demo ever really happened. What is certain, however, is that N800 owners who also subscribe to Rhapsody will now have direct access to the music service on their tablets (as long as there is a Wi-Fi connection available at the time). Users can search the entire Rhapsody catalog, browse their libraries, listen to playlists and Channels, and read editorial commentary--pretty much … Read more

At CTIA, Inrix announced its new traffic service, downloadable to Windows Mobile devices, which can even tell you what the traffic will be like in the future. We, having recently been stuck in a traffic jam and unable to find any information about it on the radio, will be quite happy with the service's reporting on current conditions. The app, called Inrix Traffic, shows real-time traffic flow and traffic incidents, such as accidents or construction, so you can get a good idea why you're going 5mph in a 65mph zone.

But Inrix has developed a substantial database of … Read more