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HTC Touch Pro at CTIA Fall 2008

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)

CTIA Fall 2008 has finally come to a close. Though it was a relatively small show in comparison to its spring counterpart, we still heard quite a number of announcements about the latest cell phones and mobile applications. We've compiled them all in our CTIA Fall 2008 blog, plus we have plenty of slide shows and video of the new handsets as well.

The big announcements came from Sprint on the first day of the show. They debuted five new upcoming handsets, the Samsung Rant, the Samsung Highnote, the LG Lotus, the Motorola i576, and the HTC Touch Pro.

The One Click interface as seen on the Samsung Highnote. Here it's showing your latest horoscope as well as a news headline.

(Credit: Sprint)

The Rant is a slider handset with a QWERTY keyboard not unlike the LG Rumor, with a 2-megapixel camera and EV-DO. The Highnote is set to be one of Sprint's flagship music phones, with a stereo speaker as well as a 3.5mm headset jack. The LG Lotus is a fashionable messaging phone with a unique square shape, and the Motorola i576 is a rugged IDEN phone. The Rant, the Highnote, and the Lotus will also be the first three devices to support Sprint's new user interface called One Click. Last but definitely not least is the HTC Touch Pro, a Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone that's almost like the HTC Touch Diamond, except it has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Sprint also announced its new Ready Now retail experience, where they train all their customer service representatives to better assist customers with their phones.

Virgin Mobile also had a couple of announcements here at the show. First it introduced the new Helio by Virgin Mobile branding, signifying further collaborations with its newly acquired Helio division. Then it surprised us with the new Virgin Mobile Shuttle, the first-ever 3G handset from Virgin Mobile. It features EV-DO support, as well as location-based services previously found on Helio devices. Aside from the Shuttle, Virgin Mobile also launched new colors for some of its devices.

Though they weren't at the show technically, we did see a few Motorola handsets at the Mobile Focus show on the first day of CTIA. We took a look at Motorola's latest Rokr phones, as well as the much-awaited Motorola ZN5. The ZN5 is a beautiful handset equipped with a stunning 5-megapixel camera in partnership with Kodak. We also got a hands-on with the LG Invision, which was already soft-launched online, but will be officially launched in the retail channels later this year. It's the latest handset to support AT&T Mobile TV, AT&T's live streaming TV service.

Even though they didn't show any new handsets, Verizon released a few new services at the show. They include new music apps, a new V Cast mobile site, a mobile version of NYTimes.com, City ID, a Facebook partnership, new V Cast channels, and access to popular social networking sites. Nokia didn't make any handset announcements either, but it did reveal it is now offering Microsoft Activesync for all S60 phones.

Just prior to the show, RIM also revealed the RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220, which is RIM's first ever clamshell device. It's a quad-band phone with a 2-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth, and a rather large internal display. The new Pearl is slated to come out for T-Mobile, but price and availability are yet to be determined. RIM also introduced the BlackBerry Curve 8350i, the first ever BlackBerry with IDEN. Also on the smartphone front, Sony Ericsson teased at the launch of the Xperia X1, but only in Europe, and Velocity Mobile is finally shipping its first smartphone.

On the applications front, Yahoo announced a social networking app for the iPhone, Microsoft introduced a new mobile browser, RIM announces 'lifestyle' apps for the BlackBerry, QuickOffice demos iPhone apps, and the opening of Viigo Beta to the public.

Several industry topics also popped up during the show, like the so-called openness of cell phone carriers, Real Networks adding Internet video to its voice services, the rising cost of text messages, and the mobile 'tween market. AT&T also announced it's improving its location-based services and A-GPS network.

The QWERTY keyboard on the Blitz is made for texting

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)

On September 10, CTIA reported that American cell-phone subscribers are sending more text messages than ever despite the rising cost. About 75 billion SMS text messages were sent in June alone, according to the report. Of course, texting is only a relatively recent boom here in the U.S.--people from Europe and Asia have been sending and receiving text messages for years, most likely due to the low cost of texting over there.

With that in mind, many manufacturers are racing each other to develop messaging-centric phones with full QWERTY keyboards, but that aren't smart phones. The recently released Verizon Wireless Blitz has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and at CTIA this past week, Sprint announced the LG Lotus, which has a fold-out QWERTY keyboard. Samsung also announced the Samsung Rant, a slider device reminiscent of the LG Rumor, both of which have hidden QWERTY keyboards.

But will these devices be popular among frequent texters? I know several of my friends who learned to type out text messages with a 12-number keypad via T9, and claim that they actually text more slowly with a QWERTY keyboard. I hear the same thing with a lot of teenagers and tweens who've never used a phone with a QWERTY keyboard, and find texting with T9 easier. For those who are newer to texting though, I can see QWERTY phones like this being a big hit.

How about you, dear readers? Are you on the texting bandwagon? If so, how much do you text? Are you on an unlimited text-message plan, or do you opt for the cheaper ones? And would you be interested in any of these new messaging phones that aren't smart phones? Let us know in the comments below.

I finally had a chance to take a closer look at the Virgin Mobile Shuttle yesterday at the Mobile Focus show at CTIA. As you might recall, the Shuttle is Virgin Mobile's first ever 3G handset with EV-DO. It also has GPS functionality, and borrows a couple of Helio location-based services such as Buddy Beacon, a friend-finder application, and Where, which lets you find nearby restaurants or gas stations.

Despite its high-end features, the Shuttle looks and feels like any other Virgin Mobile phone. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but we were expecting a more sophisticated Helio-esque vibe to the overall design. As it is, it simply looks ordinary. That said, the Shuttle is a slender slider handset with nice curved tips toward the top and the bottom, and is clad in the classic red and black colors of Virgin Mobile.

The navigation array consist of two soft keys, a circular toggle, the Send and End/Power keys, a dedicated speakerphone key, and a Back key. The two soft keys, the speakerphone key, and the Back key are not physical buttons--they're actually touch-sensitive. Whenever you touch any of these buttons, the phone vibrates as a form of haptic feedback. I found this rather annoying, and would much prefer actual keys, but I only played with it for a few minutes so I'll have to wait to get our review unit for a proper verdict.

Virgin Mobile Shuttle

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)

The overall handset felt, well, kind of cheap. And the display isn't the best we've seen. However, considering it's only $99.99 without a contract, it's not that bad. Plus it has quite a number of features, such as a 1.3-megapixel camera, video capture and playback, a music player, stereo Bluetooth, 3G support, and GPS services.

The Virgin Mobile Shuttle will be available September 28 at Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile.

Much to my surprise, I spotted the LG Invision Wednesday night at the Mobile Focus show here at CTIA. Even though the LG Invision has launched with AT&T on August 20, it was just a soft launch on the online store and not an official launch across all its retail channels, and we have yet to receive a review unit. So, I was eager to get my hands on it to see how it really looks and feels in person.

As a reminder, the LG Invision is the latest handset to support AT&T Mobile TV, AT&T's live streaming TV service. It is only the third handset that supports this service--the other two are the LG Vu and the Samsung Access. The AT&T Mobile TV service currently works in around 58 markets in the country, but sadly San Francisco is not on that list.

But even though I couldn't test out the AT&T Mobile TV service, I did play around with the Invision for a little bit. Measuring 4 inches tall by 2 inches wide and less than 0.5 inch thick, the Invision is certainly the smallest and lightest of all the AT&T Mobile TV phones. As a device meant for watching video, I was also pleased to see such a vibrant and colorful display, though it is rather small at around 2.2 inches. I would probably prefer the Vu for watching video because of the wider screen.

LG Invision in hand

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)

You might notice that the keypad looks a bit unusual, and that's because LG has rearranged the keys so that the bottom three keys on the keypad are now flanked on the right side. This makes the handset feel slightly wider and shorter, and we think that people might have to get used to this new keypad arrangement. There's also a dedicated TV button around the navigation keys, plus the four-way toggle is arranged in a cross in the middle of the phone. I thought this felt cramped, but I'll have to use it for a longer period of time to really get a feel for it. The back of the phone is clad in a rubberized texture that feels a little like faux leather, which makes the phone easier to grip.

Other features of the Invision include a 1.3-megapixel camera, HSDPA speeds, AT&T Mobile Music support, a music player, and stereo Bluetooth. It is available online only for $99.99 with a $50 mail-in rebate and a two-year service agreement, and LG says it'll be available in retail stores later this year.

Moto's handset division has a tiny presence at CTIA Fall 2008 but that didn't stop the Motorola ZN5 from lurking at the company's table at a press event. Ever since the ZN5 was announced in June and then cleared the FCC the next month, we've been waiting with bated breath to get our hands on the fancy camera phone. We still don't have a review model, so we relished our opportunity Wednesday night to give it a short shakedown.

Check out our Motorola ZN5 slide show.

On the outside it's a beautiful device with a sleek profile and an understated style. I liked the dark gray color scheme that's nicely offset with a couple touches of purple. The handset feels great in the hand--both sturdy and comfortable without being exclusively hefty (5.65 inches by 1.98 inches by 0.47 inch; 4.02 ounces). The gorgeous display takes up almost half of the phone's front face. Graphics and colors were sharp and it has the same simple but easy-to-use interface that we saw on the Motorola Rokr E8.

I particularly liked the circular toggle on the navigation array, which has a nice tactile feel that compensates for its relatively small size. I had no issues navigating through menus or controlling different functions. The remaining controls are flush but their spacious arrangement makes them user-friendly.

The keypad buttons are also flush but they feature the same tiny silver bumps that we saw on the Rokr E8. That gives them a bit of a tactile feel for dialing and texting quickly. Also, the bright backlighting should help in dim situations.

The Motorola ZN5 is a conversation piece.

(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET Networks)

On the side of the ZN5 are a volume rocker, a 3.5mm headset jack, a micro USB port, and a camera shutter key. Turn it over and you'll find the bright flash and the sliding camera lens cover. Opening the cover starts the camera automatically.

Remember that the ZN5 is all about photography. Moto got help from Kodak to produce the 5-megapixel shooter, from the design of the camera itself to a seamless integration with Kodak's EasyShare Software and the online Kodak Gallery. You can find details on the camera here, but it's worth noting that it offers many of the same features you'd find on a standalone shooter.

We gave the camera a quick spin and were especially impressed with the panorama mode. After you take the first shot for your panorama, the phone will vibrate until you move it to the correct position for the next shot. Once you're there, the camera will snap the next image automatically. There's no reason for you to try to struggle with lining up a tree in the backgrounds. It's a nifty feature that bodes well for the camera as a whole.

Moto is promising that we'll get a review unit in the next few weeks and we're counting the days until then. North American availability is still under wraps but we couldn't help but notice that the ZN5 that we played with was running on a T-Mobile SIM card? Coincidence? We think not.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)

While the fall CTIA show has never been known for big handset announcements, 2008 brought a number of debuts, including a handful of smartphones. From the RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 and the HTC Touch Pro to the Velocity 103, check out all the new models in our photo gallery.

Fall CTIA 2008 smartphones gallery

The Motorola i365 is a beast of a phone.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)

Last week, Motorola announced the new i365 for Sprint Nextel, and Wednesday at CTIA Fall 2008 Sprint showed the phone off to the world. We can only say that it's a Nextel phone through and through. It's big, bulky, and built to last. It even has the external antenna that so many other cell phones have ditched.

Features are about what you'd expect from an iDEN phone. Goodies include, support for the Direct Connect push-to-talk network, Nextel's second line feature, Bluetooth, and GPS. As we said before, iDEN is in no danger of disappearing. The i365 and the Motorola i576 are two of four new iDEN phones that Sprint Nextel is promising before the end of the year.

From left to right: the Motorola Rokr EM30, EM28, and EM25.

(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET Networks)

Early last month, Motorola released three new Rokr phones, but it wasn't until a CTIA Fall 2008 media event when we had the chance to examine them for ourselves. They include the Rokr EM30, the Rokr EM28, and the Rokr EM25.

At the top of the food chain is the Rokr EM30. Like the Motorola Rokr E8 it offers a candy bar design and a ModeShift keypad. Features include a music player (of course), an FM radio, text-to-speech technology, Moto's CrystalTalk, a micorSD card slot, a 2-megapixel camera, an FM radio, a 3.5mm headset jack, and stereo Bluetooth.

The Rokr EM28 sports a standard flip phone design. It offers a music player, an FM radio, a 1.3-megapixel camera, Moto's CrystalTalk, external music controls, stereo Bluetooth, and a memory card slot.

On the low end is the Rokr EM25 slider phone. There's a music player, an FM radio, a 3.5mm headset jack, a microSD card slot, a 1.3-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, and Moto's CrystalTalk feature.

In what is perhaps Slacker's first step in offering its music service on third-party devices, the company has partnered with RIM to bring a mobile Slacker application to RIM's line of BlackBerry smartphones. The app, which will be available in October for free, will essentially turn the mobile device into a Slacker Portable Player--it works in largely the same way as the firmware on the player. More details after the jump.

(Credit: RIM/Slacker)

The first step is to log onto the Slacker Personal Radio Web site and create a list of favorite stations from more than 100 professionally programmed options, which range from dance and hip-hop to gospel and comedy. You can also save any of the more than 10,000 artist-based stations as well as create your own custom stations using a blend of artists. You can then select up to 40 of your saved stations for transferring to the BlackBerry (the number of stations/songs depends on the device's memory card). Then, you'll need to connect the device to sync your favorites over USB. However, that could be the only time you ever need a hardwire connection to Slacker, depending on how often you want to swap out the actual channels.

Once your stations are saved on the device, getting new music is a completely wireless process. If you get sick of any channel's rotation, a few easy clicks will allow you to refresh the station over Wi-Fi or your cellular network. The new songs are then cached in the BlackBerry's memory so you can listen to the new music without keeping an open connection--and without having to reconnect to your computer. There is also an option to stream stations that are not saved on the device; again, either Wi-Fi or the cell network will suffice for this feature, though Wi-Fi will likely offer a more hiccup-free streaming experience.

As with the Slacker Web service and device, the BlackBerry app will feature Heart and Ban buttons (in the form of onscreen soft keys). Users will have the option to pause playback and skip tracks, but will not be able to reverse through the playlist. Best of all, the service continues to be completely free--paid for by a reasonably limited smattering of audio and visual ads--unless you elect to pay $7.50 for the Premium service, which does away with the ads and skip limits, and adds the ability to save songs in your library. Hopefully, this announcement is just a glimpse of things to come from Slacker.