Crave

On today's show, we've got Vienna Teng--singer, pianist, and former computer programmer. But before we get to her music, we have the PS3 Slim in the studio. Afterward, we talk to Vienna about her journey from software engineer at Cisco to touring musician.

(Credit: Vienna Teng)

(Credit: Sony)

At the top of the show, we do a little unboxing of the new PlayStation 3 Slim. While Vienna and Justin may not care too much about the game console, Jeff and Wilson don't particularly like its new finish. In almost all respects, however, it functions just like the original 80GB model that it replaces, plus it comes with a 120GB hard drive. (No Linux for those homebrew fans out there.)

The star of the show is Vienna, a singer, songwriter, and pianist from the San Francisco Bay Area who graduated from Stanford University. Vienna later took up a job at Cisco as a computer programmer and made the leap to musician during her time there. We end the first half of the show with a track from her first album "Waking Hour," called "Gravity." The song is about the ups and downs of her roommate's relationship.

On the second half of the show, we listen to her song "Radio" from her current album "Inland Territory." And we talk about how now one in four songs sold in the United States is through iTunes. Finally, we end the show with her song "Augustine." You can find her music on iTunes, Amazon, MySpace, Last.fm, and her own Web site. (Editor's note: Last.fm is a part of CBS Interactive, which also publishes CNET.)

No iPhone 3GS for Verizon, but the Omnia 2 is due to hit stores shortly.

(Credit: Samsung)

Since we posted a First Take of Samsung's Omnia 2 back in June, a lot of readers have been asking when Verizon would actually begin selling it. Well, according to the good folks over at the Boy Genius Report (who have a "trusted mole" at Best Buy Mobile), the much-anticipated iPhone pretender will be launching August 23, along with several other phones from different carriers.

Here's the complete list that leaked:

• Omnia 2 (Verizon)
• Global AirCard G2 (Verizon)
• Samsung Rogue (Verizon)
• LG Chocolate Touch (Verizon)
• Samsung u450 Intensity (Verizon)
• Samsung Gravity 2 (T-Mobile)
• Samsung Solstice (AT&T)
• LG Xenon (AT&T)
• BlackBerry Tour (new shipment--Sprint)

More:

Omnia 2 complete specs
Omnia 2 clears FCC

(Source: Gizmodo via Boy Genius Report)

Samsung Comeback

(Credit: Samsung)

On Tuesday, T-Mobile announced the upcoming availability of two new messaging cell phones, the Samsung Comeback and Samsung Gravity 2. The Comeback will be available starting Wednesday, July 22, for $129.99 with a two-year contract, while the Gravity 2 is expected to ship in August (though an exact release date and pricing were not announced at this time).

Perhaps the more interesting of the two is the Samsung Comeback. The handset features a flip design where the screen opens to the right (like a book) to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard. The phone has plenty of messaging options, with support for AOL, Yahoo, and Gmail accounts, AIM, and of course, text and multimedia messaging.

In addition, the Comeback is also 3G- and Bluetooth-enabled and offers assisted GPS with a complimentary 14-day trial of TeleNav. In addition, you get a 2-megapixel multi-shot camera/camcorder, up to 16GB expandable memory via the microSD expansion slot, and internal and external color displays. The Comeback will be available in pearl white plum or frost silver cherry.

Samsung Gravity 2

(Credit: Samsung)

Meanwhile, the Samsung Gravity 2 is the thinner successor to the Samsung Gravity, which came out in November 2008. Other than a sleeker design (4.49 inches by 2.05 inches by 0.59 inch and 4.4 ounces), the Samsung revamped the navigation controls and QWERTY keyboard, though it keeps the same horizontal slider design.

The Gravity 2 also gets an upgrade to a 2-megapixel camera and adds 3G support like the Comeback. Other highlights include Bluetooth, an MP3 player, a microSD expansion slot (up to 16GB), and myFaves support. The Samsung Gravity 2 will come in two color options--berry mauve or metallic pumpkin--when it's released in August.

Samsung Gravity

(Credit: James Martin/CNET News.com)

The Samsung Gravity dropped our way this week, and we had a chance to put it through its paces.

As we referenced in an earlier blog post, the Gravity reminds us a lot of the Samsung Rant, and even more so of the LG Rumor. Indeed, it even has a similar feature set to the Rumor. Like those other phones, the Gravity has a candy bar shape when closed, but has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard for easier texting. It doesn't have 3G or GPS, but it does have a pretty basic music player and the camera takes OK photos.

Even better, the Gravity is one of the cheapest messaging phones around at only $50 with a two-year service agreement and mail-in rebate from T-Mobile. So check out our gallery and read our review of the Samsung Gravity for the why this is a good choice for a budget-minded messaging fanatic.

The Samsung Gravity in lime.

(Credit: Samsung)

As we warned you two weeks ago, T-Mobile's Samsung Gravity goes on sale Monday.

The messaging phone is a dead ringer for the LG Rumor, in both features and design. Highlights include a slide-out alphabetical keyboard for rapid messaging, a 1.3-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, a speakerphone, organizer features, and a microSD-card slot. The Gravity (aka the SGH-T459) is Samsung's third messaging phone since October after the Propel and the Rant.

At T-Mobile, it joins the recently announced Samsung Behold touch-screen phone. It is available for $50 with service in either lime or aqua.

The The Samsung Gravity is a messaging phone.

(Credit: T-Mobile)

Samsung continued its fall deluge of new phones Thursday when it introduced two cell phones for T-Mobile. The Samsung Gravity is a messaging phone in the style of the recently-announced Samsung Rant, and the Samsung Behold (we don't know where Samsung comes up with these names, either) offers a full touch screen.

Though we thought the Rant was Samsung's answer to the popular LG Rumor, we see now that the Gravity (aka the SGH-T459) more closely resembles the LG phone. Features include a slide-out alphabetical keyboard for rapid messaging, a 1.3-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, a speakerphone, organizer features, and a microSD-card slot. It will be available in lime or aqua on November 17.

The Samsung Behold has a full touch screen.

(Credit: T-Mobile)

From what we can tell, the Behold has a sleek design, but we're not sure it's a sight to behold. Like the new Samsung Delve dropped by Alltel one week ago, the Behold (aka the SGH-T919) has a full touch screen with a virtual keyboard. Yet, its few physical keys more resemble those on the Samsung F480, which was born last February at the GSMA World Congress.

Features include Samsung's TouchWiz interface, a 5-megapixel camera with flash and video capture, a full Web browser, stereo Bluetooth, a speakerphone, organizer features, a microSD-card slot, and GPS. Also, in addition to being a quad band, the Behold will be compatible with T-Mobile's 3G network. The Behold will go on sale beginning November 10, and will be available in black or light rose.

(Credit: WND Telecom)

The other day a colleague was showing me WND Telecom's Web site, where he came across an interesting offering from the Korean phone manufacturer called the DUO Atom. The reason: It supports dual SIM cards and comes with a built-in gravity sensor.

To switch between the two accounts, all you have to do is rotate the phone 180 degrees. The sensor will detect the change in orientation and automatically reverse the screen and keypad to the other phone account.

All of which means that, even when the world is upside-down, you can still make your calls--twice.

(Source: Crave Asia)

(Credit: Gravity Zero)

Now this is a marked improvement in design over the last MP3 bed we encountered, unfortunately from afar. Then again, that shouldn't be particularly surprising given that this model is from a company based in the aesthetically conscious Netherlands.

The "Music Power Bed" from Holland's Gravity Zero has a 150-watt sound system built into its attached headboard, but that's just the beginning. It also comes with "two sleep system motors, two massage systems with 12 massage programs, Talalay Latex mattress, matched pillows, and pneumatic hand control," according to Uber-Review.

But before you throw out that futon you've had since college, check out the prices: The bed is part of a line that ranges from $10,000 to $50,000.