Wireless

(Credit: Samsung/Inhabitat)

I have a few friends (who shall remain nameless) who are often unreachable because they don't charge their phones when they should. These same friends should look into the new Samsung Blue Earth, which is to be unveiled in a couple days at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The phone is green, despite its blue color, and it's not just the integrated solar panels that make it so. The Blue Earth is made of recycled plastic, features a pedometer, and even software that reaffirms just how much you're helping the planet by using it. If Al Gore had one of these mobile devices in hand, it would likely explode.

Besides being handy and eco-friendly, the phone appears to be gorgeous. The solar panels reside on the back, and the front is a full touch screen. Despite the new technologies, it should fit nicely in your pocket. We should know more about pricing and availability next week.

Another group that might find this phone attractive would be those crazy outdoorsy types: campers, hunters, fish enthusiasts, and other sportsmen could extend their trips into the wilderness while remaining in contact with the outside world in case of emergencies. We'd like to see other phones with practical solar panels just for this.

Despite a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign, the new BlackBerry Storm has gotten off to a shaky start, according to The Wall Street Journal.

(Credit: Verizon Wireless)

The Storm, which is Research In Motion's first touch-screen device, was supposed to be Verizon Wireless's iPhone killer. Verizon is the exclusive carrier for the Storm. Apple's iPhone is sold exclusively by AT&T. Verizon and RIM had supposedly been working on the device even before AT&T launched the original iPhone two and a half years ago.

The Storm launched in November, in time for the holiday-shopping season. And while it sold well initially with about 500,000 shipping the first month, the Journal reports that many customers who bought the device are complaining of buggy software and hardware glitches.

Specifically, consumers say that the software used to type on the touch screen, which requires you to press down on the face of the phone, is sluggish. I have used the device on and off since it was launched November 21, and I'd agree that it is clunky.

Other examples: the accelerometer that senses and changes the view on the screen when it's turned on its side is slow. And sometimes the "sure press" screen is difficult to use because it registers the wrong character.

Verizon and RIM rushed the device to market, perhaps before it was really ready, according to the Journal article. The newspaper notes that Jim Balsillie, RIM's co-CEO said the companies reached the Black Friday deadline "by the skin of their teeth," after they had missed a planned October debut.

Hundreds of people lined up outside some Verizon Wireless stores to buy the new BlackBerry Storm on Friday, but many walked away empty handed.

The Storm, which has been hyped for months, went on sale Friday morning. The device is the first BlackBerry phone to have a touch screen, making it a strong competitor to the Apple iPhone on AT&T's network. Since Verizon Wireless announced it would be the exclusive U.S. carrier for the Storm, the wireless operator has been expecting it to be a hit. In fact, it's the only new phone the company is introducing before the busy holiday season. Last year, Verizon launched four new phones before the holidays.

Reuters reported earlier Friday that more than 200 people lined up outside a Verizon Wireless store in midtown Manhattan, and the store was sold out of the new phone within an hour of opening at 8 a.m. Other stores in Washington, D.C. and New Jersey also had lines of 100 people or more, Reuters said.

And in San Francisco smaller lines of about 20 people waited outside Verizon stores at 8 a.m. Of course, these lines are small compared to the frenzy surrounding launches for the Apple iPhone. For both the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G released in July, people waited in line for days outside Apple stores and AT&T stores around the country to be among the first to get their hands on the gadget.

Brenda Raney, a spokeswoman for Verizon Wireless, said that Verizon Wireless has plenty of BlackBerry Storms in its warehouses around and that customers who weren't able to get a phone on Friday will be able to order the phone and have it delivered to their homes within four to five days.

Raney also said that stores will be getting more shipments of Storms. She knew of three that had already gotten shipments this afternoon. Two stores in Manhattan, the Verizon Store on 34th St. and one at 1095 Avenue of the Americas, and one store in Paramus, NJ received shipments Friday afternoon.

Other stores may be getting shipments on Saturday, so customers may want to check out their local Verizon store over the weekend, she suggested.

Vodafone Group, one of Verizon Wireless's two parent companies, is selling the BlackBerry Storm in Europe. It also said it was struggling to meet demand for the storm when it launched the device, according to Reuters.

Initial reviews of the BlackBerry Storm have been fairly good. The device, which has a touch screen, media player, full browser and comes with 9 Gigabytes of storage (1 GB on the device and an 8 GB microSD card), is seen as a strong alternative to the iPhone for customers who prefer Verizon Wireless's network. But critics also point out the phone's shortcomings in comparison to the iPhone. For example touch screen requires users actually push down on the screen to select a button or click through a link, making typing on the device somewhat slow and cumbersome. And the biggest complaint is the Storm's lack of Wi-Fi, which is supported in the iPhone.

Verizon Wireless may have found its iPhone killer.

(Credit: Verizon Wireless)

On Friday, Verizon will be the first and only wireless carrier in the U.S. to offer Research in Motion's new BlackBerry Storm. The device, which costs $199 with a two-year contract and a $50 mail-in rebate, is the first phone that could give Apple's iPhone--offered exclusively on AT&T's network for the same price--a run for its money.

I checked out the new touch-screen phone this week and have been playing around with it for a few days. My first impression is that it's pretty cool. It shares many of the same features that have made the iPhone popular, such as a touch screen, media player, and full HTML browser, making it a strong alternative to the iPhone. (For a full review of the device check out CNET Reviews where editor Bonnie Cha has put the device through its paces.)

But RIM has also been careful to retain the popular features and functionality that have catapulted its BlackBerry devices to iconic status among corporate types.

Take the touch screen as an example, BlackBerry users are accustomed to pushing actual keys. And many people I know who carry both a BlackBerry and an iPhone say they prefer the BlackBerry when it comes to sending text messages or e-mail, because they like the feel of touching buttons.

RIM didn't want to lose this feeling, so the company made sure that users still have to push down on the touch screen as if they were actually hitting a button. As an Apple iPhone user, I have to admit, it took me a little while to get used to the Storm's "push" touch screen. But in some ways I think it's an improvement over the iPhone touch screen. I can't tell you how many times I've accidentally called someone or sent a text message before I was ready to hit send, because my finger brushed across that area on the iPhone touch screen.

Another improvement over the iPhone is the fact that the Storm has 1 gigabyte of internal storage and can use a standard microSD storage card to support up to an additional 16 GB of data storage. And because they are standard storage cards, they can be swapped out and replaced. By contrast, the iPhone 3G comes in two versions, an 8GB model and a 16GB model. The storage can't be removed or swapped.

(Credit: Verizon Wireless)

Also, the Storm has a removable battery. Again, this appeals to me, because the iPhone's battery can't be removed, which means if it dies, so does my iPhone.

The gloomier forecast
But the Storm isn't a perfect device either. And there are a few things that I prefer on the iPhone. For one, the Storm lacks Wi-Fi. Verizon Wireless' representatives told me they opted not to include Wi-Fi because it adds "bulk, cost, and is a drain on the battery."

But truth be told, I think Verizon didn't want Wi-Fi because the company would rather have customers surf its 3G wireless network. While 3G speeds are a huge improvement over 2.5G speeds, they simply don't hold a candle to Wi-Fi. I can download e-mails and Web pages on my iPhone when using Wi-Fi much faster than when I am using AT&T's 3G network. And I can't imagine it would be much different on Verizon's 3G network.

Beyond its lack of Wi-Fi, I'd say that I prefer the touch screen navigation and Web browsing experience on the iPhone to the Storm. This of course, is a matter of personal taste. The new BlackBerry browser is slick and it works well. It's definitely a huge improvement over its older browsers. But zooming in on pages on the Storm requires clicking a button or actually clicking the screen. And I prefer the iPhone's pinching and brushing movements. But that's just me.

Overall, I think RIM has come out with a device that will give any consumer seriously considering a new touch screen smartphone an alternative to the iPhone. As a result, I think it could help Verizon retain customers ,who have been tempted to leave the carrier for the iPhone.

Let's face it, Verizon's previous attempts at introducing a so-called iPhone kliller have been lackluster. The LG Voyager and the LG Dare, looked cool and sleek, but they weren't true smartphones. RIM's other BlackBerry models have lacked the touch screen and cool factor.

Even though Verizon has not seen huge numbers of its subscribers leave its network since the iPhone was first introduced a year and a half ago, it has lost some as a result. But now, customers who are satisfied with Verizon Wireless's coverage and network reliability, won't have to leave to get a really cool device.

Research In Motion's latest phone, the BlackBerry Storm, is only about a week old, and the blogosphere is already churning up the next set of BlackBerry rumors.

BlackBerry Storm

(Credit: RIM)

First on the list, The Boy Genius blog reported Friday that RIM is preparing a 3G GSM version of the touch-screen BlackBerry Storm. Currently, the Storm, which was released last week for Verizon Wireless' network, only works on CDMA-based 3G, or third-generation, networks.

But now, The Boy Genius is reporting that RIM is making an HSDPA version of the phone, which means that it could operate on AT&T in the U.S. and Rogers Communications in Canada. The GSM version of the phone, which is being called the BlackBerry 9900 Pluto, is expected to look a lot like the current BlackBerry Storm, the blog said. There's no word on an exact launch date, but The Boy Genius blog said it expects RIM to announce the phone at the Wireless Enterprise Symposium in May.

But that's not the only RIM rumor going around. The blog also said that RIM is preparing to launch a new touch-screen BlackBerry that will include a full QWERTY key pad. The device is said to have many of the same specifications as the BlackBerry Bold. But it's supposed to be similar in size and feel to the BlackBerry Curve.

There has been no mention yet of a launch date for the new touch-screen BlackBerry, so stay tuned. My colleague Bonnie Cha and I will keep our ears to the ground on this one and report tidbits of impending new devices as they pop up.

Nokia is preparing to enter the touch-screen cell phone market next week, with the debut of its first finger-sensitive phone, according to a Reuters report.

Nokia's head office, in Espoo, Finland.

(Credit: Nokia)

The European handset makeris planning to take the wraps off its touch-screen phone, code-named "Tube," during an event Thursday in London for analysts and the media, according to Reuters, which cites two unnamed sources. (For more, including a photo, see "Hold the phone: Nokia's Tube is the Nokia 5300!")

The Tube will join a field that has been getting crowded since Apple debuted its popular iPhone a little over a year ago. Since then, competitors such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have come on the scene with their own touch-screen phones. Earlier this week, T-Mobile unveiled its G1, a touch-screen device that is the first to run Google's Android software.

Nokia noted in July that it planned to enter the touch-screen market and was initially aiming for the low end of the market, Reuters reported.

A representative from Nokia could not immediately be reached.