SmartPhones

All iPhone bashing aside, the HTC TouchPro2 is still one of the hottest smartphones on the market today. Two months ago, when it first came out, this slide-out keyboard, touchscreen smartphone was flying off the shelves so fast it had gone out of stock after even at Verizon's own online store. Then, when they refilled inventories, the device voted Hot for the Holidays at the last CTIA convention, only remained in stock for one day. A little less than one month ago, the TouchPro2 was sold out again.

But now, as of November 9, nearly two months after the TouchPro2's release, supplies have finally been restocked once more. How long will it last in stock, though?

Probably not long, even in the face of the Droid. The HTC TouchPro2 is a world phone, for one, and the Droid is not. Add to that a tilting touchscreen and one of the best keyboards for texting and you have a device that looks way more like a champ than a contender.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: Droid, HTC, iphone, TouchPro2, verizon, Windows Mobile Smartphones

Verizon is having a "fire sale" on its smartphones, slashing prices by as much as $100 and dropping prices on some of its devices to unbelievably lows in an obvious effort to push out old stocks before new holiday inventories come in (such as the HTC TouchPro 2 and the Blackberry Storm 2). This in an obvious effort to compete with AT&T's recently slashed prices on the iPhone and iPhone 3G.

Included in the bargains are several $99 deals (with 2-year contracts, of course) on smartphones like the HTC Touch Diamond, the Blackberry Storm, and the Samsung Omnia. The biggest price drop (also to $99.99) is for the HTC TouchPro which came down from a staggering $419.

The Blackberry Curve (recently revealed as the top selling smartphone of 2009 Q2) is getting a price cut down to an incredible $49.99.

Even the newer Verizon smartphone handsets are getting discounts (though not as heavy ones, of course) like the Blackberry Tour which will sell for $149, and the Samsung Saga, both carried by Verizon Wireless, are not discounted in this sale.

According to Boy Genius Report (which broke the story) the TouchPro2 should be out soon, while the Storm2 will probably not see the light of day until sometime in November. That gives smartphone users plenty of time to devour the good bargains available now.

Clearly whether they're doing it to compete with the iPhone's slash in prices (and particularly the $99 iPhone 3G 8 GB model) or in an effort to clear out TouchPro and Storm handsets to make way for their successors, one thing is for sure: Verizon Wireless is now deeply entrenched in the smartphone price wars.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: AT&T, Blackberry, Curve, HTC, iphone, iphone 3g, Omnia, Saga, Samsung, Storm, Storm 2, Touch Diamond, TouchPro, TouchPro 2, verizon

The Nokia N97 is out in the U.S. now, and it was all set to be the likeliest contender for the title of iPhone Killer of 2009...and they priced the devices at $700 and put themselves completely out of the running.

At least that's what many smartphone customers and industry analysts believe. Pricing the N97 at $700 is putting it in a completely different marketing category than the $99 iPhone, which makes it very difficult for the Nokia device to compete.

Even the Palm Pre, which also bodes well as an iPhone alternative, only rings in at $299--and it has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard to boot. Oh wait, so does the Nokia N97. Well still, flagship smartphone or no flagship smartphone, what is Nokia's logic in the N97's $700 price tag?

One advantage of the Nokia N97 over the iPhone, for some users at least, is that it's not tied to any particular wireless carrier, so people can use their favorite--AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile--as they wish.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: iphone, Nokia, Nokia N97, Palm, Palm Pre

This year's Consumer Electronics Show--not typically a place where mobile phones generally stand out--saw a smartphone, namely the new Palm Pre, win the CNET Best of CES Award.

And that was only 1 of 3 awards Palm's new iPhone-killer (the most promising looking contender for that position in 2009) which also won:

• the Best of CES Award in the Cellphone category
• the People's Voice Award

The LG Watch Phone, however, probably walked away with the Wow-Factor award of the year.

Meanwhile the Motorola Surf A3100 touchscreen smartphone earned itself a Best of CES nomination, at least. Motorola also rolled out its "Green" smartphone--in that it's built from recycled water bottles--the Renew W233 and it's rough-and-tumble AT&T Tundra A76r.

Other highlights of the introductions made at the 2009 CES include:

• RIM and T-Mobile's BlackBerry Curve 8900
• T-Mobile Shadow
• HTC S743
• as US version of the Nokia E63
• and the eagerly-anticipated Nokia N97

The quietest voice on the CES smartphone stage this year was no doubt Samsung, who barely had a thing to show but for the T-Mobile SGH-T119.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: AT&T, Best of CES Award, Blackberry, Blackberry Curve 8900, CES, CNET, Consumer Electronics Show, green smartphone, HTC S743, iphone, iPhone-killer, LG, Moto, Motorola, Nokia E63, Nokia N97, Palm Pre, People's Voice Award, recycled water bottles, Renew W233, RIM, Samsung, SGH-T119, Shadow, Surf A3100, T-Mobile, Tundra A76r, Watch Phone

Despite all the iPhone 3G, the Samsung Blackjack II got the top rating in Consumer Reports’ 2009 issue which, among other features, looks back at the best smartphones of 2008.

The media-darling iPhone and the equally hype-laden T-Mobile G1 (the HTC Google Android smartphone) didn’t even make the Top 5, instead tying with one another for 6th.

The remaining Top 5 behind the Samsung Blackjack II were:
2.  T-Mobile Wing
1. Motorola Q9C
2. T-Mobile Shadow
3. BlackBerry Pearl Flip

There is, however, a HUGE caveat to this list, albeit not one that affects the iPhone’s status any (or the HTC G-1’s for that matter), that being that the following contenders were released too late in the year to be considered in the running:
• BlackBery Bold
• BlackBerry Storm
• HTC Touch Pro and all its variants

Surely, that would have made a big difference to the results.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: Android, BlackBerry Bold, Blackberry Pearl Flip, BlackBerry Storm, Blackjack, Blackjack II, Consumer Reports, G-1, G1, Google Phone, HTC, HTC Touch Pro, iphone, iphone 3g, Motorola, Q9C, Samsung, Shadow, T-Mobile, Wing

Fresh off of being dumped by Apple after such a short relationship, Intel has wasted no time in dusting itself off and getting back to work producing its next best thing.

Known for years as the world’s best chip makers (a title that’s now in question), Intel has trained its efforts on a whole new arena. That’s right – smartphones!

Observing the massive success of the iPhone (and maybe even to get back at Steve Jobs and Co., maybe?) Intel revealed its own new platform (read: operating system or OS) for mobile internet devices (MIDs) and smartphones.

Of course, Intel’s interest in the arena probably has little to do with Apple’s success or its jilting of Intel’s flaghsip product. What it really has to do with is an awareness that handheld internet use is not only the wave of the future, but it still has so much room for growth.

Recognizing that no company has yet perfected the art of delivering versatile internet functionality in an optimal format, Intel has now demonstrated “Moorestown” to the technorati and announced plans to release the OS around the of ’09 or beginning of ’10.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: apple, Intel, iphone, MID, mobile internet device, Moorestown, OS, Steve Jobs

As if there weren’t enough self-avowed iPhone Killers on the market, Steve Jobs reportedly has a new opponent entering the ring to duke it out with his reigning champ of mobile PCs for dominance over the smartphone market in one Michael Dell.

Dell Computers’ leader announced at the Citi Technology Conference, an investor’s conference in New York a week ago Wednesday that his company may come out with an iPhone competitor, though he asserts that the device, if it is ever made, will not see the light of day anytime soon. (That sounds like confirmation by denial if ever we’ve heard it).

What this says to us is that a “Dell Phone” is probably already in the works, but that the company’s namesake feels it too premature to make any definitive revelations, only willing to admit, “I think you will see us with small screen devices” and “You’ll see us with smaller and smaller devices that have capabilities of the device you are referring to” (ahem).

The recent hiring of a former Motorola exec helped fuel the speculation about the alleged new venture for Dell

written by admin \\ tags: Apple iPhone, dell smartphone, iphone, iphone review

No doubt in response to Apple’s broad-sweeping (and industry dominating) success with mobile music offered through iTunes Mobile and the iPhones, telephony stalwart Nokia has introduced a new product/service (which is which these days – can anybody tell anymore?) called “Comes With Music”

“Comes With Music” provides compatible Nokia smartphone purchasers (starting with the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic “Comes with Music Phone” a full year of unlimited access to the entire music catalog of Nokia’s Music Store (honestly, I didn’t even know they had one).

In cooperation with Sony BMG, Universal Music Group (UMG), and Warner Music, Nokia is granting its customers access to more than 2 million tracks. And most excitingly, customers will apparently be able to continue to possess and listen to all the music they download using the service even after their one year subscription period expires.

A novel concept and a worthy attempt to compete with the near monopolistic iTunes Music Store (and more specifically iTunes Mobile), the new effort debuts in the UK sometime after its official announcement and launching scheduled in London, England on October 2.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: apple, Comes with Music, iphone, iTunes, iTunes Mobile, iTunes Music Store, Nokia, Nokia 5310 XpressMusic, Sony BMG, UMG, Universal Music Group, Warner Music

Last week we reviewed the new Palm Treo 800w and already, just a few days later, we catch wind of Palm's next Treo, not yet released but on the horizon. The Palm Treo Pro is its name - aka the Palm Treo 850w - and as its name implies, this upcoming Palm will be geared towards the business customer.

With a sleeker, slimmer, flashier, and more professional looking design than its predecessors (and consumer counterparts), the leaked photos and Flash vidoe demos show a Treo that may take Palm to the next level, on par with the BlackBerry Bold, Samsung Instinct, and - yes - the Apple iPhone.

But the latest Treo for enterprise customers has as many similarities to the Palm Treo 800w as it does differences, with:

• a touchscreen
• 320 x 320 resolution
• a microSD expansion slot
• a QWERTY keyboard
• Wi-Fi
• a 3.5 mm headphone jack
• etc.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: apple, Apple iPhone, Blackberry, BlackBerry Bold, Bold, Instinct, iphone, microSD, Palm, Palm Treo, Palm Treo 800w, Palm Treo 850w, Palm Treo Pro, QWERTY, Samsung, Samsung Instinct, touchscreen, Treo 800w, Treo 850w, Wi-Fi

It's called the Nokia E71 and it's just made technology history (or at least the record books) as the thinnest QWERTY-keyboard smartphone in the world. The latest in the Nokia E-Series of handsets for business, the E71 is the replacement for the Nokia E61.

The E71 is HSDPA network capable and features a built-in GPS and both the Nokia email software and Microsoft Exchange. It also offers two home screens you can switch between at will - one for home and one for the office. And the digital camera (with flash) is a whopping 3.2 megapixels.

By designing a casing that's thin and compact, Nokia aims to appeal to those business users who take their handheld with them everywhere and are constantly holding it, using it, and interacting with it. The fact that the E71 boasts a durable hard metal casing is another appeal to businesspeople always on-the-go.

So while the RIM BlackBerry is busy battling the Apple iPhone, the Nokia E71 seems to be sneaking in from behind for some of the BlackBerry's business.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: 3.2 megapixels, apple, Blackberry, business smartphone, digital camera, E61, E71, GPS, hsdpa, iphone, Nokia, RIM