SmartPhones

Recently this blog reported on results of a study that showed the RIM Blackberry OS to be the "best" smartphone OS among industry analysts. However, according to an informal survey conducted by internet technology review stalwart CNet, the preferred smartphone operating system among consumers (or at least, CNet readers) is Windows Mobile.

Smartphones running Windows Mobile include the Samsung Blackjack, the Motorola Q (the top two tier-1 smartphones), as well as many manufactured by HTC, including the widely-popular HTC Tilt.

Based on pure market share alone, the study of 130 users showed Windows Mobile at 42.3%, RIM Blackberry at 19.2%, Apple OS X at 17.7%, and Symbian and Palm OS at 10%. Those are the stats for operating systems. As for smartphone manufacturers, RIM and HTC both took the lead, tying with a 19.2% market share each, Apple following close behind with 17.7%, Motorola at third with 11.5%, Palm at 10%, and all the rest (Nokia, Samsung, etc.) taking the remaining 22.3%.

Interestingly enough, the praise for Windows Mobile was balanced out (read: marred or tainted), however, by half of the respondents reporting complaints of the very same OS. Finally, a whopping 66% of CNet readers responding the survey said they would be likely to consider purchasing an Apple iPhone as their next smartphone, three times more than those who said they'd opt for the second place contender, the Blackberry.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: apple, Blackberry, CNET, HTC, HTC Tilt, iphone, Microsoft, Motorola, Motorola Q, Nokia, Palm, RIM, Samsung, Symbian, Windows Mobile

The world leader in travel resources - AAA - is now accessible via the Blackberry, specifically the 8830 and the 8130. AAA Mobile, downloadable through the Blackberry's GPS app and powered by Networks in Motion, now makes the world's favorite handy devices even handier, adding the following of its services to its menu:

• TourBook Guide Travel Information
• Navigation
• Member Roadside Assistance

This makes the RIM Blackberry the first smartphone device compatible with AAA's award-winning local search and navigation applications. Even Blackberry users who aren't AAA members can still subscribe to AAA Mobile and get access to:

• audio/visual directions to any U.S. destination
• the locations of AAA-approved POIs (points of interest)
• the locations of Diamond Rated restaurants and hotels
• a searchable listing of more than 100,000 destinations that offer member savings to those who present their AAA or AAA Mobile card
• detailed maps of all of the above
• bookmarking features

The service also streamlines the process of using AAA roadside assistance by transmitting one's location via their GPS to the nearest AAA-approved responder.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: AAA, AAA Mobile, Blackberry, Diamond Rated, directions, GPS, hotels, maps, POI, restuarants, RIM, TourBook Guide, Travel Information

A recent survey by Handango shows that smartphone users use their smartphones for far more than making and receiving calls and emails. It seems more and more people are using their smartphones more and more for entertainment purposes than in the previous two years when the devices were primarily used for professional and business purposes. Entertainment has just recently eked above business use 17% to 16% and looks only to be climbing higher from here.

Analysts attribute this shift to a shift in the predominant market for smartphones, that being from techies and executives to everyday consumers. The reining leader in the world of smartphones - still RIM, despite the big splash made recently by the Apple iPhone - reports that the 10 best-selling applications for their revered Blackberry includes:

• Ringtones and ringtone libraries
• Games (like Sudoku and Texas Hold'em)
• Instant messengers
• Travel assistants

And the Blackberry isn't alone in this. One of the main activities used on Windows Mobile Standard devices is the viewing of streaming media.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: apple, Blackberry, entertainment, games, Handango, IM, instant messenger, iphone, RIM, ringtones, Sudoku, Texas Hold'em, travel assistant, Windows Mobile Standard

Did you ever wonder who makes the best smartphones in the world? The answer to that question can't help but be subjective. However, if popularity among consumers is any indication of quality, then we can easily identify the top smartphone makers simply by looking at market share.

According to Canalys, a company that provides "expert analysis for the high-tech industry", the number one smartphone maker is Nokia, with a stunning 53% market share. To translate - that means more than half of the smartphones sold last year were Nokias.

That puts them leaps and bounds ahead of any other competition, even second place holder Research in Motion with just an 11.3% market share for its trendy and innovative Blackberry smartphones.

This all may come as little surprise to anyone paying attention to the smartphone industry. The shocker, however, comes when realizing that the far and away third place winner is Apple with only one smartphone to its name - the iPhone, of course - which, if you glance at your calendar, you'll notice only came out 7 months ago.

No wonder every smartphone maker in the world, including fourth place contender Motorola, are looking to the iPhone to give them a lesson in how to make the next best thing in smartphones.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: apple, Blackberry, Canalys, iphone, Motorola, Nokia, Research in Motion, RIM

Insurance giants Aflac's "Technology Concierge", Margaret Genet, is beholden with the salubrious task of teaching executives how to optimize their use of mobile devices. With efficiency paramount in the business world, maximizing the efficiency of smartphone usage for business purposes, 21st century efficiency Genet is a specialist with authority in a subject that can make money for anyone who avails themselves of her wisdom.

Recently, CIO.com released an in-depth article on the most beneficial tips and tricks Genet knows for using the RIM Blackberry. Among the tips and tricks presented are shortcuts for:

• 7 typing functions (including several single-button solutions)
• 10messaging functions (both email and SMS)
• 10 attachments functions (5 for spreadsheets and 5 for presentations)
• 2 phone functions (including multitasking)
• 8 web browser functions (like handling bookmarks)

Additionally, the article lists two very simple tricks for more easily performing a couple of basic functions that have widespread, pervasive use no matter what you're currently doing on your Blackberry.

The first is to help you more easily put your Blackberry in Standby Mode so that none of the keys can be accidentally pressed. To accomplish this, just hold down the Mute button for a couple of seconds. Now you no longer risk unwittingly triggering a function that could later prove costly or embarrassing. To take your Blackberry off of Standby Mode and reactivate all the keys, just hold down the Mute button again for a couple of seconds.

The top tip of the bunch, however, is none of these so far mentioned. The #1 most useful piece of advice Genet has to offer Blackberry users is that 95% of all problems with the Blackberry - be it a full-on freeze or merely slower performance or malfunctioning keys or capabilities - can be resolved by simply removing the battery and SIM card, waiting several moments, then reinserting them. How's that for a quick fix?

For all the rest of the tips and tricks mentioned, read the full article on CIO.com.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: Aflac, Al Sacco, Blackberry, CIO, CIO.com, Margaret Genet, Research in Motion, RIM, RIM BlackBerry

Which smartphone should you buy for 2008? Well, before you decide, take a look over on PCMag.com and read their latest roundup where the pros and cons of the following four leading smartphone operating systems out today are compared and contrasted:

• BlackBerry OS 4.3
• Palm OS 5.4
• Symbian Series 60 3rd Edition
• Windows Mobile 6.0

According to this handy cheat sheet to the best of the best of smart phones operating systems on the market, the cream of the current crop of smartphones running each of the four OSs examined is also listed and described, such as:

• the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8320 - with unlimited WiFi
• the Palm Centro - a Palm Treo stuffed into a smaller and cheaper package
• the Nokia E61i - PC Mag's Editor's Choice for the top unlocked keyboard smartphone
• the AT&T Tilt/HTC 8925 - a combination of the some of the best mobile office and consumer entertainment features in one package

What was the winner? The BlackBerry OS. Find out why, and the good word on all the best of today's breed of smartphones and smartphone operating systems at PCMag.com

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: AT&T, AT&T Tilt, Blackberry Curve, BlackBerry Curve 8320, BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry OS 4.3, consumer entertainment, HTC, HTC 8925, mobile office, Nokia, Nokia E61i, operating system, OS, Palm, Palm Centro, Palm OS, Palm OS 5.4, Palm Treo, PC Mag, PC Magazine, PCMag, RIM, RIM BlackBerry, Symbian, Symbian Series 60, Symbian Series 60 3rd Edition, unlocked keyboard, Wi-Fi, Wifi, Window Mobiel 6.0, Windows, Windows Mobile

One IntoMobile writer took the time and care to publish a massive pictorial guide to the work of Finnish mobile wunderkinds Nokia over the past year. Starting with the company's release of the Nokia N76, Nokia N93i and Nokia N800 at the Consumer  Electronics Show in January and running through the eco-friendly Nokia 3110 Evolve (made with 50% recycled materials), each of the 37 cell phones and smartphones released by Nokia in 2007 is described in colorful words and pictures.

The article then goes to explore all of the mergers occurring 2007 involving Nokia, namely:

• Navteq
• Enpocket
• Twango
• Avvenu

Following that is a review of the Nokia World 2007 convention. At this point, it becomes abundantly apparent to anyone not already aware of it why Nokia holds approximately 40% of the world's cell phone market share.

The crackerjack prize at the bottom of this box, however, is the look ahead - one decidedly Nokia-savvy writer's predictions for the future of this company and its mobile products in 2008. From tentative praise for the Nokia S60 and the inclusion of touchscreen technology in Nokia smart phones to competition from RIM and, of course, the Apple iPhone, a picture of the upcoming year for Nokia is painted in all its crystal ball clarity.

What Nokia smartphone does the article's writer himself take with him into the coming year? The Nokia N82. Read the rest of the article at IntoMobile.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: , apple, Avvenu, CES, Consumer Electronics Show, Enpocket, IntoMobile, iphone, Navteq, Nokia, Nokia 3110 Evolve, Nokia N76, Nokia N800, Nokia N82, Nokia N93i, Nokia S60, RIM, smart phone, smartphone, Twango

We're all used to the typical promotion where you get a free cell phone in exchange for signing up for a set period of service. So it should come as no surprise that the same phenomenon has begun with the product representing the evolution of the cell phone - the smartphone.

CNET reported today on the Samsung BlackJack II being offered for free on Buy.com for anyone signing up for a two-year AT&T contract. While not the fastest or easiest phone to use, the Samsung BlackJack II nonetheless has some impressive qualities, including:

• a GPS
• a 2- megapixel camera
• and AT&T HSPDA network support

Researching this phenomenon further, I found that Buy.com actually offers several smart phones for free with activation, including:

• Palm Centro
• RIM BlackBerry Pearl
• Motorola RAZR

From here, I checked into how commonly this phenomenon occurred at competing cell phone and smart phone vendors and found that everybody's doing it. In addition to more of the aforementioned brand names, I also found all sorts of other smartphones (such as Sony Ericsson, Nextel, and Nokia) offered for free by all the major carriers:

• AT&T (and the former Cingular)
• Verizon
• T-Mobile
• and Sprint

Now there's a way that people on a limited budget can still afford to get a smartphone of their own (though maybe not the latest and greatest model), just by signing up for the wireless service they're going to need to get anyway.

To boot, most of the participating smartphone vendors will even throw in free shipping with the deal.

With such great deals flooding the net, and every phone manufacturer and wireless carrier competing for your hard-earned dollar, we may soon see the day when you never have to pay to obtain a smartphone again.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: , AT&T, Blackberry, BlackBerry Pearl, camera, cell phone, CNET, GPS, HSPDA, Motorola, Motorola RAZR, Palm, Palm Centro, Palm Treo, Research in Motion, RIM, Samsung, Samsung BlackJack II, smart phone, smartphone, Sony, Sony Ericsson, Sprint, T-Mobile, verizon

Late last year, RIM (Research in Motion) announced the development of a new software application that makes it easier for people to access the popular social networking site Facebook on their BlackBerry smartphones.

Although it is true that Facebook is already accessible through the BlackBerry web-browser, this new application not only allows users to view and send messages, photos, Wall posts, and pokes but it pushes all notifications of notes received from friends and associates on Facebook directly to a member's BlackBerry. It also lets users:

• take and upload photos to Facebook - captions and tags included - directly from their BlackBerry as well as manage photo albums and events;
• invite friends and review and manage new friend requests;
• compose, read, and reply to emails without even being online;
• scroll through notifications, notes, and messages the same as they do with emails;
• enjoy quick and easy access to a range of Facebook's most popular features.

Facebook members can now download the program for free directly from their Facebook account. Read the full announcement on Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones right here.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: Blackberry, Facebook, Facebook for BlackBerry, Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones, Research in Motion, RIM, smart phone, smartphone

Starting off the new year with a new ring tone, Consumer Reports Magazine printed as its January 2008 cover story, an in-depth review of the very best (and not so great) smart phones on the market today.

Cited in the report are some of the most promising innovations currently available in cell phone technology, including:

• more keyboards - and most especially QWERTY keyboards that allow for the easiest in text messaging (currently the 2nd most common use of cell phones after voice phone calls)
• dual-connection phones - able to operate on both a telephone and a Wi-Fi network;
• more music features -MP3 players are now expected to be a staple of almost of all cell phones on the market, though only the best allow for functions like stereo sound and digital downloads via Wi-Fi
• and better cameras - again, nearly every cell phone nowadays is expected to have at least a 1 megapixel camera built in, but only the best go as high as 5 megapixels and include advanced features like zoom, auto-focus, brightness controls, and high-grade lenses

Exactly a year ago, it was a big surprise to many smart phone users and technology aficcionnados that the RIM Blackberry only rated 7th in that particular Consumer Reports study. And at the time, the Apple iPhone hadn't even come out yet. So now that the Apple iPhone is on the market, how has the Blackberry fared in this year's report?

Alas Research in Motion is still taking a backseat to newer and more popular technology as the Consumer Reports reviewers and editors rated the iPhone superior to all competitors, including the BlackBerry Curve and BlackBerry Pearl, due in large part to the iPhones innovative interface and long talk time (8.25 hours).  Check out this iPhone vs. Blackberry review to find out how these 2 smart phones stack up against each other.

Check out the cover story in the Consumer Reports, January 2008 issue and read about the latest and most exciting innovations in cell phone technology, as evidenced in products like the iPhone, BlackBerry, HTC Touch, T-Mobile Wing, Palm Centro, and LG Voyager.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: , 2008, apple, Blackberry, Blackberry Curve, Blackberry Pear, camera, cell phone, Consumer Reports, ConsumerReports, HTC Touch, iphone, LG Voyager, megapixel, mp3, new year, Palm Centro, qwerty keyboard, Research in Motion, RIM, smart phone, smartphone, T-Mobile Wing, technology