Smartphones

In just a few months the Google Android operating system has come a long way. We've seen a steady flow of new handsets and new updates, the Android Market has grown, and the OS took center stage at CES 2010.

Since last September, I've welcomed these developments. I like Android and the ideas of openness and customer choice that it represents. So, as the OS matures and enriches the cell phone world, I'm hardly going to object. I will continue to point out flaws in individual Android handsets--that's what I'm paid to do and it … Read more

Rumors cropped up last week that Apple had put down a big order for LED flashes, something useful for one thing, and one thing only: a digital camera. It doesn't take much to figure that the next iteration of the iPhone is likely to be packing one of these, since many of the latest cell phones--including HTC's recently released Nexus One, now have them included.

That got me thinking: how does the Nexus One's 5-megapixel camera and its eye-searing flash stack up against the 3-megapixel flashless camera module of the now-aging iPhone 3GS? Is the ability to take bigger and better-lit photos worth touting as the end-all, be-all feature among smartphone cameras? The easiest way to figure that out is to run a few tests.

Full disclosure here: I'm not a camera-testing expert. I am an avid photographer with a handful of pro gear, as well as a few high school and college photography courses under my belt. I'm not even going to try to get into things like testing dynamic range, color sensitivity, signal-to-noise ratio, etc. So instead, I've set up the two cameras to take essentially the same photo in various situations, to see how the two stack up.

All photos in this comparison were taken within the same minute of each other, while balanced from a leveled tripod to maintain the same height and distance. Images were then transferred directly from the devices for analysis. All comparison shots are presented side by size, at full quality, without any recompression or conversion. Any timings were done with a stopwatch.… Read more

Though we don't like it, we understand why we get stuck with an early termination fee (ETF) if we decide to cancel our cell phone contract before its end date. We get a discounted phone for signing a service agreement so it's natural that your carrier gets to ask for that money back if you skip out early.

The Nexus One, of course, is no exception to this rule. If you cancel your T-Mobile contract after the 14-day grace period, you'll have to shell out anywhere from $50 to $200 depending on when you cancel. That's … Read more

On Monday, Sprint introduced its latest Nextel Direct Connect phone, the Motorola Brute i680. Described as "an extreme phone for extreme conditions," the Brute i680 features a rugged design and meets Military Specification 810F, so it can withstand exposure to dust, shock, vibration, low and high temperatures, low pressure, solar radiation, salt, fog, humidity, and blowing rain.

The clamshell phone features color external and internal displays as well as a 2-megapixel camera, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, and offers up to 5.8 hours of talk time. The phone also comes preloaded with TeleNav Navigation, Nascar Sprint Cup Mobile, and … Read more

LAS VEGAS--We stopped by the Sony Ericsson booth at CES 2010 to catch a glimpse of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 (check out Kent German's hands-on impressions here), but we also happened to stumble upon the Xperia X2. Remember that Windows Mobile smartphone announced a while ago? Yeah, we almost forgot about it too.

We took the opportunity to ask Sony Ericsson about it and representatives quietly revealed that the Xperia X2 will be available from SonyStyle stores this spring. Company representatives didn't provide a specific release date or pricing, but hopefully, it won't be as exorbitant … Read more

Update, 10:37 a.m., PST: We are currently monitoring our Nexus One review unit for any 3G connectivity issues. Check our full review for any updates.

If you bought a Nexus One, there's a chance you may be experiencing issues with connecting to T-Mobile's 3G network, but the good news is that you're not alone. The bad news is, well, you're not getting 3G.

Over the weekend, T-Mobile acknowledged the problem on its user forum, stating "Google and T-Mobile are investigating this issue and hope to have more information for you soon." To … Read more

Several weeks ago I posted a tip about discovering Spotlight searches on your iPhone or iPod Touch. The tip this week will show you how to customize the arrangement of your search results. You can decide to list application, contact, music, etc., search results in first, last, or anywhere in between order.

1. Launch the Settings app 2. Tap General 3. Tap Home 4. Tap Search Results

Initially your search results will be set up like this:

Now you can customize the order of your search results by performing these tasks while the screen above is displayed:

LAS VEGAS--Before CES, one of our predictions as to what would be a big story on the show floor was the emergence of smartbooks, or mini-notebooks as they're sometimes called. The term was coined by Qualcomm in referring to tiny laptop-like devices using processors that are derived from smartphone-level CPUs, but are in many cases even more powerful. The two most common CPUs seem to be the Snapdragon from Qualcomm and the Tegra/Tegra 2 from Nvidia, both using ARM-based processors.

Consider the concept, ideally, as a device somewhere between a smartphone and a Netbook--hence "smartbook." Unfortunately, … Read more

Google's forthcoming Nexus One smartphone is composed of components worth about $175, according to a teardown conducted by iSuppli.

The new phone, which Google unveiled Tuesday, offers an inside designed by Google and an outside designed by HTC. The primary interface is a 3.7-inch AMOLED display. The Nexus One runs Google's Android 2.1 operating system, and the WVGA display can show 3D graphics.

While Google has priced the Nexus One at $179 with a two-year T-Mobile service plan ($529 without a subscription plan), the phone has a bill of materials of $174.15, according to iSuppli analysis, … Read more