Smartphones

'SNL' mocks the iPhone

The more Verizon and AT&T trade unseasonal greetings over their respective 3G networks, the more collateral damage seems to be inflicted on the iPhone. Yes, Verizon has itself made jokes about the iPhone being a "misfit toy". However, on Saturday, Seth Meyers of "Saturday Night Live" dedicated 16 seconds of his Weekend Update to a joke about, yes, truly, the iPhone.

Here is the precise text: "It was reported this week that Google would soon launch its own cell phone as a challenge to the iPhone. Also a challenge to the iPhone? Making … Read more

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 clears FCC

This post was updated on 12/21, 1:17 p.m., PT with information about a second version of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 getting FCC approval.

The FCC has given the green light to Sony Ericsson's first Google Android phone, the Xperia X10. Filed documents show that the quad-band GSM smartphone supports T-Mobile's 3G network, though it remains to be seen whether the carrier will offer the device or whether it will be sold unlocked.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 looks to be a powerhouse with a 4-inch, 854x480-pixel touch screen, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a 8.1-megapixel … Read more

What we craved this week

As is the tendency at year's end, this week Crave has seen several "best of" lists, including the 10 best cell phones of the year. Not to be single-minded, we also put out the 10 worst cell phones of the year. But it's not just phones, we listed the 20 most notable tech products of the year, period.

We also shared a collection of last-minute gifts you can print. If you have a printer, you now have stocking stuffers. Getting a new HDTV for Christmas? We're here to help.

Did you hear about the wicked … Read more

CNET's worst cell phones of 2009

We've already offered you the best smartphones and best cell phones of 2009, so you know that we couldn't end the year without picking the worst handsets as well. In this case, we didn't just pick the 10 phones with the lowest ratings; we did take ratings into account, but we also selected the models that disappointed us the most.

The following handsets, which are listed in no particular order, failed on a variety of fronts. Some had terrible performance, while others had poor designs. We didn't consider phones that simply had few features--that wouldn't … Read more

Sprint BlackBerry Curve 8530 now available

Right in the nick of time for the holidays, the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8530 is now available from Sprint for $49.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate.

Though an entry-level phone, the Curve 8530 comes with a pretty decent feature list, including Wi-Fi, an optical trackpad, GPS, a 2-megapixel camera, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. In addition, it will support the Sprint Navigation, Sprint Music Store, and Sprint TV.

If you're feeling it, you can purchase the smartphone in stores or through Sprint's business channel or telesales. The carrier will offer the … Read more

Android 2.1 coming to Sprint HTC Hero, Samsung Moment

On Thursday, Sprint revised a tweet it sent out last week regarding an Android update for the Samsung Moment and HTC Hero. Both smartphones won't be getting an Android 2.0 update; instead, they will get Android 2.1. (Pause for applause.)

The carrier made the announcement via its Twitter account, but unfortunately didn't provide any more specific details as to when the updates might be rolled out other than it would be sometime in the first half of 2010.

Currently, only the Nexus One is running Android 2.1. While features of this version of the operating … Read more

Palm releases Project Ares as public beta

On Thursday, Palm made its new browser-based mobile development platform available to all developers as a public beta. Dubbed Project Ares, developers can now create programs for Palm WebOS simply by firing up their browser (Firefox, Safari, and Chrome are supported) and signing into their account where they will then have access to all the tools they need to build apps.

Project Ares includes such features as:

Drag-and-drop interface builder, code editor, visual debugger, and log viewer Access to full library of Mojo UI widgets Push-button project and scene creation Drag-and-drop file upload SMS and MMS messaging delivery is improved … Read more

The 20 most notable tech products of 2009

We've been doing a lot of end-of-the year lists here at CNET as our editors round up the most popular and best products in their categories. That's all great, but then someone said, "Hey, why don't we do a list that's a best-of-the-best list of all the lists combined?"

Well, that's what I was tasked with, but instead of calling it the "Best products of 2009" or the "Most popular products of 2009," I've come up with "The most notable products of 2009," which I like … Read more

iPhone Navigon gets more features, reduced price

If you haven't purchased a GPS app for your iPhone 3G(S), now's a great time to do it. Wednesday, TomTom slashed the price of its app to just $50, and today Navigon followed suite with a price reduction and more.

The company released the fourth major upgrade to its iPhone navigation app, the MobileNavigator. Version 1.3 added essential features such as Live Traffic; version 1.4 adds features that, though not essential, significantly enhance the navigation experience with the app.

Among the new features, my favorites are the Audiobook Mode, Direct Help, and Coordinates. I tried … Read more