Smartphones

iTunes 9 was announced today at this year's annual music event from Apple. Named the "It's Only Rock and Roll event," Apple didn't disappoint with the return of Steve Jobs, upgraded (and cheaper) iPod Nanos and Shuffles, and plenty of new iPhone app demonstrations from third-party developers. As many predicted, iTunes 9 (Mac or Windows) was also on the agenda and it received a number of cool new feature enhancements to make navigation and syncing to your devices easier. iTunes 9 is available today, but has not yet been added to Apple's software update … Read more

Earlier on Wednesday morning, Apple CEO Steve Jobs took center stage here in San Francisco and unveiled a new lineup of iPods, iPhone 3.1, and iTunes 9.

The latter brings new additions, such an improved overall interface, an LP feature, a Genius Mix functionality, and oh, hey guess what? It also breaks the ability for the Palm Pre to sync with iTunes. This doesn't come as much as a surprise as Apple and Palm have been going back and forth on this issue. While mildly entertaining at first, this little cat fight is beginning to wear thin, particularly … Read more

Hoping to capitalize on the momentum created by the release of its Pre smartphone, Palm on Wednesday will unveil a smaller, cheaper smartphone called Pixi.

Apparently geared toward younger consumers than those targeted by the Pre, the playfully named smartphone will be longer but slimmer than the Pre and will sport a smaller multitouch screen, a full QWERTY keyboard, and a 2-megapixel camera, Palm said. However, like its smartphone sibling, the 3.5-ounce Pixi will still have 8GB of memory and GPS capabilities.

In addition to a new Facebook application, the Pixi will also be able to integrate LinkedIn contacts … Read more

While iPhone owners have long had a powerful Facebook app with a wide range of functionality, Google Android users have had to make do with the mobile version of the social networking site (called Facebook Lite). Not only does it offer limited features, but also it is clunky and rather difficult to navigate.

But that changed Tuesday when a new and long-awaited Facebook app hit the Android market. The free app offers many of the features that you've come to expect on the iPhone app and the full version of the site. You can scan your news feed, view … Read more

Earlier on Tuesday, Sprint published an enticing deal to customers of competing carriers by offering a $100 service credit to anyone who bought a Palm Pre and ported his or her old number to Sprint. Sounds like a great deal, right? Well, it would have been had it lasted.

Sprint has since pulled the offer, saying the promotion was posted in error and issuing this statement:

After further internal review today, the offer of a port-in service credit of $100 to new customers who buy the Palm Pre has been pulled because it was put into the system in error. … Read more

There's been a lot of talk lately of AT&T customers--especially iPhone users--getting fed up with the quality of service they're getting with AT&T. Issues include dropped calls, shoddy coverage, and slow data speeds. People are upset that they have a fancy device that loses much of its usefulness when the network drops out. I can feel their pain.

Indeed, I saw the effect myself this last weekend. The Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), one of the world's largest gaming conventions, took place in Seattle, where I live. Thousands of the world's nerdiest nerds were here, and, as you'd expect, many were using iPhones, meaning many were using AT&T's 3G service.

PAX, which opened Friday, also had a handy guide on expojunkie.com for convention goers made especially for the iPhone. It featured maps, agendas, and other quick reference information to make PAX a better experience. The side effect was thousands of visitors using Seattle's 3G coverage at the same time--in addition to the thousands of locals who already use it. Service slowed to a crawl.

By Saturday, the service was back up-to-speed for most of Seattle. AT&T may have hit a switch and turned on more towers. It has a team that monitors areas with major events and tweaks the network when one causes problems. Whatever the company did fixed it.

The blessing and the curse But here's the question: what are we to expect from AT&T when Apple sells millions of units of a revolutionary product that depends on its network and then provides millions of apps that put a huge burden on the same network? Do we really expect AT&T to be able to handle that much data?… Read more

If you can't keep your hands off your cell phone while driving, a new blocking device can help you keep them on the wheel.

CellControl plugs into the computer terminals of cars made in 1996 and later (terminals are located under the steering column). It then links to your cell via Bluetooth and a downloadable application. When the vehicle is in motion, the device blocks all incoming and outgoing calls, plus texts and e-mails. But it always allows you to call emergency numbers.

CellControl does not depend on cell phone tower triangulation or GPS; as long as a car … Read more

Update: Sprint announced the Palm Pixi the night after this column posted.

Almost a year ago, I wrote about Sprint's lack of identity in the U.S. carrier world. While other major operators had used trendy devices, service, and even marketing slogans to develop distinct personalities, Sprint was wrestling with incompatible networks, a baffling ad campaign featuring CEO Dan Hesse and a relatively mundane product lineup. At the time, I argued that Sprint needed to really distinguish itself from its rivals if it hoped to reverse declining revenue and customer churn.

Twelve months later, Sprint continues to lose money and valuable postpaid … Read more

After playing peek-a-boo for the past few weeks, HTC officially introduced its latest Google Android handset on Tuesday, the HTC Tattoo.

Formerly known as the HTC Click, the Tattoo, we presume, gets it name from the customization options it offers and is being advertised as an Android phone for all. It's the second phone from the company, after the HTC Hero, to use the HTC Sense user interface, which provides up to seven home screen panels that can be personalized with various widgets, shortcuts, and wallpapers.

The phone itself is pretty compact at 4.17 inches tall by 2.… Read more