PhoneTalk

BlackBerry Bold 9700 for T-Mobile has noteworthy upgrades

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 (permalink)

Interested in the latest BlackBerry Bold? T-Mobile announced the BlackBerry Bold 9700 is available today. This is T-Mobile's first BlackBerry Bold and it comes with support for a popular functionality for T-Mobile customers: WiFi calling. Essentially this allows users to seamlessly roam to a WiFi network during calls without interruption when in a weak service area. If you move into improved service area it seamlessly switches the call from a WiFi network to T-Mobile cell phone service. This helps keep calls from being dropped or interrupted.

That's not all the connectivity the BlackBerry Bold 9700 offers. It also has 3G connectivity and built-in GPS. The smartphone comes with a 2GB microSD card for storage of photos, music, videos and documents and will support up to a 32GB microSD card. Two big differences between this model and the BlackBerry Bold is the display, the 9700 is much sharper and the 9700 also sports a 3.2-megapixel camera compared to the original Bold's 2-megapixel camera.

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T-Mobile's Jet helps keep Mac and PC users connected on the road

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Friday, November 13, 2009 (permalink)

T-Mobile has always been a fan of WiFi offering cell phones that have the feature as well as a way to make the most of the technology via UMA (a feature that allows users to seamlessly move cell phone calls from towers to WiFi networks) and the company's HotSpot @ Home service. It's no surprise that the recently announced webConnect Jet USB Laptop Stick aims to keep users connected in just about any environment. The USB stick that works with both Macs and PCs is all about getting an Internet connection on the road. The webConnect Jet works with T-Mobile's 3G network, EDGE, or any T-Mobile WiFi HotSpot. Since it's a USB stick you can also use it for extra memory via a 8GB microSD card. You'll need to get a data plan with this device that start at roughly $30 dollars a month. If you travel a lot and need a connection on the road this type of option may end up saving money in the end when you consider the added costs you may incur when connecting at places such as the airport or in a hotel.

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Can the Samsung Mythic keep you entertained?

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Thursday, November 12, 2009 (permalink)

Cell phones can do a lot these days and you don't necessarily need to get a smartphone in order to have access to all the fun features you might want. Case in point is the Samsung Mythic for AT&T. This touchscreen cell phone works on 3G networks and that's important because you'll need that functionality if you want to have some real fun. See, the Samsung Mythic supports AT&T Mobile TV so you can watch full episodes of tons of shows from CBS, NBC, and even MTV. Don't think you can really watch TV on a cell phone? That's probably not going to be the case here, since the Mythic has a lot of screen real estate - 3.3 inches to be exact, which is almost as large as the display on the iPhone.

The cell phone also has Samsung's TouchWiz interface that helps bring all your favorite information from the web front and center on the display. It also has a 3.2-megapixel camera, will support up to a 32GB MicroSD card for storing songs and videos, and stereo Bluetooth. What the Mythic doesn't have is a hidden keyboard, so you'll be using a touchscreen QWERTY keyboard to compose messages. Finally, since this cell phone is web and media centric you'll likely want to get an added data plan with it.

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Samsung Moment: A First Look at Sprint's latest Google phone

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 (permalink)

Sprint's second Android smartphone, the Samsung Moment, has arrived. See what's different about this Google phone and if its right for you by watching the video below.

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HTC Droid Eris: How does it stack up against other Android cell phones?

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Friday, November 06, 2009 (permalink)

The HTC Droid Eris is available today for Verizon Wireless. The second smartphone running Google's Android OS also sports HTC's Sense experience, which will allow users more customization of the device and the ability to access text messages, e-mails, phone calls and even Flickr streams and Facebook updates from a single contact card. The Google smartphone will also sport a 5-megapixel camera, WiFi, a 3.5mm headset jack, GPS with a digital compass, a pre-installed 8GB microSD card for storing pictures, tunes and more. To get a closer look at the HTC Droid Eris check out Verizon Wireless' demonstration video below.

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BlackBerry Curve 8530: Which will you get Verizon's or Sprint's?

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Thursday, November 05, 2009 (permalink)

Both Verizon Wireless and Sprint announced availability of the BlackBerry Curve 8530. Both models will sport the new trackpad found on the BlackBerry Curve 8520 that's available for T-Mobile. The trackpad is a lot like the touchpad found on laptop computers, so it's different than the trademark trackball. Additionally the new model will be WiFi-enabled, sport a 2-megapixel camera, GPS and everything else you've come to expect in a BlackBerry smartphone. Both companies will offer the BlackBerry Curve in Black and Violet (see below for Sprint's version). While there was no mention of an availability date from Sprint, Verizon Wireless said they would have it on November 20th.

On a separate note, I look forward to hearing the names people think of to call the Violet version. Anyone have ideas, post them below.

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The Motorola DROID for Verizon debuts

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Wednesday, October 28, 2009 (permalink)

The much-anticipated Motorola DROID for Verizon Wireless launched today with an availability date of November 9th, which is less than 2 weeks away. The smartphone, which runs Google's Android v2.0 operating system will sport both a slide-out and touchscreen QWERTY keyboard, 5-megapixel camera, WiFi, 3G connectivity, and 16GB of on-board storage (expandable up to 32GB). Additionally, this smartphone is all about personalization with the ability to customize three home screens where you can add folders, apps and widgets for easy one-touch access. It also comes with Amazon's MP3 store. If you want the DROID, you'll need to subscribe to a nationwide voice plan and an Email and Web for Smartphone plan. Nationwide voice plans begin at $39.99 for monthly access for 450 minutes and an Email and Web for Smartphone plan is $29.99 for monthly access.

To get a better idea of what the DROID has to offer, check out the demonstration video below from Cesar Da Costa, marketing consultant for Verizon Wireless.

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Palm Pixi coming to Sprint in November

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Wednesday, October 28, 2009 (permalink)

Sprint announced an availability date of November 15th for the Palm Pre's sibling the Palm Pixi. The new model ditches the slider design in favor of an exposed full QWERTY keyboard. Like the Pre, the touchscreen Pixi will run Palm's latest webOS with easy access to information from Google, Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, Linked In and now Yahoo! The Pixi will also have a new Facebook app that will allow users to see and comment on all updates.

As for the specs, the Pixi will sport a 2-megapixel camera with a LED flash, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, and 8GB of internal storage space. The new model will also be a bit more customizable with the availability of optionalstylish back covers from a variety of artists.

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Demystifying AT&T's A List Plan

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Tuesday, October 27, 2009 (permalink)

There have been a slew of new additions for cell phone plans. I sit down with LetsTalk.com Merchandising Manager for AT&T Jack Cooper to learn more about AT&T's A List. Find out if you should add it to your existing plan by watching the video below:

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BlackBerry Storm2 available for Verizon this week

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Monday, October 26, 2009 (permalink)

The BlackBerry Storm2 9550 will be available with Verizon service on October 28th. The companies first debuted the first BlackBerry Storm touchscreen phone a little less than a year ago. The new model has a few noteworthy updates - most notable is the inclusion of WiFi. It also has Bluetooth v.2.1 with support for features like phonebook access. The previous version came with 1GB of memory on board, while this model has 2GB of on-board memory and comes with a 16GB MicroSD card in the box. It will also work with BlackBerry Desktop Manager for the Mac as well as PC. Like the 9530, the 9550 Storm2 has a similar form factor, display, GPS, a 3.2-megapixel camera, and is a true world phone with the ability to work on GSM and CDMA networks.

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