smartphones

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Torch Is Best BlackBerry Yet (but Still No iPhone)

If you like your current BB, you'll like this

(Newser) - RIM unveiled its new BlackBerry Torch 9800 today, complete with both a touch screen and a slide-out keyboard, as well as a faster browser. It's out Aug. 12 for $200 with a 2-year AT&T contract. Some early opinions:
  • Eliot Van Buskirk, Wired : "From what we saw, the BlackBerry
...

Saudis, UAE to Block BlackBerry Messages

Security concerns prompt crackdown

(Newser) - A telecommunications official says Saudi Arabia will block BlackBerry email, messaging, and Web access, joining neighboring United Arab Emirates in a move it says is prompted by security concerns because the devices operate beyond the government's ability to monitor their use. The move will take place later this month in...

Go Ahead, Jailbreak Your iPhone: Feds

Copyright Office ruling applies to all mobile devices

(Newser) - Modifying a smartphone to run applications not approved by the manufacturer is not illegal, the US Copyright Office said today—which enthusiasts immediately understood to mean " jailbreaking your iPhone is A-OK." Apple had warned of "copyright infringement, potential damage to the device and other potential harmful physical...

Blackberry Maker to Apple: Speak for Yourself

RIM says its smartphones don't have antenna problems

(Newser) - BlackBerry maker RIM begs to differ with Steve Jobs' assertion that all smartphones have antenna problems. Apple is just trying to "distort the public's understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention," the co-CEOs write in an animated statement. (Read it in full at Crackberry.com...

Maybe Verizon Doesn't Need the iPhone?

Company steadily increasing market share with Droids

(Newser) - Even without the iPhone on its network, Verizon has steadily improved its share of the smartphone market, increasing from 20% to 26% since 2008. During the same period, AT&T's smartphone market share has dropped from 45% to 40%, reports the New York Times . Both companies remain publicly professional and...

Apple Holding iPhone 4 Press Conference Friday

Recall rumors fly as conference on troubled smartphone called

(Newser) - Apple has invited the media to a special iPhone 4 press conference this Friday, sparking rumors that a recall may be imminent. The company hasn't said exactly what it plans to discuss at the press conference but the smartphone's much-discussed "death grip" antenna problem is expected to be the...

PR Experts: Apple Must Recall iPhone

Consumer Reports criticism puts company in a bind

(Newser) - Apple must recall the iPhone 4 or risk tarnishing its reputation, PR experts tell the Cult of Mac . The company's explanation that the handset's reception problems are the result of a software problem has been undermined by Consumer Reports, which blamed a hardware issue in deciding not to recommend the...

Apple: iPhone Reception Woes a Software Issue

Displays show too many reception bars, thanks to faulty formula

(Newser) - Don’t trust your iPhone 4 when it tells you you’re getting great reception. Apple says it has found the root of all those reports that the phone’s having reception problems: its formula for calculating how many bars you’re getting is off. The company plans to fix...

Refurbished BlackBerry Contained NFL Player's Secrets

Verizon gives X-rated photo to new owner

(Newser) - For one New York banker, a refurbished BlackBerry came with a few extras: the secrets of a former NFL player with a torrid personal life . The replacement handset provided by Verizon somehow hadn't been purged of its former owner's information, and so contained an X-rated picture of the footballer's wife,...

Hmmm, Apple Hiring Phone Antenna Engineers

And company isn't budging about offering free cases

(Newser) - Apple is still pushing the notion that reception problems with its iPhone 4 are no big deal, but Engadget can't help but notice that the company is looking to hire phone antenna engineers. It found three job postings from June 23, the same day widespread problems surfaced. The Boy Genius...

iPhone 4 Lives Up to the Hype
 iPhone 4 Lives Up to the Hype 
Tech Review

iPhone 4 Lives Up to the Hype

Critics love the awesome camera, screen, and new features

(Newser) - The iPhone 4 hits tomorrow, and tech reviewers everywhere are incredibly impressed. Here's what they're saying:
  • The iPhone 4 is “a major leap over its already excellent predecessor,” writes Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal . The new features work very well, and the redesign “manages to
...

T-Mobile May Beat Verizon to iPhone
 T-Mobile May Beat 
 Verizon to iPhone 
hot rumor

T-Mobile May Beat Verizon to iPhone

Verizon's alliance with Google an obstacle for Apple

(Newser) - Competition from Google's Droid platform may stall the Verizon-Apple marriage, meaning the iPhone will wind up branching out to T-Mobile first. With AT&T's exclusive deal near an end, furious speculation about which provider will be the next to offer Apple's signature device has focused on Verizon. But two industry...

AT&T Data Caps: Innovation Killer?

Caps will put limits on innovation, developers warn

(Newser) - AT&T's decision to drop its unlimited data plan today may put the brakes on innovation, makers of smartphone apps warn. AT&T—whose example other firms are expected to follow—says that the limits have been set high enough that they'll only be an issue for a small minority...

AT&amp;T, You're Ripping People Off
AT&T, You're Ripping
People Off
opinion

AT&T, You're Ripping People Off

We needed fairer data plans

(Newser) - Andrew Munchbach has given some thought to AT&T's new billing plans and come to one inescapable conclusion: "AT&T, your improved data plans suck." It's not the lower data caps—he understands the principle, even if he doesn't like it—it's the "dismal" way AT&T...

Have Some Malware With That Smartphone App

Malware sneaks in to smartphone software stores

(Newser) - The millions of apps available online have greatly expanded smartphones' capabilities—but at the price of security, cybercrime experts say. Google, Research in Motion, and Apple have all had to pull malicious or deceptive applications from their stores, but not before some had already been downloaded by scores of users,...

Why the iPhone 4G Won't Be Worth the Money
Why the iPhone 4G Won't Be Worth the Money
OPINION

Why the iPhone 4G Won't Be Worth the Money

Mostly because the current one does

(Newser) - When the iPhone first debuted, it was in a class by itself. But these days it's “a triumph of marketing over functionality,” writes Mark Warman of the Telegraph . Unless the following issues are fixed, there's no point getting a 4G.
  • It's anti-technology: Apple keeps rejecting new features other
...

AT&T Drops One-Price-Fits-All Plan for Smartphones

Other carriers expected to follow

(Newser) - In a sign of a coming industry shift, AT&T will next week stop offering new smartphone users a single price for unlimited Internet access. Under the new plan, customers can pay $15 per month for 200 megabytes of data or $25 per month for 2 gigabytes, instead of $30...

AT&T Raises Smartphone Termination Fee to $325

Move comes before it loses exclusive iPhone deal

(Newser) - AT&T is jacking up early termination fees for smartphone contracts to $325 for new customers starting next month, reports the Wall Street Journal . The nearly two-fold increase comes amid two developments (purely coincidence, says the company): First, Apple's new iPhone is expected out in June, and that could mean...

iPhone Child Care: There's an App for That

Smartphones double as children's toys

(Newser) - Parents have long relied on books, toys, and distractions to entertain their kids when taking them out in public—but these days, they are likely to just grab a smartphone. Kids find the intuitive interface of iPhones and other touchscreen gadgets entertaining, and software designers have taken note: over two-thirds...

Microsoft's Kin: Does the World Really Need a 'Social' Phone?

Heir to the 'sidekick' throne misses the mark

(Newser) - If you're a Facebook-addicted, text-loving teenage girl, you might, maybe, like this phone. If not, look elsewhere. Microsoft's Kin isn't a smartphone, but a cell designed for social media. Is it any good?
  • Gizmodo calls it "the most seamlessly connected phone on the planet," but doesn't love the
...

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