smartphones

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Traffic Tweets Send Mixed Messages
Traffic Tweets Send Mixed Messages
Sep 19, 2009 7:38 AM CDT

Traffic Tweets Send Mixed Messages

States send updates, but prohibit drivers from reading them

(Newser) - Safety experts complain that states are undermining their own no-texting-while-driving laws by offering motorists constant Twitter updates on traffic conditions, the AP reports. At least 22 states with laws that essentially ban drivers from using smartphones and similar devices behind the wheel provide such information, and, in some cases, readily...

Great Network Won't Make Up for Boring Phones
Great Network Won't Make Up for Boring Phones
Analysis
Sep 17, 2009 10:36 AM CDT

Great Network Won't Make Up for Boring Phones

Verizon has reach, but is way behind on sexy smartphones

(Newser) - Verizon’s network may be the envy of its peers, but its smart phones definitely aren’t, writes Priya Ganapati. Caught off guard by the iPhone phenomenon, the carrier has taken a very cautious approach to new devices, subjecting them to a long testing process. As a result, while its...

With Spotlight on Apple, Palm Unveils Pixi

Smartphone is 'super-adorably skinny'— but who's paying attention?

(Newser) - Palm’s tiny new smartphone is taking on a Goliath: The firm introduced the Pixi today, squeaking onto the scene just hours before Apple debuts its latest gadgets at its own San Francisco gathering, All Things Digital reports. Can Palm’s David expect to emerge victorious? Unlikely, writes Kara Swisher....

How to Improve the BlackBerry
 How to Improve the BlackBerry 
Sep 3, 2009 3:00 PM CDT

How to Improve the BlackBerry

RIM dominates in sales, but the iPhone has big advantages

(Newser) - The iPhone has become a cultural phenomenon, but RIM sells way more units than Apple does. Why, then, does the BlackBerry have such obvious flaws? Wired lists five improvements RIM needs to make:
  1. Browser. The web looks much the same on an iPhone or Palm Pre as it does on
...

iPhone Nears China Debut
 iPhone Nears China Debut 
Aug 27, 2009 5:35 AM CDT

iPhone Nears China Debut

Apple receives license from Chinese government for prototype

(Newser) - Apple has won a technical license from the Chinese government to operate a version of the iPhone that could work with the country’s mobile network, the Wall Street Journal reports. The approval brings the company closer to debuting its hottest product in China’s massive mobile phone market. It’...

Can BlackBerry Addicts Switch to iPhone?

(Newser) - For BlackBerry users, the lure of the iPhone can be hard to resist, despite the Apple device's lack of a keyboard and AT&T-only service policy. The Wall Street Journal followed five BlackBerry users who switched to the iPhone and charted the highs and lows: All of them said they...

As Telecoms Hype 4G, Recall How Long 3G Was in Coming

(Newser) - 3G landed in the US in 2003. But it wasn’t until the iPhone came around five years later that “consumers finally had a device that showed them the power of mobile broadband networks,” Stephanie N. Mehta writes in Fortune. In fact, "a few executives at US...

Google Voice Worth More Than Beloved iPhone

(Newser) - Apple and AT&T rejected the Google Voice app for the iPhone, driving TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington to drop the mobile device entirely. Why are Apple and its carrier blocking an innovative program that has amazing call-forwarding features and transcribes voicemail into text? “Because they absolutely don’t want...

Top iPhone Annoyances and How to Fix Them

 Top iPhone Annoyances 
 and How to Fix Them 
OPINION
Jul 30, 2009 10:10 AM CDT

Top iPhone Annoyances and How to Fix Them

(Newser) - Even a gadget as good as the iPhone isn't without its annoyances, although luckily bigger geeks than you have cooked up workarounds for most of them, Jared Newman writes in PC World. Some major gripes:
  • AT&T: The carrier's stranglehold in the US is becoming even more irksome as foreign
...

Rejection of Google iPhone App Sets Dumb Precedent

(Newser) - Apple has rejected Google’s application to distribute its Voice application through the App Store, and that shows that Apple is dead-set against innovation, Adam Pash writes on Lifehacker. The official line is that Google Voice “duplicates features already on the iPhone—namely the Phone and Messages app,”...

Why Don't We Have Cool Japanese Cell Phones?

Makers stifled by hardware too advanced to leave country

(Newser) - Able to surf the internet, stand in for credit cards, and check body fat, Japan’s smartphones make ours look primitive—yet we’re sticking with what we have. That’s because Japan’s phone makers have been “a little too clever,” writes Hiroko Tabuchi in the New ...

You Don't Need a Smartphone
You Don't Need a Smartphone
Tech Review
Jul 13, 2009 12:44 PM CDT

You Don't Need a Smartphone

iPhones et al might have more than you need; here are some cheaper alternatives

(Newser) - Smartphones may be the future, but you may not need one just now, writes Marguerite Reardon of CNET. The iPhone and its pricey brethren probably have more features than the average user needs. Here are some cheaper feature phones that might meet your needs. Prices are for a 2-year contract:...

App to Push Gmail to iPhone Awaits Apple's OK

(Newser) - For all the iPhone’s bells and whistles, it doesn’t mesh well with Gmail. While users of Palm Pre and Android smartphones get instant “push” notification of new email, iPhone users have to manually “pull” messages off Google’s server. A simple new app may finally bring...

New iPhone Dazzles, But Battery Fizzles

(Newser) - Lost amid the hoopla over the new iPhone 3GS is an annoying flaw: its battery rarely gets through the day without pooping out. Apple's website now advises users to temporarily shut down certain features, including the 3G network itself, to prolong battery life, reports the Los Angeles Times. Battery life...

Smartphones Dial Up Etiquette Debate

Some call tapping rude; others call it necessary

(Newser) - Most companies don’t have rules about smartphone use at work—but with more people eying their BlackBerrys during meetings, a debate is raging over smartphone conduct, the New York Times reports. Many call excessive BlackBerrying the height of rudeness, but others hold that today’s world requires constant electronic...

Ex-Apple Exec Takes Over at Palm
Ex-Apple Exec Takes Over
at Palm
Jun 10, 2009 6:30 PM CDT

Ex-Apple Exec Takes Over at Palm

Rubinstein will be new CEO as company goes after iPhone

(Newser) - Palm shuffled its top leadership today as it continues to zero in on Apple and the iPhone. Jon Rubinstein, who led Apple's iPod division before jumping to Palm in 2007, will take over as CEO and chairman from Ed Colligan, who is resigning after 16 years. "Colligan's departure means...

iPhone Competitors Close In on Apple
 iPhone Competitors 
 Close In on Apple 
ANALYSIS
Jun 10, 2009 12:23 PM CDT

iPhone Competitors Close In on Apple

(Newser) - Until recently, the iPhone ruled the smartphone roost, but a new crop of competitors could threaten Apple’s bottom line, Jon Fortt writes for Fortune. AT&T, the sole iPhone carrier, pays Apple $300 for every new customer. Until now, paying for the privilege made sense, because AT&T monopolized...

Meh on Actual iPhone, Bullish on App Store

(Newser) - The iPhone itself isn’t in a class by itself as far as smartphones are concerned, Farhad Manjoo writes for Slate—but the App Store makes it unbeatable. Apple boasts more than 50,000 applications, and the rate is increasing; Google’s Android operating system only supports 5,000. “...

Your Cell Phone May Be Eavesdropping
Your Cell Phone May Be Eavesdropping
glossies
Jun 6, 2009 7:52 PM CDT

Your Cell Phone May Be Eavesdropping

(Newser) - Be careful where you leave your cell phone. All it takes is a quick download—the equivalent of loading a ringtone—to install software that wiretaps your calls and even records ambient noise when the phone is unused. Experts say a surprising number of spouses, co-workers, and parents are using...

Palm Pre (Mostly) Lives Up to Hype
 Palm Pre 
 (Mostly) 
 Lives Up 
 to Hype 
TECH REVIEW
Jun 4, 2009 3:50 AM CDT

Palm Pre (Mostly) Lives Up to Hype

Smartphone's superior software make it a heavyweight iPhone rival

(Newser) - Palm's new Pre smartphone isn't without its flaws, reviewers say, but its first-rate software and design mean it could be the iPhone's strongest rival yet.
  • Bonnie Cha, CNET: "The hardware could be better," but "Palm has developed a solid OS that not only rivals the competition
...

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