Buying someone else a phone is risky business. Preferences vary, you’ve gotta get their carrier right… it’s a tough game. But if you’re down to make a gamble, we’re here to help. I’ve spent more time playing with new phones in the last year than anyone should ever spend with any phone ever, and have broken down my favorite offerings from each carrier by “Best Bet”, “Best Bet For Under $100″ (though it’s usually worth it to splurge), and “Best Bet for Business” for you Enterprisey folks.
RIM has been busy outing updated BlackBerrys and the Pearl wasn’t forgotten. An updated version is apparently on its way and these early pics clearly show that the phone is shapping up nicely. Everything is there from the slender candy-bar form factor to the SureType keyboard. Everything but the pearly trackball though. That’s been replaced with a trackpad.
CrackBerry didn’t say when the phone will be released or state any technical specs. Apparently the site had these pics under an embargo and were allowed to release them today. That could very well mean that the phone is nearing announcement. It’s getting kind of late for a 2009 release so perhaps we’ll see it in the first quarter of 2010.
You know when a given country, in this case the nation of Japan, is over-saturated with cell phones when you get to see something like this: A cell phone that’s supposed to be similar in shape to a chocolate bar, available in two versions: Melty Bitter (brown) and Melty Strawberry (pink). The Sharp SH-04B [JP] is part of NTT Docomo’s winter line-up of new handsets for the Japanese market (unveiled ten days ago).
(Get it? Specs, spec’d, spectacles? Anyone? Come on – maybe it’s not funny, but at least it shows I know.. uh.. words.)
I’m not too sure what to think of the Motorola Motus yet, but one thing is for sure: that form factor is crazy. The photo that leaked just a few hours ago already seemed to indicate that something weird was going on with the keyboard (with what seems like a tiny sliver of overlap, how the heck is it attached?), but these (alleged) specs just make things even more ridiculous.
There seems to be an unspoken style guideline amongst spy shot shooters: find the worst lighting possible, ditch the flash, and down 3-4 cups of coffee before snapping away. Unfortunately, the spy behind this shot of the Android-powered Motorola Motus played by all the rules.
We’re not sure how wide spread it is (Update: seems to only be effecting California. ), but I’m seeing a whole lot of reports that Verizon’s 3G data network is down in various parts of the country. The majority of the reports seem to be coming out of the SF Bay Area and South Bay. While the handsets are reporting full 3G signal, no data seems to be piping in our out. Might the success of the Droid in the Silicon Valley have tipped things over, a la AT&T’s iPhone woes?
We’ve got a note into Verizon, so we’ll update once we get official word. In the mean while, go ahead and drop a comment and let us know whether or not the data is flowing where you are. Also mention what handset you’re using – an odd number of the reports seem to be coming from Droid users, but this may just be coincidence.
Got a buck? Own an iThing? Like to game and save money? Sweet! Then you’ll be really happy to hear that Konami’s entire collection of iPhone / iPod touch games are all on sale for $.99 until Saturday, November 21.
Virgin Mobile Canada has announced that it will begin to sell the iPhone 3G and 3GS in Virgin Mobile Retail Stores and online in Canada in the “coming months.” VMC joins fellow Canadian carriers Telus, Bell Canada, Fido, and Rogers in becoming an authorized iThing dealer.
Sprint has pushed out an over-the-air firmware update for its popular HTC Hero ‘droid handset. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with Android 2.0, but it does purportedly fix a pesky SMS bug which has been causing battery drain issues. Oh, and it also helps your favorite Hero play nice with daylight saving time. But apparently, that’s just about all the update does.
Amazon is running a deal on the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi, selling the new-ish Sprint smartphones for $80 and $25, respectively, with a two-year contract and free activation.
