November 9th, 2009

Smartphone Buyer's Guide: What are the choices on my carrier?

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 5:06 am

Categories: AT&T, Android, Apple, BlackBerry, Google, HTC, Linux, Microsoft, Palm, RIM, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, WebOS, Windows Mobile, iPhone

Tags: Touch Screen, Apple iPhone, High Tech Computer Corp., Google Android, Device, Microsoft Windows Mobile, Smart Phone, T-Mobile, RIM BlackBerry, Smartphone

I recently posted the 2009 Holiday Guide for smartphones and in that guide posted about just one smartphone from each carrier. I also posted my Holiday Guide for feature phones and included the two I thought are best on each carrier. There are more smartphone selections than just one and now that most all of the announcements for the holidays have been made I thought you might like to know what the choices from each carrier are, along with the subsidized and non-subsidized prices so you can make an informed choice. Most people find a carrier that works for them with the best coverage in their local area so they look first to their carrier for a smartphone rather than looking for the a smartphone and then switching carriers. You will find the smartphone choices from the four largest nationwide carriers, but keep in mind there are also some rather large localized carriers in the Northeast and Southern regions with excellent smartphone choices.

The prices you will see in this article are from the carrier. If you are new to a carrier or adding another line you will find excellent prices on Amazon.com and other online vendors.

Verizon Wireless

Verizon has had a rather weak lineup of smartphones for most of 2009 with their primary focus on high end BlackBerry models. They recently added some very good Windows Mobile and Google Android devices to their offerings so Verizon Wireless customers have some of the best choices this holiday season. You will find smartphones with keyboards and those focused on touch only so something should appeal to you that allows you to stay with Verizon Wireless, or even join them to obtain one of their new Google Android devices.

Verizon does have the most expensive data and voice plans, but they also have the most coverage of any wireless carrier. The HTC Touch Pro2 has been sold out for much of the last month so may be difficult to find. The HTC DROID ERIS and Motorola DROID are the hottest devices at the moment and you will see commercials for both on television and in print advertising. If you travel internationally, make sure to look for a phone that is GSM-capable too.

RIM BlackBerry

• BlackBerry Curve 8330 - Front facing QWERTY, 2.0 megapixel camera: $429.99 (no contract) and $49.99 (2-year contract)
• BlackBerry Tour - Front facing QWERTY, 3.2 megapixel camera, GSM world phone: $489.99 (no contract) and $149.99 (2-year contract)
• BlackBerry Storm2 - Large touchscreen, WiFi, 3.2 megapixel camera, GSM world phone: $539.99 (no contract) and $179.99 (2-year contract)

Windows Mobile

• Samsung Omnia - Large touchscreen, Samsung TouchWIZ interface, 5 megapixel camera: $459.99 (no contract) and FREE (2-year contract)
• HTC Ozone - Front facing QWERTY, non-touchscreen, 2 megapixel camera, GSM world phone: $349.99 (no contract) and $49.99 (2-year contract)
• Samsung Saga - Front facing QWERTY, touchscreen, 2 megapixel camera, GSM world phone: $449.99 (no contract) and $99.99 (2-year contract)
• HTC Touch Pro2 - Large touchscreen, slider QWERTY, 3.2 megapixel camera, GSM world phone: $489.99 (no contract) and $199.99 (2-year contract)
• HTC Imagio - Windows Mobile 6.5, large touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera, GSM world phone: $579.99 (no contract) and $199.99 (2-year contract)

Google Android

• HTC DROID ERIS - Touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera, HTC Sense UI and widgets:: $469.99 (no contract) and $99.99 (2-year contract)
• Motorola DROID - Android 2.0, 5 megapixel camera, large touchscreen, slider QWERTY: $559.99 (no contract) and $199.99 (2-year contract)

Apple iPhone
Verizon has no iPhone devices.

Symbian
Verizon has no Symbian smartphone offerings.

Palm WebOS
Verizon has no Palm WebOS devices.

A couple of things to keep in mind as you look at these Verizon smartphones is to check for WiFi and GSM support if you are a business traveler who needs these wireless technologies to do your job.

Let’s see what AT&T has available »

November 6th, 2009

MobileTechRoundup show #189; Verizon DROID choices, Moblin 2.1 for netbooks

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 7:55 am

Categories: Android, BlackBerry, Google, HTC, Linux, Podcast, RIM, Verizon

Tags: MobileTechRoundup, High Tech Computer Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., Netbook, HTC HD2, Kevin, Netbooks, Nettops & MIDs, Hardware, Matthew Miller

Listen here (MP3, 33.1 MB, 36:05 minutes)

Subscribe to the show with this link (RSS)

Today we see the launch of the heavily advertised Motorola DROID on Verizon along with the HTC DROID ERIS. As James mentions at the start of MobileTechRoundup show #189 he is the only one of the three of us with the Motorola DROID in hand. If you are a Verizon Wireless customer it seems like almost a no-brainer to pick up a DROID or DROID ERIS today at $200 or $100, but Verizon’s very expensive plans are keeping me at home today. The HTC HD2 has a couple of us quite excited with that 1GHz Snapdragon processor and we will see it on some unnamed carrier in early 2010. Kevin is triple booting his netbook and after chatting I am also going to go install the new Moblin 2.1 OS that is optimized for netbooks. We ended by chatting about smartphone market share and the fact that integrated platforms seem to be doing better than licensed ones.

November 5th, 2009

Verizon's HTC DROID ERIS may be the best $100 smartphone

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 7:16 am

Categories: Android, Google, Linux, Verizon

Tags: High Tech Computer Corp., Smart Phone, Verizon Communications Inc., E-mail, Keyboards, Advertising & Promotion, Online Communications, Hardware, Peripherals, Marketing

Readers here know how much I enjoyed using the HTC Hero and now we see HTC coming out with its 3rd version of the Hero and IMHO the third time is the charm. I had a chance to hold and play a bit with the HTC DROID ERIS (Verizon’s version of the HTC Hero) and I could not put it down because the form factor is so compelling. It is wrapped in black soft touch material, it is narrow so it feels like a phone, it is thin, it is dense, and it has curves that make a supermodel envious. I have not yet used a Verizon DROID, but every review I read stated the keyboard was not that great so the HTC DROID ERIS without a keyboard and much more pocketable form factor may be the Android device of choice on Verizon. Amazingly, HTC was able to pack in their awesome Sense UI into the ERIS at this low $100 price point and you may just see me at Best Buy tomorrow, 6 November, picking this one up and adding a Verizon line to my mobile collection.

Even though the HTC DROID ERIS is available for only $100 HTC did not skimp on the specifications as you can see below:

• Qualcomm MSM 7600 528MHz processor
• CDMA/EV-DO Rev A. support
• 3.2 inch 320×480 HVGA capacitive touch screen and trackball interface
• 5.0 megapixel auto focus camera
• Expandable memory with pre-installed 8 GB microSD card
• Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3.5 mm headset connectivity
• Integrated GPS and a digital compass with a sensor that enables the phone to know what direction it is facing
• Smart dialer for simplified dialing by name, number or initials
• Dimensions of 4.45 x 2.19 x 0.51 inches and 4.23 ounces
• 1300 mAh Li-Ion battery

DROID ERIS by HTC will be available in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com on Friday, 6 November, for $99.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement on a voice plan with an e-mail feature or e-mail plan. If you visit a Best Buy Mobile location you can get the rebate applied instantly too.

Compared to the Motorola DROID, we see this device with a sleeker form factor, mult-touch web browser, better performing camera, and the Sense UI (with all the great HTC widgets and customizations) while the DROID has the a slightly faster processor, larger higher resolution display, hardware QWERTY keyboard, and vanilla Googla Android experience with support for the new Google Maps Navigation beta. The Motorola DROID runs Android 2.0 while the HTC DROID ERIS runs Android 1.5. HTC has stated they will be skippping 1.6 and putting Android 2.0 on Hero devices so the ERIS should also get the upgrade eventually, but there has been no confirmation of that yet.

Which Google Android device do you find more compelling on Verizon?

November 4th, 2009

Motorola and Palm; will 2009 be designated as a comeback year?

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 4:37 am

Categories: Android, Google, Linux, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon

Tags: Device, Palm Inc., Motorola Inc., WebOS, Motorola DROID, Palm Pre, Smart Phones, Advertising & Promotion, Cellular Phones, Telecom & Utilities

Many of us believed that Palm was on the ropes and getting ready to go down for the count at the end of 2008, but they came out swinging at CES with the announcement of the Pre and WebOS. Motorola was a leader in the mobile phone business for years, but has not done well in the smartphone space and in early 2009 we heard they would be looking to Android in the future. The Motorola DROID is the talk of the town at the moment and the Motorola CLIQ just started selling at T-Mobile this week. Will 2009 go down as the year that Palm and Motorola showed us all they were back and ready to compete?

Palm

I began my mobile device career with a Palm Pilot 1000 (actually US Robotics then) in early 1997 and they have always had a special place in my heart. Even my online name, palmsolo, reflects my usage of their devices from way back in the day. I still use my Palm Treo Pro and think it is one of the best Windows Mobile devices I have ever used. I was blown away like everyone else with the Palm Pre and WebOS announcements in January and cheered that Palm was back in the game.

However, the Pre and WebOS hasn’t really taken off yet and as I posted recently I really wonder if Palm can make it through 2010. I want to see WebOS devices on other carriers and much more development and available applications in the Palm App Catalog, but am not that hopeful.

Motorola

One of the first mobile phones I used while in the USCG was the Motorola StarTAC. That was one rock solid phone that performed quite well and survived drops and falls. A bit later we saw the highly successful RAZR phone, followed by the huge failure in the Motorola MPx smartphone that was never released. That device could have been hot, but was hampered by an extremely small amount of RAM that killed it before launch. We then saw the launch of the Motorola Q that showed how thin a QWERTY smartphone could be, but the battery life and stability killed enthusiasm for that device. There were some solid Motorola Q models that followed, but I think the issues with the first one kept people from buying these. Motorola then decided to stop releasing Windows Mobile phones.

Motorola kicked off their Android devices with the Motorola CLIQ that has some innovative social networking integration in MotoBLUR. The hot news though surrounds the Motorola DROID on Verizon Wireless that seems to be grabbing lots of attention. Motorola plans to launch many more Android devices in 2010 and will be rolling out devices across carriers so they have the ability to affect more consumers.

2009 closing thoughts

Unless Palm makes moves to roll out on other carriers with their WebOS devices I don’t see them making a full comeback. The upcoming Pixi looks like a decent device, but it will be selling at the Palm Centro price of $99 and we saw that this is not the way to profitability and success even with millions of units sold.

Motorola is ending 2009 on a high note and has lots of momentum going into 2010. I do think 2009 will mark the year of Motorola’s comeback and look forward to seeing more of their offerings in 2010.

What do you think, will 2009 be the year of the comeback for both of these companies?

November 1st, 2009

Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Smartphones

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 9:18 pm

Categories: AT&T, Android, Apple, BlackBerry, HTC, Holiday Gift Guide, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, Windows Mobile, iPhone

Tags: Apple iPhone, High Tech Computer Corp., Phone, Device, Smart Phone, T-Mobile, Sprint Communications, Smartphone, CLIQ, iPhone 3GS

The lineup of cell phones has expanded a bit, but a significant number of what we see in that category are updates to existing models. The real innovation in the mobile phone world is in the area of smartphones where we see the Apple iPhone, Palm WebOS, Google Android, RIM BlackBerry, and Microsoft Windows Mobile devices taking us to places we have never been before. This holiday season there is a huge selection for you to choose from on every carrier and several exciting devices will be launching throughout November. There are so many to choose from that we can’t cover them all here so I will present you with one smartphone from each carrier and one SIM-unlocked one.

Even though I am only presenting one phone from each carrier, I highly encourage you to visit your local carrier’s retail store to check out all the offerings available since they are quite compelling. The great thing for buyers this holiday season is that such intense competition lends itself to good prices and changing carrier plans and services.

T-Mobile

Motorola CLIQ

T-Mobile is my personal wireless carrier and I was going to talk about my current favorite device, the T-Mobile Touch Pro2, but I think another new device is more exciting and interesting for the holidays. Motorola’s new CLIQ Google Android device with MOTOBLUR integration that tightly integrates social networking feeds and data in the device. The CLIQ has a beautiful capacitive touch screen, 5 megapixel camera, support for T-Mobile’s 3G data network, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and full QWERTY keyboard.

The device is highly optimized for social networking with Facebook, MySpace and Twitter apps built right into the Android OS. Android is an exciting new platform with thousands of applications and capability to meet all your needs.

Price: $199.99 with 2-year contract and rebate

[Check out the ZDNet Reviews page]

Check out my AT&T recommendation »

November 1st, 2009

Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Cell Phones

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 9:16 pm

Categories: AT&T, Holiday Gift Guide, LG, Samsung, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon

Tags: Phone, Device, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Bluetooth, Cell Phone, Camera, Wireless, Samsung Memoir, QWERTY, Pantech Reveal

Even though 2009 was a difficult one for many in regards to finances, the mobile phone market continued to grow and manufacturers continued to roll out some excellent phones for the consumer. In this issue of the 2009 Holiday Gift Guide we will take a look at two selected mobile phones from each of the four major US wireless carriers. I know the lines between feature phones and smartphones are no longer clear cut, but we will have another Guide edition for smartphones that will include those devices running Windows Mobile, Google Android, RIM BlackBerry, Apple iPhone, Symbian, and Palm WebOS.

QWERTY keyboards are quite popular today due to the heavy text messaging practices that many people take part in while standard phone keypad models don’t seem to be as common. That said, there are also some very powerful and functional devices without keyboards that appeal to consumer for other strengths. The phones we will cover in this Guide range from $49.99 to $199.99 in price.

T-Mobile

Samsung Memoir

This first selection from T-Mobile brings a feature not seen in many phones and that is an 8 megapixel digital camera. I find the saying that the best camera to have is the one that is always with you and with the Samsung Memoir in hand you really don’t have to compromise when it comes to taking photos. The Memoir also has a Xenon flash so you can take decent photos in low and no light conditions too. In addition to the 8 megapixel camera you will find a large 2.64 x 1.61 inch 240×400 pixel resolution touch screen display with haptic feedback. Samsung throws on their cool TouchWIZ user interface and the decent NetFront web browser to round out the device.

You will find it supports T-Mobile’s 3G data network, has integrated Bluetooth, and integrated GPS receiver for navigation. The Samsung Memoir is quite a powerful mobile phone for those looking to take lots of photos on the go.

Price: $199.99 with 2-year contract and rebate/discount or $499.99 with no contract (T-Mobile’s new Even More Plus plan)

[Read my review and check out the ZDNet Reviews page]

Go to the next page »

October 30th, 2009

Did you know the BlackBerry Storm2 is also now available?

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 7:55 am

Categories: BlackBerry, Mobile software, RIM, Verizon

Tags: Research In Motion Ltd., RIM BlackBerry, Verizon Wireless, Crackberry.com, Handhelds, Hardware, Matthew Miller

Most of the excitement in the mobile phone space this week focused on the announcement of the Motorola DROID on Verizon Wireless. Looking at the Verizon Wireless press release archive page you have to scroll down to the 6th or 7th story to find that the RIM BlackBerry Storm2 was also announced this week with availability occuring a couple of days ago on Wednesday, 28 October. Crackberry.com has a detailed review that covers the device in detail and it looks like the Storm2 is the device that the original Storm should have been. RIM tried some different things with the Storm, primarily with their clickable display, that took away from the BlackBerry experience and this no longer seems to be the case. The use of a capacitive display, similar to the iPhone and Google Android devices, was a smart move on RIM’s part.

I thought the original Storm had a nice form factor with solid design and this same form factor is present on the Storm2. Specifications of the Storm2 include:

• 3.25 inch 480×360 pixel resolution touchscreen capacitive display
• Worldwide support with EV-DO Rev A and 2100MHz UMTS/HSDPA and quad-band GSM/EDGE
• Integrated 802.11 b/g WiFi
• Integrated Bluetooth 2.1
• Integrated GPS receiver
• 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, video, and image stabilization
• 256MB of Flash ROM
• 2GB of on board memory and microSD card slot
• 3.5mm headset jack
• BlackBerry OS 5.0
• Improved BlackBerry browser

The Verizon BlackBerry Storm2 is available now for $179 with 2 year contract and mail-in rebate. I understand you can also take advantage of their buy one, get one free offer with the Storm2 so this makes it a compelling choice for Verizon Wireless customers. If you own a current BlackBerry you can also update to the new BlackBerry OS 5.0 via download.

October 30th, 2009

MobileTechRoundup show #188; DROID does, we don't

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 7:34 am

Categories: Android, BlackBerry, Google, HTC, Linux, Mobile services, Mobile software, RIM, Verizon

Tags: MobileTechRoundup, Google Inc., Google Maps Navigation Beta, Matthew Miller

Listen here (MP3, 32.5 MB, 35:24 minutes)

Subscribe to the show with this link (RSS)

The biggest news in mobile technology this week was the Motorola DROID announcement from Verizon Wireless and we spent a large junk of MobileTechRoundup show #188 talking about the device and Google Android. James, Kevin, and I haven’t yet held the DROID so we are reserving final judgement on it, but it sounds like James may be the only one who may pick up the device since he already has a Verizon account. Google Maps Navigation beta is installed on the DROID and may just have wiped out PNDs, but Microsoft is helping with the shutting down of the MSN Direct service on 1 January 2012.

October 28th, 2009

Verizon's HTC Droid Eris (aka Desire) may be priced at $99

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 12:24 pm

Categories: Android, Google, HTC, Linux, Verizon

Tags: High Tech Computer Corp., Google Android, Verizon Communications Inc., HTC Droid Eris, Mobile Operating Systems, Smart Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Matthew Miller

Rumors of the first two Google Android devices coming to Verizon Wireless have been floating around for a few weeks and as you know today Verizon and Motorola made the official Motorola Droid announcement with a release date of 6 November at a competive $199.99 price. The other rumored Android device is the HTC Droid Eris that Peter from GDGT is stating will launch for just $99. The HTC DROID Eris is the Verizon version of the very appealing HTC Hero and $99 is a killer price for such a functional device. These are both excellent choices on Verizon and it is great to see the price difference that gives consumers a clearer choice between a QWERTY keyboard device with larger form factor or a sleeker all-touchscreen device.

The HTC Eris will also be running Android version 1.5 with HTC’s custom Sense user interface built on top compared to the standard 3-screen Google Android 2.0 software seen on the Motorola DROID. There has been no official announcement for the Eris yet and we do not know when it will launch, but it should be in November so people can get one before the holidays.

You may also have heard of the HTC Desire, getting confusing now isn’t it, and to clear it up the HTC Desire IS the HTC Droid Eris. HTC uses codenames for their devices as you can see on the XDA Developers site and Desire was the in-house codename for the HTC Droid Eris as it was named for Verizon Wireless. I wonder if this Eris device was named after the dwarf planet, spider, or Greek goddess of strife and discord. Anyone know the history behind this Google Android device name? As we see more Google Android devices appearing in the Verizon Droid series we will try to help you manage these names too.

October 28th, 2009

Motorola and Verizon announced DROID for 6 Nov at $199.99

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 8:00 am

Categories: Android, Google, Mobile software, Verizon

Tags: Verizon Communications Inc., Motorola Inc., DROID, Keyboards, Wi-Fi, Hardware, Peripherals, Wireless And Mobility, Matthew Miller

Verizon and Motorola made it official today with the announcement that the DROID by Motorola will launch next week, 6 November, for only $199.99 with two-year contract and $100 mail-in rebate. The DROID is Verizon’s first Google Android device and the first Android device running version 2.0 software. It has a huge 3.7 inch 854×480 pixel resolution capacitive touchscreen and comes in at only 0.54 inches thick with a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

Other specifications include:

• EV-DO Rev A wireless data support
• 550 MHz processor
• 5 megapixel digital camera with dual LED
• Integrated WiFi and Bluetooth radios
• Integrated A-GPS receiver
• microSD card slot for expandable memory expansion with 16GB included card

One interesting piece of software provided on the DROID is Google Maps Navigation beta where Google Maps goes beyond just simple mapping and basic navigation capability.