iPhone news and reviews

Review: HTC Droid Eris smartphone

Robert S. Anthony — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:50:00 -0800

If you want a cheaper Android-based alternative to the Droid and can live without a hardware keyboard, the Droid Eris is a good choice.

Review: Samsung Moment smartphone

Ginny Mies — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:10:00 -0800

Sony may be on the cusp of introducing the PSP Go, a new handheld gaming system that seems to have borrowed some design cues from the iPhone and iPod touch.

Review: HTC Hero (Sprint) smartphone

Ginny Mies — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:00:00 -0800

Although it has some quirks, the variety of features and the high customizability that the Hero smartphone offers is hard to beat.

AT&T profiles specific cities in bid for coverage

Stephen Lawson — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:46:00 -0800

AT&T's CTO said the carrier is improving coverage using specific calling models for each city, and moving toward IPv6.

Verizon Droid tethering will cost you

Tony Bradley — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:03:00 -0800

The Verizon Droid launches today, and Verizon will be offering a tethering plan for the handset, at the cost of $30 per month. Still, it's a win over the iPhone, which doesn't yet offer the feature.

Review: Research in Motion BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone

Ginny Mies — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:31:00 -0800

If you’re rocking an aging BlackBerry, you should definitely consider the Bold 9700. Its keyboard, display, software, and specs make it the best BlackBerry to date, by far.

iPhone versus BlackBerry: Survey pits sexy against the suits

Tom Kaneshige — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:40:00 -0800

The "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" stereotypes in Apple's famous ad campaign have nothing on the findings from a new study of BlackBerry and iPhone owners.

Orange to sell iPhone in U.K. starting Nov. 10

Nick Spence — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:08:00 -0800

Orange on Monday announced that it will launch iPhone in the UK on November 10th , after numerous rumours pointing to that date.

iPhone goes on sale in China

Dan Moren — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:02:00 -0800

The iPhone went on sale in mainland China this past weekend, marking the first time the device has been officially available in the majority of the world's most populous country.

iTunes 9.0.2 update blocks Palm Pre syncing, again

Dan Moren — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:15:00 -0700

In a startling case of déjà vu, Apple's recent iTunes 9.0.2 update once again blocks the Palm Pre from syncing with the software. Then again, maybe it's not very startling at all.

Hands on with Google Maps Navigation on Android

Robert S. Anthony — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:04:00 -0700

An impressive feature of Google's new Android 2.0 mobile device operating system is Google Maps Navigation, a that's not only free to use, but is fairly easy to...

Review: Motorola Droid smartphone

Robert S. Anthony — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:04:00 -0700

The Droid certainly lives up to its promises and does a lot of things the iPhone doesn’t. The iPhone will probably keep its smartphone throne for now, but it will have to deal with a powerful new competitor.

Motorola and Verizon officially announce Droid handset

Dan Moren — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:35:00 -0700

Specs for the Motorola Droid handset were leaked earlier this month, but the device, which runs Google's Android 2.0 software, has now been officially announced.

Google unveils free turn-by-turn directions for Android devices

Dan Moren — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:40:00 -0700

In a game-changing move, Google has showed of its new Google Navigation system, which will provide free turn-by-turn directions for its Android mobile platform.

Survey puts iPhone at close second in market share

Jeff Porten — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:35:00 -0700

ChangeWave Research's quarterly survey of cell phone owners shows the iPhone gaining market share and continuing to lead the pack in satisfaction.

Use your own number with some Google Voice features

Jeff Porten — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:29:00 -0700

Google Voice now offers an option to let users take advantage of some of its features with their existing phone numbers.

Google releases Android 2.0 SDK, spills on features

Dan Moren — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:13:00 -0700

Google has rolled out support in its SDK for Android 2.0, the latest version of its mobile operating system.

Sprint plans to release Palm Pixi in mid-November

John Cox — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:55:00 -0700

Sprint will release the second Palm webOS device, the Palm Pixi smartphone, on Nov. 15, priced at $100, after $150 in rebates.

Orange to offer iPhone in UK on November 10

Carrie-Ann Skinner — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:16:00 -0700

Orange will make Apple's iPhone available on November 10 in the UK, ending O2's exclusive partnership with Apple in that country.

Apple and iPhone leave Verizon still a bridesmaid, not a bride

Matt Hamblen — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:37:00 -0700

Verizon Wireless is still hoping to sell the iPhone, but is waiting on word from Apple, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg said.

Verizon Droid phone briefly unveiled on Motorola Web site

John Cox — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:42:00 -0700

The world got an apparently unplanned preview of the Verizon Android-based Droid smartphone when Motorola briefly posted online the official Web pages describing the new device in depth.

Nokia lawsuit seeks a piece of the iPhone pie

Tony Bradley — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:10:00 -0700

Nokia is entitled to protect its investments in research and its intellectual property. But PC World's Tony Bradley says there's reason to be skeptical of the timing and motives of Nokia's lawsuit claiming the iPhone infringes on 10 different technology patents.

AT&T weighs higher fees for data hogs

Matt Hamblen — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:38:00 -0700

AT&T is finalizing a plan that could impose higher fees on big data users, subject to rules that may come from federal regulators regarding net neutrality.

AT&T exec implies iPhone exclusivity in U.S. to end

Matt Hamblen — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:10:00 -0700

AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega strongly implied today that the carrier's exclusive deal to sell the iPhone in the U.S. is ending.

AT&T sees record iPhone activations in last quarter

Dan Moren — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:32:00 -0700

Apple's U.S. wireless partner, AT&T, activated 3.2 million iPhones in its most recent quarter, setting a record for the company.

Reports: Google to launch music service and phone

Daniel Ionescu — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:43:00 -0700

Will Google gunning to become the next Apple? Google is reportedly set to unveil its own music service and is also working with a smartphone manufacturer on an...

Ballmer: Sidekick outage 'not good'

John Fontana — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:56:00 -0700

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, stating the obvious for emphasis, called the Sidekick outage "not good," but said he thinks all data will be recovered. And he added that Microsoft needs to be more forthcoming in explaining to enterprise customers why a similar situation won't occur with the company's online services.

Smartphone smackdown: Motorola Droid vs. iPhone 3GS

Brad Reed — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:15:00 -0700

The new Motorola Droid could be the most serious smartphone challenger yet to the iPhone 3GS. Network World looks at why.

New Verizon Droid ad aims at iPhone

Seth Weintraub — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 06:43:00 -0700

Verizon's new Droid phone, and its ad campaign, take on the iPhone head-on. Sort of.

New iPhone 3GS bootrom not jailbreak-proof -- with a catch

Mike Keller — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 02:45:00 -0700

A member of Dev-Team, which works on ways to jailbreak Apple's iPhone, says reports that the iPhone 3GS is "jailbreak-proof" are not accurate.

A year later, Nokia's music service has few users

Nancy Gohring — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:30:00 -0700

An analyst group says that Nokia's music service only has 107,000 users.

Review: Motorola Cliq (T-Mobile) Android-based mobile phone

Ginny Mies — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:49:00 -0700

The beautifully designed Motorola Cliq is a social butterfly’s dream phone, but others may find the MotoBlur user interface overwhelming.

Microsoft recovers most Sidekick data

Ian Paul — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:36:00 -0700

Microsoft has good news for most Sidekick users: the company says it has recovered most of the data for T-Mobile Sidekick users who saw personal information...

PhoneView 2.3 can retrieve iPhone MMS, Visual Voicemail

Dan Moren — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:49:00 -0700

The latest version of Ecamm Network's PhoneView lets you easily archive MMS messages and Visual Voicemail messages from your iPhone onto your Mac.

iPhone sends Aussie smartphone market soaring

Kathryn Edwards — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:29:00 -0700

Apple's iPhone has spurred Australian smartphone shipments up 29 percent year on year in the first half of 2009, according to research firm IDC.

Sidekick foul-up is not a failure of the cloud

Tony Bradley — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:10:00 -0700

The Sidekick foul-up is a huge embarrassment for T-Mobile and for Microsoft, with both companies suffering from a loss of credibility when it comes to providing stable and secure mobile service and data protection. However, the failure does not mean that the cloud can't be trusted.

Sidekick fiasco highlights need for mobile backups

Mikael Ricknäs — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:20:00 -0700

The loss of personal data that Sidekick users in the U.S. have suffered is a shame, but it also shows how important data stored on mobile phones has become.

The first smart phone is dead

Seth Weintraub — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 19:21:00 -0700

Seth Weintraub notes the passing -- or was it a murder? -- of the T-Mobile Sidekick, the first smart phone.

Microsoft loses Sidekick users' personal data

Martyn Williams — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 19:20:00 -0700

Server problems at Sidekick provider Danger have resulted in the loss of personal data for most users, Microsoft and T-Mobile said.

The Macalope Weekly: Mobile market madness!

The Macalope — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 07:10:00 -0700

Microsoft, microsoft, microsoft! Redmond's home team is all over the news this week, with Windows Mobile and Windows 7 news. Of course, if it's Windows, it must mean curtains for Apple, right?

How the iPhone works

John Brandon — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:00:00 -0700

John Brandon breaks down the science behind the iPhone's sensors.

Verizon-Apple deal less likely after Google move?

Matt Hamblen — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:00:00 -0700

IDC analysts say that the announcement that Verizon and Google plan to bring more Android smartphones to market means Verizon is less likely to sell the iPhone any time soon.

AT&T defends network, lays out HSPA plans

Stephen Lawson — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:00:00 -0700

AT&T's CTO defended the carrier's network performance and detailed its planned rollout of HSPA 7.2.

iPhone tops J.D. Power smartphone customer satisfaction surveys

Dan Moren — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:08:00 -0700

J.D. Power and Associates has released its semi-annual statistics on customer satisfaction for business and consumer smartphone users, and the iPhone topped both categories.

AT&T on iPhone tethering: Not yet

Lex Friedman — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:32:00 -0700

AT&T today announced that 'fine-tuning' of its network is needed before the carrier can enable iPhone tethering.

AT&T Wireless CEO hints at ‘managing’ iPhone data usage

Mark Sullivan — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:50:00 -0700

At the CTIA conference in San Diego, AT&T Wireless CEO Ralph de la Vega hinted that iPhone data usage may need to be 'managed' in the future.

Report: Dell to offer smartphone through AT&T

Agam Shah — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:36:00 -0700

Dell will offer a smartphone through the AT&T network in the U.S. starting 2010, the WSJ reported.

Genachowski lays out FCC mobile strategy

Stephen Lawson — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:30:00 -0700

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski outlined a four-part strategy for U.S. wireless communications on Wednesday at CTIA.

FCC's Genachowski to enter wireless hot house

Stephen Lawson — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:28:00 -0700

Appearances by U.S. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski at a conference this week should prove interesting as the US government looks into wireless regulation.

Android to grab No. 2 spot by 2012, says Gartner

Matt Hamblen — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:50:00 -0700

While the Google-backed Android mobile operating system currently runs on less than 2 percent of all smartphones, Gartner predicts it will surge to 14 percent of the global smartphone market in 2012.