smartphones

In just a couple of days, a few of us lucky CNET folk, including myself, Kent German, CNET News's Maggie Reardon, and CNET TV's Ariel Nunez, will be boarding a jet plane to head to Barcelona, Spain, for the 2009 GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) show.

This is where the cell phone industry converges every year to discuss and showcase the latest GSM technologies and developments, and over the years, it's become the place where handset manufacturers reveal their new models for the year.

Just take the 2008 show for example. GSMA is where we saw the … Read more

Good news for all T-Mobile customers. Starting Wednesday, the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 is now available to everyone for $199.99 with a two-year contract and after a mail-in rebate. The Curve 8900 was initially released on January 27, but only to the carrier's business customers. It can now be purchased by all online or at T-Mobile stores nationwide.

According to Engadget Mobile, there's also a possibility Best Buy will offer the BlackBerry Curve 8900 for $50 less at $149.99 with a two-year contract. However, there's been no official confirmation and if you simply can't … Read more

Come this summer, Apple is expected to dip its toe in the entry level market for its popular iPhone, according to a report by RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky.

Apple is expected to debut a $99 iPhone, as well as an iPhone 3G with updated performance, sometime in June or July, according to Abramsky's research note on Tuesday.

Abramsky, in his report, states:

Checks reveal further entry-level iPhone details, including launches on existing carriers June/July with a data plan, entry-level pricing and a lower subsidy. Also expected is a 3G iPhone performance upgrade (performance, features, form factor).

An entry level iPhone could increase Apple's overall iPhone unit sales by 25 percent to 69 percent and bump up its slice of the smartphone market from an estimated 12 percent to 14 percent to 19 percent, the report notes.

But it could come at a price.

Apple could find itself cannibalizing its iPhones/iPod business. For example, Apple would need to sell three $99 iPhones to replace the gross profits of one 3G iPhone, Abramsky notes in his report. And it could also create a situation where Apple would need to lower its iPod pricing to sustain the momentum with its media player since the iPhone also offers such capability. … Read more

Nokia, the largest handset maker in the world, is cutting jobs at one plant and closing down at least one R&D site, as demand for cell phones plummets amid the worldwide recession.

The Finnish company said Wednesday that it will cut production at a key plant in Salo, Finland. It also plans to temporarily lay off about 20 percent to 30 percent of the plant's 2,500 employees on a rotational basis. All workers at the plant will be affected as groups rotate through the temporary layoffs.

Nokia also plans to shut down one R&D … Read more

We were just pleased as punch when Nokia revealed at CES 2009 that it would bring the Nokia E63 to the States, but were concerned that the company's hope to release the device in the "coming weeks" would turn into months. However, we were worried over nothing.

On Tuesday, Nokia announced the immediate availability of the E63 (in red or blue) at its flagship stores in New York and Chicago as well as independent retailers and e-tailers. The Symbian smartphone is sold as an unlocked phone for $279. While still expensive when compared with other subsidized smartphones, … Read more

The wonderful and torturous thing about GSMA Mobile World Congress is that you get to see handsets from a number of international manufacturers that are beyond imagination but will most likely never make it Stateside.

Take ZTE for example. It may not be a recognized cell phone brand in the United States, although the company does offer a couple of its handsets through MetroPCS, including the ZTE C79 and the ZTE C88, but it happens to be one of China's largest handset manufacturers.

ZTE will, once again, make the voyage to Barcelona this year and revealed on Tuesday that … Read more

Thanks to a lovely little press release from Texas Instruments, we now know that Archos is working on a new product line of ultrathin Internet Media Tablets (IMTs) with voice functionality provided by the Google Android operating system.

The release highlights the fact that the new series will use TI's OMAP3 processor and goes on to detail the features of the product, stating that Android will contribute the smartphone and applications environment while Archos will bring the multimedia and Web capabilities.

Given that the company is known for its portable video players, it's no surprise multimedia plays a … Read more

While everyone else is pulling out their hair trying to make the slimmest iPhone case possible, the geniuses over at Fins 4 Fun are going in the complete opposite direction with their swim fin-shaped cell phone holster. If you just can't get enough negative attention, this holster's gonna pull you out of your rut, one earful of sand at a time.

The fin isn't quite as big as an adult swimming fin, but it's just large enough to make you look like a total loser. And just so you know they're not completely joking with the design, the "heel strap" is adjustable to fit all the latest smartphones, as well as other small items like MP3 players and digital cameras. Heck, you can even put a pack of Altoids in there, as long as the dimensions don't exceed 2 inches wide by 4.75 inches high and .75 inches deep.

Buyers will appreciate the disclaimer on the Fins 4 Fun Web site that reads: "WARNING: This product may attract a lot of attention! Celebrate good times." Understatement of the year. I don't know about you guys, but the first person I see using this little guy is going to get an ice cream cone on their head, courtesy of one Justin Yu--maybe they should add that to the warning. The Fin holster is available now for $19.99.

More images after the jump.… Read more

We're still one week away from the official start of GSMA Mobile World Congress, but Samsung's getting the party started early by introducing its revamped TouchWiz user interface.

Making the announcement in Korea on Monday, the company revealed that it will show off its updated TouchWiz UI in Barcelona, highlighting new features like flashy 3D effects, new gesture controls, better integration of photos and contacts, and more haptic feedback.

There will also be a new widget dock from which you can manage and download widgets for your home screen. This is something we're particularly excited to hear, … Read more