Windows Phone

Shock and awe. This is typically Apple's motto -- and mode of operations -- for its hardware and software announcements. Don't give users time to forget your goods; don't give competitors a chance to catch up. The philosophy has worked wonders for Apple in the past. In announcing iOS 6 months ahead of its "fall" launch, Apple is giving Google and Microsoft time to plan their own counter-attacks. But chances are high this is just sleight of hand.

At the outset, Google and Microsoft have little to worry about with iOS 6. At yesterday's … Read more

We can't get the Nokia Lumia 610 on our shores, but our CNET brethren across the pond has plenty to say on the handset we first saw at Mobile World Congress in February.

Compact and tautly aimed at a youthful market, the multi-hued Lumia 610 is Europe's least expensive Windows Phone yet, and as such, is a welcome addition to the budget smartphone market.

Sure, there are some weaker points with the handset as part of the cost trade-off. The biggest drawback is the 800MHz single-core processor and just 256MB of RAM. The nearly halved memory means not … Read more

When Raymond Soneira compares smartphone displays, he doesn't just stare at side-by-side screens, using his highly trained eye to detect differences in color temperature and contrast. He does that, make no mistake, but he also uses a suite of scientific tests that measure factors like brightness, color gamut, and reflection.

Soneira is the president, CEO, and founder of DisplayMate Technologies, a gold standard toolkit among manufacturers and display reviewers, CNET included. Holding a doctorate in theoretical physics, Soneira has spent 23 years fine-tuning the algorithms that analyze visual data on screens of all sizes, from smartphones to TVs. Mathematical models are a specialty of his; in past positions, Soneira has developed intricate tests for both AT&T Bell Labs and CBS (CNET's parent company), among others.

This mountain of experience and expertise is why I'm paying attention when Soneira tells me quite plainly over the phone, "Just about every single spec on displays is exaggerated."

And by "exaggerated," he suggests skewed, misleading, and sometimes utterly useless. Why? Because while a screen's resolution and other specs can indicate a certain level of performance, there are many more factors involved in determining a display's actual level of performance. … Read more

Microsoft's Photosynth panorama application is now available to Windows Phone 7.5 users.

The Photosynth application has been around for quite some time, but this is the first instance of it coming to Microsoft's Windows Phone Marketplace. The application lets users snap a photo with their Mango-based device, and continue doing so until they have a full panoramic view.

According to Microsoft, the application helps users share panoramas on Facebook and Twitter, as well as publish them to Bing, so they appear in search results and Maps.

For iPhone users, having Photosynth available isn't all that spectacular, … Read more

The way I see it, there are three major draws to AT&T's Samsung Focus 2, a Windows phone that goes on sale May 20. First, there's the glossy-white design. Second there's the LTE compatibility, and third, and for some, most importantly, there's the $49.99 price.

The cameras and processor do a good job rounding out the midrange features, but there are a few ups and downs with the smartphone that you may want to keep in mind as you decide if this is one of the many Samsung Windows phones, or of AT&… Read more

AT&T is making quite the name for itself as America's top Windows Phone promoter. However, with so many Windows phones out there, it's getting harder to tell which one you should get.

Fear not, friends. Brian Tong straps on his gloves for a prizefight throwdown between the top Windows Phone contenders: the HTC Titan II, with its giant screen and 16-megapixel camera, and the Nokia Lumia 900 with its standout design and AMOLED display.… Read more

NEW ORLEANS--We didn't come to CTIA expecting a flood of new handsets as in years past, but what we did see imparted a taste of things to come for carriers, phone makers, and the wireless industry as whole.

Big guns The big guns were few. HTC was the most prolific, with the Droid Incredible 4G LTE as its top new device, plus a pair of older 4G WiMax phones repackaged with ICS for Sprint's no-contract carriers, Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile. Both 4G and ICS are Virgin and Boost firsts.

HTC had one more surprise up its sleeve, … Read more

NEW ORLEANS--What if there were an accurate way for your phone to help you time your commute on a given morning? "Take Highway 280 today instead of 101; there's an accident" for instance, or "It will take you 10 minutes longer than usual today, so you'd better leave by 7:30 in order to make that 8:30 meeting."

Unfortunately, our phones aren't quite up to being quite so helpful just yet, at least not the way I envision it in my daydreams. However, Nokia is planing an update to its Nokia Drive … Read more

NEW ORLEANS--From a user point of view, ZTE's head of the North American business, Lixin Cheng, prefers the Windows Phone OS over Android.

"In my personal experience, the iPhone, of course, has a well-polished user interface experience," Cheng told CNET. "And then Windows, and then Android."

But for the small-time phone manufacturing company, which has been steadily trying to plant a presence in the United States, releasing Windows Phone devices hasn't been easy.

In fact, the majority of ZTE handsets run on Android. Along with the ZTE Orbit, which is available in the U.… Read more