Cell phones

HTC Evo 4G available June 4 for $199.99

This post was last updated at 7:01 p.m., PT.

NEW YORK--Sprint CEO Dan Hesse finally revealed the pricing and release date of the much anticipated HTC Evo 4G at a special event here Wednesday. The nation's first 4G smartphone will be available starting June 4 for $199.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. The Android device will also be sold through national retailers, including Best Buy, Radio Shack, and Wal-Mart Stores.

Interestingly, the issue of data plans was never mentioned during the presentation and became a source of confusion during the event. … Read more

The 411: Unlocked phones and iPhone speculation

Welcome to the 411, my Q&A column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I'm stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at nicole.lee@cnet.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, let me know in the e-mail.

Nicole, love your articles and was hoping you might be able to answer a question for me about buying an unlocked phone. I'm an AT&T customer and I'm looking at the LG KM900 Arena phone. The thing that scares me … Read more

AT&T Palm Pre Plus available May 16 for $150

Announced back at CTIA Spring 2010, AT&T finally revealed via its Facebook page that the Palm Pre Plus will be available starting May 16 for $149.99 with a two-year contract and after a mail-in rebate.

In addition, the carrier said that for a limited time it will throw in a Touchstone charging dock for free for any customers who purchases the smartphone in one of its retail stores. No word, however, on the pricing or availability of the Palm Pixi Plus.

Sprint sends green message with Samsung Seek

At first glance, Sprint's latest handset, the Samsung Seek, looks like your typical messaging cell phone, with a slider QWERTY keyboard, threaded text messaging, IM, and social-networking integration. However, it also has a green conscience.

The Seek is part of a new trial recycling campaign from Sprint and Samsung that enables customers to use the Seek's packaging to ship back old wireless phones, batteries, accessories, and data cards with a postage-paid paper mailing label. Sprint will then recycle both the equipment and packaging material.

The Samsung Seek will be available in three colors: cool blue, scarlet red, and … Read more

Boost Mobile introduces free 411 calls

Boost Mobile is sweetening its $50 monthly unlimited deal--which includes voice, messaging, and Web--with a very nice bonus. Boost Mobile customers can now make free, unlimited 411 calls. This bonus is for both the $50 unlimited customers as well as those who are on the $60 a month BlackBerry unlimited plan. Boost Mobile also announced unlimited e-mail and instant messaging in addition to the 411 service.

Boost also announced that it will be offering a version of Sprint's Samsung Rant on May 19. The sliding messaging phone will be the first of its kind on the prepaid carrier. The … Read more

T-Mobile MyTouch 3G Slide makes official debut

T-Mobile's latest Android device isn't the biggest surprise, considering all the various leaks over the past couple of months, but nonetheless, we're glad that we can finally talk about the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G Slide with official authority.

Slated for a June release (specific availability date and pricing were not announced at this time), the Slide is the latest model to join the carrier's MyTouch 3G line. Like the other MyTouch models, the Slide is made by HTC and as its name would suggest, it is a slider phone with a full QWERTY keyboard and is running Android 2.1. However, rather than just be satisfied with bringing its customers the latest Android features, the carrier has added its own custom user interface to not only differentiate itself from the competition but, more importantly, make the phones more connected and user-friendly.

T-Mobile didn't give its UI a fancy name and it's actually built on top of HTC Sense (so you'll see some elements of Sense on the phone) but there are three key features to it: the Faves Gallery, myModes, and the Genius Button. The Faves Gallery is an extension of myFaves, and by touching a dedicated soft button, you can instantly see and communicate with up to 20 of your favorite contacts. In addition, you'll receive a special alert in your notifications tray and a custom green light will illuminate any time one of your Faves contacts you and updates his or her status. The whole idea is to make it easier to stay in touch with the people you care about the most. … Read more

Samsung goes simple with the Stride

Samsung has been putting out new phone after new phone recently, with the Samsung Reality and the Samsung Restore announced just this past week.

Now another Samsung phone joins the family, and it's the Samsung r330 Stride for U.S. Cellular. Yes, it's an entry-level flip phone, but sometimes people just want the basics. It does have Bluetooth, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and a speakerphone, but that's about it. It's only $29.95 with a contract, so it'll go easy on your wallet.

HP and Palm: A good match?

Holy moly! That was my first reaction when I heard HP bought Palm, except replace moly with another four-letter word.

In case you missed it, both companies announced on Wednesday they have entered into an agreement where HP would buy Palm for $1.2 billion, roughly $5.70 per share. The news caught me completely by surprise. It wasn't the fact that Palm was bought that shocked me. We knew that Palm was in trouble after it reported poor first-quarter earnings and was possibly shopping itself around to potential buyers.

Though many folks, present company included, were rooting for … Read more

Boost Mobile releases Sanyo Juno

Boost Mobile released the Sanyo Juno Tuesday, and if you think it looks familiar, that's because it's essentially a rebranding of the Sanyo SCP-2700.

The SCP-2700 is from Sprint, so we suppose it only makes sense that the company's prepaid arm would offer the same handsets. As you would expect, the Juno is unchanged from the original--it's a slate-style messaging handset with a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and not much else--but at least it's only $99.99 without a contract.