ctia

BlueAnt is mostly repeating its CES lineup at CTIA this year, so we won't belabor you too much with old news, though we do want to go into further detail on the BlueAnt V1. If you'll recall, the BlueAnt V1 is what BlueAnt is calling the world's first voice-controlled Bluetooth headset. It uses "BlueGenie" technology, which involves a system of voice recognition and voice synthesis to recognize the voice without a lot of training. Some of the voice commands include the expected "Answer Call" and "Redial" but our favorite is probably &… Read more

We first heard of Kajeet at CTIA last year--it's a mobile virtual network operator targeted toward families, especially those with tweens. In the wake of family-focused MVNOs getting the boot (Disney Mobile was shut down late last year, for example), it's interesting to see Kajeet still going strong. Today, Kajeet just introduced a new GPS Phone Locator service, which lets you use satellite technology to track down your child's location via Web-based maps. Parents can even schedule automatic location checks at certain times of the day. This also makes Kajeet the only prepaid carrier in the country … Read more

Last but not least of today's Verizon smartphone news is the Verizon Wireless XV6900.

In a nutshell, the XV6900 is the carrier's version of the HTC Touch, which has been available in GSM and Sprint flavors for a little while now.

The XV6900 does get a fresh coat of paint, stepping out in a vibrant white, but it seems everything is pretty much the same under the hood. You still get the TouchFLO interface that lets you navigate the phone's menus with the swipe of your finger; a 2.8-inch touch screen; Windows Mobile 6 Professional Edition; … Read more

Verizon Wireless opened the floodgates today, introducing a number of additions to its cell phone and smartphone lineup, including the Motorola Q9c shown here.

Unlike the multimedia-centric Motorola Q9m, the Q9c goes after the road warriors with its integrated GPS and VZ Navigator support. In addition, it offers Windows Mobile 6 Standard Edition with the Documents to Go suite, Bluetooth 2.0, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and 128MB Flash memory.

Being a more business-centric device, Verizon will not offer the more flashy lime-green version, which was announced for U.S. Cellular and Alltel. The Motorola Q9c for Verizon will be … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Nigel Clifford, CEO of smartphone OS provider Symbian, is well aware that everyone's looking at this industry with hungry eyes.

"No fixed Internet brand can afford to ignore the mobile marketplace," he said in a wide-ranging interview on the sidelines of CTIA 2008, where Symbian is hosting the Smartphone Summit a day before things officially get started.

As Google and Apple have shown over the last year, everybody wants a part of the mobile world. Symbian dominates this world at present, with well over 60 percent market share in the smartphone industry. But it's facing … Read more

LAS VEGAS - There's almost as many people buying smartphones as there are people buying laptops, and that trend is about to turn the computing industry on its head.

"We do see that gravitational pull of the single-use device being played out in the market," said Nigel Clifford, CEO of Symbian, during the opening presentations of Smartphone Summit here at CTIA 2008. "This is not just about multiple devices, it's about knocking aside some other forms of communication."

At CTIA, smartphones are still a niche product. The Smartphone Summit was held in two generic … Read more

Back when we reviewed the Sony Ericsson Z750a last year we had a hunch that it would come to AT&T. Granted, it's a pretty obvious guess AT&T still is the only GSM carrier in the United States to offer a 3G network, but it's still nice to be correct.

The carrier got a jump start on CTIA today by announcing it was offering the flip phone in mysterious purple, phantom grey and rose pink. The front face is shiny and reflective and the external display remains hidden when it's not backlit. Inside there'… Read more

A day ahead of its scheduled announcement, Verizon decided to spill the beans and put out a press release announcing the LG EnV2, which is the genuine successor to the LG EnV of years past. As we mentioned awhile ago, we originally thought the Voyager was the EnV successor, but as it turns out, the Voyager is in a completely separate class. Which is fine, since the LG EnV2--yes, we find the parentheses a little odd as well--is a pretty good-looking phone in its own right. Smooth and slim, it mimics the original EnV design with a clamshell look when … Read more

Come and get it! I got your hot, piping pre-CTIA 2008 news for you right here. Today, Verizon Wireless announced that it will deliver the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330 to customers starting in May (an exact ship date was not available). It's the first Curve to hit the CDMA carrier and is similar to the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8310 for AT&T in that it offers integrated GPS. The smartphone will work with Verizon's location-based service, VZ Navigator, and also one-ups the GSM version with EV-DO support. Other goodies include Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support, … Read more