Windows Phone

A handful of new devices surface on day 1 of MobileCon

SAN DIEGO -- Though a significantly smaller show than January's Consumer Electronic Show and February's Mobile World Conference, MobileCon 2012 still kicked off its first day with a handful of new phones. However, hardware companies didn't hog all the fun; there was plenty of carrier news as well.

T-Mobile T-Mobile introduced its first Windows Phone 8 handset, the Nokia Lumia 810. Available withiin weeks, the Lumia 810 has a 4.3 inch touchscreen, an 8 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss technology, and interchangeable back plates that enables the device to charge wirelessly.

Another T-Mobile device, the LG Optimus L9, … Read more

Nokia Lumia 810 brings Windows Phone 8 to T-Mobile

T-Mobile added another Windows Phone 8 handset today by announcing the Nokia Lumia 810. A variant of the previously announced Lumia 820 that's optimized for T-Mobile's network, the Lumia 810 will be available "in the coming weeks."

The Lumia 810 will deliver a 4.3-inch display, interchangeable covers in cyan and black, an 8-megaixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, a 1.2-megapixel front-facing shooter, Nokia Music and Nokia Maps, and support for T-Mobile's HSPA+ data network. The carrier did not announce pricing, but like the earlier Lumia 710, it should come in at under $100 … Read more

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop: We'll spend to break through (Q&A)

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop knows that the U.S. is a clutch market for Nokia's revival, and competition is only getting hotter.

With the Nokia Lumia 920 coming to AT&T -- and apparently only AT&T -- Nokia will have to work even harder to battle Android and the iPhone on multiple carriers apiece, while also fending off HTC, whose lookalike HTC Windows Phone 8X will also flood the market on three providers.

Earlier this week, I sat down with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop in San Francisco to dive into Nokia's strategy for breaking through.… Read more

Windows tablets from Samsung, Asus head to AT&T

AT&T said today it would sell two Windows tablets, Samsung's ATIV Smart PC and Asus's VivoTab RT.

The tablets are just the latest mobile devices to be unveiled by AT&T in the last few days. Both 4G LTE products, which run on the next-generation Windows operating system, will be available for the holiday season, although the company didn't specify when or at what price.

While the iPad has been a runaway success, few other tablets, particularly ones connected to a cellular network, have been successful. AT&T is hoping for a change … Read more

Windows Phone 8 officially launches in SF on October 29

Mark your calendars for Microsoft's official launch of the Windows Phone 8 smartphone OS. We have.

CNET will be there, fingers flexed and laptops raring to go, to cover the San Francisco launch of Microsoft's latest and most important chance yet to put Windows Phone on the map.

We'll update with more details as we have them. Until then, get ready.

Best smartphones for $100 or less

A hundred greenbacks is a respectable chunk of change, but when it comes to personal electronics like the ultrapersonal smartphone, $100 on contract (before taxes and fees) is a darn good deal. Since the smartphone operating system remains the same across handsets from the most entry-level to the most premium, what a price hike usually gives you is a step up in features -- like LTE or wireless charging support, a faster processor, and more-premium camera components, for example.

Here are some of today's top picks for carriers with two-year contracts -- I'll give T-Mobile phones their own roundup, since the carrier has just switched over to no-contract plans. Smartphone prices fluctuate all the time because of slow sales or short-term promotions, so keep your eyes peeled for more deals.… Read more

Nokia Lumia 920 pricing abroad will have little effect on U.S. cost

High global prices for the Windows Phone 8 Nokia Lumia 920 are causing a stir for outlets reporting U.S. dollar equivalents ranging from $643 to $860 in Germany, Italy, Russia, and Sweden -- but U.S. buyers considering the phone have little cause to worry.

Although international price tags are said to be 10 percent to 25 percent higher than that of high-end rival Samsung Galaxy S3, according to pricing information gathered from German, Italian, and Swedish Web retailers, Nokia's U.S. pricing is guaranteed to cost less than 50 percent of those fees.

Deals with carriers, which … Read more

Smartphones with killer screens (roundup)

No matter how you slice it, the phone's screen is the part you look at the most, and if that's cheap, cracked, hazy, or blurred, your e-mails, videos, stories, and games will look terrible.

Luckily, resolution is skyrocketing, and premium phones pack in more pixels than ever.

Of course, pixel performance isn't enough; the screen materials must also be top-notch. In addition, individual handsets' peak brightness settings are also in play; phones with a lower brightness setting won't look as good when you're out in bright sunlight.

Take a look at the many factors that go into top-notch screen quality, and enjoy our favorite smartphone screens to look at now, in no particular order.… Read more

HTC Windows Phone 8X vs. Nokia Lumia 920: Specs and more

Editors' note: This article originally posted September 19, 2012 and was updated November 2, 2012, after I reviewed the Nokia Lumia 920 and the HTC Windows Phone 8X, and again on November 6 after AT&T released Lumia 920 pricing .

There's no mistaking it: the Windows Phone 8 battle is heating up between the HTC Windows Phone 8X for AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, and the Nokia Lumia 920.

The resemblance between the two phones is readily apparent in photos, and more than skin deep. Like the Lumia 920, the HTC Windows Phone 8X drops the phone … Read more

HTC Trade-Up dangles up to $300 for your old smartphone

HTC, hoping to attract new Android and Windows Phone buyers, is now offering cash back for old smartphones. A new HTC Trade-Up page has gone live online to lets users calculate how much their aging handset might be worth.

The program is essentially a four-step process, starting with a quote for your existing smartphone. Once you buy a new HTC device, simply mail in your old smartphone. Providing everything matches up with the details you reported to HTC, you'll get your refund in the form of a Visa prepaid card that's good for up to 30 days.

HTC … Read more