dialing

Dialectic is a scriptable dialing utility for telephone power users that can save you time making and managing calls, whether via a landline, Bluetooth-enabled cell phone, or VoIP. Dialectic integrates with Address Book and other similar apps, including Microsoft Entourage and Now Contact, as well as Marketcircle Daylite, FileMaker Pro, launcher apps like LaunchBar and Quicksilver, and many others. Thanks to recent updates, Dialectic also supports Exchange, CardDAV, and LDAP accounts configured in Address Book.

This high-powered utility gives you system-wide dialing using contextual menus (and system-wide "speed dial"), voice-activated dialing, and auto-redial and incoming call detection, even … Read more

Over the years I've seen various hacks and apps that let you add speed-dial icons to your iPhone's Home screen. But not many of them let you customize those icons to include photos.

Custom Dial 6 does exactly that, giving you six quick-dial icons with the photos of your choice. Unfortunately, the end result is disappointing.

It's easy enough to set up your icons: just tap one of the six numbered slots, then tap the photo icon to choose an image from your collection. Alas, the app doesn't allow you to snap a new photo on … Read more

RIM took a few of us by surprise this week by announcing its first ever tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook. Donald Bell, our resident tablet expert, joins us to discuss it and what it means to the mobile industry. We also talk about Windows Phone 7, 4G LTE, and a weird Sony Ericsson accessory.

News Everything we know about the BlackBerry PlayBook BlackBerry PlayBook, first impression RIM gives BlackBerry Messenger a new social life RIM shows off BlackBerry Bold, Curve, Pearl running OS 6 AT&T snags BlackBerry Curve 3G, Pearl 3G … Read more

Losing the password to your Internet service provider account can be frustrating, especially since the only way to contact many ISPs is online. Nirsoft's Dialupass is a free tool that enumerates all the dial-up and VPN entries on your PC and displays their details, including User Name, Password, and Domain. With it, you can recover a lost password or logon ID. You can run the tool when things are swell and save the list as text, HTML, CSV, or XML files for when you need it. You can also copy the results to the clipboard.

Like most of Nirsoft'… Read more

You may remember us lamenting the lack of 4G coverage here in San Francisco (and even inconsistent 3G coverage in some pockets), but all that changed when Nicole noticed the 4G WiMax indicator pop up on her Sprint Overdrive device. MetroPCS had its share of 4G news, too, this week, when it opened an LTE network in Las Vegas. This is a pretty bold move for the second-tier carrier.

In other news, the Droid X got Android 2.2 and Adobe's Flash Player; Nicole outlines a plan for better Android customer service; and we discuss rumors of the BlackBerry … Read more

Hey, remember Nokia? You might have owned one of their cell phones once upon a time, but the company's been rather quiet in the U.S. lately. Well, the company's back and looking to take on the iOS and Android with a vengeance. On this week's Dialed In podcast, we discuss the Finnish cell phone maker's latest plans and debate the chances of their success. Plus, HTC is spreading the Android love, and if you love BlackBerry, well there's a whole lot of BlackBerry Curve 3Gs going around. Tune in for more of the latest … Read more

Welcome to the 411, my column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have similar queries, too. 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.

Question: I could connect my iphone 4 with my Nokia BH-804 headset without any problems and very fast. But unfortunately I cannot use the buttons of … Read more

Look out Dell, Bonnie is not happy. Your Android smartphone, the Aero, recently passed through her hands and all she can say is that it's "unintuitive, slow, and limited in functionality." And don't forget that it only runs on Android 1.5. Fortunately, Samsung fared better with its Fascinate Galaxy S handset for Verizon Wireless, but plenty of people are miffed that Verizon replaced Google's search with Microsoft's Bing.

Outside of reviews, cell phone news is a little slow this week. Apple's iOS 4.1 update went live today, a few Android rumors … Read more

This week we chat about new leaked information about the T-Mobile G2, the Samsung Fascinate, and also a little something that Steve Jobs mentioned about iOS 4.1. We go over a few more new phone announcements, plus the latest reviews.

News First look at T-Mobile's G2 Best Buy announces Samsung Fascinate preorders Verizon pushes Flash 10.1 update to Droid Sony Ericsson UK: Android 2.1 coming to Xperia X10 in September HTC Desire now available through U.S. Cellular iOS 4.1 offers new photo features, bug fixes … Read more