Accessories

You know what I hate? When you bring out your iPhone to make a phone call or text somebody and the person you're with goes, "Ohhhhh look at THIS guy; Jimmy Fallon over here think he's cutting edge with his iPhone." I feel your pain, brothers and sisters, but our friends at ZweiPhone have a simple solution that'll fix our problem: a collection of stickers bearing an image of an obsolete phone designed to mask your embarrassingly commonplace iPhone.

ZweiPhone's motto is "Downgrade Today"--each sticker they sell is a convincing reproduction … Read more

Wi-Ex, the manufacturer of the zBoost line of cell phone signal boosters, announced two new products at CTIA.

Though we didn't get the chance to check them out while in Las Vegas, we can pass on the details.

The zBoost One is the company's first one-piece signal booster. It promises an easy setup process that consists of just plugging it in and syncing it to your phone. It's compatible with the 1900 CDMA and GSM band for both phones and data cards.

At $249, it still isn't cheap and you'll need to find a suitable … Read more

As CTIA 2009 closes, so does the busy cell phone trade show season that began three months ago at CES. And now that the CNET crew has left Las Vegas for San Francisco and New York City, we've had a chance to reflect on what CTIA gave us. I'll describe the highlights in detail below, but be sure to check out our CTIA videos and CTIA photo galleries. We also picked our favorite products for the Best of CTIA.

A snoozer of a show Though there were plenty of new phones to handle, CTIA was rather quiet. Sure, the torpid economy is a likely culprit, but CTIA has a bigger strike against it. Since it follows the two much bigger blowouts of CES and the GSMA World Congress, CTIA just can't offer the same level of news.

It's not really CTIA's fault--after all, a U.S.-focused show can't be expected to compete with global events--but I'm not the first to suggest that CTIA should switch its schedule to later in the year. But as I said, there was plenty to report.

Getting the message If there was one theme at CTIA 2009, it was the messaging phone. A total of five new models made their first appearance in Las Vegas, with Samsung and AT&T leading the way.

On the Monday before the show, Sammy and AT&T unveiled the Samsung Impression and the Samsung Magnet. Both offer full QWERTY keyboards on a different theme. While the Magnet offers minimal features and a simple design, the Impression has a comfortable slider design, a brilliant display, and mid-range multimedia. It made such an impression on us that we picked it as our top phone of the show. … Read more

Got power? Scratch that. Got enough power? Oh, who are we kidding, there's never enough. That's why no self-respecting iPhone owner should travel without an external power pack, a battery that clips on to provide extra juice just when you need it.

There are dozens of such products available, often with price tags in the $30 to 40 range. However, Meritline has an 800mAh external iPhone 3G battery pack for $10.99 shipped. (It normally sells for $35.99.)

The iPhone 3G Power Station plugs into the bottom of your handset to recharge the internal battery or supply … Read more

As CTIA comes to a close, we pause to select the best products from the show. The scene in Las Vegas was much quieter than in past years, and it lacked any high-profile announcements like the Palm Pre. But, there were a few products that deserve recognition as the Cream of the Crop from CTIA 2009.

Best phone: Samsung Impression

For the third year in a row, Samsung takes the title of the best phone in CTIA. While the Samsung Impression can't quite compete with the hype of last year's Instinct or 2007's Upstage, it is the most practical of the three. And in a year where messaging phones were all the rage, it stands out in a crowded field as the one of the best-designed messaging phones we've seen in a while.

The keyboard is spacious and tactile, and while the handset isn't quite sexy, it has a pleasant, minimalist shape that feels nice in the hand. Yet the Impression's biggest draw is its gorgeous active-matrix organic light-emitting diode display. As Samsung promised, the display is positively brilliant with bright colors and vibrant graphics. Features are decent, even if they're not groundbreaking.

Inside you'll find a 3-megapixel camera, a full HTML browser, Bluetooth, Samsung's TouchWiz interface, 3G support with access to Cellular Video and AT&T Music, a personal organizer, AT&T Navigator, and a speakerphone. No, that won't knock your socks off; in fact, you might even see it as somewhat boring. But as we said before, the Impression's story is more about functional features and an intuitive design rather than flash and glam. And at a very quiet show, it deserves its prize. The Impression will be out soon with AT&T; we should have a review shortly.

For more on the Impression, see our photo gallery and video.

Best smartphone: HTC Snap

Aside from rising importance of applications, the other theme of CTIA 2009 was messaging. We saw a slew of new messaging devices debut at the show, and it extended to smartphones. While the Nokia E71x and Samsung Propel Pro were nice additions to AT&T's lineup, the HTC Snap stood out for its Inner Circle feature.

With a simple press of a button, Inner Circle brings e-mails from a preselected group of people to the top of your in-box so you can read and reply to them immediately. The capability isn't the wave of the future, but it does help prioritize your e-mails based on your preferences.

In addition, HTC, once again did a nice job on the design. The Snap is a beautifully constructed and sleek smartphone. The QWERTY keyboard also features good-size buttons for easy messaging. Finally, don't be fooled by its diminutive size, as it's packed with features, including Windows Mobile 6.1, push e-mail, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G, and a 2-megapixel camera. We look forward to checking out the U.S. version of the Snap, the HTC S522, when it's released in the summer. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--On the eve of the CTIA Wireless 2009 trade show here, Clearwire has announced a portable Wi-Fi router that will use Wi-Fi to connect devices such as smartphones and cameras to its new 4G wireless network.

On Tuesday, network operator Clearwire, which is building a nationwide WiMax network, announced the Clear Spot, which is made by CradlePoint.

The compact, battery-powered device connects up to eight devices to the Clearwire WiMax network via Wi-Fi. It costs $139 and is expected to go on sale later this month.

Clearwire said the Clear Spot will work with most Wi-Fi-enabled smartphones, including the … Read more

As spring goes into full swing and April Fool's Day nears, the last event of the busy trade season is upon us. The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association show (CTIA) is the nation's largest event dedicated to new cell phones, accessories, and services. This year it runs from April 1 through April 3 in Las Vegas.

Of course, a large CNET crew will be on-hand to bring you all the news from the show floor. On the Reviews side, I'll be in Vegas with Bonnie Cha and Nicole Lee. We'll bring you details on all the new … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Lexar plans to introduce faster, higher-capacity CompactFlash cards using a new generation of the flash memory technology, a company executive said Wednesday.

Lexar's current top-end 300X-rated CompactFlash cards use a standard called UDMA (Ultra Direct Memory Access) to transfer data at 45MB/second, and their capacity tops out at 16GB. But using a new generation of the standard, UDMA 6, Lexar will release cards that have significantly faster transfer speeds and larger capacity, Jeff Cable, director of marketing, said in an interview here at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) show here.

Cable wouldn't be pinned down on precise details, but he said the new cards' capacity "probably" would be 32GB, and their transfer speeds likely would "pretty close to" UDMA 6's threshold of 100MB/sec, which is more than double that of today's UDMA.

Only newer SLR (single lens reflex) cameras support current UDMA technology, but it's spreading, and there are benefits. For example, cameras can take longer continuous bursts of photos, and photographers can zoom faster to check focus when reviewing shots on the camera LCD. Video, which is arriving in new SLRs, also can saturate data-transfer pathways. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Sure, they don't have 11-point autofocus systems or image stabilization, but a lot of money is spent on camera packs as well as cameras, and Tamrac, M-Rock, and Think Tank Photo introduced some new ones here at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) show.

Tamrac First up are Tamrac's Aero Speed 75 and 85 backpacks. These feature a lower compartment with a side-access zipper so cameras can be removed without taking the pack off.

Unlike related predecessors, the new models come with waterproof zippers for that compartment, and the lower section also has been reworked to permit larger 70-200mm telephoto lenses to fit, said product specialist Derek Gross.

The Aero Speed 75 costs $109.95, and the 85, which adds a compartment that can accommodate a laptop with a 17-inch screen, costs $149.95. … Read more