Nokia N96

The Nokia N96 is a multimedia computer optimized for video and TV, with a large 2.8" screen, 16Gb of internal memory and support for high-quality videos in a wide range of formats. The Nokia N96 boasts a 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, flash and video light. It allows DVD-like quality video capture at 30 frames per second. Further, with the integrated A-GPS, consumers can now 'geotag' their pictures with location data and share them with their online communities. Accessing internet videos is quick and simple. The Nokia N96 supports common video formats including MPEG-4, Windows Media Video and Flash Video, making favorite videos easy to view. Transferring and accessing videos is even faster with the high-speed USB 2.0 connection and WLAN and HSDPA support. In select markets, the integrated DVB-H receiver offers live broadcast TV with an automatically updating program guide. The massive memory can store up to 40 hours of video content. The storage capacity of the Nokia N96 can even be further expanded with an optional microSD card. The Nokia Video Center offers one place to discover and access a variety of mobile content ranging from movie trailers and comedy to news from world-leading content brands such as YouTube, Reuters, and Sony Pictures. The catalogue of internet video feeds is continually expanded. The Nokia N96 features media keys, a 3.5 mm headphone connector and built-in 3D stereo speakers. The Nokia Maps application offers richer maps with urban details and satellite views and has upgrade options such as City Guides, turn-by-turn pedestrian mode and voice-guided car navigation. Size: 103 x 55 x 20 mm Weight: 125g Standby: Up to 218 Hrs Talk Time: Up to 220 Mins 16GB internal flash memory DVB-H based mobile TV Digital music player Stereo FM radio A-GPS receiver 5 megapixel Camera Wi-Fi Bluetooth

Nokia 6301

The Nokia 6301 phone offers you voice and data mobility across GSM and WLAN networks via Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) technology. The Nokia 6301 phone uses UMA technology to integrate the benefits of landline and a mobile phone, including seamless indoor coverage, sound quality and affordability. With UMA technology, you can use the GSM network or a broadband Internet-connected WLAN network for mobile services. This can ensure excellent indoor coverage both at office and home. The consumer can have one multi-mode handset that works everywhere with enhanced and easy-to-use voice services. Size: 107 x 44 x 13 mm Weight: 93g Standby: Up to 336 Hrs Talk Time: Up to 3.5 Hrs UMA technology 2 Megapixel Camera 2-inch QVGA screen USB/PC Synchronization Voice dialing MP3 player FM radio Integrated hands-free speaker

Nokia 5610 XpressMusic

he Nokia 5610 XpressMusic comes ready to rock with Music Slider key making music easy to access at a flick. Aluminum side panels accent the all-black high gloss finish and large 2.2-inch display of the Nokia 5610 XpressMusic. The Nokia 5610 XpressMusic offers crystal clear sound. More than just a phone and music player, the Nokia 5610 XpressMusic features a high-quality 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and dual LED flash. The Nokia 5610 XpressMusic uses 3G technology, making downloads, web-browsing and video calls faster and easier. Size: 98.5 x 48.5 x 17 mm Weight: 111g Standby: Up to 319 Hrs Talk Time: Up to 6 Hrs Music slider music player FM RDS radio Crystal clear sound Music playback up to 22 hours 2.2 inch screen 3.2 Megapixel Camera Bluetooth 2.0 XHTML browser

Motorola U9

The Motorola MOTO U9 clamshell mobile phone is designed with music in mind. It allows you to not only hear your music but see it to via the LED external display and choice of 20 different floating animated screensavers. External touch sensitive keys allows quick and simple control of your music. With the Motorola U9 you have one touch access to your music library. You will also be able to enjoy your music wirelessly with combatibility to Bluetooth stereo headphones. The U9 incorporates CrystalTalk technology which automatically adjusts audio to ensure clear calls everytime. The MOTO U9 also comes equiped with a 2 Megapixel camera. Size: 90 x 49 x 16 mm Weight: 87.5g Standby: Up to 350 Hrs Talk Time: Up to 7.1 Hrs Touch sensitive music keys Windows Media® Player 11 synchronization Integrated music player Stereo Bluetooth 25 MB on-board user memory Crystal Talk technology 2 megapixel Camera USB 2.0 Conectivity

Motorola E8

With the Motorola ROKR E8 you can move from talk to music in one touch. Using breakthrough ModeShift technology. The quad-band GPRS/EDGE device presents users with only the controls they need. Simply move a thumb across the FastScroll navigation wheel to search for music (music mode), contacts (phone mode), calendar (phone mode) and multimedia (imaging mode). The face of the E8 is a sleek, seamless panel that features the first haptic touch pad from Motorola, which provides vibrating, tactile feedback when the user touches virtual buttons. The ROKR E8 enables the ultimate freedom in loading songs from multiple sources and is compatible with standard connectors, software and accessories. Compatibility with Windows Media Player 11 on the PC allows users to easily transfer their favorite music onto the device. Discovering and downloading new music has never been easier with the ROKR E8’s built-in FM radio and the Song ID feature that recognizes and displays tune information. Other features include built-in speaker, stereo Bluetooth, or use a favorite set of standard stereo wired headphones using the 3.5 mm headset jack. Size: 115 x 53 x 10.6 mm Weight: 100g Standby: Up to 300 Hrs Talk Time: Up to 5 Hrs 2.0 Megapixel Camera ModeShift technology FastScroll navigation Windows Media Player 11 compatibility Bluetooth Built-in FM radio 2GB internal memory Full HTML browser

MDA Compact IV

NOW IN STOCK(06/08/08),2-3 DAY DELIVERY DUE TO BACKLOG.The MDA Compact IV is T-Mobile's re-branded lighter version of the new HTC Touch Diamond which has just been announced by HTC. Despite being 12g lighter it retains all the features of the HTC Diamond. Early interest in this device is incredible so order now to be one of the first to get your hands on the "Iphone killer". The Compact IV features a 2.8 inch touch screen with TouchFLO 3D, HTC's touch responsive user interface. Connectivity is provided by HSDPA and Wi-Fi. Additionally, the MDA Compact IV has a 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera and a massive 4GB of internal storage. The integrated GPS will help you find your destination with the Compact IV's built in SatNav and free 7 day CoPilot trial. THE ABOVE SPECIAL OFFER IS £90 CHEAPER THAN T-MOBILE DIRECT. IF YOU DECIDE TO INSURE YOUR COMPACT IV, YOUR TOTAL SAVING IS MORE THAN £175 AS T-MOBILE'S INSURANCE PACKAGE IS MORE THAN TWICE THE PRICE OF OURS!!! Size: 102 x 51 x 11.5 mm Weight: 98g Standby: Up to 285 Hrs Talk Time: Up to 330 Mins 2.8-inch touch screen TouchFLO 3D user interface HSDPA Wi-Fi 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera 4GB of internal storage Integrated GPS Bluetooth

HTC Touch Diamond

The HTC Touch Diamond featuring a sharp 2.8-inch touch screen housed within a formation of brushed steel and flawless faceted edges. With HTC’s touch-responsive user interface, TouchFLO™ 3D, and HSDPA internet connectivity… the HTC Touch Diamond offers a rich online experience to rival a notebook computer. Your contacts, favourite music, videos and photos are no longer a line of text. With TouchFLO 3D, album artwork, video stills and snapshots of your friends’ and family’s faces are brought to life for you to interact, play and launch at your fingertips. A 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera will help you capture the perfect moment and with a massive 4GB of internal storage you can keep all the files you need. The integrated GPS will help you find your destination as quickly and efficiently as a dedicated satellite navigation unit. Size: 102 x 51 x 11.5 mm Weight: 110g Standby: Up to 285 Hrs Talk Time: Up to 330 Mins 2.8-inch touch screen TouchFLO 3D user interface HSDPA Wi-Fi 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera 4GB of internal storage Integrated GPS Bluetooth

Apple iPhone 3G

The iPhone 3G has fast 3G wireless technology, Maps with GPS, support for enterprise features like Microsoft Exchange and the new App Store, iPhone 3G puts even more amazing features in your hands. Just like the original iPhone, it combines three products in one — a phone, a widescreen iPod and an Internet device with rich HTML email and full web browsing.

BlackBerry Storm 9550

already had plenty of up close and personal looks at the Storm 2 - much to the dismay of RIM as they promptly requested images and video to be pulled. But that is neither here nor there at this time. We know it exists, we know it will eventually hit carriers and now we are just that much closer to a possible release date month. The good folks over at The BlackBerry Zone have posted that Vodafone UK is set to release the Storm 2 (9520) in October while Verizon is still on for a Storm 2 (9550) release in November. Now this month has actually been tossed around for a few devices, especially the Onyx. So we here at CrackBerry will still leave this one stuck under the "rumor" category, just for safety sake. Stay tuned as more information is developing. So what do you think? Is November going to be the month or will RIM delay it beyond that?

BlackBerry 9700

CrackBerry addicts and tech-Web-watchers already know that RIM's got a brand new BlackBerry, unofficially dubbed "Onyx," waiting in the wings--related rumors have been swirling around the blogosphere for quite some time now. Heck, images of the unannounced device leaked months ago, so its existence is certain. Less sure are the details on when the device will become available, though some telling information showed up on a BlackBerry forum this past weekend. Keep reading for specifics--as well as two brand new images of the BlackBerry Bold "9700." The new device will be the next in RIM's BlackBerry Bold product line, succeeding the popular Bold 9000 smartphone, currently an AT&T exclusive device in the United States. Though rumors suggest the new Bold 9700, codenamed "Onyx," will also land in the States on AT&T, the device could very well be released first outside of North America, as was the Bold 9000 in European countries like Germany and Austria in the summer of 2008. AT&T didn't release the Bold in the United States until months later in November 2008 due to technical difficulties with its 3G network. Mobile blog BoyGeniusReport.com leaked what it claims are technical specifications on the Bold 9700 "Onyx" late last month, as follows: * -Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE * -UMTS/HSDPA * -480×360 resolution display (Bold 9000 has a 480 x 320; 9700 display should be the same or very similar to the screen on the Curve 8900) * -Wi-Fi a,b,g * -OS 5.0 * -QWERTY keyboard * -3.2 megapixel AF camera * -Bluetooth A bit of digging through the CrackBerry.com forums this morning also turns up the following rumored specifications and information: * -BlackBerry Bold 9700 features RIM's new "trackpad," a replacement for its traditional track ball. * -Bold 9700 ships with 256MB of application memory. * -AT&T reportedly sent pre-release Bold 9700 units to network "field testers" last week, signifying that the device could be nearing release status. * -The new Bold reportedly has much improved battery life over the BlackBerry 9000

Nokia 5900 XpressMusic

Forget any thought of a Nokia N97 Mini for one minute. Because a new full touchscreen treat is on its way. Dubbed the Nokia 5900 XpressMusic, it’s already been spotted in spy shots, but now some Finnish–mad mobile fans have scored some juicy new details about the successor to the best–selling Nokia 5800. Want to know more? Course you do, so keep on reading. The Nokia 5900 XpressMusic is set to take up the mantle from its 5800 predecessor, with an official launch surely not too far away. The new touchscreen titan will come rocking a 5MP camera, bettering the 3.2MP on the 5800, a 3.5–inch screen at 360×640, plus the same RAM as the N97. That should make the Nokia 5900 a nippy little beast when it does finally launch. There’s also chatter that it’ll come with a tweaked UI too. Hopefully this’ll be something along the lines of the total makeover we hear Nokia is planning for Symbian.

HTC Touch Pro2

Touch Pro2 is considered the most highly anticipated Windows Mobile device of all time. The unique feature of a tilting screen that is seen in HTC TyTN II and the other variations; is brought back again with the introduction of other new technologies that will put many business professionals at awe. Read on to find out more about the super cool HTC Touch Pro2. The HTC Touch Pro2 is larger and heavier than the last model from HTC but it sports a bigger touch screen that stands at a better tilt or angle. It is definitely a really big and bulky phone that you will not be able to carry by clipping it onto your belt. The interface of this phone is extremely impressive and it carries a new additional feature of a conference call speaker named as the “Straight Talk”. Physically, you will notice that it is a stunning phone that exudes an appearance and feels that scream high-end. The touch screen with WVGA resolution makes for a really fine and clear picture. The device is a statement that says mobile device engineering has gone a long way especially with the return of the tilting screen. Included in the box that carries this device, you will find a USB cable, a wall charger, an extra stylus, a leather case (to big to be placed on your belt), a screen protector, software instruction, and the battery. When you are typing, the tilting screen offers an optimum viewing angle. You can watch a movie easily without having to hold it and it is most practical when you are using the GPS navigation in your car. The Touch Pro2’s QWERTY keyboard is almost similar to what you get on a regular computer keyboard; with touch operation is possible without the use of a D-pad. The call quality of this phone is really good as the voice on the other line comes out clear and crisp. You can also increase the level of volume. The interface of the phone is laid out perfectly making it easy for you to call the number you last dialed by tapping in the first few digits. Since this phone is designed with a conference call facility in mind, the interface has options for multi-callers set up which requires you to create your network first. By putting the phone face down as after you set up a call, you will get to use the loud, noise-cancelling Straight Talk speaker that turns on when the button glows green in color. The camera of this phone is unfortunately a relatively basic one, which sports 3.2 megapixels that has not flash and no other unique features. In this respect, the HTC Touch falls behind many of its other competitors. In good lighting, you will get images that are good enough but the edges can be a little blurry with poorly rendered color. It gets worse for snapping pictures under a lesser light condition.

LG GM750

smartphone is taking the industry by storm and there’s no doubt about it. Almost each and every leading cell phone manufacturing company of the world seems to continue this trend offering smartphone of a wide range one after another. In such an attempt, LG, one among the world’s popular electronic companies, finally launched their first ever smartphone that runs on Microsoft Windows. LG GM750 is what they gave name to it. Just as HTC Touch 2, LG GM750 is window-based, accompanied with the up-to-date 6.5 version of OS. However, you’ll not see the standard face of the OS as the S-Class interface, designed by LG, will replace it. This smart phone boasts 3” TFT resistive touch screen display, supporting up to 240x400 pixels. Although the size of the screen is not as huge as other latest high-end smart phones out there, it is user-friendly and you can easily navigate through your cell phone without having to compromise with your comfort. Additionally, you can enjoy great video playbacks in this amazing screen. The camera feature of this smart phone is also appreciable. The 5MP of camera that this smart phone arrives with will let you capture your precious moments in the form of high resolution images as well as outstanding videos with true color. So, you can expect of making your moments remarkable and unforgettable if you are accompanied with LG GM750. However, what it makes this smart phone less than an ideal camera phone is the flash feature that it lacks. As it doesn’t feature flash, you may find it hard to take pictures of superior quality during the night and where there’s absence of light. But still, this smart phone features digital zoom and can capture the pictures up to 2592x1944 pixels, which no doubt is good enough for being print out. LG GM750 supports up to 16GB of MicroSD memory card and this is why it’s possible for you to upload almost everything that you have got if it is LG GM750 that you’re carrying in your pocket. This cell phone features Wi-Fi and built-in GPS as well, making it more an appealing option to give a try. Also, GM750 features Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, USB interface, Fax/Data feature, EDGE, GPRS, WLan, HSDPA, HSUPA, and accelerometer. I must say that the music experience is definitely okay with this smart phone. The music player supports almost every standard file format out there, including MP3, WMA, eAAC+, and WAV. So you don’t require converting the format of your favorite tracks just to adjust them in your cell phone. When it comes to video players, it supports MP4, WMV, H.263 and H.264 formats. This smart phone features Qualcomm MSM7201A 528 MHz processor and features an absolute Office package that includes Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Excel, OneNote and PDF reader too. In a nutshell, this smart phone is one among the outstanding handsets introduced by LG till today’s date. But it’d have been much better if the camera of this phone arrived with a flash feature as well.

Motorola Cliq

Struggling handset maker Motorola unveiled its first phone using Google's Android system Thursday, banking on it to power features that will attract consumers looking to use their phones to connect with friends, family and colleagues. The Cliq comes with a touch screen and a standard, "QWERTY" keyboard that slides out from its side. The device features high-speed 3G and WiFi data connectivity, a 5.0 megapixel camera with 24 frames per second video recording, and a customized user interface called MOTOBLUR. The device also features a 3.5mm audio port, but more details have not yet been announced. Like most Android devices on the market, the CLIQ features a HVGA (320 x 640 pixel) touchscreen display. In the case of the CLIQ, the display measures 3.1 inches across the diagonal. MOTOBLUR gives prime real estate on the homescreen to a variety of social networking applications. The UI is able to sync emails, contacts, and photos from social networks, corporate email, and Gmail into a single, relevant homescreen portal. Users can update their status message for a variety of social networking sites at the same time or choose which specific service to update. MOTOBLUR enables users to quickly view and respond to their friends' messages, as well. Caller ID is even integrated to allow users to see someone's status updates with their photo when they call. Motorola has even included a widget to allow users to view and respond to private messages in multiple social platforms, whether in Twitter, Facebook email, or elsewhere. The Cliq, which Motorola unveiled Thursday during a GigaOM mobile Internet conference in San Francisco Thursday, will be available from wireless carrier T-Mobile in time for the holiday season. The Motorola CLIQ will be available in two colors, white and titanium, in time for the holidays, according to a manufacturer's estimate. Pricing information has not yet been released

Palm Pixi

FRANCISCO: Palm Inc., which revitalized its product line with the Pre smart phone launch in June, is hoping to keep momentum going with the release of a lighter, cheaper handset called the Pixi. The company said Wednesday that the Pixi will be available during the holiday season in the U.S. through Sprint Nextel Corp., currently the Pre's exclusive wireless carrier. Sunnyvale, California-based Palm would not divulge the Pixi's price tag, but confirmed it will be less than that of its big brother. Sprint dropped the Pre's price by $50 to $150 on Wednesday, including two rebates and a two-year service contract. "The combination of announcing a new device and changing the price on the Pre show we're aggressively pursuing new customers to get them accessing the WebOS experience," Katie Mitic, Palm's senior vice president of product marketing, said in an interview Tuesday. The Pixi's release will mark Palm's second attempt in less than a year to use new software and streamlined designs to lure consumers in the still small but fast-growing smart phone market, which is dominated by Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry devices. According to market research firm NPD Group, smart phones made up 28 percent of consumer cell phone purchases in the second quarter, up 47 percent from the same period last year. Palm hasn't disclosed the number of Pre smart phones sold. But its stock has more than quadrupled since the company unveiled the device Jan. 8 at the Consumer Electronics Show. Like the Pre, the black, shiny Pixi will come with a touch-screen, full QWERTY keyboard and Palm's latest operating system, WebOS. It will also have 8 gigabytes of built-in memory. But while the Pre's keyboard slides out from the bottom of the device, the Pixi's slightly smaller screen and keyboard both fit on the face of the candy bar-style handset. The new smart phone is longer and slimmer than the Pre, and, at nearly 3.5 ounces, lighter. It trades the Pre's center button for a tiny touch-sensitive bar that sits between the screen and keyboard. As on the Pre, the real estate between the screen and keyboard also will be touch-sensitive for navigating the device. The Pixi will sport a 2-megapixel camera, instead of its sibling's 3-megapixel version, and two small speakers rather than the Pre's single large one. Building on an already available WebOS feature, the Pixi will be able to gather users' contacts from Yahoo and business-networking site LinkedIn. The Pixi will include standard smart phone features like Global Positioning System, video and music players and a Web browser, but it won't have Wi-Fi. A dedicated Facebook application will be released with the Pixi, Palm said. It is not yet clear if it will come loaded on the phone or will be available through Palm's online application store. - AP

Verizon Wireless Casio Exilim

Nokia X6 actually is another version to the Music Edition Mobile Phones by Nokia. This handset features 3.2inch capacitive touchscreen display (supporting up to 16.7 million colors) wherein DVD quality video playbacks, 3D gaming experience and computer-like internet surfing can be expected. The Nokia X6 has been perfectly designed focusing the needs of music enthusiasts out there and this is why it supports up to 32GB of memory. With such a huge storage features, users are allowed to store thousands of their favorite songs in their pocket and listen to them one after another when they are on the go. The built-in FM tuner and the Nokia N-series music player featuring stereo widening, bass booster, and loudness make this cell phone more a music phone. The playback file formats that this handset supports include MP3, AAC, WMA, SPMidi, and eAAC+. Moreover, the Media Bar helps you to have instant access to the Music Player and volume keys in no time. Besides superb music-based features, Nokia X6 also arrives with 5MP camera that features Carl Zeiss Optics, auto focus, and duel LED flash. So you don’t have to miss the opportunity of capturing any of your favorite moments if Nokia X6 is by your side. All you need to do is making some clicks and high resolution images with true colors are on your hand. Due to duel LED flash, you can capture fine quality photos even during the night. Also, there are several scene modes available that helps you to make your photographic experience more perfect, clear and accurate. These scene modes include automatic, manual, landscape, portrait, night and night portrait. There also exists an image editor that helps you to edit your captured photos if you want. Focusing the local connectivity and synchronization, Nokia X6 arrives with Bluetooth 2.o support, MTP (Mobile Transfer Protocol) feature, and TV out cable. Fine web browsing experience is obvious with Nokia X6 as it supports most of the standard mark-up languages, including HTML, WML and XTML, in addition to the protocols, such as HTTP, JavaScript and WAP. Additionally, OSS web browser has been integrated for comfortable web browsing. Also, you can have easy access to the popular social networking services, such as YouTube, Yahoo, Window Live, Ovi, MySpace, Facebook and more. Nokia X6 comes with three default games, Spore, Asphalt4 and D Mix Tour. However, it’s possible for you to add as many games as possible unless your memory space gives up. The gaming experience with this handset is really outstanding as its display screen is huge and clear enough to offer the available games on their best. Furthermore, the phone also features A-GPS with integrated Maps and compass that helps you to easily track down the way to your desired venues with voice-guided navigation. In a nutshell, the phone obviously looks cooler than numerous other similar phones out there including LG and Samsung models, and arrives with a superb OS and tons of amazing applications as well. But the huge price tag arriving with it won’t excite many for sure. However, it definitely is a better deal when compared to iPhone by Apple.

HTC Touch Diamond2 CDMA

Successor of the Diamond, Diamond2 is also Windows Mobile Professional smartphone in candybar design. It features a WVGA screen, GPS, WiFi, a 5-megapixel camera, an accelerometer and TouchFLO user interface.

LG Chocolate Touch VX8575

LG Chocolate Touch VX8575 will be Verizon's 4th Chocolate phone (after the VX8500, VX8550 and VX8560) and is expected to have a full touchscreen interface.

Nokia 3600

Nokia 3600 is a slider phone in the Nokia family. This is a simple and stylish handset, which comes in slide open mechanism. This handset is available in two different colours which are sophisticated charcoal and stylish wine. These vibrating colours make this handset unique and stand out in the crowd. Its smooth opening gives the elegant look to the handset with highly attractive colours. The front and back panel is designed very beautifully. The QVGA type screen can be viewed in the slide open or slide closed position. The high resolution screen comes in sixteen millions colours with the five-way navigation key. Its built-in camera feature comes in 3.2 mega pixels with 2048×1536 pixels resolutions. Its video capabilities allows you to record, playback and store video clips. The users can click still photos or capture clear videos from this handset. The digital zoom option allows you to zoom-in and zoom-out the subject according to the requirements. The music features gives the high quality sound with the music player. The users can download the games for entertainment purpose with downloadable Java games feature.

Nokia 3500 Classic

The Nokia 3500 classic comes in the classic design with the classic bar casing. This slim and sleek handset comes in four different colours which are stylish Grey, vibrant pink, sophisticated mandarine and azure blue. Its 2 mega pixels camera features are 8 x digital zoom, video recorder, video player, video streaming with 3GPP, screensavers, animated wallpapers, themed display, colour themes. These camera features allow you to click still photos or capture excellent videos. This high resolution camera phone is compatible with high colour animated wallpapers. The users can share those photos or videos with any other mobile. The songs and movie videos can also be downloaded from this handset. The entertainment based games features come in the embedded Java games and downloadable Java games. The ultimate organiser features comes in phone book with 2k contacts, alarm clock, count down timer, clock, organiser with calendar, To Do List, notes, push to talk, voice dialing, voice commands, voice recording, handsfree speaker. All these organiser features keep you updated with the time, day and date. Attraction and Features of the Phones: The light weight handset comes in 81 grams of weight with 107 x 45 x 13.1 mm and 59 cc dimensions. Its weight is ideal for carrying purposes and is also the pocket friendly. The wide and coloured screen comes in two thousand fifty six colours, which is empowered with 128 x 160 pixels resolutions. The TFT screen is integrated with 1.8 inches of size, which gives a clear crystal display to the users. This classic range handset includes the friendly imaging features. Nokia 3500 classic video feature is compatible with 2 mega pixels camera, which is empowered with 1600×1200 pixels resolutions. The tri- band network facility handset comes with the 2G network feature. The 2G network includes the 900 / 1800 / 1900 GSM frequencies. This classic effect handset comes in 64 channels polyphonic and MP3 ringtones. The phone book supports the 2000 entries contacts with 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed call calls records. The users can enjoy the 8.5 Mbyte of user memory, which provides enough space to the users. The 32 Mbytes Flash Memory and 16 Mbytes of RAM memory can also be expanded up to 2GB. This Nokia classic phone memory gives the 280 hours of standby. The fully charged battery gives 3 hours of talk time. The Internet browsing can be enjoyed through the XHTML with WAP 2.0/xHTML. Some of its connectivity features are Bluetooth technology, mini USB and EDGE technology. The EDGE technology comes with Class 10, 236.8 kbps , allows you to experience high speed data transfer rates on their phone. The GPRS feature comes in Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, which helps you in navigation. The amazing sound quality features includes media player with MP3, MP4, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, H263 and H264 formats, FM stereo radio, MIDI ringtones, polyphonic ringtones with 64 voices and video ringtones.

Palm Pre (Sprint)

We haven't seen so much buzz over a phone since the iPhone, but for the past six months, all eyes have been on the Palm Pre. Introduced at CES 2009, the Palm Pre quickly became the most anticipated phone of the year, not only for what it meant for Palm and Sprint--two companies struggling behind their competitors--but also for what the device promised. The multitasking features, the notification system, a physical keyboard, multitouch screen--all of these factors combined made it, in our opinion, the most legitimate rival to the iPhone yet. Now, here we are, six months later and the Palm Pre is finally ready for release. We've spent the past few days poring over every detail of the device (without Palm's or Sprint's supervision) and we're prepared to answer the all-important question: does it live up to all the hype? Well, we'd say our thoughts on the Palm Pre echo those we had for the T-Mobile G1. There are some hardware and performance issues and we're concerned about a few missing features, but we walked away impressed with the Palm WebOS. The tiny QWERTY keyboard isn't going to draw any praise, nor is the lack of an expansion slot. We're also disappointed that the Pre lacks some basic functions, such as video recording and voice dialing, though Palm has said these features can be added later through an over-the-air update. Battery life is also a concern, as the smartphone only lasted about a day on a single charge, which, in all fairness, is about the same as the iPhone. All that said, the Pre's "Deck of Cards" multitasking functionality and notification system are what make it special and they are areas where the Pre beats the iPhone or any smartphone on the market right now. In addition, personal-information management is completely changed (in a good way) with the Synergy feature. While the Pre finally gives Sprint customers something to be excited about, it won't please everyone. Early adopters, gadget lovers, and consumers who need or crave more functionality from their cell phone will be well-served by the Pre, though there is a little bit of a learning curve to the device. Also, because of the battery life and that slight bit of sluggishness, we'd don't think it's the best device for business users or road warriors. Also, despite some of the monthly savings of Sprint's data plans, we don't expect that many customers will switch to Sprint just to get the Pre, especially in light of the news Verizon and AT&T will eventually get their own models and a crop of hot, new phones on the way. Starting from the ground up, Palm has really made a solid and smart platform and one that doesn't just match the capabilities of its competitors but offers something more in its multitasking and personal information management capabilities. Palm might not have completely knocked it out of the park with the Palm Pre, but at least it's back in the game, and we look forward to more WebOS devices the future. The Palm Pre is available starting June 6, for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and with a two-year contract on Sprint's Everything Data plan or Business Essentials with Messaging and Data plan. In addition to Sprint stores, the Pre will be sold at Best Buy, RadioShack, and some Wal-Mart Stores. Design The Palm Pre's design is unlike that of any smartphone we've seen to date, but if we had to give a point of comparison, we'd say it somewhat resembles the HTC Touch. It's a bit like a pebble, with its smooth, black, lacquered finish and rounded edges, and, like the iPhone, Palm keeps it simple by keeping external controls to a minimum. The face of the device only has one control: a center button that will take you back to the Deck of Card view. The center key is a bit deceiving in that it looks similar to a trackball navigator, so there were times where, out of habit, we would try to navigate a page by trying to scroll up and down using the center button, but you can only press it like a key. On top of the unit, there's a power button, a silent ringer switch, and a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack, which we're always happy to see. The left side features a volume rocker, while the Micro-USB port is on the right. Finally, on back, you'll find the camera, flash, speaker, and removable battery In its closed state, the Pre measures 3.9 inches tall by 2.3 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick and weighs 4.76 ounces. It fits nicely in the palm of your hand and is certainly more pocket-friendly than the iPhone. Some have worried about the durability of the phone, since it's made of plastic. We didn't throw it off a building or anything, but we thought it felt quite solid, not cheap or toylike. The only negative things we'd note are that the phone is a smudge/fingerprint magnet and the slider design can feel a bit rickety at times. However, the sliding mechanism is smooth, and the screen clicks securely into place when pushed up. There's a bit of a curve to the phone in its open state, and we preferred keeping it that way when talking on the phone, since it felt more comfortable against our cheek. Touch screen We have to say the Pre's display is one of the main highlights of the phone. It measures 3.1 inches diagonally, so it's smaller than the iPhone's and some other touch-screen devices, such as the T-Mobile G1 and the Samsung Omnia, but what it lacks in size, the Pre makes up for in quality. The 24-bit color HVGA display is vibrant and sharp with its 320x480-pixel resolution. Images, text, and Web pages all looked amazing. We'd say it's on par with, if not just slightly crisper looking than, the iPhone's screen. Under the Preferences menu, there are settings to adjust the screen's brightness and backlight time. You can also customize the phone with preinstalled wallpaper, or use your own images and set them as your background. The Pre's display has a built-in accelerometer so the screen orientation will automatically change from portrait to landscape mode when viewing photos, videos, and Web pages. The accelerometer is fast and changes pages without any lag. There's also a proximity sensor, which will automatically turn off the display when you lift the smartphone to your ear for a phone call. The capacitive (meaning it responds to the touch of a finger) touch screen is pretty responsive. There's no haptic feedback, but white rings will appear around an icon or menu item to let you know that the screen has registered your touch. To scroll through lists, you can drag your finger along the screen or give it a quick flick to get through longer lists. The onscreen dial pad is simple, with large buttons, and it includes shortcuts to voice mail and your call log. Of course, you can also just use the Universal Search function and start typing a contact's name to get quicker results. The Pre's screen is multitouch, which is a fairly big deal since the iPhone has long stood in a class of its own with this functionality--but not anymore. Like the iPhone, the Pre lets you zoom in and out on pages by pinching your fingers apart or close together; double-tapping the screen will also achieve the same task. In addition, swiping left to right on an item, such as an e-mail or call log number, will give you the option to delete it. To copy, cut, and paste, just tap on the screen to place the cursor at the start of what you want to copy/cut, press the orange key on the keyboard, and drag your finger across the desired text. You can do this anywhere on the screen, by the way; it doesn't have to be right over the words. Once you've selected everything, tap the upper-left corner of the screen to bring up the drop-down menu with your copy, cut, and paste options. Below the screen, there's a gesture area where you can perform a couple of tasks, which we outline in the section below. Two small LEDs and the center button will illuminate white to indicate that it has registered your command. User interface and navigation We'll say it outright: the Palm Pre isn't the most intuitive device to use, at least at first. When you fire up the smartphone for the first time, there's a brief animated tutorial to familiarize you with the various gestures, such as swiping right to left in the gesture area to return to the previous page. The gestures are also illustrated in the quick start guide, but even so, it takes some time to learn all the various commands. The Home screen looks easy enough to understand, with a simple tray along the bottom that includes shortcuts to the onscreen dialer, contacts, e-mail, calendar, and the main menu (aka Launcher). Pressing the Launcher icon will bring you to all your applications and settings. It consists of three panels that you can swipe from left to right (and vice versa), and each panel is dedicated to a more general category. For example, the first panel includes all the core functions, such as messaging, Web, multimedia, Google Maps, task list, and so forth; the second panel is focused on applications and Sprint services; and the third panel features the phone's various settings and options. The user interface, in general, is very sleek and fresh, and provided smooth transitions. Also, it's more inviting and engaging than Google Android, which will make it more appealing to consumers. To launch a program, you simply tap an icon, and once you're in an application, you can tap the upper-left corner of the screen to open any relevant menus for that particular app. Of course, the beauty of the Palm Pre is the multitasking capabilities, so you can simply launch another program without having to exit off the current one. To do this, drag your finger from the gesture area up to the screen and you'll see the home screen tray appear in a cool little wave; from there, you can move your finger to one of the dedicated shortcuts or open the Launcher for a full list. If you want to return to any running apps, a press of the center button will bring you to your Deck of Cards view where you can simply select the card you want. If you're wondering why the feature is called Deck of Cards, it's because each application is presented in a card window and you can then shuffle through the open cards. You can drag and drop cards (or rearrange the order of apps in the Launcher) by pressing and holding the item until you see a halo around the card and then you're free to move it, but it's not like with the T-Mobile G1, where you can drag and drop icons onto the main home screen. When you're done, you can flick the card upward and that will close out the program. As you can see, there's a lot to learn, but after a couple of hours, we felt more comfortable and familiar with the gestures. Obviously, with more use, these commands will become even easier and soon you won't even have to think about it, but when comparing the out-of-the-box experience of the Pre with that of the iPhone, the iPhone definitely wins for its ease of use. That said, we give props to Palm for its connection manager. By simply touching the upper right-hand corner of the screen, you get instant access to the Pre's connection settings--Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Airplane mode--instead of having to go through several menus as on the iPhone. Keyboard The lack of a physical keyboard was a big reason why some people chose not to buy the iPhone. There will be those who argue that the iPhone's onscreen keyboard is fine and just needs some getting used to, which is fair enough. However, there are also some who desire physical keys and don't want to give them up (present company included), so it was like a dream when the Palm Pre was announced at CES 2009 with its full QWERTY keyboard. Fast-forward to now, where we actually have the device in hand and we have to say, we're a bit disappointed. Similar to the Palm Centro and Palm Treo Pro, the jellylike buttons are quite small and there's very little spacing between them. In addition, the top row of keys runs right up against the edge of the open cover, so it's easy to bump into it when typing I was still able to type faster using the Pre's keyboard than the iPhone's, but I also have small hands so it was easier for me to punch the keys. However, I can definitely see people with larger thumbs having problems and, unfortunately, there's no onscreen keyboard option at this point. I took a quick poll of some co-workers and all agreed that the keyboard was small; several called it a deal breaker, but a majority said they could get used to it after a while. Before making any snap judgments, we'd say to give the keyboard a try. While clearly not as easy to use as a BlackBerry or some of Samsung's and Nokia's QWERTY devices, the Pre's keyboard is not completely unusable. Just as with the iPhone's virtual keyboard, with time, you make adjustments, find your groove, and ultimately can learn to type quickly. Symbols and numbers share space with the letter keys, and the latter are highlighted in orange. There are no shortcut buttons on the keyboard. Getting started and data transfer The first time you boot up the Palm Pre (which takes quite a while, by the way), you'll have to set up what's called a Palm Profile. It takes a few moments, but is worth the time, since it gives you access to several key services, including backup and restore settings, remote erase in case of a lost or stolen phone, and over-the-air updates. The latter will become important as Palm pushes out firmware updates that include new features and any bug fixes for the device. You'll also get an opportunity to transfer data from any desktop clients or your old smartphone to the Pre. This will be easiest if you're already using Google, Facebook, or Microsoft Exchange, since Synergy can pull in all your data as soon as you enter your account information. For those content with using their current desktop app, including iCal and Address Book on a Mac, Palm Desktop, or Outlook, there's a bit more work involved for you. First, you'll be required to set up a Google account and then you will need to get a third-party application, such as Google Sync or CompanionLink, to sync your data with the newly created account and then to the Pre. A third-party app (Chapura PocketMirror for Outlook) is also necessary if you want to sync the Pre over a Wi-Fi network to your PC. Finally, for people coming from a Treo or any other Palm phone, Palm offers something called the Data Transfer Assistant (DTA) that performs a one-time transfer of data from your desktop, including Palm Desktop, iCal, or Exchange, and to your phone. DTA is available as a free download from Palm. Sprint can also help transfer your old phone's address book to the Pre in stores. Phone features and contacts While the Palm Pre does a ton of stuff, let's remember that it's a phone first and would only be a glorified PDA without the voice features. The Pre offers a speakerphone, speed dial, conference calling, airplane mode, a silent ringer switch, and TTY compatibility. Unfortunately, the initial version of WebOS does not support voice dialing (much like the iPhone) and, unlike the Samsung Instinct, there is no support for visual voice mail at this time. The contacts list is only limited by the amount of available memory (about 7GB) and includes fields for multiple numbers, e-mail and IM addresses, street addresses, birthdays, and more. With Palm's Synergy feature, the Pre can pull a contact's information from various sources--Facebook, Outlook, Gmail, and so forth--and automatically fill all the fields in a single contact sheet, so you don't have to go through the hassle of manually entering all the data. In addition to numbers and e-mail addresses, Synergy will also attach any photos that are associated with that person's Facebook or e-mail account. If you don't want all your information merged together, there is a way to unlink contact profiles so you can keep that separation between social and business contacts. Be aware that if you have a large contact list, it can take a while for the Pre to sync all the information, but you can still work in other applications during this process. Messaging and calendar The Palm Pre supports multiple e-mail accounts, including POP/IMAP and Microsoft Exchange. However, the latter has been a bit limited in that the smartphone didn't support PIN service or remote wipe--a big issue with some enterprise users. While Palm WebOS 1.0.3 brought new enhancements, such as support for non-SSL Exchange servers, it appears that the rumored WebOS 1.1 update will deliver more of the substantive , such as IT-initiated remote wipe, device wipe if the wrong PIN is entered a certain amount of times, autolock, and more. All accounts are housed under the E-mail card, from where you can access your various in-boxes. Synergy also allows you to view messages from all accounts under one view, though we think most would prefer to keep personal and work e-mail separate. E-mail delivery was almost instant (you can also set different retrieval intervals), and an action, such as deleting a message or moving an e-mail to a folder, is reflected on both sides whether you do it from the Pre or your computer. We were able to download and view attachments as well as send them. There is a separate messaging app that houses all your instant, text, and multimedia messages. In this folder, you'll be able to see all conversations with a contact in a single, threaded view in chronological order, regardless of message type. The Pre ships with two instant-messaging clients: Google Talk and AIM. Once you're signed in, you'll also be able to see any of your friends who are online from the contacts page when a green dot appears next to their name. With the e-mail set up, all relevant Calendars will also be synced to the Pre and brought into one calendar view via Synergy. Appointments are color-coded to help you differentiate between the different accounts. Alternatively, there is a drop-down menu where you can view each calendar separately. Again, like e-mail, the synchronization of our Outlook and Google calendars was seamless. We also created new events from the device, which automatically synced back to our Outlook and Google calendars. Though we didn't encounter this problem ourselves, Palm Web OS 1.0.3 fixed the issue where Google Calendar entries containing symbols or accented characters in the event name wouldn't synchronize between the mobile and online components. Also, synchronization time has improved. Universal search With all the data that the Pre can handle, searching for items could be a cumbersome and tedious task, but universal search takes care of that problem. From anywhere on the phone, you can start entering a search term and the Pre will look through your contacts, applications, the Web, Google Maps, and Twitter. The feature worked well when we searched for contacts, businesses, and more general terms, but it's not quite as robust as the iPhone's search in that it doesn't search e-mail headers, calendar, notes, or the music library. Multitasking and notifications If there's one area where the Palm Pre holds the edge over the current iPhone, G1, and other smartphones, it's in its multitasking and notification capabilities. The much-talked-about Deck of Card feature works well, letting you keep multiple applications open and running in the background while working in another. Like on a computer, you can minimize and maximize tasks by using the center button and swiping through the various cards. In addition, the aforementioned quick-launch bar makes menu access and launching new apps a snap.

Home Reviews Smartphones Research In Motion Ltd. smartphones RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 (T-Mobile)

T-Mobile teased us at CES 2009 by introducing the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 but denying us any details on availability date and pricing. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait too long as the carrier has released the final details and has given us our own review unit. In short, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 is a solid addition to T-Mobile's smartphone lineup and one of the company's top offerings, in our opinion. It replaces the Curve 8300 series, and brings several notable improvements, including a sleeker design that's bolstered by a more solid construction and an amazingly sharp display, a faster processor, a full HTML Web browser, and a 3.2-megapixel camera. It also has integrated Wi-Fi with UMA support so you can make unlimited calls over a Wi-Fi network. However, our one big disappointment is the lack of 3G support. It's a feature that could really have given the 8900 an edge over its competition. Despite this omission and some other minor issues, we would absolutely recommend the BlackBerry Curve 8900. It's a solid device that will appeal to both consumers and mobile professionals, offering a nice balance between work and play and all wrapped up in a sweet little package. The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is available now through B2B sales and will be in retail stores nationwide starting February 11 for $199 with a two-year contract. Design The RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 holds the distinction (though who knows for how long) as being the thinnest full QWERTY BlackBerry to date. The smartphone measures 4.2 inches tall by 2.3 inches wide by 0.5 inch thick and weighs 3.8 ounces compared with the BlackBerry Curve 8320, which comes it at 4.2 inches high by 2.4 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick and 3.9 ounces. It feels comfortable to use a both a phone and messaging device and fit into a pants pocket. We do appreciate the Curve 8900's sleek profile but even more than that, we're fans of the phone's more solid construction. Though the phone's body is still made of plastic, RIM used different finishes and paint applications to make the handset more durable and you can notice the difference as soon as you pick it up. Our only complaint would be that the battery cover can sometimes shift a little. Also, while style is subjective, we have to say we dig the look of the Curve 8900 over the previous Curve 8300 series. It has tapered edges like the BlackBerry Storm and the metallic paint gives the 8900 a fresh, modern. It's a lot less corporate and masculine looking than the BlackBerry Bold, so it should appeal to a wide variety of users. The Curve 8900 features a 2.4-inch TFT LCD that supports 65,536 colors at a 480x360-pixel resolution. It's a better screen than the BlackBerry Bold, which isn't too shabby itself with a 480x320-pixel resolution, but there is an extra level of sharpness and brightness to the Curve's screen that's quite impressive. The Curve 8900 also runs the latest version of the BlackBerry operating system so you get an updated user interface. There's no doubt the UI is more aesthetically pleasing, but we do have one minor complaint: a lot of icons look the same, so it's a bit hard to distinguish different folders and applications onscreen just at a glance. Below the display, you have your standard navigation array that includes Talk and End keys, a menu shortcut, a back button, and the trackball navigator. The layout is simple and spacious, so there were no problems using the controls or navigating the phone. The side controls, which are outlined below, also allows for easy one-handed operation. The BlackBerry Curve 8900's keyboard is similar to the one found on the BlackBerry Bold. Since the phone is smaller, the keys aren't as big or roomy but we still found it easy to compose e-mails and text with minimal errors. The buttons provide a nice tactile feedback and the keyboard is adequately backlit, with the number keys highlighted in red instead of white. On the left side, there's a single user-programmable shortcut key (launches voice dialer by default), while there's a 3.5mm headphone jack, a volume rocker, a MicroUSB port, and another customizable side button (assigned to the camera out of the box). The camera and flash are located on the back, and behind the battery cover are the SIM card and microSD expansion slots. We would have preferred that the expansion slot be on the outside for easier access, and we also weren't huge fans of the little plastic piece that held the card in place. It felt flimsy, so we worry if it'll hold up over time. Finally, while not immediately visible, there's a mute button and a lock key on top the unit. T-Mobile ships the Curve 8900 with a travel charger, a USB cable, a 256MB MicroSD card, a wired headset, a protective case, a software CD, and reference material. For more add-ons, please check our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and help page. Features The RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 runs BlackBerry OS 4.6.1.114 so aside from the aforementioned updated user interface, you also get new functionality and improved applications. For example, unlike the Curve 8300 series, you can now edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, thanks to the inclusion of DataViz's Documents to Go Suite. Like the Bold and the Storm, only the Standard Edition is preloaded on the smartphone so if you want the ability to create new documents, you will have to upgrade to the Premium Edition. The BlackBerry Curve 8900 also ships with a number of personal information management tools, such as a Calendar, a task list, a memo pad, a voice recorder, a calculator, a password keeper, and more. There's quite a catalog of applications available for BlackBerrys, whether you're looking for new games or software for your job. Be aware, however, that if you have third-party applications on an older BlackBerry model, they may not be compatible with the Curve 8900. T-Mobile includes some suggestions and direct download links on its mobile site, or you can check out Download.com for more ideas. One of the most-needed improvements was in the area of Web browsing, and the Curve 8900 delivers. You now get a full HTML Web browser with support for RSS feeds and streaming media, including YouTube clips. Browsing and navigating sites is made better by the Page and Column view options and onscreen cursor. There are also zoom in/out functions. The experience hardly matches the Web experience on the iPhone, but it's a definite improvement from previous versions of the BlackBerry browser, which was pretty much atrocious. Baby steps, right? To get connected, you have two options: Wi-Fi or T-Mobile's EDGE network, which is all well and good but what's more newsworthy to us, is what's missing: 3G support. We realize that the addition of a 3G radio affects battery life and size, but still, T-Mobile has finally rolled out its 3G network and could use more 3G smartphones (currently, the T-Mobile G1 is the carrier's only smartphone to offer 3G). Admittedly, we found that surfing the Web on the Curve 8900 over EDGE wasn't that bad but even so, we still would have liked to see the inclusion of 3G. Fortunately, you do get Wi-Fi as an alternative, and the other upside of the integrated Wi-Fi is UMA support. This means you can make and receive unlimited calls over a wireless network and not have the minutes deducted from your cellular plan. The caveat is that you will need to sign for T-Mobile's Unlimited HotSpot Calling plan, which starts at $9.99 per month on top of an existing T-Mobile plan. Other voice features of the BlackBerry Curve 8900 include quad-band world roaming, a speakerphone, voice-activated dialing, smart dialing, conference calling, speed dial, and text and multimedia messaging. The address book is limited only by the available memory (the SIM card holds an additional 250 contacts) with room in each entry for multiple phone numbers, e-mail addresses, work and home addresses, job title, and more. For caller ID purposes, you can assign each contact a photo, a group ID, or a custom ringtone. Like most of the carrier's handsets, the Curve 8900 supports T-Mobile's MyFaves service, giving you unlimited calls to five contacts, regardless of carrier. Individual plans for MyFaves start at $39.99 a month. You also get Bluetooth 2.0 with support for mono and stereo Bluetooth wireless headsets, hands-free kits, and dial-up networking. GPS is built in, using both satellites and cellular triangulation to find your position. You can get maps and text-based, turn-by-turn driving directions with applications such as BlackBerry Maps, which is preloaded on the Curve 8900, and Google Maps for Mobile, but if you want any real-time tracking and voice-guided instructions, you'll have to use a location-based service like TeleNav GPS Navigator. The BlackBerry Curve 8900's built-in media player can play various music and video formats, including MP3, WMA9/WMA9 Pro/WMA20, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB, and MIDI music files, and MPEG4, WMV, DivX4, DivX5/6 (partial support), XviD (partial), and H.263 video clips. There's a search function, playlist creation, shuffle and repeat, and you get a full-screen mode for video playback. The included software CD also contains a copy of Roxio Easy Media Creator, so you can create MP3s from CDs and add audio tags as well as the BlackBerry Media Sync application so you can load your iTunes library. The Curve has 256MB onboard Flash memory while the expansion slot can accept up to 16GB cards The Curve's camera gets upgraded to a 3.2-megapixel lens (from 2 megapixels) with video recording capabilities, flash, auto focus, 2x zoom, and image stabilization. In camera mode, you get a choice of three picture sizes and three picture qualities. There are white balance settings, and you can add various effects to your photos, such as black and white, and sepia. With the built-in GPS, you can also geotag photos. The camcorder records clips in two formats (normal and MMS) with sound and offers a video light and color effectsPicture quality was good, as long as we were snapping shots in well-lit areas. Even with the flash or in night mode, we had a hard time getting a photo that didn't look dark or completely blown out by the flash. We also noticed a bit of shutter lag, so be sure not to move to quickly away from the scene after pressing the capture button. Video quality wasn't the best as clips looked pretty grainy, but you can still make out the objects and scenery so it'll be fine if there's a moment that you absolutely must get on film and don't have access to a camcorder. Despite all these other features, e-mail remains the heart and soul of the BlackBerry. The BlackBerry Curve 8900 can sync with your company's BlackBerry Enterprise server, with support for Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino, or Novell GroupWise, to deliver corporate e-mail in real time. There's also an attachment viewer for opening Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Corel WordPerfect, PDF, JPEG, GIF, and more. With BlackBerry Internet Service, you can also access up to 10 personal/business POP3 or IMAP4 e-mail accounts. Set up is nearly instantaneous; we simply input our Yahoo log in and password, and within a couple of seconds, we received a message that activation was successful. The smartphone also comes preloaded with several instant messaging clients, including Yahoo, AIM, Windows Live, and Google Talk. Performance We tested the quad-band (850/900/1800/1900; GPRS/EDGE) RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 in San Francisco using T-Mobile service and call quality was satisfactory. There was some minimal background noise that made audio quality a little less pristine than some other smartphones we've tested, but nothing that prevented us from having a conversation or using an airline's voice automated system. There's an Enhance Audio option where you can boost the treble or bass, but we didn't find a noticeable difference. Our friends reported a couple instances of warbled audio, but otherwise no major complaints. We didn't experience any dropped calls during our review period. The speakerphone was also OK. There was plenty of volume, but there was some hollowness to the audio, making it sound as if our callers were talking in an empty room. We successfully paired the Curve 8900 with the Logitech Mobile Traveller Bluetooth headset and the Motorola S9 Bluetooth Active Headphones. The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is equipped with a 512MHz processor and is a fairly responsive device. There were some instances of sluggishness; for example, we encountered some lag when we were trying to access our photo gallery and a couple of times when we launched the camera. It wasn't anything that stopped us in our tracks or left us completely frustrated, and overall, we're pleased with the general performance. The Curve 8900's speaker can't rival the BlackBerry Bold's rich output, but most of you will probably be listening to your music through headphones anyway, so it's a not a huge issue. Using the handset's 3.5mm jack, we plugged in a pair of Bose On-Ear headphones for a MP3-like music-listening experience. Video playback was quite impressive. We checked out a couple of clips, including an MP4 file, and found playback to be smooth and the picture looked great on the Curve's high-resolution screen. We also watched a couple of YouTube clips from the Web browser, which looked very mushy and blurry, but that's more about a video quality issue than a Curve issue. Our review unit had no problem finding and connecting to our Wi-Fi network. On EDGE speeds, it took the smartphone about a minute to fully load CNET's Web site, while it took about 15 to 20 seconds to load CNN's and ESPN's mobile sites. Though we weren't hooked up with TeleNav GPS Navigator for real-time navigation, the Curve's GPS radio was able to pinpoint our location within a couple of minutes on BlackBerry Maps. The BlackBerry Curve 8900 features a 1,400mAh lithium ion battery with a rated talk time of 5.5 hours and up to 14.5 days of standby time. In our battery drain tests, we were able to get 8.5 hours of continuous talk time from the Curve 8900 on a single charge. According to FCC radiation tests, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 has a digital SAR rating of 1.01 watts per kilogram.

Home Reviews Cell Phones Apple cell phones Apple iPhone 3GS - 32GB - black (AT&T)

Three years after the first rumors of an Apple cell phone began to make the rounds, the iPhone continues to garner huge buzz, long lines, and a growing share of the cell phone market. And as we approach the second anniversary of the first model's frenzied launch day, Apple drops the newest model in our laps. The iPhone 3GS, which will hit stores June 19, promises faster processing and network speeds, extended battery life, more memory, and additional features. It's enough to get our attention, but not enough to get us completely excited. In many ways, the iPhone 3GS delivers on its promises. The battery, which could sometimes deplete in less than a day on the iPhone 3G, lasted longer in our preliminary tests, and the phone's software ran noticeably faster. Yet, we still have some concerns. A faster AT&T 3G network isn't going to happen overnight, and some features, like tethering and multimedia messaging, aren't scheduled until later in summer 2009. We also struggled to see any change in call quality, which, as any iPhone owner can tell you, remains far from perfect. So should you buy it? That will depend on how much you'll have to pay for the privilege. If you don't own an iPhone yet, and you've been waiting for the right model, now is the time to go for it. The same goes for iPhone Classic owners who never made the jump to the iPhone 3G. But, if you're a current iPhone 3G owner, the answer isn't so clear. If you're eligible to upgrade at the cheapest prices ($199 for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB model), we suggest doing so, as long as you don't mind the required two-year contract. If you own an iPhone 3G, but are not yet eligible for the upgrade, we recommend upgrading to the new iPhone OS 3.0 operating system, and then waiting. As much as the iPhone 3GS brings, it's not worth the extra $200 that the 16GB and 32GB models cost. Design and interface The iPhone 3GS looks exactly like the previous model. It shares the shape and the same external controls, but the iPhone 3GS is unique in a handful of ways. You can get both memory sizes in white or black, and the iPhone 3GS display sports a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating that is supposed to attract fewer fingerprints and smudges. The new model shares the same dimensions as its predecessor, but it's slightly heavier (4.76 ounces versus 4.7 ounces), a virtually unnoticeable difference. The menu interface is also the same, but in the past year, as we've added apps to the Home screen, something new has begun to bother us. As intuitive and simple as the interface is, it becomes unwieldy after you get above four menu pages. Swiping through multiple pages is tedious; and it's rather painful to drag applications from page to page if you're an organizational freak. We hate that there's no way to categorize related apps into folders, such as one for news, another for social networking, and so on. Not only would this cut down on menu pages, but you'd also be able to find your app faster. And while we're at it, how about letting us delete some of the native apps we never use? Features Since the iPhone 3GS inherits many of the features from the previous model, we'll concentrate on what's different on this device. If you need a refresher on such elements as the clock, YouTube, weather, iPod player, calculator, and e-mail, please see our iPhone 3G review. We'll start off with the new features that only the iPhone 3GS will offer. Camera Until now, the iPhone's camera has been good, but far from great, with decent photo quality, but no editing features. Apple didn't include options such as white balance, a digital zoom, or a self-timer that come standard on many basic VGA camera phones. The minimalist shooter bothered us so much that we began to worry if Apple was leading a new trend of "dumbing down" cell phone cameras. The iPhone 3GS puts some of those fears to rest. Apple boosted the camera's resolution to 3 megapixels and added a new "Tap to Focus" feature. As you point the lens toward your subject, a small box appears on the center of the display. Tapping that square focuses the camera automatically on that point and adjusts the white balance, color, contrast, and exposure accordingly. If you'd rather focus on the edge of your shot, just tap the display at your chosen point and the square moves with you. If you don't tap anywhere, the camera will focus the entire frame. Tap to Focus performs well. For example, if we photographed a book cover sitting on a desk, we were able to get a clear reading on the book's title. If we shifted the focus away from the book, the title became somewhat blurry. Alternatively, if we focused on the brightest part of an image, the entire picture would appear brighter. But if we focused on the darkest part of any image, the photo would darken accordingly. The iPhone still doesn't come with a flash, though, so don't expect miracles. On the other hand, the new automatic macro setting didn't appear to make much of a difference. Close-up shots looked slightly better on the iPhone 3GS than they did on the iPhone 3G, but we couldn't tell when the macro focus was working and when it wasn't. As with the autofocus feature, the macro setting is a welcome addition, but we'd prefer to have more control over it. In other words, the iPhone 3GS' camera is smarter than those on the earlier iPhones, but the camera, rather than the user, still runs the show. On the whole, the iPhone 3GS' photo quality looks better than the 3G camera's quality, but it depends on the shot. Outdoor shots and photos taken in natural light looked less blurry in our tests, with brighter colors. Photos taken during cloudy days were less likely to be blown out, and photos in low-light conditions looked brighter and had less of an orange tint. Indoor shots without natural light showed little change, however. The iPhone's camera is not optimized for fluorescent light. For a full gallery of shots taken with the camera, see our iPhone 3GS camera slideshow. Video recording The iPhone 3GS is the first iPhone to offer video recording, another feature other phones have offered for years. Apple makes up for some lost time by offering an easy-to-use video-editing option right on the phone. Controls for video shooting work just like the still camera's controls, and you can use the Tap to Focus feature here, as well. The quality is just VGA, but the camera shoots at 30 frames per second, so while colors look muted and some videos appear washed out, the iPhone 3GS did better at handling movement than most cell phone cameras. After you're done recording, you can send your clip in an e-mail or upload it directly to your YouTube account. We were able to upload to YouTube and send a video from our synced IMAP4 Exchange account, but when we tried to send a video from a synced Yahoo POP3 account, an error occurred. We're checking with Apple on the discrepancy and will report backThe phone's video-editing tool is utterly intuitive and fun to use. After loading a previously shot video, you'll see it displayed frame by frame in a linear format along the top of the touch screen. Using your finger, you can slide the cursor to any point in the video and start playing from there. If you care to edit, just touch either end of the border that surrounds your video. When the border turns yellow, you can shorten the clip by dragging either end toward your desired cutoff point (the image on the display will conveniently change as you move along). Once you've made your edits, just hit the "Trim" control. We liked the video-editing feature a lot, but it's worth noting a couple of small complaints. First off, when you trim a clip, the edited version replaces your original video, rather than saves it as a new file. Also, you can trim only in a linear format--meaning you can't cut out something in the middle and stitch the remaining two ends of the video together. We also like a new feature that allows you to quickly open a photo or video that you just shot. After taking your snap or video, a small thumbnail will appear on the bottom of the viewfinder next to the shutter control. Tapping that thumbnail takes you to the photo gallery page, from where you can view your work or send it on to a friend. Voice Control We've long berated Apple for not including voice dialing on previous iPhones, particularly in this age of hands-free driving laws. Overdue as it is, the new Voice Control feature goes far beyond just making calls. To activate it, hold down the home button until the Voice Control feature appears. As with hundreds of other cell phones, Voice Control lets you make calls by speaking the contact's name or phone number into the receiver. After you say your command, you'll get audio confirmation and the name or number will show on the display. If the iPhone makes a mistake, you can press an "undo" touch control at the bottom of the screen. The feature is speaker-independent, so you won't need to train it to recognize your voice; you'll be ready to go the first time you turn on the phone. In our tests, the voice dialing performed well. When using names, it understood us accurately most of the time. It made occasional mistakes--for example, it wanted to call "Siemens" instead of "Stephen"--but that's hardly unusual for a voice dialer. Voice Control performed better when using only numbers. We didn't have to speak loudly, except in noisy environments, but it was capable of filtering out most background noise. If you call a contact with multiple numbers, but don't specify which number you prefer, it will prompt you with "home," "work," etc. If you ask for a name that has multiple listings in your phone book (we know multiple people named Tim, for instance), it will prompt you for your choice, while showing the options on the screen. Alternatively, you can call a contact using his or her company's name, but that company must be in the contact's electronic business card. Voice Control also interacts with the iPhone's iPod player and the iTunes Genius list. You can ask it to play a song by artist name and album, and you can request an entire playlist. Once music is playing, you can pause, skip to the next song, and go back to the previous track, using your voice. Say "shuffle" and the player skips to a random song. The feature was accurate most of the time, but it occasionally confused some artist names. Unsure which song is playing? You can find out by asking, "What song is this?" You'll then get audio confirmation of the track name and artist. Like what you're hearing? Say, "Play more songs like this," and the player will use your iTunes Genius list to play a related song. In either case, the music will dim while you speak. They're nifty features, to be sure, and we can't think of another MP3 player or cell phone that offers such capability. On the other hand, we can't imagine that many people would use it outside of a car. And the iPod Voice Control isn't perfect. It read Pink's name as "P N K" in our tests (Pink spells her name as "P!nk" on her album covers), and it twice tried to call "Annette" when we asked what song was playing. Also, we're not sure how Gwen Stefani would feel about being related to Britney Spears in the Genius list, but there you have it. Compass You'll find the iPhone 3GS' digital compass option directly on the Home screen; just tap to open. The attractive interface shows a large compass with your bearing and your latitude and longitude. Similar to any other compass, it continues to point true or magnetic north as you turn around. Reception was spotty inside, so you'll need to stay clear of any interference. If it can't get a bearing, you'll be advised to move away from the interference and re-establish the compass' orientation by moving the iPhone in a figure-eight motion. The compass also interacts with Google Maps to point you in the right direction. To switch to the maps, just press the familiar bull's-eye icon in the bottom-left corner. You'll see your position on the map, and if you tap the bull's-eye again, the map will rotate to show the direction you are facing. It's a nice touch, and we like how the standard Google Maps view now shows the 3D outlines of buildings. Accessibility features The iPhone 3GS is the first iPhone to offer a full set of accessibility features. Visually impaired people can use Apple's Voice Over to navigate the handset's menus and type messages and e-mails. As you drag your finger around the display and tap a button, the iPhone will read a description of that button. The phone will also read the text of dialog boxes, the time of day, the status and orientation of the display (locked or unlocked, portrait or landscape), and detail information, such as the battery level, Wi-Fi, and cellular network signals. What's more, it speaks each character as you type a message, and it will suggest autocorrection choices. Voice Over can read text messages, e-mails, and even Web pages. To use Voice Over, you will need to learn a different set of gestures--for example, you'll have to double-tap to open an item--but the feature provides audible instruction. You can set the speaking rate and choose from 21 supported languages. Voice Over works with all of the phone's native applications, but support for third-party apps varies. Though we're sighted and our Voice Over user experience can't compare with someone who is visually impaired, we were impressed by the feature's capabilities. The iPhone 3GS also adds multitouch zoom support for the Home, Unlock, and Spotlight screens for all applications, both native and third-party. Previously, zoom only worked in the photo gallery, e-mail in-boxes, and the Safari browser. You can activate the enhanced zoom in the Settings menu, but you can't use it and Voice Over simultaneously. You also can reverse the display's contrast to white on black. Menus will show white text on a black background, while the Home screen will change to a white background. Just be aware that the contrast change alters the appearance of photos in the gallery so that they look like negatives. It has a similar effect for app icons on the Home screen. What else is new? The iPhone 3GS includes support for Nike + iPod, which integrates your iPod with a sensor that fits inside Nike running shoes. You use it as a pedometer to track your distance traveled and your pace. When you turn on the app in the settings menu, an icon will appear on the Home screen. The headphones included with the iPhone 3GS also show changes. You'll find controls for using the Voice Control feature, adjusting the volume, answering calls, and controlling music and video playback. iPhone OS 3.0 The iPhone 3GS will support the new iPhone OS 3.0 update from day one. The OS 3.0 is a significant update that promises 100 new features, including such long-awaited gems as multimedia messaging, stereo Bluetooth, a voice recorder, and cut, copy, and paste. Apple has yet to release a fully detailed list--and we've barely scratched the surface in our testing--but we'll continue to report improvements as we find them. First announced in March 2009, it was released June 17, 2009, for the iPhone Classic and the iPhone 3G. Multimedia messaging We've ranted endlessly about why it took so long for Apple to achieve multimedia messaging (MMS), so we're glad that it's finally on its way. Besides photos, you'll also be able to send videos, audio files, and map locations. At long last, the iPhone can do something that almost every other cell phone can do, and has done for ages. But, and this is a big "but," AT&T doesn't have things ready on its end. We don't know the real reason for the annoying delay, nor do we have a timetable for deployment; we just know that AT&T will support MMS "later this summer." (Also, because it wasn't integrated with the proper radio, the iPhone Classic will not support MMS.) When we first tested the beta version of iPhone OS 3.0, we were able to compose, but not send, a multimedia message in a few quick steps on our iPhone 3G. In subsequent OS 3.0 updates, Apple removed the process for doing this; presumably you'll get it back when MMS goes live. On the upside, the messaging process was intuitive. When using the text-messaging app, a small camera icon appeared next to the writing area. After tapping it, we had the choice to take a new photo or send an existing shot. If we decided to shoot a new photo, we had the option of retaking it if we wished. Alternatively, we could initiate a picture message from the photo gallery. In either case, the photo appears in the typing area of the message application, and you can delete it if you change your mind. Cut, copy, and paste The cut, copy, and paste feature is long overdue. The interface is simple and easy to use, and it works across all applications, including notes, e-mails, messages, and text on Web pages. Developers will even get access to it in applications To get started, just double-tap a selection of text and the cut, copy, and paste commands will appear. You then can change the highlighted area by dragging the blue grab points around the page. Once you get to your pasting area, just tap the screen again and select the paste button. If you make a mistake and paste in the incorrect place, you can shake the iPhone to undo your command. When in Notes and e-mail, you also can highlight with a long press (aka holding your finger down). You'll see two options: Select and Select All. The former command highlights just the word that you're touching, while the latter highlights the entire block of text. Using the feature in the Safari browser takes some acclimation, but even then we needed only a few minutes to get the hang of the process. Because the double-tap motion is also used to zoom in on a Web page, you must use a long press to select text that you want to copy or cut. You then can drag the blue points as normal. Depending on how closely you're zoomed in, you can highlight just one word or an entire block of text. Landscape keyboard Formerly--and inexplicably--available only in the Safari browser, the landscape keyboard now works in e-mail, text messaging, and notes. After haranguing Apple over the past two years to get it, we have to admit that it took a second to get accustomed to it. Though the landscape keyboard is much wider, with larger buttons, it's also a lot shorter. It did take us a couple of days to get the hang of it. Don't think that we're complaining, though, as it's quite the opposite. We love being able to use two hands, but we had grown accustomed to the one-finger tap dance on the vertical keyboard You can also now view your e-mail in-box, contacts, and text messages in landscape mode. The calendar remains in a portrait orientation, but the changes we received are welcome. Spotlight Until now, it's been rather painful to sift through the data to find e-mail or calendar entries on the iPhone. Luckily, iPhone OS 3.0 adds a Spotlight feature that makes the search process vastly easier. Similar to many of the OS 3.0 additions, it took way too long to get here, but we have few complaints about the final product. To get to the Spotlight feature, swipe your finger to the right from the first menu page. You'll then see a keyboard with a typing field above it (this keyboard only works in portrait mode). As you type in a search term, the results appear below the search bar, with results grouped together by category for easy navigation. You can search calendar entries, music, notes, apps, contacts, and e-mail, and you can search within an individual e-mail in-box. For IMAP4 and Exchange accounts, you'll also be able to search messages saved only on the server. Tethering In March, we heard that tethering would be possible with the OS 3.0, but that it would be completely carrier-dependent. Here again, AT&T isn't on the ball. While other iPhone carriers around the world will be ready when the iPhone goes live, AT&T is saying that the carrier will support tethering later this summer. Unfortunately, we don't know the exact reason for the delay, when tethering will actually arrive, or whether AT&T will charge extra for it. Text messaging Deleting and forwarding individual messages in a texting thread works just like the e-mail app. When you select the edit button, small dots appear next to each message. Hit the dots for your desired messages before pressing the delete or forward options. Thanks, Apple, but this should have been on the first iPhone. Stereo Bluetooth We were very glad to see a stereo Bluetooth profile arrive with iPhone OS 3.0. We tested it with the LG HBS-250 stereo Bluetooth headset. The pairing process was easy and incident-free. In the music player, a small Bluetooth icon appears next to the player controls. Press it to route audio to the headset; you then can toggle back and forth between the speaker and the headset. Speaking of Bluetooth, the update also adds Bluetooth peer-to-peer networking for gaming. Yet, neither Bluetooth feature is available on the iPhone Classic, even with the OS 3.0 update installed. Apple has a chart with more information. Turn-by-turn directions iPhone OS 3.0 brings support for turn-by-turn directions, making the iPhone a fully functional GPS device. The bad news is that, along with MMS, we'll have to wait until later this summer for complete functionality. Directional services won't come from Apple, but will instead come from third-party apps. TomTom will be one of the first companies to offer an app; a TomTom executive demonstrated it at WWDC 2009. AT&T has built an app for its AT&T Navigator service and we expect that other companies will offer their own apps. From what we could tell from the brief demo, TomTom's service looks promising. The interface was attractive and the audible directions were clear. TomTom will also offer a car kit that will secure your iPhone to your windshield or dashboard while charging it at the same time. That's good news for a device that sucks up juice quickly. We're concerned with how much the app will cost. TomTom will offer a "range" of U.S. and international maps, but that's as much as we know. GPS maps are not cheap, so we'll be interested to see how TomTom will package and price the content to make it affordable for consumers and profitable for TomTom. What's more, we're curious how much memory the maps will consume and how the app will integrate with the iPhone's other features. From what we understand, we'll be able to make hands-free calls and play music on our car's radio while getting directions. Unlike the Palm Pre, however, the iPhone doesn't multitask (we have more to say on that below). If the GPS feature has to suspend because you get a call--just as the iPod player suspends when you take a call--then things could get tricky. We suspect, though, that Apple and TomTom have this covered. iTunes Store With the software update, your iPhone's iTunes Store experience will change a bit. Now you'll be able to rent and purchase movies, download TV shows and audiobooks, and access iTunes U. You'll also be able to redeem iTunes gift cards on the phone in the iTunes App store. Previously, you could only redeem in the iTunes music store. Also new is the capability to make purchases while inside apps. For example, you can renew a magazine subscription or buy additional levels of a game. This is a small win, at least for us. Sure, it's nice that you won't have to close the application and return to the iTunes Store, but this is almost one of those "problems I didn't know I had." Just remember to keep a limit on your impulse buying. Apple promises that free apps will always be free, to avoid a bait-and-switch scenario. While that's great for consumers in that you'll never have to shell out money for an update, even now we see two versions of many apps cluttering the App store. The free app get you hooked, much like a demo version of a game, while the paid app offers the whole experience. As we see it, that's not much better than offering an app for free, but then charging later for an update. Find My iPhone If you're prone to losing your iPhone 3GS, OS 3.0 will give you some peace of mind. If your handset goes missing, you can use a computer to find its position on a map. You can then send it a message that instructs anyone who finds your phone to call you. It plays a tone to get a passerby's attention, and it even plays the tone when the sound is off. Presumably, however, it won't play the tone when the phone is off. It sounds like a great service, but there are a couple of caveats. Find My iPhone is only available to MobileMe users. Also, it can be dislabled, and you'll need someone on the other end who is responsible enough to notify you that he or she has found your phone. Luckily, if the latter doesn't hold true, you can use a remote wipe option to swipe your iPhone clean of data. This is the first time remote wipe is available to consumers outside of an enterprise setting. Voice recorder Did we mention that iPhone OS 3.0 adds features that should have been on the first-generation device? Oh, that's right, we did. But, in any case, the new voice-recording app is another example of something being better late than ever. It has its own icon on the Home screen, and its interface is clean and easy to use. Tap the record button to start and tap it again to end; you can continue to record while you're using other applications, like the Web browser. When finished, you can e-mail your voice clips to a friend, or you can trim them in the same fashion as you would videos. Stocks You'll now see news headlines for the company tickers saved in your Stocks application. That would be a nice touch if we used the Stocks app more often. You'll also be able to see a chart in landscape mode, and you'll be able to get a stock price at any point on a chart. Other additions The remaining additions range from useful to trivial. Thanks to iPhone OS 3.0, you'll also get push notifications, expanded parental controls, a shake-to-shuffle feature for the iPod player, the capability to forward meeting invites and contacts, Notes syncing for Macs and PCs, autofill for Web fields and Wi-Fi auto-log-ins, the option to change the default destination for the home button, and additional wallpaper. Finally, if you tap and hold on a Web link in the Safari browser, a new menu will appear with choices to open the link, open it in another page, save an image, or copy the link. What we're still waiting for Fortunately, this list is getting shorter with each incarnation of the iPhone. Yet, the iPhone 3GS still lacks some important features. To begin with, it does not offer multitasking. We've been hung up on this for a while, but after seeing the Pre handle multitasking so elegantly, we think Apple can at least compete. And keep in mind that multitasking is hardly limited to Palm's showpiece. It is frustrating that on a phone that can do so many things well, we have to close an application and go back to the menu in order to open another one. But more than that, it's becoming unacceptable. As mentioned earlier, you can't change the look and feel of the iPhone's interface. Though we like not having to root through multiple menu layers to access features, we'd still enjoy more customization. Similarly, Apple continues to lock down the iPhone's file structure. There's no file manager feature, and USB mass storage and transfer remain largely elusive. While you can access your iPhone's camera folder via a USB cable, you can only transfer photos and videos from the iPhone 3GS to your computer. To transfer photos, videos ,and other media files to your iPhone, you must rely on iTunes. And even then, iTunes restricts what kinds of files you can move and it tells you where to store them on the phone. A wide variety of cell phones, from simple candy bar handsets to high-end smartphones, offer USB mass storage. We think Apple should do the same. Flash support for the Safari browser is also a must. Apple has skirted this issue, so there may be hope in the future. But in the meantime, we still expect Flash Lite to get a true Web experience. Apple has long boasted that the iPhone puts "the Internet in your pocket," but without Flash, it's not quite there. We doubt we'll ever get the last few items on our list. But as long as we're complaining, we'd love to see an FM radio, a "mark as read" option in the e-mail app, an FM transmitter, and a user-replaceable battery. We still wonder what you're supposed to use as a cell phone when you send in your iPhone for a replacement battery. And don't forget: you'll have to pay for that service. Internal performance The "S" in iPhone 3GS stands for speed and the device promises to be quicker in two ways: not only will a new processor enable it to load apps faster, but it will utilize an upgraded AT&T 3G network for speedier Web browsing. We expected both of these improvements, so we're not surprised that they are the new 3GS' prime selling points. We'll start with the processor: Apple doesn't provide details on the processor's capabilities, but a T-Mobile Netherlands' Web site briefly reported that the iPhone 3GS has a 600MHz processor--similar to the Pre's--and 256MB RAM. In contrast, the earlier iPhone 3G had a 412MHz processor and 128MB RAM. As our colleagues at CNET Asia said, twice the memory "should speed things up a fair bit." The promised change surprised us, since we never thought the iPhone Classic or the iPhone 3G were that slow in the first place. But, whatever the reason for the improvement, we're certainly not going to refuse if Apple wants to dish it out. And from what we can tell, it's not an empty promise. We conducted side-by-side tests between an iPhone 3G and an iPhone 3GS. Both phones had identical contact lists, calendars, photos, apps, and music libraries. For most native applications that don't depend on a cellular or Wi-Fi connection, the iPhone 3GS was consistently faster. For the photo gallery, camera, calculator, calendar, notes, clock, and contacts list, the iPhone 3G lagged about 2 seconds behind. No, that's not a huge difference, but it was a difference nonetheless. We noticed a similar change when using the Spotlight feature and opening the Settings menu. We saw a bigger change in other areas. The iPhone 3GS opened the iPod player almost 5 seconds faster, and it was much quicker at loading some notoriously slow apps. For example, Bejewled 2, which can take up to 12 seconds to load on the iPhone 3G, started in just 5 seconds on the 3GS. Even better, Pocket God went from opening in almost 30 seconds to starting in just 11. The iPhone 3GS also started up much quicker than the iPhone 3G--we were up and running in 26 seconds instead of 50 seconds. We realize that the above tests aren't very scientific or exact, but they do reflect everyday use. Indeed, the iPhone 3GS appears to delivers speedier internal performance; people should notice a difference. Browser and data On the other hand, we didn't notice any differences in data and browser speeds over AT&T's 3G network. We'd certainly welcome any improvements that should come from the carrier's forthcoming HSPA network upgrade to 7.2Mbps, but there's an important caveat for the moment: AT&T won't start rolling out the faster network until later this year. What's more, full deployment is scheduled for 2011. Though we expect urban areas will be first, coverage will vary widely for the next year, at least. As such, we don't predict any miracles soon. On the other hand, we noticed faster browser speeds when using CNET's Wi-Fi network. The New York Times loaded in about 30 seconds on the iPhone 3GS, but took up to a minute on the iPhone 3G. Call quality and reception We tested the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) iPhone 3GS world phone in San Francisco. Call quality was virtually unchanged from the iPhone 3G. When the calls could connect, and when they weren't dropping, the audio quality was decent. Voices sounded natural and we heard a satisfactorily low amount of "side noise," which is the sound of your own voice coming back through the phone. Wind noise was apparent in some instances, and the volume could be louder, but the 3GS lacks the sensitive sweet spot that we encountered on the first iPhone. On their end, callers didn't report any differences from the caller experience on the iPhone 3G. They could hear us under most conditions, and, while they could tell that we were on a cell phone, that's not unusual. The only complaints mentioned occasional background noise. Automated calling systems could understand as well, but we had the best experiences when using the phone inside. We'll test the iPhone 3GS in more places over the next few weeks. Speakerphone calls were good, but not great. The external speaker was rather soft, but voices weren't distorted, except at the highest volumes. Also, as long as we were in a quiet room, we didn't have to speak close to the phone if we wanted to be heard on the other end. We connected to the BlueAnt Q1 Bluetooth headset without any problems. Call quality was mostly satisfactory, though we noticed a slight amount of static. That could be from the headset, however. Unfortunately, we saw no change in overall signal strength and reception. The hand off between EDGE and 3G remains shaky, and the iPhone still tries to latch onto the 3G signal even when it's barely detectable. As we found with the iPhone 3G, the reception jumped if we switched off the handset's 3G radio on the Settings menu. Constantly doing that, however, can be a pain. While testing the iPhone 3GS with the iPhone 3G in areas of San Francisco with reliably poor AT&T coverage, we noticed no difference in the number of bars or in the capability of each to establish a connection and make a call. What's more, the iPhone 3GS dropped calls as frequently as its predecessor in the "semidead zones." We also used the iPhone's internal Field Test application, which is a more accurate test of signal strength than the number of bars on the display. In most cases the iPhone 3GS had a stronger signal, but not by much. Dial *3001#12345#* to run the test yourself. You'll see the signal strength in decibels in the upper-left corner of the display--the lower the number, the better the signal. According to FCC radiation tests, the iPhone 3GS has a rating of 0.79 watt per kilogram. That is the highest at-ear SAR for voice calls. Data use and at-body use can result in different SARs. Audio and video quality Editors' note: Senior Editor Donald Bell contributed to this section. For all the small tweaks and improvements made to the iPhone 3GS, music and video playback quality is indistinguishable from the 3G model. Fortunately, in this department, the iPhone can afford to rest on its laurels. Audio is crisp and full, with a suite of iPod EQ presets, ample volume, and minimum background hiss. A range of audio files and resolutions are supported, starting at basic MP3 and AAC, all the way up to CD-quality formats, such as AIFF, WAV, and Apple Lossless. Video playback quality is still the same bright, smooth experience we enjoyed on the 3G model. If there's a story to be told about video improvements, it's the fact that the 3GS is the first iPhone to both play and record video. Apple has also updated the mobile version of the iTunes store to include movie, television, and music video downloads, in addition to the music and podcast downloads offered prior to the OS 3.0 update. Music quality on the LG HBS-250 stereo Bluetooth headset was quite satisfactory--a big improvement over the iPhone's external speaker and better than the standard wired headset. Of course, your experience will vary depending on which stereo headset you choose. Battery life Battery life remains one of the iPhone 3G's biggest detractions. Indeed, you're lucky if your handset lasts longer than a day with heavy use. When Apple first introduced the iPhone in June, the company promised relief for beleaguered users. The 3GS' rated battery life is 9 hours of Wi-Fi battery life, 10 hours of video playback, 30 hours of audio playback, 12 hours of 2G talk time, and 5 hours of 3G talk time. In our initial tests conducted just after this review posted, the iPhone 3GS' battery appeared to last longer than its predecessor's. We could go longer during a day of heavy use before having to recharge. Also, our first talk time test with EDGE delivered almost 11.5 hours of battery life, which is impressive considering the iPhone 3G lasted 8.75 hours on EDGE. We then sent the 3GS to CNET Labs for more rigorous testing. In those tests, the 3GS largely matched Apple's promised times. We'll start with voice calls first. CNET Labs managed 5.36 hours of 3G talk time and 13.4 hours of 2G talk time. While those results may seem surprising, remember that we leave the handset alone with the display dimmed during our talk time tests. Battery life for multimedia use also was satisfactory. In Airplane Mode on with the cellular radio turned off, the 3GS delivered 36.7 hours of music playback and 10.03 hours of video playback. With the Airplane Mode off and 3G enabled, we got 35.4 hours of music time and 9.2 hours of video playback. In both cases, the screen was off during music playback. It's important to remember that real-world use will be a better judge of the iPhone 3GS' endurance. The large color display, frequently switching between different applications, and heavy 3G or GPS use will drain the battery faster than just making a call. As it's difficult to develop an accurate benchmark for testing battery life while multitasking, your experience will vary widely depending on how you use your iPhone 3GS. There are quite a few things you can do to maximize battery life, but we recommend using Wi-Fi over 3G whenever possible, limiting GPS use, and dimming your display's brightness. The 3Gs is the first iPhone to show the percentage of battery charge on the Home screen.