Android phones: What you should know
The newest Google Phone, a.k.a. the Nexus One, is getting people talking about Android, but you can get Android phones right now. Find out what you should know about the current crop of Android phones in the video.
Nokia recalls 14 million chargers
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Nokia recalled 14 million mobile phone chargers today due to risk of electric shock. The charger models affected are the AC-3E and AC-3U, manufactured between June 15, 2009 and August 9, 2009 and the AC-4U manufactured between April 13, 2009 and October 25, 2009 produced by Chinese company BYD. The recall does not affect models in China, Britain, Argentina or Brazil.
Verizon unveils Motorola Droid [UPDATE]
Verizon unveiled the hotly-anticipated Motorola Droid smartphone, available for $199 with a two-year contract beginning November 6th. Featuring a 3.7-inch 16:9 touchscreen, a 5-megapixel camera, and all the normal trimmings, the Droid comes with Android 2.0, bringing Facebook integration, voice-activated search, and a physical keyboard.
UPDATE: Some Verizon stores will be opening an hour early for the Droid release on friday.
Acer unveils Android-powered smartphone
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Acer announced an Android-powered touch screen smartphone called Liquid A1. The first Qualcomm-Snapdragon Android device will feature WVGA resolution, Acer's proprietary UI, a geotagging 5-megapixel camera and integration with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Picasa, and Flickr. No word yet on a price, release date, or even release country.
Archos Phone Tablet caught on video
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Archos showed off its upcoming "Phone Tablet" to a small gathering, apparently in France. Thankfully, someone recorded the event and posted it for the world to see. The device will feature a high resolution 4.3-inch 854x480 display, speedy 1GHz ARM processor, and run Google's Android OS. The presenter indicated more details will follow at CES in January.
Femtocells: Who’s buying, and who should?
They've got a funny name, but femtocells can actually be useful for people looking to extend their cell service into dead zones that have internet access, but don't have cell coverage. Do they work, and who should pick them up? We bring in Matt Buchanan from Gizmodo and Ross Rubin from The NPD Group to talk about the devices.
Guests:
AT&T to release femtocells
Angry iPhone customers might just get a boost in service soon as AT&T is rumored to be releasing it's 3g Microcells to certain markets next week. The cells work by using a broadband connection to create a localized 3g network up to 5,000 square feat. The cells also give the consumer free voice and data while connected to the unit.
Verizon has the network, but doesn’t have the phones
Verizon may be ranked highly in our minds when it comes to network infrastructure, but the company sure doesn't have the high-end hardware when compared to any of the other major carriers, like AT&T (iPhone), Sprint (Palm Pre, Pixi and HTC Hero) and T-Mobile (Android phones). Which is most important for you when choosing a network... is it the call quality and reliability, or is it the devices?
We ask CNET's Molly Wood and Interpret's Michael Gartenberg their takes. Though Molly absolutely loathes AT&T's poor Bay Area coverage, a lackluster phone selection shares many of the same issues with poor reception: The phone is unusable. And while we'd all love to see AT&T lose its grasp on Apple's wunderfone, Michael doesn't see Verizon laying claim to the device this generational life cycle.
What's your take? Would you rather go Verizon, AT&T, Sprint or T-Mobile? Lets light this flamewar in the comments, and send your video responses on YouTube.
Guests:
Big & fast: the HTC Leo
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Sporting a 4.3 inch screen and a whopping 1ghz processor the HTC Leo made it's debut with some new shots. The phone will also come with a 5 megapixel camera and a dual LED flash all running on Windows Mobile 6.5.
Sprint to launch unlimited cell-to-cell calling, regardless of network
UPDATE: It's official.
An anonymous tipster tells TechVi Sprint will be launching a calling plan which will allow customers to call any other cell phone from any other carrier for free. Any Sprint customer on the base $70 / month plan, which includes unlimited data, text and MMS messages, and 450 minutes, will be able to call any other cell phone on T-Mobile, Verizon, or AT&T without using plan minutes.
Callers have one caveat, according to our source, if roaming on another network, such as Verizon's network when no Sprint coverage is available, they'll end up using plan minutes. However, when in any Sprint coverage area, all cell-to-cell calls will be free of charge.
[Thanks, mr tipster!]