Cell Phones Blog

Will BlackBerry’s latest gadget boldly go where none before it has ever gone? The BlackBerry Bold has been hot in the news this week, and while it’s not otherworldly, the gadget is fiercely anticipated.

News reports surfaced on May 16, 2008 pegging the release date of the sexy beast in July 2008 first from AT&T and then in Sept. 2008 with Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile, according to Engadget. It's being priced at $300 from AT&T, Verizon and Sprint and $350 from T-Mobile.

While Engadget notes that these release dates and pricing estimates could change, they do seem consistent with other reports at this time.

Interestingly, CrackBerry.com on April 29, 2008 filed a rumor about this phone – then called the BlackBerry 9000 – after it first turned up on eBay. The site on May 6, 2008 followed up with a review.

Sometimes the best way to know is simply to ask. While the topic of cell phones can be viewed as a niche subject in the grand scheme of the world, it’s actually quite broad when you consider all the nitty gritty it comprises.

Cell phone consumers often care highly about:

1. The latest and greatest phones about to enter the crowded market.
2. Compelling updates to cell phone service plans.
3. New cell phone accessories that solve an everyday pain.
4. Everything that’s fun including ringtones, games, pictures and video.
5. New technologies that make cell phones faster, smarter and better.

Of course, there's much more. If you had the opportunity to guide your About.com cell phones guide, what content would you especially want to see more of and why? Don’t be shy. I don’t bite. Let me know here!

News surfaced on May 8, 2008 speculating that two Sprint Nextel Corp. resellers – Virgin Mobile and the struggling and lesser-known Helio – could merge.

Since, the Wall Street Journal on May 10, 2008 reported that the two firms are indeed in advanced merger discussions. The report cited sources familiar with the developement and said an inked deal could be revealed in the coming weeks.

Virgin Mobile and Helio are currently declining to comment. The speculation began following a recent, first-quarter conference call by Virgin Mobile. The development signals the need for such resellers to consolidate amid market saturation.

After trials and tribulations galore, Sprint Nextel Corp. on Wednesday announced that it won’t – for the time being – be announcing more delays and disappointing news. Instead, the behemoth is merging its WiMAX unit with Clearwire Corp. and dropping its own name from the new, $14.55 billion powerhouse.

In 2007, Sprint Nextel first activated the WiMAX service in Chicago and Washington, D.C. only. Following those test markets and the promise to swell to 20 more cities by the end of 2008, in April 2008 the company said in a professional manner of speaking that it was just kidding. There was no explanation why.

To help convince skeptics of the newfound force, the new Clearwire company is proud to tout that corporate giants such as Google, Intel, Comcast and Time Warner are on board as investors to the tune of $3.2 billion. WiMAX is similiar to Wi-Fi but faster with a larger coverage area.

Source: Sprint Nextel Corp.

While cell phones are pervasive in every aspect of society, sometimes not being on yours – or not even having it visible – is what a situation demands. Yes, I’m speaking of the ever-touchy subject of cell phone etiquette.

While not answering your phone in a movie theater or at dinner is a given, I frequently see other taboo uses. For example, I absolutely fail to comprehend why someone needs to talk on a cell phone while conducting business of a personal nature in the restroom.

While most people are respectful of the no-talk rule at a dinner table, why must some of us leave our phones on the table while we’re eating? At a time that’s clearly inappropriate, doing so looms the notion of interruption.

Those are just a couple irking cell phone behaviors that get under my skin. What bad cell phone habits vex you?

If you’re like most people, statistics show you’re hanging onto 3.5 retired cell phones in drawers, boxes of long-forgotten memoirs or at your office. While many of these sit at home and rot, a mountain of these obsolete devices gets chucked into landfills.

That doesn’t have to be. As our planet grows more and more green, so are consumers caring about the impact our cell phones have on the environment.

“With more than 257 million cell phone users (approximately 83 percent of the total population) in the U.S. replacing their cell phones every 18 months and adding another 155 million devices per year, the backlog of cell phones poised to enter landfills is about 1 billion strong,” according to CollectiveGood, a leading cell phone recycler in the U.S., in an April 15, 2008 statement.

CollectiveGood added: “That’s enough cell phones to circle the Earth 2.5 times and more than enough toxic material to poison our air, water and landfills for centuries.”

CollectiveGood now has a recycling program to not only avert environmental damage but restore it, too. GreenPhone.com, GRC Wireless Recycling, CellForCash.com and many more even pay you to recycle your cell phones.

The global effort to be green has culminated over decades from one person taking one step at a time. Together, millions of small steps from millions of people have added up to huge leaps the planet feels positively every day.

Every decision you make – no matter how large or small – is an opportunity to make a difference.

Celebrate Earth Day this month or any day by helping the environment from the friendly confines of your cell phone. Here are 13 simple tips to turn your cell phone green.

I live within the masses of a very fast-paced Chicago. While the city is home sweet home for so many endearing reasons, steering its streets is anything but user friendly while you’re on a cell phone.

With its fierce winds and chaotic drivers, the Windy City is a valiant adversary for everyday cell phones.

I can’t count how many times I’ve had to end a call because of walking into a wind tunnel or too much noise in general made it impossible to talk. If your city is anything like mine, you’d also perk up to the news of a new cell phone chip that claims to let cell phone users hear even in blaring times.

A new noise-suppression chip from Mountain View, Calif.-based Audience is being rolled out for cell phones that CEO Peter Santos says can reduce background noise by 20 to 40 decibels. He says the chip is dissimilar to other iterations because it’s the first that’s fashioned after the way human hearing works.

For many of us, cell phones don't need to open your garage door. While there's increasing pressure to wow increasingly selective consumers with the latest and greatest bells and whistles, sometimes a cell phone just needs to place and receive calls.

If you only need the basics and don't want to be bogged down by advanced features you'll never use, the Samsung SPH-A640 for Sprint might fit you like a glove. It's a flip phone, which means candy-bar lovers who think flipping is flopping need not read any further.

Its external display screen comes in handy especially for those – like yours truly – who use a phone in place of a watch. Its criticisms lie only in the features it doesn't have, but if you're scouting out this phone, that's exactly the point.

Phone manuals often tell you what to do step by step but don't show you. In this tutorial, I've created screenshots of exactly what you'll see in the process of recording and sending video on the Samsung Upstage phone.

While you can record longer video for the purpose of storing and viewing at a later time, this tutorial walks you through the simple steps of shooting a shorter video and broadcasting it all in one full swoop.

Join your cell phone rabbi to see how easy it is to use the two-sided Upstage to take and send mobile video.