Phil is the father of two beautiful girls and is the Dad behind Modern Dad. Before that he spent seven years at the helm of Android Central. Before that he spent a decade in a newsroom of a two-time Pulitzer Prize-finalist newspaper. Before that — well, we don't talk much about those days. Subscribe to the Modern Dad newsletter!
Every time I see the Touch Pro 2, it seems to get better and better. I finally got my hands on it for real yesterday and, well, it's a solid, incredible piece of hardware. Every time HTC iterates their slider design I always think to myself "Well, they've pretty much perfected this form factor" and every time a new one comes out I realize they're better at design than I am. Ahem...
Sprint has added mobile broadband to its "Simply Everything" plan, calling it "Simply Everything + Mobile Broadband." We had to curb out enthusiasm a little bit (thanks, PreCentral) when we were reminded that Sprint's mobile broadband isn't the same as using your phone as a modem, tethered to a laptop. We're talking data cards only, folks. That said, for $149, you get all the usual from...
During all the excitement of the 2009 Mobile World Congress, AT&T has quietly acknowledged that it should have a fully ready Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in 2011. AT&T has pledged in the past to introduce the 4G Network in 2010 but, according to Senior Architecture VP Kris Rinne, will see the first phase limited to trials in 2010, with commercial services available the...
A few weeks ago we mentioned the pending release of SPB Mobile Shell 3. And while the application hasn't gone live yet, it does have it's own Web site, and a video presentation has surfaced on You Tube. Still no hard a release date (Aprilish maybe?) but the updated version is being billed as having such features as multi-home pages (hello, Xperia X1 panels?), widgets, kinetic scrolling...
Obviously Windows Mobile 6.5 dominated the bulk of Microsoft's announcements at the start of Mobile World Congress, but we've also seen My Phone and, to a much lesser extent, Marketplace. But the Windows Mobile Team blog chimed in today, pimping some of the bennies for developers: An easily discovered on-device application that is installed on every Windows Mobile 6.5 device, and...
And, finally, from the Acer booth we have the DX900, which we know as a rebranded, dual-sim E-TEN Glofiish. The specs: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Dual-sim 128MB RAM/256MB ROM 480x640 VGA touchscreen Samsung S36410 processor 3MP camera GPS, Bluetooth The DX900 Dieter saw didn't have the custom user interface on it, instead opting for a custom version of...
What do you get when you take an Acer DX900 and strip out a few bits? The Acer X960. Gone are the DX900's dual SIMS and G-Sensor, here to stay are quad-band EDGE, tri-band HSDPA, 256 ROM/128 RAM, and the 480x640 screen. The processor goes from a Samsung S3C 6400 to the 6410, and what that means is outside our present knowledge. While not the powerhouse (at least on paper) that...
After all the to-do Monday morning from Microsoft, it looks like the My Phone beta — read our full post on the announcement here — is starting to go live. But it looks like it might be a rolling start. I was able to get the install file for my phone, while Malatesta — infinitely smarter and better looking — could not, at least at the time of this writing. It took just a couple of...
We don't call Dieter Bohn the Hardest-Working Man in Smartphone Showbusiness for nuthin'. Our favorite editor-in-chief has made his way over to BlackBerry end of Mobile World Congress just in time to check out an ... HTC Touch Fuze? If you're confused, it's only because you missed our recent post on the BlackBerry Application Suite, which brings the BlackBerry operating system to non-BB...
From Sony Ericsson at Mobile World Congress comes word of four new panels for the Xperia X1. A new CNN panel keeps you constantly updated with the latest news, sport, or weather and a host of CNN content including access to CNN’s popular citizen journalism tool, ‘i-Report’. Browse information by category, personalise your experience or plug in your location and get instant updates...
It's easy to get lost in the shuffle of Mobile World Congress, but here's a little item that piqued our interest. The once-quiet Windows Mobile web-browser field has seen a lot of activity lately. From Opera Mobile going Turbo to Skyfire releasing a new Beta version to Mozilla releasing the Milestone release of Fennec, the mobile browser industry has been busy. Adding to the web-...
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer invited LG exec Skott Ahn up on stage at Mobile World Congress. The two ripped through a couple of showtunes, and then Ahn dropped the bomb — LG's making Windows Mobile it's primary smartphone operating system for the foreseeable future. We're talking dozens (like, 50 or so) phones over the next three years. They two companies will have joint marketing...
You'll be forgiven for wondering why LG is bothering with the Eigen, aka the GM730, since its competitor, Samsung, seems to have already been-there-done-that with the original Omnia. Still, we're more than happy to see LG finally jump head-first into the Windows Mobile pool after spending so long dipping their Prada-loving toes in the shallow end. What's that? You want the specs...
Microsoft announced Windows Mobile 6.5 today. The software is still not quite ready for release but will go to manufacturers soon and will start arriving on handsets towards the end of 2009. WM6.5 brings all sorts of new features to Windows Mobile Pro (touchscreen) and a handful to Windows Mobile Standard (non-touchscreen). WM Standard saw its big feature update with 6.1, and with...
No, it's not the full skinny on my phone, it's the fully skinny on Microsoft's new My Phone service (we promise not to make that sad joke ever again). It was accidentally revealed and then copped-to by Microsoft, they are now laying out the full details on the service, which you can pre-register for here.In essence, My Phone simply is a backup service with a side of over-the-web...
Spotted on a billboard earlier today, the Omnia HD looks to be the final name for the previously seen Acme i9810 (the name sounded a little, ahem, generic to us too). Now Samsung Central [via] has the official shots of the beast (it's on the left). We'll find out tomorrow whether the "HD" in "Omnia HD" truly means that we'll get HDMI Output, 16 gigs of storage, GPS, WiFi, and a 3.5...
Mobile World Congress is officially under way in Barcelona, Spain, and we boxed up the head WM Expert, Dieter Bohn, and shipped him to Europe to digest and send back all the latest in Windows Mobile and cell phones in general. So sit back, relax and prepare to take in an onslaught of news as we're expecting some pretty major releases. If you want to keep track of everything MWC09, pre-...
So we're totally expecting an avalanche of Microsoft news Monday from Mobile World Congress. (hint: remember that Spain is a few hours ahead of the United States.) In the meantime, Windows god/guru/kung fu master Paul Thurrott snagged a page where you can pre-register for the new My Phone service. Head on over and give them your e-mail addy, and they promise to let you know when you can...
With our editor-in-chief, Dieter Bohn, off in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress, the inmates site editors are left running Around SPE this week. So, while he'll be breaking news and giving us some hands-on observations on all the new software and hardware on display, we'll be keeping you covered here at home, starting with a quick recap of where we are right now: CrackBerry.com In the...
Here's video of two things not yet available in the United States: an HTC Touch HD, and Windows Mobile 6.5. The Touch HD we can't do anything about. It's just not coming. WinMo 6.5, on the other hand, should make its official debut this week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. We can't vouch for anything here, but it does look pretty snappy.So now we've seen picture after picture...