PhoneTalk

The Palm Pixi for Sprint is one of the more affordable smartphones to hit the market. But does that mean it's light on features? Watch the video below to find out. Need more information? Check out our expert review of the Palm Pixi by clicking here.

Comments 

T-Mobile has always been a fan of WiFi offering cell phones that have the feature as well as a way to make the most of the technology via UMA (a feature that allows users to seamlessly move cell phone calls from towers to WiFi networks) and the company's HotSpot @ Home service. It's no surprise that the recently announced webConnect Jet USB Laptop Stick aims to keep users connected in just about any environment. The USB stick that works with both Macs and PCs is all about getting an Internet connection on the road. The webConnect Jet works with T-Mobile's 3G network, EDGE, or any T-Mobile WiFi HotSpot. Since it's a USB stick you can also use it for extra memory via a 8GB microSD card. You'll need to get a data plan with this device that start at roughly $30 dollars a month. If you travel a lot and need a connection on the road this type of option may end up saving money in the end when you consider the added costs you may incur when connecting at places such as the airport or in a hotel.

Comments 

The Palm Pixi for Sprint will be available next week, but I've had a chance to spend a little bit of time with it. First, I have to say, it's a lot slimmer than the Palm Pre and a smidge longer. The Pixi isn't going to take up a lot of room in your bag. The construction feels sturdy. The back of the Pixi uses the same rubberized backing that comes included with the Touchstone when you purchase it for the Pre. The keypad, while not as spread out as the Palm Pre sports more rectangular keys, that are a bit easier to use. Also, the keys have a similar plastic raised style that's found on the Pre. However, if you look at the keyboard from the side, there's a bit of a 3D effect occurring, which is interesting. Instead of the button to shrink the size of apps found on the Pre, the Pixi has a white line that you touch to activate the same action. The display is not as big as the one found on the Pre, but it is still highly usable and crisp. The touchscreen is receptive and responds well to gestures, we did find that we had to occasionally touch the Done button a couple of times.

As far as the user interface goes, it's just like using the Pre. We particularly appreciate the fact that since we already created a Palm account on the Pre we just logged into it when first starting up the Pixi and all our contacts were loaded. We didn't just get our contacts, we also got all the apps we downloaded from the Palm app store. When the Pixi isn't in use, the screen goes dark. Simply press the power button found on the top left hand corner of the cell phone to activate the display. While it's not ideal, it does give you the sense that you won't accidently launch anything when the Pixi is loose in a pocket or a purse. The only thing we missed on the Pixi is the inclusion of WiFi. If you can live without that feature, the Pixi definitely has a lot to offer.

If you want to know more about the Palm Pixi, leave a comment and you can also check back next week for our full expert review

Comments 

Almost a year later, the second touchscreen-only BlackBerry smartphone arrives for Verizon Wireless. Although there's not a lot that's changed in the BlackBerry Storm2, there are few nice enhancements. To see what they are watch the video below. Want a more in-depth look at the new BlackBerry cell phone? Read my expert review of the Blackberry Storm2.

Comments 

Renting a car before you head out on a trip is one thing, but doing it once you're on the road is typically not the easiest task. When you travel, things come up - that's just the nature of being on the road. Even though you can access a web site from your cell phone to rent a car it can be a painful process; not to mention the amount of data you use to download pages or extra costs involved in calling 411 to get a phone number. Enterprise car rental has just launched a mobile site, Enterprise.mobi (enter that on your cell phone web browser), and it truly is a site designed for mobile phones where you can do just the basics (rent a car, modify/cancel reservation, etc.). Regardless of how you rent a car, I'm happy to see cell phone apps that are truly mobile and that aren't limited to a particular platform. In my book, anything that gets you back to your scheduled travel is a good thing.

Comments 

The HTC Droid Eris is available today for Verizon Wireless. The second smartphone running Google's Android OS also sports HTC's Sense experience, which will allow users more customization of the device and the ability to access text messages, e-mails, phone calls and even Flickr streams and Facebook updates from a single contact card. The Google smartphone will also sport a 5-megapixel camera, WiFi, a 3.5mm headset jack, GPS with a digital compass, a pre-installed 8GB microSD card for storing pictures, tunes and more. To get a closer look at the HTC Droid Eris check out Verizon Wireless' demonstration video below.

Comments 

Both Verizon Wireless and Sprint announced availability of the BlackBerry Curve 8530. Both models will sport the new trackpad found on the BlackBerry Curve 8520 that's available for T-Mobile. The trackpad is a lot like the touchpad found on laptop computers, so it's different than the trademark trackball. Additionally the new model will be WiFi-enabled, sport a 2-megapixel camera, GPS and everything else you've come to expect in a BlackBerry smartphone. Both companies will offer the BlackBerry Curve in Black and Violet (see below for Sprint's version). While there was no mention of an availability date from Sprint, Verizon Wireless said they would have it on November 20th.

On a separate note, I look forward to hearing the names people think of to call the Violet version. Anyone have ideas, post them below.

Comments 

The Samsung Rogue for Verizon Wireless is one of the first multimedia cell phones to require a data plan. Is it a worthy investment? Watch the review of the Samsung Rogue below to decide for yourself.

Comments 

The much-anticipated Motorola DROID for Verizon Wireless launched today with an availability date of November 9th, which is less than 2 weeks away. The smartphone, which runs Google's Android v2.0 operating system will sport both a slide-out and touchscreen QWERTY keyboard, 5-megapixel camera, WiFi, 3G connectivity, and 16GB of on-board storage (expandable up to 32GB). Additionally, this smartphone is all about personalization with the ability to customize three home screens where you can add folders, apps and widgets for easy one-touch access. It also comes with Amazon's MP3 store. If you want the DROID, you'll need to subscribe to a nationwide voice plan and an Email and Web for Smartphone plan. Nationwide voice plans begin at $39.99 for monthly access for 450 minutes and an Email and Web for Smartphone plan is $29.99 for monthly access.

To get a better idea of what the DROID has to offer, check out the demonstration video below from Cesar Da Costa, marketing consultant for Verizon Wireless.

Comments 

There have been a slew of new additions for cell phone plans. I sit down with LetsTalk.com Merchandising Manager for AT&T Jack Cooper to learn more about AT&T's A List. Find out if you should add it to your existing plan by watching the video below:

Comments