PhoneTalk

In this week's edition, we cover the new Nokia Windows Phone models, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, and does a test drive of the Voice Talk feature on the Samsung Galaxy Epic Touch 4G. Finally, details on how to enter the Halloween Scavenger Hunt. Click here for a chance to win.

Today at 11:00 AM PST I'll be hosting a chat on LetsTalk's Facebook page. I'm there to answer questions about phones, plans, apps, and even help Facebook fans pick the best phone for them. If there's something you want to know about mobile, but didn't know who to ask stop by and ask me on Facebook at 11:00 AM PST today.

Google Wallet was announced a few month ago. The first cell phone it works on is the Nexus S 4G. The Android application uses the built-in Near Field Communications (NFC) chip in the phone to send and receive payment information at participating locations. We take a close look at how it works while getting a refreshing treat at Jamba Juice in the video below.

The latest member of the Samsung tablet family offers something a bit different than the other tablets on the market: Peel Smart Remote TV application. The idea behind the Smart Remote TV app is that it can transform the tablet into a universal remote. It also offers up programming recommendations and highlights your favorite shows. Of course there’s a social aspect to it giving users the ability to connect to Facebook and Twitter.

The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus has 16GB of onboard storage, runs Android Honeycomb OS, and sports a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. It also has infrared (IR) built-in, which is how it can be turned into a remote control that can communicate with the home theater devices including TV, set-top box, Blu-ray and DVD players, and an AV system. The app takes advantage of the tablets entire display making navigation a breeze. Scrolling through the app looking for something else to watch? Simply tap “Watch On TV” on the tablet and the channel on the TV gets changed.

Interested in a tablet that can do double-duty as a remote control? The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus will be available in mid-November.

In this edition, we cover CTIA’s new initiative to help stop cell phone bill shock, the new DROID Razr by Motorola for Verizon, the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone and Android 4.0 codename "Ice Cream Sandwich", and two new phones from Sprint. Get information on how to get free premium apps from BlackBerry. Finally, find out how to enter the Scavenger Hunt.

Since it’s almost Halloween, LetsTalk.com is offering up a special treat. Over the past month (starting on September 28th) we’ve been leaving Halloween-themed items in our Expert Review videos and Weekly Wireless Wrap-Up videos. Tomorrow, the final Weekly Wireless Wrap-Up video with a Halloween-related item will be posted. That’s a total of eight videos with hidden items. All you have to do to enter is find each one and complete the entry form by October 30th.

What’s the prize? It’s a cool product from Verizon that we’ll be revealing in tomorrow’s Weekly Wireless Wrap-Up. Learn more about our Halloween Scavenger Hunt Giveaway by clicking this link, watching the video below, or visitingLetsTalk’s YouTube channel.

The latest smartphone from Motorola and Sprint with push-to-talk is tough and built for business. The Motorola ADMIRAL is an Android 2.3 smartphone with a tactile QWERTY keyboard and 3.1-inch touchscreen. Business users will appreciate that the phone supports corporate Globabl Address Lists for sharing meetings and works with Microsoft Exchange. It also comes loaded with Quickoffice for viewing and editing various business (Microsoft Word, Excel, PDFs, and PowerPoint) documents. Since the phone meets Military specs for dust, shock, and more, the Motorola ADMIRAL is also tough. The phone’s touchscreen is also protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, which will help keep the display from getting scratched.

Additional features include a 1.2GHz processor, a 5-megapixel camera that can also record 720p HD video, support for Adobe Flash Player, and 4GB of onboard memory plus a microSD card slot that will accept up to a 32GB microSD card. Users can share the phone’s 3G connection with up to five other WiFi-enabled devices via the Mobile HotSpot feature. Of course, the phone has a dedicated push-to-talk button. The phone will be available next week.

Sporting a purple casing, slim profile and a 3.7-inch touchscreen play the HTC Rhyme is an attractive Android 2.3 smartphone that’s available with Verizon Wireless service. This 3G phone has a 1GHz processor, a rear-facing 5-megapixel camera with flash capable of shooting HD video and a front-facing camera, and 8GB of onboard memory. See how this phone rates by watching the expert review video below.

Adding to the company’s line of HTC EVO smartphones, Sprint announced the HTC EVO Design 4G. It boasts a streamlined design with its aluminum unibody and slim profile. Like other EVO phones, the EVO Design 4G is an Android smartphone running the Android 2.3 OS with HTC Sense. The cell phone sports a 1.2GHz processor (so it’s not as powerful as the HTC EVO 3D, but it's more powerful than the EVO Shift), a 4-inch qHD touchscreen, and can be used around the globe. The phone also has a rear-facing 5-megapixel camera capable of recording HD video and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video chat. The 4G connectivity can be shared with other WiFi-enabled devices via the Mobile HotSpot feature. The HTC EVO Design 4G will be available early next week.

Updated: October 20, 2011

Last week, BlackBerry users around the globe suffered an extensive service outage. Although, RIM had service up and running again within a few days the company wants to help compensate for the outage by offering its customers a selection of free premium applications that have a combined value of over $100. The selected apps will become available for download starting today and remain available until the end of the year. Once users download the app they want it’s theirs. They won’t have to pay for the app after the free download period. Although, there isn’t a complete list of apps available (new apps will appear over the next four weeks) some have been announced:

• SIMS 3

• Shazam Encore
• Photo Editor Ultimate
• Vlingo Plus
• Bubble Bash 2

BlackBerry users should check the BlackBerry App World on their phones and look for the “A Thank You Gift from BlackBerry” category to get more information and start downloading the available apps. The offer is available for all BlackBerry smartphone customers, so be sure to check the special section in the BlackBerry App World for free premium apps.

Today, Verizon Wireless and Motorola introduced the DROID RAZR with 4G LTE connectivity. As the name suggests, the smartphone runs Android 2.3.5. The newest model in the RAZR line of phones has a lot to offer starting with an ultra slim profile measuring just 7.1mm (that’s just slightly thicker than a quarter of an inch). The smartphone also sports a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen with qHD resolution, which means it’s going to be crisp, bright, and vibrant making it a solid choice for watching movies or TV shows on the go. Football fans interested in this phone will appreciate that Verizon is including NFL Mobile service for the remainder of the 2011 season with the DROID RAZR.

As for multimedia, the phone is well equipped with a rear-facing 8-megapixel camera that can record 1080p HD video and a front-facing HD camera for video chat. The phone also sports 1GB of RAM and comes with 16GB of onboard storage and a preloaded 16GB microSD card. So there’s plenty of room for high-resolution photos and recorded HD video. The DROID RAZR also comes with MotoCast for streaming or downloading music, pictures and more from a PC to the phone. It’s also loaded with the Webtop app so the phone will also work with the Lapdock accessory that essentially turns the phone into a highly portable laptop.

The DROID RAZR will be available in November.

In this week's edition, we cover news from CTIA and the recent BlackBerry outage. We also discuss new Android tablets coming to T-Mobile, Verizon’s latest 4G LTE phone the Samsung Stratosphere, and the SlingPlayer app for tablets. Test drive this week offers a quick peak at the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch for Sprint.

Last week at the Adobe MAX conference, a new game for the iOS platform was launched called, “The Adventures of Timmy: Run, Kitty, Run.” Sure there are lots of games that launch all the time, so what makes this one so special? It has a decent concept: Young Timmy wears a cat suit to school and draws attention to himself from a girl named Kitty. Before things can progress between the two, the school bully, Mitch, kidnaps Kitty. It’s now up to Timmy and his cat suit to rescue Kitty, which he can do by going through a bunch of levels. It’s a bit reminiscent of “Super Mario Bros.” The game is actually pretty good according to a review from TouchArcade and it will work on both Mac OS and iOS products.

The interesting thing about this game is that it was built using an HTML 5 animation tool from Adobe called Edge. We all know Adobe Flash, but the fact that it’s throwing its hat in the HTML 5 game with Edge is what’s saying something. In essence, it means the next generation of the web might indeed be moving away from Flash and we just may start to see more and more web-based products built from HTML 5. To learn more about Adobe Edge check out this article from PC World. To see Edge in action, check out the game cut scenes.

The Samsung Galaxy S II runs Android 2.3.5 and sports a massive 4.52-inch super AMOLED plus display, so it’s bright and easy to see in sunlight. Also on board is a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a front-facing camera for video chatting. See what comes in the box with the Samsung Galaxy S II for T-Mobile.

Get a closer look at the Pantech Breakout for Verizon Wireless in this expert review video. The Android 2.3 smartphone has a 5-megapixel camera that can record 720p HD video, comes loaded with tons of music applications, and sports an easy to personalize interface. Plus you can surf the web at Verizon 4G speeds. See if this budget friendly phone is right for you by watching the video below.

Owners of a Slingbox SOLO or PRO-HD unit will be happy to learn that there is now a SlingPlayer app available for Android Tablets running at least the Android 3.0 OS. Slingbox is a device that lets users watch TV and even DVR content on a multitude of mobile products and even control the DVR remotely. Forgot to set up a recording before leaving the house? That’s not a problem with Slingbox.

This announcement adds Android tablets to the list of compatible devices. The SlingPlayer app for Android tablets also features a revamped program guide that makes it easier to watch TV while browsing through a list of other shows to watch. The app is available at the Android Market and costs $29.99.

The Samsung Stratosphere will be the first 4G LTE smartphone with a tactile QWERTY keyboard to work on Verizon’s network. The Stratosphere was clearly designed with business users in mind since it supports VPN, encryption, Mobile Device Management, Global Address List, and Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync. The Android 2.3 smartphone will also sport a 1GHz processor, front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video chat, 5-megapixel rear-facing camera that can record 480p video (it will be able to play 720p HD video), and Samsung’s Super AMOLED screen. Finally, the phone can share its 4G connection with up to eight other WiFi-enabled devices or its 3G connection with up to five devices via the Mobile Hotspot feature. The business-friendly Stratosphere will be available this week.

Today, T-Mobile announced it would be adding two more Android 3.2 tablets to its line-up: the T-Mobile SpringBoard with Google and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Both tablets should be available in time for the holidays.

The T-Mobile SpringBoard is a 7-inch tablet with an HD multi-touch screen, 1.2GHz dual-core processor and has a rear-facing 5-megapixel camera that can record 720p HD video plus a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video chat. There’s also a microSD slot available that can accept up to a 32GB microSD card – a definite plus. The tablet will also come loaded with a ton of apps such as BlockBuster on Demand, Netflix, an eReader, and of course T-Mobile latest family calendar app powered by Cozi called Mobile Life.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is one of the lightest 10.1-inch tablets available to date, weighing just 1.24 pounds. The tablet, which was announced earlier this year, will sport a 1GHz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and support for Adobe Flash Player so expect a vibrant user experience. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 will have its share of apps as well such as T-Mobile TV, Samsung Media Hub for renting/purchasing movies, and SIM City Deluxe, and an eReader.

In this week’s edition, we cover new myTouch phones that will be available from T-Mobile, Verizon’s feature-rich Pantech Hotshot, and details on the new iPhone 4S. In the Test Drive section we take a look at the HBO GO streaming video app.

The latest additions to the myTouch line of cell phones for T-Mobile come from LG: the myTouch and the myTouch Q. Both Android 2.3 smartphones will sport a 1GHz processor, 5-megapixel camera with the ability to capture 720p HD video, a front-facing camera for Video Chat powered by Qik, and of course 4G connectivity. Additional video options include the ability to stream Netflix videos, mobile HD T-Mobile TV, YouTube, and on-demand TV and movies. The two phones will also have the trademark Genius button for voice commands.

The big differences between the two models are design and color options. The T-Mobile myTouch has a 3.8-inch touchscreen with SWYPE and will be available in black or white.

The T-Mobile myTouch Q has a 3.5-inch touchscreen and a spacious slide-out tactile QWERTY keyboard. That smartphone will be available in gray or violet. There’s no word on when the phones will be available, but it should be in time for the holidays.

Verizon’s high-end 4G LTE DROID Bionic by Motorola is one powerful Android 2.3 smartphone with its 1GHz dual-core processor. The phone also has 16GB of memory on board for saving all those videos shot with the recorder in 1080p HD and pictures taken with the 8-megapixel camera. In short, the DROID Bionic by Motorola is a solid high-end phone that’s fast, customizable, and fun to use. Learn more about how the phone rates in the expert review below.

In the market for a basic phone with a bit of style? Check out the latest addition to Verizon’s line-up, the Pantech Hotshot. This phone sports a slim profile, 3.2-inch LCD touchscreen, 3.2-megapixel camera and video recorder, and comes with a 2GB microSD card installed. Just because it’s not a smartphone doesn’t mean all that can be done with it is make calls and send a few messages. The phone also comes with the Opera Mini Browser for easy access to the web, V CAST Video, and VZ Navigator for directions on the go. The cell phone should be available later this week.