PhoneTalk

There's more to these basic cell phones from Doro

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Thursday, January 20, 2011 (permalink)
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The cell phones featured below (the Doro PhoneEasy410 GSM) look pretty straight-forward. The simple design and large numeric keypad makes it ideal for people who may have trouble with touchscreens or some of the smaller keys found on phones today. Besides appearing simple, these GSM cell phones from a company called Doro are all about ease-of-use, the ability to de-clutter available features, and most importantly help users in a time of need. How does that last feature work on these cell phones? Well, there's a panic button on the phone and if a user holds the panic down for 3 seconds the phone will send a text message to up to 5 designated contacts. If there's no response from those contacts, the phone will then activate the speakerphone and call those 5 contacts. One way or another the people you need to know that you are in need of help will be notified. Pretty smart for a simple phone.

MusicSkins let you deck out your phone with characters from your favorite shows

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Wednesday, January 19, 2011 (permalink)
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Cell phones are definitely a personal device and many of us want to personalize them. A fairly easy thing to do with MusicSkins, a vinyl skin that you can put on your phone. The good thing about the product is that it leaves no sticky residue and can easily be peeled off and replaced at will. It also helps protect your cell phone from every day wear and tear and costs about $15 for most cell phones. The company already had a robust product offering that included MusicSkins of Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Justin Bieber, and more. At CES, the company announced its partnership with MTV networks which will expand the company's offering to include skins for Spongebob Squarepants, Dora the Explorer, South Park, and of course Jersey Shore (which just started its new season). You can see a few examples of the new line-up below.

Clingo car mounts give you flexibility

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Wednesday, January 19, 2011 (permalink)
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Many states and counties have already enacted laws about driving and talking on the cell phone, but you still may want access to your phone at the very least for directions to your destination. Consider these accessories from Clingo - they can go on your car's dashboard or attach to the vent of your car and they work with any cell phone. See the full offering shown at CES in the video below:

LG Optimus 2X first look from CES

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Thursday, January 13, 2011 (permalink)
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At CES, LG showed off the Optimus 2X, it's first dual-core processor cell phone. The Android 2.2 cell phone (which will be upgradeable to 2.3) sports a 4-inch WVGA screen, 8GB of internal memory (it also has a microSD slot for adding more storage space), an 8-megapixel camera on the back, and a 1.3-megapixel camera on the front. Besides the dual-core processor, what's really interesting about this LG cell phone is HD mirroring. This means you can essentially see any 1080p HD video on your cell phone on a TV as well in all its glory. There's no word on when it will be available in the US. To learn more about the LG Optimus 2x watch the video below:

iGrill tells you when your food is ready

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Wednesday, January 12, 2011 (permalink)
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Every year at CES there's always something that's just a little bit different then what you might expect to see. This year the iGrill fits the bill. It's essentially a high-tech monitor that works currently in conjunction with an app for the iPad or iPhone. The iGrill is a stand alone high-tech thermometer with a probe that you put in the meat that stays there during cooking on a grill. It will work with both grills and ovens. It sends information collected from the iGrill to the corresponding app via Bluetooth. The app has a graphic of a thermometer that shows you the internal temperature of the meat. There are also other things included such as recipes and cooking tips.

We saw it at CES and it actually is a lot like it sounds: A fun high-tech grill gadget. It comes in black or white and costs $99.99.

LG Revolution: Another 4G phone for Verizon

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Tuesday, January 11, 2011 (permalink)
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One of the four 4G cell phones unveiled at CES for Verizon was the LG Revolution. The cell phone sports a 4.3-inch display, comes with 16GB of onboard storage space, runs Android 2.2, a 1.3-megapixel camera on the front for video conferencing, 5-megapixel camera on the back that can also record in HD, a micro HDMI port, and can share its 4G data connection with up 8 other WiFi-enabled devices. Get a closer look at the smartphone in this CES video below:

Add a kickstand to your cell phone with Clingo

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Tuesday, January 11, 2011 (permalink)
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Always wanted a kickstand for your cell phones like the ones found on the HTC EVO 4G and the HTC HD7? Now you can have one, too, with the Clingo Universal Mobile Stand that was unveiled at CES. It's smaller than a compact mirror and is compatible with virtually any phone. See how it works in the video below.

Dell Streak 7 and Motorola CLIQ 2 coming to T-Mobile

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Tuesday, January 11, 2011 (permalink)
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At CES, T-Mobile announced two new product offerings: the Motorola CLIQ 2 and the Dell Streak 7 tablet. The CLIQ 2 is an Android 2.2 cell phone with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. To minimize dust and other particles embedding themselves in the CLIQ 2's keyboard it's a solid sheet so there are literally no spaces where debris can land. Additionally, the cell phone has MotoBlur, but it's a lot faster since it also has a 1 GHz processor. Learn more about the CLIQ 2, which will be available later this month, in this video:

As noted, the Dell Streak 7 tablet was also announced. As you might have guessed from the products name, the Streak 7 sports a seven-inch touch screen with Gorilla Glass. It also run Android 2.2, has a dual core 1GHz processor, a 5-megapixel camera on the back and 1.3-megapixel camera on the front for video chats. You can use either the built-in WiFi or T-Mobile's HSPA+ data network to surf the web, stream videos, or conduct video chats using the QIK application. Among the applications included on the tablet are T-Mobile TV, Zinio for reading news from around the globe, Slacker Radio and Kindle. To help navigate through the many features is Dell's Stage UI, which literally looks like a stage.

HTC Thunderbolt at CES first look video

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Monday, January 10, 2011 (permalink)
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Verizon announced quite a few products at its 4G LTE press conference at CES among those is the HTC Thunderbolt. Overall, it's a good looking phone with a similar form factor to the HTC EVO 4G with its 4.3-inch display and kickstand. It also has a 1GHz processor, runs Android 2.2, has a 8-megapixel camera in the back that can record video in HD, a front-facing camera for video chat, and of course works on Verizon's 4G LTE network. Get a closer look at the new smartphone in the video below.

RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook will be available for Sprint

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Friday, January 07, 2011 (permalink)
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Sprint announced during CES that the company would be selling the BlackBerry PlayBook this summer. The version they'll be offering will work with Sprint's 4G service as well as WiFi networks. Additionally it will sport a 1GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM so you will be able to experience true multitasking without any lag time. The PlayBook will also support Adobe Flash Player 10.1, and HTML 5. Did we mention that you'll also be able to watch HD movies on it? What does all that meant to you? Well, it's going to be a pretty fluid experience. This tablet is really all about work and play. If you don't want a 4G version of the PlayBook and simply prefer a WiFi version, RIM should be offering that version of the tablet as well with different storage capacities.

We got a chance to check out the the PlayBook at the BlackBerry booth during CES and it is both sleek and fast. We particularly like screen size and how quickly and easily you can maneuver between tasks. You can see the PlayBook in action for yourself in the video below. Be sure to let us know what you think of the new PlayBook.

Verizon announced 10 4G LTE products for consumers at CES

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Thursday, January 06, 2011 (permalink)
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Verizon had a busy press conference today at CES unveiling 10 4G LTE products, showing off a multiplayer EA game, and Skype Video Conferencing. We'll be reporting on the video game and the cell phones announced in separate posts. In the meantime, here's a run down of the news:

The company expects to launch 4G LTE service in 140 more markets by the end of 2011. Skype, which announced that it was acquiring QIK today, will be available on the 4G LTE products so users can do video chats. Additionally, if you're using Skype on a 4G LTE phone contact information will be integrated into your cell phone's contact list. The app will be "always on" running in the background so you'll always be available for your Skype contacts. The company says it shouldn't tax battery life too bad, but we'll have to wait and see until its available.

The line-up of cell phones that will work with 4G LTE include the HTC ThunderBolt, LG Revolution, Samsung 4G LTE Smartphone (no catchy name yet) and Motorola DROID Bionic. All phones run the Android OS, sport a 4.3-inch display, and have front facing cameras that can be used to conduct Skype video chats.

There are also two tablets shown: the Motorola XOOM (pronounced Zoom) and the 4G LTE-enabled Samsung Galaxy Tab. Both Tablets will support video chat and Adobe Flash Player. The Samsung Galaxy Tab sports a 7-inch TFT display, has 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and a 5-megapixel camera on the back of the tablet, and will run Android 2.2. The Motorola XOOM (shown below) has a 10.1-inch display, will run Android Honeycomb OS, it will support 1080p HD video, sports front-facing 2-megapixel camera for video chats and 5-megapixel camera to capture video in 720P HD. Finally, it will also be able to share its data connection with up to five other WiFi-enabled devices via the HotSpot application.

Finally, there were two HotSpot devices, the Novatel MiFi 4510L and the Samsung 4G LTE Mobile HotSpot. Both devices can share its data connection with up to five WiFi-enabled devices and will work with Verizon's 4G and 3G networks. There were two 4G-enabled notebooks the Compaq CQ10-688nr and the HP Pavilion dm1-3010nr.