Phone Scoop - Latest News

TracFone Debuts $45 Unlimited Plan Via StraightTalk

Eric M. Zeman — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:35:35 GMT

TracFone recently added a new calling plan to its list of pre-paid services. StraightTalk offers unlimited calling and messaging plus 30MB of data for $45 per month. Users can also select 1000 anytime minutes with 1000 messages for $30 ...
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Google Brings Mobile Optimized Search to Nearly All Phones

Eric M. Zeman — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:55:09 GMT

Google recently announced that most smartphones and feature phones in 60 different countries (and 38 different languages) will now see Google search results delivered in a format that is optimized for that particular device. Google says that, when available, ...
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UTStarcom, PCD Come to Terms Over Supply Suit

Eric M. Zeman — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:05:05 GMT

UTStarcom and Personal Communications Devices recently announced a settlement agreement to "satisfy potential liabilities relating to certain inventory delivered to PCD" that came about during a merger agreement the two companies signed in July 2008. UTStarcom has agreed to ...
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MediaFLO Expands Across Large Portions of Florida

Eric M. Zeman — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:20:40 GMT

Today Verizon Wireless announced that its V CAST mobile service will be available starting July 3 in a number of Florida cities, including Orlando, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, Tallahassee and Gainesville.

Nokia's Ovi Maps 3.0 Reaches Official Release

Eric M. Zeman — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:54:45 GMT

Today Nokia announced that the 3.0 version of Ovi Maps is now out of beta. The new mobile mapping product offers a number of new features and enhancements. Ovi Maps 3.0 has 2D/3D satellite terrain maps and 3D landmarks ...
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Review: Nokia N97

Eric M. Zeman — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:24:40 GMT

Nokia's 2009 flagship phone offers a little bit of everything including: a touchscreen, full QWERTY keyboard, 5 megapixel camera, GPS, Wi-Fi, and access to Nokia's Ovi Suite of software. This is a case where more features, however, don't necessarily make for a better phone.
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Zer01 Is Now Fully Open for Business

Eric M. Zeman — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:24:01 GMT

Today Zer01 officially began offering its wireless services in the U.S. For $70 per month, Zer01 users will get unlimited voice and data service across the U.S. Zer01 customers will need to provide their own smartphones. The company uses ...
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Sprint: BlackBerry Tour On Sale July 12 for $200

Eric M. Zeman — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:20:57 GMT

Today Sprint announced that it will begin selling the BlackBerry 9630 Tour via telesales, online and its business channels on July 12 for $200. That's the same date the phone goes on sale at Verizon Wireless and at the ...
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Apple Offers iPhone Developers a New SDK

Eric M. Zeman — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:03:50 GMT

Apple recently made a new software development kit available to those writing applications for the iPhone. iPhone SDK 3.1 has lots of new tools for developers to take advantage of. Some of the changes include better control over the ...
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Nokia's N97 Gets New Firmware, E75 Gets IM Client

Eric M. Zeman — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:04:14 GMT

Today Nokia released a major firmware upgrade for the N97 device. Some of the fixes included in N97 software 1.1 (11.x.021) are improved widget performance, fixed user interface transitions, fixed photo gallery smoothness and numerous other bug fixes. The ...
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Nokia Offers Java Runtime 2.0 for S60

Eric M. Zeman — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:32:25 GMT

Nokia recently made a new version of Java Runtime available for S60 phones. It includes some usability and performance improvements and a host of other under-the-hood changes. Nokia says it will be easier to install applications, and applications will ...
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Skype 3.0 for Windows Mobile Adds SMS and File Sharing

Eric M. Zeman — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:53:53 GMT

Skype 3.0 for Windows Mobile devices has left beta and offers several new features. With Skype 3.0, Windows Mobile users will be able to send files back and forth via Skype-to-Skype, including Word documents and Excel spreadssheets. Skype 3.0 ...
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Verizon Wireless to Offer BlackBerry Tour July 12

Eric M. Zeman — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:32:44 GMT

Today Verizon Wireless announced that it will begin selling the recently revealed BlackBerry Tour starting on July 12 for $200 after rebates with new agreement. Those interested can pre-order the Tour online starting today.

Video Tour: LG enV Touch

Eric M. Zeman — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:41:50 GMT

Here is an in-depth video tour of the LG enV Touch for Verizon Wireless. It offers the touchscreen experience and has a full QWERTY keyboard for messaging. Is the best of both worlds good enough?
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Ericsson Launches Its Own Mobile Apps Store

Eric M. Zeman — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:57:00 GMT

Network equipment maker Ericsson is following Qualcomm's lead by announcing a new, hosted applications store that wireless network operators can use to offer content to their customers. Earlier this year, Qualcomm introduced Plaza Retail, a way to distribute content ...
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Sprint Clutches Onto Motorola i465

Eric M. Zeman — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:36:26 GMT

Today Sprint announced that it will begin selling the Motorola i465 Clutch, a semi-rugged walkie-talkie phone with full QWERTY keyboard. It will be available later this summer for $40 after rebates with new agreement.

PolyPlus Packs 10X the Energy of Li-Ion into Waterproof Battery

Eric M. Zeman — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:20:35 GMT

A California company called PolyPlus is working on new battery technology that is waterproof and can store 10 times the energy of today's lithium-ion batteries. Lithium metal-air batteries have been researched for years. In such a battery, air is ...
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Mozilla Releases Second Alpha of Fennec for Windows Mobile

Eric M. Zeman — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:45:51 GMT

Mozilla has made a new alpha version of its mobile Fennec browser available to any phone using the Windows Mobile platform. The new version is still an early test build, and most of the changes made are meant to ...
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Apple, LG, Samsung, Others Agree to microUSB Charge Port

Eric M. Zeman — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:37:43 GMT

A number of companies have signed a new document that will make microUSB ports the standard port for charging cell phones. Some of the companies agreeing to the standard include Apple, LG, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Qualcomm, Research In Motion, ...
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FCC Chairman Confirmed by the Senate

Eric M. Zeman — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:46:21 GMT

The senate has approved Julius Genachowski, nominated by President Barack Obama, as the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Along with Genachowski, the senate also confirmed Republican Commissioner Robert McDowell for a second term. The senate has yet ...
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