I've got the LG Vu with me so I can test out AT&T's Mobile TV service, and I've also got the Samsung t819 so I can check out T-Mobile's new 3G network.  Both services are available in NYC but not yet back in the Bay Area of Northern California where I live.  I actually was able to try out TV on the Vu in the Philadelphia airport during my long, rainy, much-delayed Sunday of travel.  I watched a little tube in the waiting area and a little more on the plane while we waited to take off. Actually, the service works up here on the Long Island Sound, as well, which was a surprise.

So how is TV on the Vu?  Not bad.  The service launches quickly, the content shows up quickly, and the program guide works just like the one on my cable box - but smaller and touchable.  Programs themselves generally look and sound pretty good, though pixelation is definitely noticeable - particularly during scenes with lots of black or dark areas on the screen. 

11 channels for $15/month is, to me, more worth it for the novelty of the service than any sort of value -- I can see wanting to be able to catch the game on ESPN wherever I am, but that's about it.  I've got a DVR at home (okay, two) and so don't really worry much about being home in time to watch shows - we just record 'em and watch 'em later.  But live events like sports?  Sure, it'd be cool to be able to watch those on the go.  

Anyway, I'll test Vu out some more down in the City and also check out T-Mobile's 3G service for myself.  And you know I'll report back (with videos, of course) just as soon as I can.

While I loved the ergonomic style, I was a little concerned that no one would be able to hear me since every other device I have tested has either been an earpiece or clipped to the visor. I was pleasantly surprised. The EGO CUP is a simple plug-n-play solution with great call quality, especially given the distance in my car from the driver's seat to the microphone.

With other car kits, like the Parrott Mini, which has very clear call quality, I would have to remember to charge it in the house or leave an ugly, obtrusive cord hanging down while I drove. The EGO CUP is compliant with all hands-free laws, including California, which officially goes hands-free this summer.

In addition to the savvy and minimalist design, the EGO CUP supports mobile device based commands, such as voice dialing on my Blackberry 8800, allows for up to 8 different Bluetooth pairings, features a built-in loudspeaker, noise & echo cancelling technology and comes with a 2 year warranty.

For those not in a hurry to go hands-free, the EGO CUP FM, which features Caller ID and an FM Transmitter, is due out this summer. EGO CUP is currently available for $111 USD.

What's even more interesting is that cell phones apparently emit these signals on frequencies that are far more in tune with human brainwave activity than all of the other signals being bounced around our technology-filled world.  Boing Boing quotes Scientific American in saying that a researcher "finds this fact especially remarkable when considering that everyone is surrounded by electromagnetic clutter radiating from all kinds of electronic devices in our modern world. Cell phones in talk mode seem to be particularly well-tuned to frequencies that affect brainwave activity."

Twenty years from now it'll be interesting to see what effects mobile phone signals wind up having on our noggins, huh?

Helio and Virgin Mobile both operate on Sprint's CDMA network, though, so at least the technology part of things should be relatively painless. And despite their financial woes and customer service troubles, Helio's made a name for themselves by churning out some seriously cool handsets and services.  So at the least, Virgin Mobile could benefit from Helio's tech and design expertise. 

I've never met Ryan, and for all I know he kicks puppies in his spare time (though I highly doubt that).  But I read Engadget and Engadget Mobile every weekday and generally really like the way they report tech news.  I also have really enjoyed Ryan's coverage of the rise and fall of MOTO's cell phone business, and got a kick out of his stepping up to the podium to say, "Hell, I don't know anything about business, but I know tech ... I'll turn the ship around!"

What do you think?  Could a young techie step up to the helm of a one time industry giant and bring them back to the top?  If he was surrounded by people who knew the business stuff, could a guy like Ryan Block put his immense knowledge of tech trends and consumer desires to good use by bringing MOTO back to the salad days of the StarTac and original RAZR?

Drop your thoughts into the comments roll, or head on over to our FaceBook page and chime in.

Also, it looks like Paris will sport a 5MP camera (with flash, I hope) and GPS.  Sadly, there's no 3.5mm headphone jack yet to been seen on here.  But if SE comes through with WiFi and US-spec 3G capabilities, this could be my next "Is it as good as iPhone?" candidate when it finally gets released sometime this Fall.

The pics are from Symbian-Forum, and you can get more on Paris over on the Se-nse.net forums.

Glyde gives you a 2.8" touchscreen with haptic feedback, side-sliding QWERTY, 2MP camera with auto-focus, flash, and video capture, GPS with VZ Navigator (location based services), and full HTML browser.  Wait, there's more!  More in the way of VCAST music and video support, stereo Bluetooth, Mobile Email and IM, and a microSD card slot and USB 2.0 port.

All this craziness will set you back $249.99 after rebate on a two-year contract.  We've got a full review and at least one video waiting for you, so check it out and tell us what you think.  Glyde, Alias, Voyager, enV2 -- that's four QWERTY messaging phones in Big V's lineup right now if my math is right.

Check it out!

According to the Wall Street Journal (says CrunchGear), the US's #3 mobile carrier is looking to get rid of Nextel after a 2+ year marriage that didn't really do much good for them.  Nextel lost almost three and a half million subscribers in '06-'07 and according to CG they're primed to lose a whole bunch more in the coming year or two.

Could it be that DT is serious about acquiring Sprint - which would make T-Mobile/Sprint the US's #1 carrier just like that - but is putting some pressure on them to dump the sinking Nextel brand before making a move?  Losing Nextel would make things easier business and tech-wise for DT if they are in fact serious about Sprint.  We'll just have to wait and see ...

Meanwhile, did you catch that Instinct vs iPhone video?  Pretty gutsy play here, especially (as a reader pointed out) considering that for all we know Apple's going to unleash a 3G iPhone with a feature set that'll blow Instinct out of the water

T-Mobile plans to roll out the high-speed data network in major cities throughout the year and be up and running in areas where most subscribers currently use data services by the end of the year.

The 3G network allows much faster download speeds for content, web browsing, email and more for a superior web surfing and data experience. The carrier currently offers handsets that are 3G-capable and will be able to leverage the offering in major markets as they are activated throughout the year.

The ads say the 3G, GPS-enabled smartphone will cost you $179 after mail-in rebate, and with contract (two years plus data plan).  But hey, you'll get your choice of Titanium or Red.  Can't beat that, right?

Being the pillar of the blogosphere that he is, Kevin tested, photographed, and reviewed his secret new toy and posted the results for all to see.  Check out Part 1 of his very in-depth look at the next-Gen Blackberry over on CrackBerry.  Or read my Cliff's Notes:

• OS 4.6, apparently, is "WHERE IT IS AT!" (caps his).  I love the fact that a BlackBerry fan is so excited by the BB OS getting a face lift.  Words like "smooth," "fast," "and pretty," used in conjunction with a BlackBerry make me happy.
• The 9000 Kevin got is all plastic.  The iPhone-esque chrome strip around the side?  Plastic, not metal.
• The keyboard "seems pretty good!"  It's more like a refined 8800 keyboard than a 8700/Curve keyboard, which means larger buttons arranged in a grid with no spaces in between - unlike the Curve, which has smaller, more spaced out keys. 
• 480 x 320 LCD display. 
• 3G!
• New design makes the phone feel thinner in hand than the Curve, even though it's actually thicker.

But, hey, enough with the Cliff's Notes.  Hit that link up there and read the full review.  Nice work, Kevin!

Touch Diamond features a 2.8" touch screen running HTC's new TouchFLO 3D gesture-based interface.  From the looks of the photos and videos released today, Touch Diamond should officially claim the title of, "Closest thing to iPhone yet that runs WinMo" when it launches next month.  Seriously, it looks pretty slick - the menus are attractive and seem pretty easy to use, and the scrolling and transitioning look smooth.  HTC says that smooth business is thanks to an onboard 3D graphics processor; I'd believe it.

So far the two things I've seen that I don't like about Touch Diamond are the silly "thumb swirl" gesture for zooming and HTC's insistance on using their USB-to-audio adapter instead of just building a headphone jack into the hardware.  There was also no mention of "Raphael ... aka Touch Pro," the rumored second version of Touch Diamond said to feature a slide-out QWERTY board.

Check out the video and photos, and then head on over to HTC.com for full specs and a multimedia walkthrough.  I'll get you more info on unlocked and/or US releases of Touch Diamond just as soon as HTC lets me know.

So your mileage may vary depending on where you live, but if you're interested you can give it a whirl.  Sign a two-year contract and pony up $299 (after $100 mail in rebate), and LG's touchscreen, AT&T Mobile TV-enabled beauty can be yours.  VU's got a 3" LCD touch display, HTML browser,  2MP camera with auto focus (but no flash), media player, and - of course - that Mobile TV goodness.

Not sure you want it?  Don't even know what it is?  Watch my hands-on with Vu video from CITA '08.

And get the scoop on Vu, including full specs, right here on PhoneDog.

Between Sprint Nextel's recent share price drop and the strength of the euro as compared to the dollar, DT executives view the transaction as a bargain, according to Speigel.  Of course, that bargain might quickly be negated by T-Mobie USA's having to absorb Sprint's CDMA, iDEN, and (possibly) WiMAX technologies into their own GSM and now-rolling-out HSDPA infrastructure.  Sounds messy to me.

Just for the sake of throwing all of the rumors into one big pile, I'll also mention that Tmonews claims to have some info on a "supposed" eight week program T-Mobile is working on to bump Sprint's Customer Care standards up to an acceptable level.  If that's true, it certainly spices this bit of news up a bit.  But, you know, it's on the Internet so who knows if it's true or not.

I, for one, am all for this rumor coming true.  Think about it: T-Mobile customer service and "do it last but get it right" attitude combined with Sprint's zippy network and penchant for getting innovative devices first?  And Sprint's SERO plan pricing?  I think I might go buy some stock...

Gekko may also use the same Sharp LCD display currently found on Sidekick LX, and a feature set to match the LX, or close to it.  Odds are Gekko will keep iD's larger, more cheaply made body in order to differentiate it from the smaller, sleeker LX in TMo's lineup. 

Tmonews.com is going so far as to pencil in July 27th for Gekko's launch.  So, you know, don't buy a new Sidekick before then ... if you can wait.

Of course now I'm right back to rumor mongering ... I mean, reporting ... and the news right now is about HTC.  Everyone's favorite Windows Mobile smartphone maker is holding a big to-do in London tomorrow (May 6) to announce their "biggest product of the year," and all bets are on the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro, aka "Raphael," being unleashed upon the world.  Sprint users here in the US might think of this as the announcement of the next-generation Touch and Mogul, if the rumors, spy photos, and leaks are to be believed.

Speaking of leaks, some specs have emerged and boy to they look tasty.  According to Italian site newsmobile.it (see the Google translated page here), Diamond will feature a 2.8" VGA display, HSDPA and WiFi, a 3.2 MP auto focus, a nicely thin 10.7mm profile, 528 Mhz Qualcomm processor, and 4GB of internal memory backed by a microSD expansion slot.  The Touch Pro reportedly will be basically the same device with a horizontally-sliding QWERTY board, in a slightly thicker body.  Both devices will ship with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional installed.

Whoa.  Those are some serious specs.  And I for one like the designs of those so-called leaked pics.  And then there are the more fringe-type rumors about some next-gen touchscreen technology being packed into these bad boys, as well.

Looks like HTC will announce the devices in unlocked GSM/EDGE/HSPA versions first, but if form holds we should see them trickle down to Sprint's lineup in CDMA versions later this year.  Whatever HTC has for us on Tuesday, I'll be sure to bring it your way as soon as I know about it.  Stay tuned.

Pricing and availability haven't been announced yet.

My big switch away from the iPhone to the Nokia N82 as my daily cell?  I think I'm over it.  In part I have to blame the post-CTIA deluge of new devices that have come into the PhoneDog office over the past few weeks.  With so many new phones to try out, how can I limit myself to just one (I'm happily married, so being polygamous with gadgets is my vice)?

More than that, though, the N82's lack of style and fun got to me.  Having a top-notch camera with me all the time is cool, but it's not really enough to make up for the fun I wasn't having with the device.  Sure it's got WiFi and a Web browser and a media player and N-Gage support ... but the body feels kind of cheap and the buttons are small and I keep forgetting to actually close applications, and instead leave them running in the background when I go back to the home screen (a S60 hurdle that I can't seem to get over). 

And I'm realizing that when it comes to high-end phones, I really want one of three things (preferably all of them): A QWERTY keyboard, a touchscreen, a big dose of WOW! factor.  N82 doesn't really have any of them.  The 5MP camera with flash and VGA video recording approximates WOW! factor, but I guess I overestimated what it would mean to have that in my pocket all the time.  The chunky candybar body doesn't do much for me in terms of wow, and neither does the creaky plastic softkey that annoys me every time I press it.  Call me shallow, but it's the truth.

So I popped my SIM card out of the N82 and inserted it into the 9.9mm thin, all-metal profile of the Sony Ericsson W890i.  On paper I wouldn't have given the 890 a second thought - small(ish) display, no QWERTY, no WiFi or American 3G, not even autofocus or a flash on the 3.2mp camera.  But on paper and in the hand are two very different things, as I learned when I took the 890 out of its box for the first time.  It's so slim and so nice to hold I immediately set to making it do what I needed it to do in order to warrant a spot in my pocket.

A few bookmarks and a download of GMail Mobile later and the W890i is my new companion.  It's only tri-band GSM with EDGE so I don't get the signal strength or speed that the Quad-Band/WiFi N82 afforded, but that's alright.  The W890 is so much more fun to look at and use, thanks not only to its sexy body but also to SE's attractive, colorful menu system.

And so far I haven't missed the fancier camera of the Nokia.  Ask me again about that one once I've missed out on a great night shot ...

Word on the street (well, Web), seems to be that the Vu CU920 has started showing up in AT&T stores a few days early.  It's not official, and you actually buy one until May 4th, but apparently Vu is available to gawk at in certain Ma Bell retail outlets.  Too bad for me neither of the AT&T shops I hit today (Thursday) in downtown San Francisco had a Vu that they'd tell me about.

While I'm not entirely sold on the whole mobile TV thing just yet (I already pay way too much for cable at home), I was really impressed with Vu's handling of broadcast programming during the demo I got at CTIA.  The image quality was great and the program guide was just like the one I see at home ? except better because I have Comcast at home and Comcast sucks.

So if you're wanting a touch phone but holding out to see what new devices named iPhone, Instinct, and Glyde the next few months may bring your way, definitely add Vu to that list.  If what I pawed in Vegas was any indication, LG's latest for AT&T is definitely worthy of your shopping short list.

All in all, though, enV2 is the enV I might have bought when the first model came out a few years ago.  That is, it's a decently small and very capable messaging handset at a good price.  The original was too bulky and too expensive for my tastes, but the new model is a bit trimmer and not a bad deal at $129 after contract and rebate.  I do wish enV2 was a bit slimmer and had a better looking front panel - those giant keys are easy to dial on but look pretty goofy.  And the lack of a D-Pad limits what you can do with the phone closed (unlike the original, which had a outward-facing D-Pad and larger external display).

Lame as they often feel, the one nice thing about VZW's menus is that they're consistent across multiple devices.  So if you upgrade from Chocolate to enV2, you'll be able to change your wallpaper, search for contacts, and blow $2 on a song download right away.  enV2 comes with a few IM clients pre-installed - no GTalk, though - and I spent $6 on the Mobile Email client, which honestly is pretty underwhelming.  I didn't actually spend anything since it's a review loaner, which is good - Google's GMail for Mobile site offers a better Email experience than VZW's app.

After a very minor bit of wonkiness when I tried it out in my house last night, VZ Navigator has worked well for me today, finding me a Tully's here in San Francisco's financial district where I can "kill" an hour or so between appointments writing and drinking coffee.  Why Tully's?  Free Wi-Fi.  Of course, the Wi-Fi connection at this particular Tully's is on the fritz, but that's not VZ Navigator's fault.  enV2 supports laptop tethering, but my review account doesn't ? but theoretically I could use enV2's Bluetooth connection to get online with my Bluetooth-equipped MacBook.

And, oh yeah ... call quality?  Excellent.  I made a few calls from home in Oakland last night and a few more from here in San Francisco today, and voices came through loud and clear in all cases.

Alright, I'm gonna wrangle with this so-called Free WiFi for a few more minutes before I give up.  Check out my unboxing video for more enV2, and stay tuned for a full review in a week or so.

First, Fortune is reporting that AT&T is going to subsidize the cost of the new 3G iPhone for subscribers when it launches this Summer.  According to Scott Moritz, the US carrier will knock $200 off the cost of the forthcoming handset for customers willing to sign a two-year service agreement.  Mortiz goes on to say that "Apple is expected to have two versions of the new iPhone, an 8-gigabyte-memory and a 16-gigabyte-memory model with price tags widely expected to be $399 and $499." 

So that's $199 and $299 after contract, which brings iPhone right back down to Earth to compete price-wise with the Summer's other hot new releases, including Sprint's Samsung Instinct, Verizon's Samsung Glyde, and AT&T's own LG Vu.  You know, if it's true.

Mortiz also writes that "The new iPhone is expected to be released on the one-year anniversary of the original iPhone debut June 27 or thereabouts," and it will sport an amazingly thin 9.7mm profile.  I've recently been using a 9.9mm thick Sony Ericsson W890i and am amazed at how tiny it feels.  An even thinner iPhone?  Sounds too good be true, but I wouldn't put it past Apple.

Second, Taiwan Economic News ran a story the other day citing "foreign institutional investors" as sources pointing to a smaller, lighter new iPhone in the pipeline.  Reportedly this new handset would shrink the device's display from 3.5" to 2.8" and also lighten its weight from 158g to 110g or so.  The weight increase would in part be due to a move from metal parts to an all-plastic housing.

Either this is complete rubbish or Apple is working on a second device - "iPhone nano" of course comes to mind as a name - to be released in addition to a full-sized 3G iPhone.  Between the recent launch of the iPhone SDK, the emphasis on Enterprise integration, and the millions of dollars riding on the iTunes video rental ecosystem, there's no way Apple's going to shrink iPhone's display.  The 3.5" mutltitouch screen on the current model is without question one of its strongest selling points, and a smaller model would pose too many usability risks in addition to disrupting developers' work on iPhone/iPod Touch apps.  For starters, applications would have to scale to fit the current gen of 3.5" screens as well as a new 2.8" model.

So take this one with a big grain of salt, but there is a chance we'll see an upgraded iPhone this Summer along with an entirely new model.  A smaller, less expensive, less featured nano?  A dual-input model with a 2.8" display and physical QWERTY board?  Only time will tell...

Tmonews is dead certain T-Mobile will be lighting up New York City with their glorious new 3G network as soon as today, Thursday May 1.  The months of speculating every time an exec cast a sideways glance at a reporter, or the FCC cleared another UMTS-capable handset for the US' #4 cellular carrier may finally be over.

According to the site, T-Mob will be flipping the switch in NYC first, followed (in order) by Austin, TX, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, MN, and Miami, with a host of other major markets to follow.  No timeline was given for rollout in the other cities on the list, but seeing as San Francisco (the closest to me) is way down near the bottom, it looks like it's high time for me to get myself a 3G-capable T-Mobile phone for my mid-May trip to New York.

If you're out there in the Big Apple and already have one of those 3G-capable T-Mobile handsets, drop me a line and let me know what happens.  Text along with photos and or videos will be published to the site so long as the network really goes live.

A few outlets are reporting that VZW is all set to launch the Samsung Glyde U940 in May, and Engadget Mobile's going so far as to pinpoint an exact date: Next Friday, May 9.

EM didn't say anything about pricing, but Unwired View is claiming Glyde will sell for $299 with a two-year contract and $429 without.  That sounds about right even though a few other things in their post seem a bit askew (like they were cribbed from the GSM F700's spec sheet, perhaps?).

You can get much more on the touchscreen and slide-out QWERTY Glyde in this blog post from last week.

Three Questions About LG's enV2 for Verizon:

Q:
Dragon55092
hey noah, do you know when the eV2 is coming out? my birthday is 
coming up and i hope i can i get it in time.  oops, i mean enV2

A:
Hey, Dragon:  Just found out it'll go on sale Wed. April 30th.  Happy Birthday!

Q:
Brack51Productions
do u kno wen u will get the enV (2) for a review

A:
Brack51:  My Verizon rep said she's shipping one out to me and I should have it on Wed April 30.  I'll open it up and start testing and reviewing it as soon as it arrives.

Q:
Hey I just watched your review of the env2, and it was very informative (best I've seen for sure), but I was wondering--with the front part of the phone lacking left/right buttons on the navigation pad, does it make it harder to text? I would think so since you wouldn't be able to move the cursor back back to previous words to make correction, etc.

Any input on this?

Thanks very much,
Tyler

A:
Tyler,

Good question, and something I didn't think to test out when I demo'd the phone at CTIA.  Funnily enough, I haven't been able to find anything out about this.  Strange.  I'll test it out when I get my review unit.

- Noah

* * *

Q:
Hey Noah, I'm researching the Samsung U900 Flip Phone.  I currently have the Samsung SCH-A970 Phone.  The one thing I LOVE about the SCH-A970 is that it has "voice Recognition" so when I send Text Messages, I don't have to TYPE them, just "Speak" them into the phone and send them. Thats the only reason I haven't done away with my current phone. Can you tell me if the U900 has this Feature also?

Thanks
Roger

A:
Roger,

You're in luck.  The U900 "FlipShot" supports speech to text dictation as well as voice-activated dialing and other voice commands.

* * *
Q:
I have a question I was looking at the Samsung Glyde U940 online a couple of days ago and I was wondering did you know how much its going to cost and is it worth buying?

A:
Verizon Wireless hasn't yet announced anything official regarding the U940.  A rumor went around the Web a week ago that the Glyde, as it's called, would be free after contract and rebate through Best Buy, but there's nothing to back that rumor up and I personally don't think it'll come true. 

Based on what I've seen and heard so far, Glyde will be a high-end phone along the lines of LG's Voyager.  So it makes sense to think that U940 pricing would be similar to that of Voyager - around $200-300 after contract and rebate.  But that's just a guess and I have no factual information at this time.

Will it be worth buying?  That depends on a few things:

1. Performance.  Some Voyager owners have complained that the phone's software is buggy and/or not responsive enough.  I've played with the Samsung F700 (on which Glyde is based), but that phone runs a different operating system than Glyde will.  So while we have a pretty good idea of what specs and features Glyde is likely to have, it's impossible to say how "good" the device is until we've been able to try out a production model and get a feel for how the thing actually responds to commands and button presses.

2. What matters to you in a phone?  It looks like Glyde will be a full featured, but rather large device.  Then again, it may lack support for VCAST TV, which Voyager has.  Honestly, I'd say if you're interested in this phone wait until it comes out and go to a Verizon store to try it out in person.  It's hard to get a sense of what a phone really feels like - how big it is, how the keyboard action is, how responsive the touchscreen is - without trying it out for yourself.  If you can't do that, wait for my video review (as soon as I get a review model) - it's the next best thing!

Alright, everyone, keep those questions coming.  Remember, post 'em on the PhoneDog blog comment roll and they'll get answered more quickly.

Thanks for watching and reading!