Verizon Wireless Cell Phone News, Views and Reviews

It's Monday and you know wat that means...don't you? Well, besides the fact that it's the post Superbowl Monday, it means half the US is hungover and sleepy. The other half (us phone geeks that don't really care about football-unless you had that almighty square) are wide awake ready for some Android news. So let's do this!

The next update to be released for the Motorola Droid will in fact be 2.1. There is no date yet, it is still in testing stages. But here's what we do know, and these are in comparison to the Nexus One features.

• 2.1 version 1, The Nexus One just had this update.
• Google Goggles is now pre-installed
• Interestingly, the home screen's still got the same look as 2.0.1, however, no rotating 3D grid of app icons, still simply the pull-up shade at the bottom.
• No active wallpapers.
• The news and weather widgets introduced on the Nexus One are included.
• The browser is now multitouch enabled, just like Google Maps 3.4. I just updated this and I can't wait to put it in a video.
  New Features in Gooogle Maps
  
  1. Starred items synced with maps Google.com VERY COOL! I will make a video on this because it is a really great feature.
  2. Search Suggestions from maps google.com search history
  87 people already weighed in with comments today as of 11:50 EST! Most people commented that its the best app ever, a few said it was slow, one said it disabled his bus routes. One person said they loved the pinch zooming, and the night mode navigation. 

Next, there has been some talk, some questions this morning about the Casio Brigade. The release date has been pushed back a few times. I looked back in the blog and I actually had November as the release date when I first heard about the device. Many questions revolve around whether or not it will require data.

Here's what I posted to the Verizon Wireless forum.

rugged CDMA clamshell for Verizon Wireless full 4-rowQWERTY keyboard, 3.2MP AF camera with flash, MIL Specs 810F, 2.9" 400x240 pixel internal display, 1.9" Circular AMOLED external display, EVDO Rev A, supports microSDHC cards up to 16GB MediaFLO, Bluetooth MP3 player Push-to-Talk Capabilities complete list of V CAST apps document viewer for opening Microsoft Office files and PDF

Pricing is tenatively $149 with 2-year, $249 with 1-year, and $299 full retail.

The only release info I have is February,

It will require a data plan.

Is any of this law? No, but all of my sources are pretty reputable but as always release dates change, rumors abound and I am only as good as the information I get. That's the way it goes!

Nexus what? The HTC Incredible is on its way. Can this be the HTC Passion/Dragon that never saw the light of day? It could really be either with the the shiny red back cover it sports. Rumored info:
Snapdragon processor 850MHz
256MB of RAM
3.5” to 3.7” WVGA AMOLED touchscreen
dual LED flash
Sense UI
Optical mouse replaces HTC trackball
5MP camera
multi-touch
11 home screens

Did I mention the back is candy apple red? Well, it is.

The Motorola Devour a855 may be launchng soon. I just found out is will only be running on Android 1.6. Eventually it will, like everything else, get updated. Rumor has it its just not really for the update yet.

Lastly, what would be better than not having to clip valuable coupons every week (besides beiing rich enough not to HAVE to clip them!? Answer:Get them directly on your cell phone.

Verizon said today that it is offering a free digital coupon service for its wireless and FiOS TV customers that can help them save money on their next trip to the grocery store. Verizon’s Spend SmartSM coupons, powered by Cellfire, eliminate the hassle of clipping and collecting paper coupons by giving users instant access to coupons via their wireless phones, TVs or computers.

Verizon’s Spend Smart coupons cover a wide range of products on customers’ shopping lists and can be used at more than 4,000 locations of more than 20 grocery chains nationwide, including ShopRite, Safeway and Kroger. Coupon brands and products rotate every two weeks, with more than $25 in monthly grocery discounts available at any given time.

Register and Use Spend Smart Coupons
It’s simple for customers to sign up for Spend Smart coupons on Verizon’s three screens: Verizon Wireless Mobile Web under the Shopping channel, Verizon FiOS Internet in the Entertainment and Apps channel, and through FiOS TV’s Widget Bazaar Applications Marketplace. Customers can also access Spend Smart coupons at www.vzspendsmart.com. When customers sign up on one of these services, the information is automatically synched to the other two, allowing them to view and use coupons on each platform.

To register, customers need to provide their shoppers club or loyalty club numbers from participating grocery stores, then will be able to view, save and use the coupons that are currently available for that retailer. There’s no more fumbling for paper coupons, as Spend Smart users simply present their loyalty cards at the register. If they have an item with an associated coupon in their cart, the discount is automatically applied to their bill.

“Participating with Spend Smart gives us another way to provide our customers with the value and service ShopRite is known for,” said Joe Sheridan, executive vice president, Wakefern Food Corp. “The convenience of receiving coupons on a mobile device and linking them directly to our ShopRite Price Plus™ Club Card is a win-win for all of us.”

“General Mills sees the Spend Smart service as a way to extend our brand with consumers nationwide, especially to those accessing information and making buying decisions using digital tools and information,” said Joe Trimble, manager of Mobile Couponing at General Mills.

Spend Smart can be found on wireless phones featuring Mobile Web. There is no cost to register or use the service, but data or megabyte charges may apply when accessing Mobile Web. For more information on Spend Smart coupons, visit www.vzspendsmart.com.

About Cellfire
Cellfire is the leading provider of electronic and mobile coupon solutions in the U.S. Cellfire offers consumers convenient savings from national retailers, local merchants and top-brands at grocery stores – anytime, anywhere with the device of choice. Founded in 2005, the company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. For more information on Cellfire, visit www.cellfire.com .

That's it for this week. Check in Wednesday for a complete Wake Up Wednesday column on all the new phones coming out.

Chloe has left the building.

Next week will be the next phone release for February. The LG  VX5500 is being replaced by the VX5600 Accolade.

Another flip called the "Cloud" will possibly replacing the VX8360 which just barely turned a year old. Then somewhere down the road, before LG starts cranking out Android platform devices, like everyone else will be, they have their first Verizon Wireless Smartphone hitting the scene. It'll be called the VS750. It will be running on Windows Mobile 6.5, global roaming support (CDMA/GSM), and is said to be very thin.

February may be a nice month to pick up a Brigade! Make sure you read that clearly, I did not say a grenade. I had to look up the definition so I could see how closely the name might relate to Casio's upcoming (this month) device.

A military unit having its own headquarters and consisting of two or more regiments, squadrons, groups, or battalions. A large body of troops. A group of individuals organized for a particular purpose: a fire brigade; a rescue brigade.

Its finally been announced. We've been hearing about a second Motorola Droid since the first one came out last year. It looks like March is the magic month. The new Motorola device will be called the Devour. It has been referred to as the Calgary. It will be the first Verizon Wireless to feature MOTOBLUR.

• Touch-sensitive navigation pad
• 3.1” capacitive touch screen
• Pre-loaded applications such as Gmail, Google Talk™, YouTube™, Google Search™ and Google Maps™ with Google Maps Navigation.
• Android Market™ gives users access to more than 20,000 applications.
• Happenings Widget – MOTOBLUR automatically pushes status updates, wall posts and photo updates from popular social networking sites to the Happenings Widget on the home screen. Customers can flick through the latest updates and fire back responses using the slide-out full QWERTY keyboard.
• Universal Inbox – MOTOBLUR gathers texts, social network messages and e-mails into one home screen widget for quick response.
• Back-Up and Security – Contacts, log-in information, home screen customizations, e-mail and social network messages are backed up automatically on the secure MOTOBLUR portal. The portal also allows customers to use the phone’s fully integrated aGPS to help locate the phone if misplaced. Remote wipe easily clears information from a lost device.
• 8 GB microSD™ card pre-installed
• Bluetooth® profiles supported: A2DP, HID, HSP, HFP, AVRCP and GAP

Service plans:

• To get the most from Motorola DEVOUR, customers will need to subscribe to a Nationwide Talk or Nationwide Talk & Text plan and a Data Package for smartphones. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 monthly access, and Nationwide Talk & Text plans begin at $59.99 monthly access. A Data Package for smartphones is $29.99 for unlimited monthly access.

Next to hit the scene may be the Google CDMA version of the Nexus One. They are stilll simply saying "Spring". Thanks an awful lot for narrowing it down, VzW. NOT! Anyway, I'm not going to get too wrapped up in that one because it will only be sold on google.com so until that changes, I'm not going to talk about it like its the next best thing since sliced bread.

In my opinion, that's the dealbreaker for me.. I would want to at least see it and try it before I blindly bought it on-line. Not to mention that I have been hearing that Google can't handle the customer call volume through their customer service. Lastly, if you have trouble with it, which is certainly not unheard of on an electronic device, what do you do with it? Ship it back? I'd much rather buy an electronice device from somewhere that I can go to have someone take a look and troubleshoot it before I would have to send it back wiithout a backup. So those are my thoughts on that. If anyone plans to get one as soon as they come out, do tell, and what makes you justify it? Maybe you've heard something I have not.

Next, Samsung, who never seems to be far from a phone release has two on the immediate horizon. The Verizon horizon that is! There will be a replacement for the Knack; called the u320. Lets hope they have done away with the last ones' "Knack" for freezing up. Then they have another WinMo device called either the Marble Q or the Reality. The releases for those are slated for late March/early April. After that they will come out with an Android model for Verizon but that is still just talk.

Maybe March will be a nice month to start a Blackberry diet. The Blackberry Tour 2 aka Essex aka 9650 is due out next month.  The Tour has been a decent selling device over the past few months. Now we can look forward to that same great model this time with WiFi.

That's all the dirt I have to cell!  

Check back weekly for updates.
Mondays: RSS on Verizon Wireless and other industry news
Wednedsays: Upcoming product news

1. Make sure Wi-Fi is turned off
2. Press the E-Mail icon (the default Android E-Mail application)
3. Select menu button and press "Add account"
4. Enter your Yahoo E-Mail address and password
5. Press “Manual Setup” in the lower left hand corner
6. Press "IMAP account"
7. For “Incoming Server Settings” set the IMAP server to “imap.mail.yahoo.com” and the Port to 143
8. Press Next
9. For “Outgoing Server Settings” set the SMTP Server to “smtp.mobile.mail.yahoo.com” and the Port to 587
10. Check “Require sign-in” in lower left corner and press Next
11. Select how often your Droid will check for Email, and choose default options
12. Give the account a name and set your display name for outgoing messages

Still no name for the column. Email your suggestions to cellularchloe@wirelesszone.com and if I like it, I'll send you a $10 gift card that can be used in a Wireless Zone store. (be sure to include your name and address.) Check website for locations. Even if I don't use it, but I like it, I'll send you a gift card. I just want to make sure you're all breathing out there!

One more way to get a $10 gift card is to review your new cell phone. On our homepage, there is a link to rate your phone. If you take a few minutes to do that, we'll send you a giftcard.

A few more cool things that are happening. Wireless Zone has an awesome newsletter for all of you phone geeks! Tips and tricks and news etc. If you aren't getting it, shoot me a comment or email. And lastly, one more undertaking in the works. I am just beginning to post all instruction manuals for all devices on www.wirelesszone.com So if you lost yours or never got one or if you want to check one out for a phone you are thinking of getting, they will all be posted shortly. If there is one you just can't wait for, put it in comments and I'll be sure to get it right up there. Okay, onto the Monday news...

Verizon Wireless, provider of the nation’s largest and most reliable 3G network, today announced the launch of VZ Navigator® 5.0, the newest version of its award-winning map, navigation and local search service, which helps users find their way around town.

VZ Navigator 5.0 will offer an updated, easy-to-use interface, and improved functionality. One of the features includes an intergration with Verizon Wireless' customers' Roadside Assistance. In case you didn't know, all Verizon Wireless customers have this convenient service. All you have to do is dial #ROAD and the GPS on VZ Navigator will allow a towtruck or dispatcher to pinpoint your exact location.

Other new features now available with VZ Navigator 5.0 include:

• Improved Customer Experience – No need to wait for the entire route to download before starting their voyage because data will now be streamed, causing display screens to populate more quickly
• Enhanced Points of Interest – Access to premium places of interest with detailed descriptions, clearly branded by Map Icons
• Traffic Crowd Sourcing – Opt-in to anonymously send real-time location and speed to the VZ Navigator traffic reporting service, allowing quicker notifications and improved accuracy for all VZ Navigator users
• Alerts for Other Road Attributes – Graphic notifications for tunnels, U-turns, traffic circles and toll plazas
• “Say it Mode” – Select BlackBerry® smartphones and Windows Mobile® handsets allow customers to verbally search for and update destinations

Pricing and Availability
VZ Navigator 5.0 will roll out on select smartphones and handsets beginning today, including the BlackBerry® Curve™ 8530 smartphone, LG enV® TOUCH, HTC Touch Pro2™ and Samsung Omnia™. The service will be available on additional devices in the coming weeks. Current subscribers with VZ Navigator 5.0-capable devices will get a message the next time they launch the service, prompting them to upgrade to the new version. New VZ Navigator subscribers with select smartphones and handsets can download the service from Get It Now®/Media Center and VZ Star.

VZ Navigator is available for $9.99 a month for unlimited access or $2.99 for a one-day/24-hour use on certain devices. The monthly charge includes continuous updates to maps and points of interest, unlike traditional navigation devices and navigation devices built into automobiles that require annual upgrades to remain accurate. Download charges vary and airtime or megabyte charges may apply when browsing, downloading and using certain applications.

Verizon Wireless and Wireless Zone remind customers that when behind the wheel, safe driving should always be the first priority. 

 
MIAMI, FL — With football’s big game once again set for Miami on Feb. 7, Verizon Wireless has completed installation of a permanent in-building “super system” at Sun Life Stadium, along with other network upgrades to ensure championship 3G wireless services throughout South Florida during the game and throughout the year.

The new system features two ground-level base stations and numerous antenna arrays around the stadium, including those installed on the 400-foot-high light towers.

The permanent system will handle twice the capacity of the most powerful mobile cell sites typically deployed at large special events.

In addition to the new in-stadium system, Verizon Wireless also has teamed with Qualcomm on a brand new technology to optimize network performance during the Feb. 7 game. Qualcomm’s Engineering Services Group developed a new technology to address the special technical challenges of a wireless network serving a large number of users in a small geographic area.

For the upcoming championship game, hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to visit South Florida to experience professional football’s “super spectacle” and will be using advanced wireless devices to make calls, send text and multimedia messages, download apps, surf the Web and more.

Verizon Wireless also has installed in-building systems to boost service in a variety of hotels and other destinations hosting events related to football’s championship game. The company also has activated and upgraded numerous cell sites around South Florida in past months to reliably handle increased network demand.

In 2010, Verizon Wireless plans to launch its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless network – which will offer dramatically higher wireless speeds and reliability than even today’s most advanced 3G network – in 25 to 30 markets nationally. These markets have not been identified, but all recent network enhancements in Florida have been made to better prepare the network for the eventual rollout of 4G LTE technology.

Do you have a Bluetooth device for your phone? Here is a nice Samsung Bluetooth and it currently has a rebate.

Purchase a WEP650 Bluetooth Headset between now and March 31, 2010 and receive a $25.00 prepaid card (Samsung Visa Prepaid Card).

Cool New Apps Featured Each Week In The Verizon Channel

Below are Verizon's choice of cool new apps. For Cool new apps Chosen by Cellular Chloe-Click here!

News from Verizon Wireless

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Whether you’re running the company or running to class, Verizon Wireless’ DROID by Motorola gives you access to thousands of applications in the Android Market™. These apps help you stay in touch, up to date and entertained, all while running on the largest and most reliable wireless voice and 3G data network in the country.

Verizon Wireless customers can find some of the most helpful, coolest and popular apps each week in the Verizon Channel in the Android Market on their DROID by Motorola. This week, customers can find:

• Weatherbug – With the WeatherBug Mobile app, customers can access live, local weather information and images for thousands of locations; customized maps; daily videos; severe weather alerts from the National Weather Service and much more, all free of charge.

• Platinum Sudoku® – Leave the messy pen and newspaper behind and play 640,000 unique Sudoku grids anywhere. For $2.99, customers can take Sudoku to the next level, tackling five difficulty levels.

• Slacker Radio – Listen to free personalized radio on your mobile phone with Slacker Radio, the best way to discover new artists and hear favorite songs. Customers can choose from more than 100 expert-programmed radio stations from every genre or can create their own custom stations.

• Fast Food Calorie Counter Pro – For just $1.99, customers can keep their diets on track when on the run. The application offers 72 restaurants with 8,858 menu items – each item has nutritional information, including calories, fats, carbs, fiber and protein.

• dxTop: Home Alternative – Customers can make their Android phones more usable and feature-rich with Access Lane’s dxTop (pronounced dex-top). dxTop provides four different screens for applications, widgets, etc. and full theme support, including custom icons and fonts, ringtones, lock screen and dxTop specific themed widgets. dxTop also supports two types of quick access to the phone’s core functions. The app costs $2.99.

• NBA Mini-Bobble LeBron James – Now customers can have LeBron James right in the palms of their hands with the NBA Mini-Bobble LeBron James edition. When customers purchase the application for $1.00, they also get a “limited time only” offer for 15 percent off of their favorite LeBron James merchandise at NBAStore.com.

Putting Out A Hit on This Deadly Habit

There is a lot of important information I want to get across to you in this article. If you don't have time to read the whole thing, I implore you to at least watch the video and peruse the bold points.

Did you ever hear the phrase, The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Wireless Zone®. In this case I feel pretty safe to say they do. Texting while driving is deadly and we must ban together to stop it. It's deadly to the person texting and every pedestrian, driver and passenger in it the vacinity. Maybe you aren't the person texting, maybe it's your teenage son or daughter. Maybe you aren't in the vacinity, but maybe your mother is about the cross the street in front of someone who is texting and didn't see the light change. I don't care who you are, you should agree, its a bad practice and as much as we may be tempted to send a quick message, it's deadly I would venture to say, its just as bad as driving while intoxicated. Surely none of you codone that.

This PSA from the UK video is very graphic and not suggested for viewing by anyone under 13. It may be the shock needed to scare even adults from texting while driving.

MIDDLETOWN, CT - At the turn of the New Year, Illinois, New Hampshire and Oregon added its names to the growing list of states that have banned texting while driving. Those who text while driving are 22 times more likely to get into a car accident—a staggering statistic that has influenced political powers and a national retailer to take a stand.

Wireless Zone, the largest Verizon Wireless retail franchise in the U.S., has announced it will place an application called Textecution on all applicable phones that prevents texting while driving at no cost to its customers. "Wireless Zone has always been committed to cell phone safety," said Mark Asnes, COO and Executive Vice President of Wireless Zone®. In addition, "our stores have provided hundreds of thousands of free hands-free devices to anyone with a cell phone - whether or not they purchased the phone from us. The challenge today is people text more than they talk; and driving while texting is a danger for everyone on the road. We knew we had to do something.

Textecution runs on Android phones and uses the onboard GPS to know how fast the phone is moving. If it detects the phone traveling at 10 miles per hour or higher, Textecution disables the texting, email and web browsing functions of the phone. "We see the application primarily as a tool for parents to install on their teenage driver's phone so they know their child is safer behind the wheel of the vehicle. However, the program is also ideal for companies to install on its employees cell phones," Asnes said.

"As a loving and protective parent, my children were the inspiration," Young said. "I felt the temptation to text while driving was simply too great, and I was determined to prevent it. The idea was truly an epiphany that I hope prevents many needless tragedies and keeps all of our kids and loved ones safer on the road."

• According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about one in three of all drivers use a cell phone while driving. Other federal studies say the figure is much higher - finding that over 70% of all cell phone users talk on the cell phone while driving. 
• AAA attributes 330,000 highway injuries annually to cell phones being used while driving
• In 2007, driver distractions, such as using a cell phone or text messaging, contributed to nearly 1,000 crashes involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers.
• Over 60 percent of American teens admit to risky driving, and nearly half of those that admit to risky driving also admit to text messaging behind the wheel.
• Each year, 21% of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 were the result of cell phone usage. This result has been expected to grow as much as 4% every year.

Related Links
Oprah's show on Distracted Driving. Short clip
Oprah's show on Distracted Driving. Full Episode
“Crashproof Your Kids – Make Your Teen A Safer, Smarter Driver”
National Safety Council’s Alive at 25 website
SADD-Teens Admit Text Messaging Most Distracting While Driving

	Do you know what RSS stands for? We all use it. Don't go jumping over to Bing, or Google, I'll tell you! It's Really Simple Syndication. And "simple" is its middle name! It's like having someone spoon feed you all the information you want to know about. Whatever it is you want to know about, RSS filters out all the news you don't care about and gives you just the stuff you want. It's really quite a timesaver.
I spend a ton of time talking about new products coming soon and not a whole heck of a lot telling you about the products that are already here. So from now on, Monday's column will be the dirty low down on what else is going on. It'll be like an RSS of all things Verizon Wireless. Now, I just need to come up with a name. Any thoughts? We can worry about that later, in the meantime, here's the scoop I came up with for today.
Android and FiOS - If you have a Moto Droid or HTC Eris and FiOS, SCORE! FiOS Mobile will be available on your device. You can check TV listings, adjust parental controls, set your DVR while you are out and forget about a program you wanted to watch and check out Videos On Demand. Getting low on space on the DVR? There is also a space indicator so you know how much room you have available in case you need to do some deleting.
	Verizon Wireless HTC Touch Pro 2 battery issues. Many people are reporting that since the latest update to 6.5, they are experiencing battery life issues. If you are having this problem, here's what you can do. I want to point out, many users have advised against this. Some users think the problem lies with the automatic weather updates, others believe its software related. Here is the proposed fix: turn off automatic weather updates, perform a hard reset, re-flash your smartphone.
	The advise is to avoid reflashing your phone, instead wait and see if they come out with a fix for it.
Motorola Droid Update The last "Official" update came in December bringing the device to 2.0.1. There is a patch coming and iand its in 2 parts. Either way, it is apparently important to get both parts of the patch before the 2.1 update. If you wish to check and see which firmware version you are on, go to: settings about phone Firmware version
To check for updates go to: settings about phone System Updates On a related note Verizon, is confirming that the small OTA upgrade that the DROID received sometime over the last 2-3 days did indeed improve battery life. The upgrade was sent out to prepare the handset for the more substantial upgrade to Android 2.1. I didn't get mine yet. Anyone? Hang onto your cupcakes kids, they're coming soon!
NEW Pricing Effective January 18th. I don't have enough time or space to sum it up in a few sentences so expect to see a full article on that. The low-down is that you can get unlimited talk time for as low as $69.99/Mo or unlimited talk and text for $89.99/Mo. The Nationwide 900 plan is already $79.99 so for only $10 more you can go unlimited. Then you can do what I did 3 years ago, lose the landline! There is also new data package pricing and Prepaid pricing.
	Lastly. there is going to be a hike on 411 calling. You should have seen this notice on your last bill. This will take effect on February 1st for consumers and March 1st for businesses. The price will go from $1.49 per call plus airtime to $1.99 per call plus airtime. YIKES! Hop on over to this informative page to see how to achieve the same results plus more information with google, on any phone simply by texting.

That's it for today.
Chloe...out.

ps. if you come up with a good name, hit me up with a comment!

Is it Wednesday already? OMG times flies when you are having fun. I'm having fun all week, right up til Wednesday when I come to a scheeching hault with the realization that I have to account for what I've been doing all week. Actually, I can't lie to you, I'm not preparing for Wake Up Wednesday all week. I am reviewing phones, answering a TON of questions on YouTube, checking in on Twitter and Facebook, but I spend most of my time sifting through the ever-growing pile of information out there on cell phones so I can let you know the most important stuff. 

So, here's what I got!

By this time next week we should have seen the release of the Palm Pre Plus and the Palm Pixi Plus. The release is actually on January 25th to be exact. The Pre Plus will be $149.99 while the Pixi Plus will be $99.99, both with a 2-year contract and after a $100 rebate.

Casio G'zOne Brigade QWERTY keyboard, 3.2MP AF camera with flash, MIL Specs 810F, 2.9" 400x240 pixel internal display, 1.9" AMOLED external display, EVDO Rev A, and supports microSDHC cards up to 16GB. Pricing is tenatively $149 with 2-year, $249 with 1-year, and $299 full retail. There is no release date yet but it is expected soon.

LG VS750 LG's first Smartphone for Verizon Wireless will be Windows Mobile launching at 6.5. It could possibly be a variation of an overseas model LG GM750. That phone sports a 3" 240 x 400 pixels,  5MP camera and an optical joystick. Still no release date on this yet.

LG VS750 LG's first Smartphone for Verizon Wireless will be Windows Mobile launching at 6.5. It could possibly be a variation of an overseas model LG GM750. That phone sports a 3" 240 x 400 pixels,  5MP camera and an optical joystick. Still no release date on this yet.

Check back tomorrow, I hope to have a bit more information to  divulge from CES! Gotta check first to see what I can spill and what I can't!

Use Pause and Wait to truly push only one button and retrieve your voicemail.

Pauses allow you to enter additional series of numbers or spaces to access automated systems such as Voicemail passwords, extensions or credit billing numbers.

Pause types are:
Wait (W) The phone stops dialing until you press the Left Soft Key [Release] with the flip open, or touch on the touch screen, to
advance to the next number.
2-Sec Pause (P) The phone waits two seconds before sending the next string of digits.
Lets say you want to retrieve your voice mail. On all Verizon Wireless devices, the voicemail is always *86 or hold down the 1 key. To adjust both:

• find voicemail in your contact list
  

• click on edit,

• leave the *86 and add “PP” (for two pauses). This is done by clicking on the options button and there should be 2 or 3 choices. Select Add pause and it will insert a "P" after the *86 

• enter your password

• add the # sign

• save

Now give it a try, see if it dials in for you and inserts the password, don’t forget to enter the # sign.  

As I said above this can also be applied to automated banking, or any other number that you have to push in a sequence of digits after the initial phone number. For example, when I call my bank, first I enter my account #, then password, then I have to hit 1 for English, then 2 for balance, then 7 for my account type etc... And so on. So I would find my bank’s number in my contact list, edit, say the number is 860-555-1212 now it would be 860-555-1212PPaccount#PPpassword#PP2PP7 etc. You can adjust to more or less P’s (pauses as needed). And don’t forget the # symbol if the recording calls for a pound sign after a password or account number.