Verizon Wireless Cell Phone News, Views and Reviews

First, I must say, Happy Birthday to Laurie Gordon. I'll never forget her Birthday as long as I live every time I type in the date, 7/7.

Next, I'M IN LOVE WITH PRETZEL M&M'S.

Okay, now that I've gotten that out of my system...onto the new phones. Primarily, The Motorola Droid X coming July 15. At first, I was blown away by the size, both in a good way and a bad way but the bad quickly changed to good. I have used a few phones that I considered to be pretty big, like the Omnia II, the Touch Pro 2 and the Imagio. Right now I am using the HTC Incredible and the LG Ally. I absolutely love the Incredible. The LG Ally is great and perfectly functional but I miss the big screen when I am using it. I am learning to embrace a larger phone, since they are far from just phones today. I love watching movies and VCast on demand TV shows on my phone. I have no idea why that appeals to me, but it does. So I can wait to load some movies onto that 4.3 inch screen! It also makes for a nice browsing experience when facebooking, etc. I'm not much of a gamer but I can just imagine how stoked gamers will be with the new Need for Speed-Shift that comes preloaded on that big ^$$ screen! I'm going to give you some specs, then I'm going to tell you why it blows the iPhone 4 out of the water!

• Ultra high-speed Web browsing
• Fast 1GHz processor
• 3G Mobile HotSpot capabilities
• Loads of memory
• Intuitive social messaging
• Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1 ready
• access to Android Market™, which has more than 65,000 applications, along with a host of unique Verizon Wireless applications such as NFL Mobile, Skype mobile™, V CAST Video, EA Need for Speed Shift™ and more
• 4.3-inch high-resolution screen
• BLOCKBUSTER On Demand® presented by V CAST Video, the newest addition to the Verizon Wireless V CAST application, which also includes access to favorite TV shows
• dual-flash, 8-megapixel camera, HD camcorder
• DLNA and HDMI connectivity to download, stream and share personal HD content
• Android 2.2 and Adobe Flash Player 10.1 with an over-the-air update in the latter half of the summer

Once updated to Android 2.2, business customers will find DROID X offers the features that turn the device into a workhorse with support for both Exchange and Gmail™ for business. Corporate users can enjoy push delivery of e-mail; live widgets that stream messages to the home screen; filter widgets to differentiate work and home e-mail; corporate directory and Global look-up along with a unified calendar for Enterprise and sync with Google Calendar™. Security protocols allow remote password control and wipe via Exchange server.

When people ask me if I've heard the iPhone is coming to Verizon, naturally I say, "Of course, I have been spreading that rumor for years!" Seriously though, I have been hearing that rumor for about a year and a half, and now I'm hearing a more definitive target of January. Know what my response is? "Who cares? We don't need it anymore. We have the Droids, we don't need no stinkin' iPhones!" Truth is, sure we do, then Verizon will have all the people who refuse to give up their iPhones, (can't say I blame them. I am a long-time Apple fan and it is a great device) switch to a network where the thing will actually work and then it'll be 192.8 million strong! Anyway, here is why the Droid X will blow the iPhone away.

The key factor here is the fourth feature down. That in itself is reason to buy the Droid X!

For those of you who just bought or are thinking about buying an HTC Droid Incredible, before you get jazzed about the Droid X, a rumor from Droid-Life suggests that Verizon Wireless has an update coming for the DROID Incredible that will add 720p video recording and mobile hotspot functionality. This will narrow the playing field don't you think? Ahhh, so many Droids, so little time!

Pantech Jest

Key features:

• 2.6” 262K color TFT display
• Self Icon personalization to create icons and banners and display an electronic sign on your phone display
• Optical directional key with swipe motion technology
• Built-in 2.0-megapixel camera takes high-quality pictures and records video
• Text, picture, video and voice messaging
• Mobile IM and Chat for quick text conversations

Lifestyle features:

• Social Beat pre-loaded for direct connections to Facebook®, MySpace® and Twitter™
• Media Center – Download ringtones, wallpapers and games from your network to your phone
• VZ Navigator® for detailed maps in real time with audible turn-by-turn directions to millions of points of interest in the United States
• V CAST Music with Rhapsody® (subscription and PC downloads) digital music service. Download soundtracks and albums or sync playlists with a PC
• Mobile Web browsing capabilities for news, sports, weather and e-mail, providing access to up-to-date information when users subscribe to Internet service
• Stereo Bluetooth® technology for wireless connections between electronic devices; connects to Bluetooth-enabled headsets and hands-free systems

The Samsung Fascinate

 
Powered by Android 2.1™, the Fascinate is equipped with support for Google Mobile Services, including, Gmail™, YouTube™, Android Market™ and more. Additionally, the Fascinate boasts a brilliant four-inch Super AMOLED touch screen display, Samsung 1GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird Application Processor, and an integrated entertainment, multimedia, messaging and social networking experience.

Color: Mirror Black with chrome details

See video

Key features and specifications:

• Android 2.1 platform – With support for Google Mobile Services including Gmail, YouTube, Google Talk and Android Market
• Full HTML Web browsing capabilities
• Preloaded with Bing Maps and Bing Search
• 3G Mobile HotSpot capabilities – Allows customers to transform their phone into a wireless modem for up to five compatible Wi-Fi-enabled devices
• Super AMOLED Screen Technology – Brilliant display makes watching movies, viewing videos and playing games come to life like never before, even in bright light and outdoor environments
• Advanced touch screen gestures capabilities, including multi-touch pinch to zoom, double tap to zoom and horizontal swiping, which provides easier and quicker access to many applications, including location-based services, Web browsing and digital photos or videos
• Multiple file formats supported, including DivX support
• Samsung 1GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird Application Processor – Produces amazing graphics, faster upload and download times and HD-like multimedia content
• Six-axis sensor that works with the smartphone’s accelerometer to provide a smooth, fluid gaming experience when the user is tilting the device up or down or panning the phone to the left or right
• Virtual QWERTY Keyboard Featuring Swype Technology – Input text faster and in a more intuitive way with one continuous finger motion across the screen keyboard
• Full suite of messaging options – Text, picture, video and voice messaging; corporate and personal e-mail accounts supported
• 5.0-megapixel camera/camcorder – Auto-focus and LED flash with HD video recording and playback (720p) capabilities to capture photos and videos for playback on your HD television
• WiFi Connectivity (802.11 b/g/n)
• Stereo Bluetooth® Technology – Support for headset, hands-free, stereo, phonebook access, object push for vCard and vCalendar
• Corporate Email – Supports Android Éclair Exchange ActiveSync e-mail to synchronize corporate e-mail, contacts and calendars from office e-mail accounts
• Music and video players and 3.5-millimeter headphone jack
• 2GB internal memory expandable to 32GB, 16GB microSD™ included with handset

Lifestyle features:

• V CAST Music with Rhapsody®, V CAST Video on Demand, V CAST Song ID, Visual Voice Mail, V CAST Tones, VZ Navigator® and Mobile IM , City ID
• Samsung’s Social Hub – Built around messaging, contacts and calendar sync, which allows users to send and receive information, whether it is e-mail, social network updates or SMS messages
  • Integrated Calendar information from portal calendars, on Exchange, Google Calendar™ and social networking services (SNS), including Facebook®
  • Integrated Contacts syncs with Exchange, Google, Twitter and Facebook® and displays a user’s contacts in four categories including Information, History (previous calls and messages), Activities (status updates and notifications on social networking sites) and Media (Facebook profile photos and photo gallery)
• Feeds & Updates – Displays feeds from multiple SNS sites such as Facebook®, MySpace and Twitter, which also allows users to update their status instantly
• AllShare Application – Enables inter-device connectivity through Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), so users can send multimedia content wirelessly to other DLNA-enabled devices such as TVs and laptops
• Daily Briefing – Instant access to weather, news, stocks and schedule
• Write and Go – Quickly jot down an idea and later decide on a format, such as SMS/ MMS, e-mail, calendar or memo, to send or post to popular SNS sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace
• Weather Clock – Displays current time and weather of the selected city (ability to add and select other cities)

Samsung Haven (replaces the Samsung Knack)

The Samsung Haven makes it easy to speak, hear and be heard. Featuring a slim design and large keys for easy dialing, the Haven is ideal for anyone seeking a phone thats easy to use. One-touch access to emergency numbers, voicemail, speakerphone and voice commands offer effortless execution, and built-in lifestyle applications like reminder alarms, fitness guide and stress relieving music are perfect for maintaining and organizing an active lifestyle. With such manageable features, the Haven is the right phone for those who want the easy life.

• 2.5mm Headset Jack
• 56-Note Polyphonic Ringtones
• Advanced Speech Recognition
• Bilingual Interface: English/Espanol
• CDMA 1X 800/1900mHz Digital Only
• Camera - None
• Dedicated In Case Of Emergency (ICE) Key
• Dedicated Voice Commands, My Pictures, Voicemail, In Case of Emergency (ICE), 911 and Speakerphone Key
• Device Insurance Available: TEC/WPP Phone Tier
• Directional Microphone
• Easy to Use Menu with Adjustable Font Size Feature
• Embedded Ringtones, Vibrating Alerts & Silent
• Form Factor - Clam Style Design
• GPS Enabled / E911
• Hearing Aid Compatibility:M4/T4
• Large Buttons/Keypad
• Large Easy to Read Display
• Messaging - Text
• My Verizon - balance, minutes, usage info
• Personal Organizer: Calendar with Scheduler
• Phone book with up to 500 Entries with multiple contacts
• Speakerphone
• Speed Dialing
• TTY compatible
• Tools: Alarm Clock, World Clock, Calculator, Tip Calculator, Stop Watch
• Voicemail
• Wellbeing & Health applications: Reminder, Fitness Trainer, Healing Music and Medical Info

That's it for today phone fans. Any thoughts on the IPhone4 vs. Droid X? Bring 'em on!

Peace out

CC