I’ve been a big fan of Palm Treo smartphones for
quite awhile. Since I purchased my very first smartphone (Treo
650), I’ve been using one as my main phone on and off
for over three years now. During most of that time, I’ve been a Palm OS user,
but I have also used Windows Mobile Treos during that period too. We’ve all
watched the slow evolution of Treo hardware and even slower evolution of
software – at least on the Palm OS side, throughout the past several years. That’s why I tend
to be an on again, off again Treo user. I get bored with either the hardware or
the software and get the itch to try something new for awhile. I really liked the
Treo 800w
and was looking forward to an unlocked GSM version of that model. But instead of doing
that, Palm decided to release the Palm Treo Pro. Let’s check it out…

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related, Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

Palm Treo Pro Smartphone Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 24, 2008 at 8:00 am.

Here’s a first – a mobile phone with a built in Bluetooth headset. LG’s Decoy for Verizon is a cool little slider phone that has a headset dock on the backside of the phone. Now you’ll have no excuse for hands-free talking while driving.

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

LG Decoy V Cast Phone (LG-VX8610) Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 25, 2008 at 9:30 pm.

I’ve been an AT&T customer for several years now. The main reason being that I can easily switch SIM cards between the various mobile phones that I have the opportunity to review. This convenience has been great, but if I am honest, call quality and audio clarity on the AT&T network really isn’t the best… at least not in my area. Also, AT&T has not rolled out 3G here in little old Columbus, Indiana. Funny thing is that Verizon’s 3G (EVDO) network is already here. So, I’m going to try some Verizon phones and see if I might like to switch carriers. LG’s Chocolate 3 is my first Verizon feature phone to test. Let’s take a look.

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

LG Chocolate 3 V Cast Music Phone (LG-VX8560) Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 23, 2008 at 10:10 pm.

It’s been close to two years since I had a new HP iPAQ smartphone in my hands. The last one was the hw6945. Their latest device is the iPAQ 910. This QUAD band GSM phone has a nice collection of features including a QWERTY thumb keyboard, a camera, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, etc. But will this loaner unit be one that I will want to buy for myself? Let’s find out…

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related, Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Phone, Smartphone, Windows Mobile, Wireless

HP iPAQ 910 Business Messenger Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 21, 2008 at 5:00 pm.

The Palm Treo 800w smartphone is Sprint’s latest Treo with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. It’s been designed for business users and operates on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network, with support for EvDO Rev. A data speeds. It’s also the first Treo with built in WiFi.

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related, Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

Palm Treo 800w Smartphone Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 14, 2008 at 8:30 am.

The Sony Ericsson Z520a is a rather simple phone by today’s standards. It doesn’t have a media player, it doesn’t have a good camera, and it doesn’t even come with any games. What it does come with is a fairly easy to use interface, a nice compact size and good battery life. About the only frill you do get is Bluetooth, which is really standard equipment on all but the absolute cheapest phones nowadays. More about all this later.

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

Sony Ericsson Z520a Mobile Phone Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 3, 2008 at 7:30 am.

Most people that read this site probably know that I’m a big fan of Palm OS and have been using a Treo for what seems like forever. A couple years ago I went through a whole
nightmare ordeal buying a SprintPCS Treo 650 that was hacked to run on the Verizon network. Then I moved to Cingular / AT&T,
got GSM Treo 650 and later a
Treo 680. As for the new
Centro, I haven’t purchased one yet and am not sure that I will. Why? Well, I seem to have found
my way back into the Windows Mobile camp by way of the
Pantech Duo smartphone from AT&T.

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related, Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

Pantech Duo (C810) Windows Mobile 6.0 Smartphone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 10, 2008 at 10:00 pm.

Every time I decide to buy a new mobile phone, I get excited that it might become my new favorite. I’m really anxious for a new favorite. A phone that has all the features of my current favorite (Treo 680), but with enough new features that takes me to my gadgeteer happy place. If the Treo works for me, why do I want to chuck it for something new? Because I get bored easily and am never satisfied. ) Will the Nokia E61i transport me to mobile phone nirvana? Let’s see…

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

Nokia E61i originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 5, 2008 at 9:15 pm.

Fans of Palm smartphones and PDAs continue to wait as days, weeks, months and years drift by without a major update to their favorite mobile operating system. It’s not far from the truth when I say that the Palm operating system hasn’t changed all THAT much since it’s introduction back in the late 1990’s. It still has the same look and feel, which is both comforting and let’s face it, kinda boring. While the OS side of Palm remains the same, they have offered hardware updates on a semi-regular basis. The latest one in the stores is the Palm Centro. This is a CDMA EvDO smartphone running on the Sprint network. How does Palm’s most affordable (when purchased with a 2yr contract) smartphone stack up? Let’s find out…

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Palm OS related, Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

Palm Centro Smartphone Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 23, 2007 at 3:05 pm.

The HTC TyTn II is the successor to the powerful and popular TyTn Windows Mobile PDA phone (which Julie and I reviewed here last year). While it retains the original’s features, including 3G mobile broadband, WiFi, and a sliding keyboard, it adds new features such as a tiltable display and internal GPS. A customized version of it, called the “Tilt”, has recently been released in the USA by AT&T. Is the TyTn II a worthy successor to the original TyTn? Read on to find out.

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Cellular, Phone, Pocket PC, Windows Mobile, Wireless

HTC TyTn II Windows Mobile 6 Professional Smartphone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 15, 2007 at 6:56 am.

I’ve been a fan of Apple products since I purchased my first iPod back in 2003. Yes, I waited until the 3rd generation of the world’s most popular audio player was on the market before I drank the kool-aid. Two years later, I took another gulp of that kool-aid and ditched my Windows PC, for an iMac and haven’t looked back. It did take me 3 tries before I finally made that switch though, as I always found some reason why the Mac OS didn’t quite do it for me. And now, I find myself standing at yet another Apple crossroads in my gadget life. This time, it’s with the world’s most hyped mobile phone: the
Apple iPhone.

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Wireless, iPhone related

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

Apple iPhone Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 10, 2007 at 11:00 am.

It’s hard for me to believe that I’ve not reviewed a
BlackBerry device in over 6 years. The
last device that I reviewed was the
950,
which was an email only device shaped like a pager. Back in 2001, BlackBerry
products did not have telephony capabilities. These devices were for one purpose and one
purpose only: email. Wow, times sure have changed, haven’t they? That’s especially evident with the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 series smartphone. This little beauty sports a quad band GSM radio, a wonderful display and an innovative trackball pointer. Will this phone cause me to put my
Treo 680
and 750
in my
drawer o’ phones, or will it end up there itself? You will have to keep reading
to find the answer.

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Blackberry related

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

BlackBerry Pearl 8100 Smartphone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 6, 2007 at 6:00 pm.

I am simply amazed at how cell phones have evolved from the “portable” bag phone to today’s vast selection of featured laden mobile phones. Built in cameras, music players, text messaging and voice dialing are just some of the options available in mix and match feature laden phones. Add to the mix WiFi and Bluetooth, push email, robust calendar and contact management with Internet access plus a large catalog of third party software makes today’s smartphone a compelling reason to leave the laptop at home.

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Cellular, Phone, Smartphone, Windows Mobile, Wireless

Samsung SGH-i320 Windows Mobile Smartphone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 2, 2007 at 3:56 pm.

Are you the type of person that wants a great PDA that happens to also have a good phone built into it? Or would you rather have a great phone that just happens to also function as a good PDA? That’s almost always the question you have to ask yourself when you’re in the market for a smartphone. It seems that no matter which brand of phone/PDA that you look at, you can’t find a device that is both an excellent PDA and an excellent phone. Trade offs, gotta luv em…

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related, Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Phone, Pocket PC, Windows Mobile, Wireless

HTC TyTN Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Phone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 4, 2006 at 8:00 am.

Trying to find my perfect smartphone has been causing me the same frustration as trying to find my perfect gear bag. The quest just never ends because I’ve come to realize that there isn’t any one perfect phone (or gear bag) out there for me. The whole trick is to find one that comes as close as possible. This review is for the Hewlett Packard iPAQ hw6945 Mobile Messenger; a Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC phone. The question is, will it become my new “perfect” smartphone?

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related, Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Phone, Pocket PC, Windows Mobile, Wireless

HP iPAQ hw6945 Mobile Messenger originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 13, 2006 at 6:41 pm.

Updated with software info…

I’ve been a Palm Treo junkie since March of 2005 when I began my odyssey into the world of smartphones. It was a strange journey that began with a Sprint Treo 650 that had been hacked to work on the Verizon network. Then I switched carriers from Verizon to Cingular and purchased an unlocked 650, which I’ve been using as my main device ever since. In the past year, I have seen Palm release the 700p and 700w for non-GSM carriers. No joy for me! But, finally Palm has released a new GSM phone. The 750v is a quad band (850, 900, 1800, 1900) phone for the Vodafone network. Right now it is only available outside the US, but will eventually be available here. Of course you didn’t think that I would be patient enough to wait around for that day did you? Ummmm…. NO! A little googling turned me on to PhoneSource-USA.com and one day later I had an unlocked 750v in my hands.

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone, Pocket PC, Windows Mobile, Wireless

Palm Treo 750v Windows Mobile Smartphone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 27, 2006 at 12:00 pm.

The first time I saw pictures of the Nokia N80 back when it was
announced, I was thrilled. As soon as I saw the laundry list of
features, I knew I had to have it! I already had a Treo 650 with
Sprint, but the software was sometimes buggy and Sprint worked
poorly at my house. In the middle of July, I got a chance to leave
my Sprint contract without the termination fee, so I immediately
opened an account with T-Mobile and ordered a new N80 from
eBay.

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

Nokia N80 Smartphone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 1, 2006 at 6:49 pm.

Over a year and a half ago in December 2004, the much anticipated Treo 650 smartphone arrived on the market. This first model was a CDMA version from Sprint, but several months later a GSM version and then a version from Verizon also became available. Since its release, the 650 has become the most popular smartphone (combination PDA / mobile phone) device on the market. Time has not stood still for Palm. Their latest smartphone is the 700p. Should 650 owners pony up to buy this upgraded model, or should they keep their cash and wait for something with more revolutionary features, instead of evolutionary?

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Palm OS related, Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Palm, Phone

Palm Treo 700p Smartphone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 17, 2006 at 9:28 am.

Early last year, when the first rumors began to swirl that
HTC would be introducing a
Pocket PC Phone Edition made with the mini-laptop form factor of
the "http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/sony_cli_peg_ux50_u_review">CLIÉ
UX50 and "http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/sharp_zaurus_sl_c3100">Zaurus
SL-C3100, my interest was immediately piqued. After all, I had
long been bemoaning the fact that as of yet there were … [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Cellular, Phone, Pocket PC, Windows Mobile, Wireless

HTC Universal Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Phone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 10, 2006 at 2:50 pm.

The smartphone designers at HTC recently
introduced their fourth-generation product, code-named “Tornado” and
running the latest Windows Mobile operating system. Like previous
generations, the Tornado is (or at least will be) available under many
different brand names including those of major wireless carriers;
i-mate is among the first to offer it for consumer purchase.

i-mate
markets two versions of the Tornado design which are based on the … [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone, Smartphone, Windows Mobile, Wireless

i-mate SP5m originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 25, 2006 at 5:05 am.

In September 2005, my daily driver PDA was an
HP
iPAQ hx-4700 and my mobile phone was the
Samsung i550,
a Palm OS device that was never technically released in the US. I thought
that I was satisfied with the combination of the two devices – enjoying the best
of both PDA worlds in a sense – but there were times when I really … [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related, Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone, Pocket PC, Windows Mobile, Wireless

HTC Apache / PPC-6700 Pocket PC Phone Edition originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 17, 2006 at 9:49 am.

The N-Series is a new (in 2005) line of high-end multimedia phones from Nokia. The N90 is targeted at photography and video, with a 2.1 megapixel camera and a design tailored for imaging.

Opening The Box

The N90 box is filled with a variety of items:

• N90 … [visit site to read more]
  

  Filed in categories: Wireless

  Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

  Nokia N90 originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 13, 2005 at 9:17 am.

  ]]> http://the-gadgeteer.com/2005/12/13/nokia_n90/feed/ 12 http://the-gadgeteer.com/2005/11/16/i_mate_k_jam_htc_wizard_pocket_pc_phone/ http://the-gadgeteer.com/2005/11/16/i_mate_k_jam_htc_wizard_pocket_pc_phone/#comments Wed, 16 Nov 2005 17:20:00 +0000 Mitchell Oke Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

  Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone, Pocket PC

  i-mate K-JAM HTC Wizard Pocket PC Phone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 16, 2005 at 11:20 am.

  ]]>

  When I bought my O2 XDA II Mini in February this year, I
  thought “Now this device will be a keeper for at least a
  year”. How silly of me. As soon as I started reading about
  the HTC Universal, I knew that was going to change. A device that had a
  built-in keyboard, WiFi and VGA was for me!! As the device
  materialized, I was very interested still, but the size and price were
  huge!! There was no way that I was going to spend on a PDA Phone what
  could be spent on a decent … [visit site to read more]

  Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

  Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone, Pocket PC

  i-mate K-JAM HTC Wizard Pocket PC Phone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 16, 2005 at 11:20 am.

  ]]> http://the-gadgeteer.com/2005/11/16/i_mate_k_jam_htc_wizard_pocket_pc_phone/feed/ 29 http://the-gadgeteer.com/2005/05/12/update_the_treo_650_can_a_smart_phone_become_my_main_brain_article/ http://the-gadgeteer.com/2005/05/12/update_the_treo_650_can_a_smart_phone_become_my_main_brain_article/#comments Thu, 12 May 2005 05:00:00 +0000 Julie Filed in categories: Articles

  Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Palm, Phone

  The Treo 650 (Can a Smart Phone Become My Main Brain?) Article originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 12, 2005 at 12:00 am.

  ]]>

  Updated 05/12/2005

  Background:

  I’ve never been a mobile phone junkie, but I’ve been wanting a new phone
  pretty much since the day I upgraded to the Motorola T720 a year ago. I quickly
  came to the realization that I didn’t like flip phones at all. When the phone
  would ring while I was driving, I would fumble around trying to pull it out of
  my pocket and then would need 2 hands to open it. I wanted a candy bar phone
  again… … [visit site to read more]

  Filed in categories: Articles

  Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Palm, Phone

  The Treo 650 (Can a Smart Phone Become My Main Brain?) Article originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 12, 2005 at 12:00 am.

  ]]> http://the-gadgeteer.com/2005/05/12/update_the_treo_650_can_a_smart_phone_become_my_main_brain_article/feed/ 245 http://the-gadgeteer.com/2005/02/16/nokia_9500_mobile_phone_review/ http://the-gadgeteer.com/2005/02/16/nokia_9500_mobile_phone_review/#comments Wed, 16 Feb 2005 06:00:00 +0000 Harry Hazeel Filed in categories: Wireless

  Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

  Nokia 9500 Mobile Phone Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 16, 2005 at 12:00 am.

  ]]>

  
  Background

  
  Although the concept of the smart phone pretends to be cutting-edge, it was
  really created by Nokia back in the early nineties with the 9000 series. It was
  dubbed the Communicator and by combining telephony, e-mail, internet and PDA
  functions in one item it lived up to its name. Despite the miraculous … [visit site to read more]

  Filed in categories: Wireless

  Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

  Nokia 9500 Mobile Phone Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 16, 2005 at 12:00 am.

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