PhoneTalk

Q&A: Trouble-shooting for Samsung cell phones

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Friday, September 03, 2010 (permalink)

In this installment of Questions and Answers, we discuss how to fix usability issues on the Samsung Mythic and the Samsung Captivate. Got a question you want answered? Submit your question here. Got something to add to the answers below? Leave a comment.

When I get an incoming call on the Samsung Mythic it asks if I want to accept or not by touch tone. I hit accept but get no response from whom is calling. What button do I press to receive calls? -wrbergner

The best approach is to change how you can answer calls. Right now, it sounds like your cell phone is set to prompt you to answer calls by touching Accept on the screen. You can change it so that you can answer a call with any key. To do this select Settings from the Menu and choose Calls. Next choose General, and then select Call Answer. There you should have an option to change the way you accept calls.

The charger will not stay in the Samsung Captivate, if I move the phone the charger will fall out. Is there a solution? -coraabel

The issue may be that the accessory door at the top of the phone isn't slid open completely. You should hear a click when sliding the door open, that lets you know it's completely open. At that point, you should have no problem inserting the charger correctly.

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Verizon offers prepaid data plans for smartphone

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Thursday, September 02, 2010 (permalink)

Verizon Wireless is offering prepaid data plans for many of the 3G smartphones and 3G multimedia phones that the company offers. Although the prices don't differ for prepaid and contract plans it's still a good offering for prepaid customers that will help them get the most out of data-centric cell phones. Smartphone users can add $30 a month for unlimited data, while 3G multimedia costs 10 dollars a month for 25MB ($.20/MB overage).

3G Smartphones

· BlackBerry® Curve™ 8330

· BlackBerry® Curve™ 8530

· BlackBerry® Storm™ 9530

· BlackBerry® Storm2™ 9550

· BlackBerry® Tour™ 9630

· BlackBerry® Bold™ 9650

· Palm® Pre™ Plus

· Palm Pixi™ Plus

· DROID by Motorola

· Motorola DEVOUR™

· DROID X by Motorola

· DROID 2 by Motorola

· DROID Eris™ by HTC

· DROID Incredible by HTC

· LG Ally™

3G Multimedia phones

· LG enV® TOUCH

· LG enV®3

· LG Chocolate® TOUCH

· LG VX8360

· Samsung Alias™ 2

· Samsung Renown™

· Nokia Twist™

· Casio® EXILIM

Now that data plans are available for prepaid Verizon smartphone and multimedia phones, which do you prefer to have a prepaid or contract plan? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Apple unveils latest iPhone OS: iOS 4.1 and iOS 4.2

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Wednesday, September 01, 2010 (permalink)

Today, Apple had its music press conference, but what does that have to do with cell phones? Well, the company also introduced some mobile iOS updates that iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users can expect this year. The first update, iOS 4.1, will be available next week and will be free. The updated OS will fix some known bugs and it will also roll out a few new features as well. Here's the round-up:

HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging: Essentially what this does is takes three pictures simultaneously and then combines them to produce the best image possible. The original image and the enhanced HDR image will both be saved on the iPhone. The idea is that you can take better pictures.

Game Center: This is a new app, that's essentially all about multi-player functionality and the ability to share your scores with other players. As Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, pointed out in his presentation, "If you don't have any friends, it'll auto match you with people." Then they showed a pretty cool app that's in development by Epic Games, code name Project Sword. It's interesting to see how the environment and scene changes when you move through a 3D world and have sword fights with other players. That game should be available for download later this year.

Coming in November will be another update iOS 4.2, which is primarily designed for the iPad, but will be available for iPhone as well. This update will include wireless printing and AirPlay, a way to stream music and video to other devices via WiFi.

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BlackBerry Curve 9300 3G for T-Mobile coming soon

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Tuesday, August 31, 2010 (permalink)

We mentioned earlier this month that T-Mobile would be offering the BlackBerry Curve 3G. The latest Curve (BlackBerry 9300) is expected to run BlackBerry OS 5, but should be updatable to BlackBerry OS 6. It also will have a 2-megapixel camera, the ability to play a plethora of music files, and you can even tether the cell phone to a laptop (via USB cable or WiFi) to use the 3G connection as a modem. The BlackBerry Curve is also expected to come with a 2GB microSD card pre-installed (the cell phone will accept up to a 32GB microSD card).

Does this sound like the BlackBerry you want? You can pre-order one today, by clicking this link. Have questions about the BlackBerry Curve 9300, submit them below.

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Samsung Epic 4G First Look

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Monday, August 30, 2010 (permalink)

The Samsung Epic 4G (a Galaxy S phone) Android smartphone is the second cell phone on the Sprint network to support 4G connectivity. You can also share that 4G connectivity with up to 5 other WiFi-enabled devices. It also has two cameras: a 5-megapixel camera on the back for taking pictures and shooting 720p video and a smaller one on the front so you can do live video chats. Get a closer look at the Samsung Epic 4G in the first look unboxing video below.

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Is the DROID 2 by Motorola the Android phone to get?

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Wednesday, August 25, 2010 (permalink)

The DROID 2 by Motorola is one hot smartphone, but how do the improvements over the original DROID by Motorola rate? The newer model has a speedy processor and an arguably sleeker design. Is that enough for you? To get a better look at the DROID 2 watch the video below. Want even more in-depth details about the Android 2.2 cell phone? Read the full expert review by clicking this link.

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Dell Aero arrives for AT&T

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 (permalink)

According to Dell's blog, the Dell Aero Google Android smartphone is available today with service from AT&T. The 3G smartphone offers access to all of AT&T's WiFi hotspots, sports a 5-megapixel camera, comes with a 2GB microSD card and will accept up to a 32GB microSD card. The phone is running the Android OS 1.5, however, Dell has added some additional features to it that will give you a bit of a different experience than that of a basic Android 1.5 smartphone.

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ZTE brings Salute cell phone to Verizon

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Thursday, August 19, 2010 (permalink)

This summer it seems like a new smartphone is introduced every other week, but here's something slightly different. Verizon has added a cell phone from ZTE to its line-up. While it's not a smartphone, the Salute F350 is an attractive slider phone, that should appeal to people who want a basic cell phone that will also let them keep up with all their social media accounts. The Salute lacks a music player, but has a 1.3-megapixel camera and Bluetooth functionality that lets users share vCards and vCalendar appointments among other things.

If you're really interested in a ZTE smartphone, stay tuned. According to this Fierce Wireless article the company plans on launching a smartphone in the U.S. market next year.

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First Impressions: DROID 2 by Motorola

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 (permalink)

We just got in a DROID 2 by Motorola one of Verizon's newest cell phones. Although, we haven't had much time to put it through its paces here's a few of our first impressions.

For starters, the design of the cell phone feels just as sturdy as the original DROID by Motorola, however it looks a lot sleeker with it's metallic casing and streamlined front design. It also has some heft to it so it feels solid in the hand. The display is bright, letters and icons are crisp, and best yet it's completely visible in direct sunlight. The tactile QWERTY keyboard is a bit different. It's definitely roomier likely because its exchanged the four-way navi keypad on the side of the keyboard in place of four arrow keys that sit at the base of the keyboard. We also found the keyboard easy to use and the keys are big enough that mistypes are not an issue. Additionally, the on-screen dial pad is big and easy to read.

The DROID 2 by Motorola runs the latest Android 2.2 OS and has a 1GHz processor, which means the cell phone is pretty fast. There's literally no lag time when switching between applications and loading web pages is quick, though not noticeably faster than say on the DROID X by Motorola that runs Android OS 2.1, but also has a 1GHz processor. The cell phone also has its fair share of features and apps, such as DLNA connectivity so you can share media from the cell phone with a DLNA-capable TV, BlockBuster for renting movies, an Amazon Kindle reader, 3G Mobile HotSpot so you can share your 3G data connection with up to 5 other WiFi-enabled devices, Skype Mobile, and a Social Networking app to organize all your social media accounts.

The Android phone also sports a 5-megapixel camera and we're happy to report that the shutter is fast. Image quality is also good as you can see in the picture below. (Note: We had to resize the image to fit this blog, but when shown at original size you can see more detail.) We were able to easily transfer this picture from the DROID 2 by Motorola to a MacBook Pro via Bluetooth. We'll have a more in-depth expert review of the DROID 2 by Motorola up shortly, so check back for updates.

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Sprint's Motorola i1 Android phone overview

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Monday, August 16, 2010 (permalink)

Get a closer look at Sprint's first Android phone with Push-To-Talk, the Motorola i1 in this video by LetsTalk's Michael Cera. The cell phone runs Android OS 1.5 and is also built to military spec so don't be afraid to drop the Motorola i1.

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