Verizon will once again be the biggest carrier in the United States by absorbing Alltel. Priced at $6 billion, this acquisition will bring 13 million subscribers to Verizon in 34 states. Merger should be completed by the end of the year.
Continue on for the press release:
If you ogled HTC Touch Diamond, but was turned off by the lack of hardware keyboard, your solution is finally here. Dubbed HTC Touch Pro (previously known as HTC Rafael), it will feature same specs as Touch Diamond - with 7.2mpbs HSDPA, 512MB internal storage, 2.8 VGA screen, 3.2 megapixel camera, GPS and the new TouchFLO 3D UI.
Spot the difference is a pretty popular game that gets tiring quickly, and Crazy Spot for Windows Mobile (and Symbian) devices suffer from the same fate. Your goal is to compare 2 photos and find the 5 differences in each photo. Sometimes it is easy to see - thanks to some bad Photoshop jobs - and othertimes, they made it maddeningly difficult.
If you think spotting the difference is a game for you, you can try the demo for free, or download the PC version for no charge whatsoever. It is perfect for short burst games while you’re waiting for something (such as the bus…) but don’t expect a marathon gameplay out of this one.
[Download Crazy Spot for PC, Windows Mobile and Symbian devices]
Live Search Mobile, first released last year for Windows Mobile, BlackBerries and other phones, has now been updated that includes many new functionalities. (I first talked about it on May 31 2007.) In addition to Map, Directions and Traffic, the application can search for Movies, display local Gas Prices, search the Web, display local Weather and even get updates from other websites such as HomeThinking and Flickr. Another big improvement is the addition of voice search. By pressing "Speak" button, you can now search without typing.
Overall, the new additions improve the usefulness of the application over and beyond what Google Maps offers. Although there are plenty of websites and applications that offer weather forecast, it is a nice idea to put it all in one place. It is easy to find out gas prices in your region (especially if your phone has GPS capability since it will know exactly where you are, and then to route to the gas station).
As this is a free download, you should head over to wls.live.com on your mobile device and download Windows Mobile version as it will complement your other applications.
[Visit Live Search Mobile website for more details | Go to wls.live.com to download Live Search Mobile]
Herocraft’s game Robo has a simple concept: navigate a level and get through to the exit without getting killed by many lasers in the level. To do so, you must disrupt laser’s path using rocks and mirrors, move them or blow them up with bombs scattered throughout the level. While the premise is simple, the game is incredibly tough to beat as simply moving things around at random will not get you to the exit.
The game requires a lot of advance planning and strategy as you need to figure out how to change a laser’s path and which one to take out. Even if you think you have something figured out, you will have to try a level many times as it’s tough to anticipate every move. Robo does feature an undo button but you can only undo one move… the game would have benefited greatly from undo button that can take you all the way to the beginning of the level.
The biggest problem with this game is the difficulty spike. First 4 or 5 levels are pretty straightforward, and then you are suddenly stuck in a level where nothing you do makes sense. Often, there is only one way to get through the level, and it can take a long time and many tries if it didn’t click in your brain.
If you like a lot of strategy in your puzzle game, you will definitely enjoy Herocraft’s Robo. With 76 levels, you will get plenty of game time out of Robo. This game is available for many devices such as Windows Mobile (where I tested it) and even TomTom navigation devices at various prices (ranging from $7.77 to $15.85).
Rating: 75%
[Download trial and buy full version from Herocraft website]
RIM has finally taken off the wraps on its new Blackberry device officially named Bold. Featuring a full QWERTY keyboard, this new device is the most visually pleasing and feature packed device so far: quad-band, 3G, wi-fi, Bluetooth 2.0, integrated GPS all running on a 624MHz Intel processor (that’s twice as fast as previous models) as well as 1GB of onboard memory.
Look for this device in the summer.
In order to entice more consumers to Blackberry addiction, RIM has announced a partnership with Microsoft. RIM will integrate Windows Live Hotmail (with push capabilities, naturally) and Messenger onto the Blackberry platform some time this Summer.
As Rogers becomes the first carrier in North America to sell Nokia’s flagship N95, it is time to look at what has already been said about this super device. Nokia insists it is a computer, but we’ll settle for a pretty-smart phone.
CNET (7 out of 10): they like the fact that it is a feature packed phone, but dings it for poor standby battery life, sluggish performance and flimsy sliding mechanism.
Gizmodo: GPS and great quality 5 megapixel camera make this device stand out from the competition, but once again battery life and laggy performance are major turn-offs.
GSM Arena: they call N95 "crown of the entire Nokia portfolio" however they recommend you turn off 3G, Wi-Fi and GPS unless you want to charge the device twice a day.
Mobile Burn: this powerhouse smartphone is recommended for its amazing feature set, but they characterized the stand-by batter life as "horrible"
My-Symbian: N95 is a "great looking phone and a great performer" and suggests you go and get it.
If you want a feature-packed phone, there is no other device like it on Rogers lineup. With internal memory of 8GB, 5.0 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, 3G HSDPA network access, Bluetooth, 802.11g, and even built-in GPS will ensure your phone will have something for everyone.
Priced at $399.99 (after mail-in rebate), it is also the priciest phone available at Rogers. Only recommended for hard-core users that need everything (and more) in their phones.
As rumored, HTC unveiled today Touch Diamond, a touchscreen Windows Mobile device featuring VGA screen and other goodies. If official press pictures are any indication, it will be one gorgeous, fully featured device. More details (such as price and availability with carriers other than Orange) to come later. Full press release after the jump:
So here it is, the leaked specs for Blackberry 9000.
It does indeed feature HSDPA 2100MHz, which means 3G for Rogers and AT&T in North America, the 2 carriers selected for initial exclusive launch. Downside is a 2MP camera (Really? Just 2MP?) but you never buy a Blackberry for its shooting performances!
