When you start reviewing BlackBerry smartphones, you soon learn to look closely at the details. RIM have made a habit of making relatively minute differentiations between what, at first glance, might seem very similar handsets; luckily their loyal fanbase has proved willing to put in that effort. The Verizon BlackBerry Tour, then, borrows some of the style of the entry-level Curve and the specifications of the altogether more grown-up Bold: have RIM ended up with the best of both, or a Frankenmonster mash-up?

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Hard to believe, it’s been a quarter-shy of three years since T-Mobile released the HTC Dash. Back in late 2006 we praised the Windows Mobile smartphone’s build-quality and in-hand feel; since then, rivals have brought faster connectivity and slicker OSes to the table. Now T-Mobile and HTC are back with the smartphone’s successor, the Dash 3G: can it pick up where the original left off, or has it simply arrived too late?

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T-Mobile’s new Dash 3G made by HTC picks up right where the original Dash left off. I guarantee you’ll fall in love with its slim 0.47-inch body, weighing a mere 4.2 ounces. The width is slightly narrower than the original Dash making it that much more comfortable to hold. It’s got the same 2.4-inch, 320 x240 pixels, and 65K QVGA display running Windows Mobile 6.1. The new trackball (think Sidekick and BlackBerry) is the first major change you’ll notice – it lets you scroll up, down, right or left and press to select. The QWERTY keyboard layout and texture is possibly one of the best if not the best I’ve used. The keyboard and trackball also light up in the dark! And speaking of texture, the Dash 3G’s bottom half is made up of the same-soft suede-like material of the original Dash. The upper/top half is smooth, with the exception of the buttons.

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It’s about time there’s a standard for phone charging port.  Even though the push is in Europe, US consumers will also feel the ripple effect as phone makers standardize on microUSB. That’s great news all around!  This scheme is lead by the European Commission, and have support from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, NEC, LG, RIM, Qualcomm, Samsung, Texas Instruments and even Apple (wow, Apple – really?)

Many phones are already using microUSB for charging and data connectivity, but starting in 2010, expect to see a whole lot more.  Chris brings up an interesting point about Apple’s proprietary dock connector.  Is Apple really jumping on the microUSB bandwagon?

Verizon Wireless is gearing up to launch the much-awaited BlackBerry Tour on July 12th for $199 with a two-year agreement, according to BGR. The Tour 9630 will have a sharper screen than other Blackberry phones and it will run on 3G networks. Besides Verizon, Sprint have also announced that they will be getting the new Blackberry Tour smartphone.

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It feels like we’ve been waiting for the Nokia N97 for a long time, and – like many others – talking up its functionality for most of that wait. Now the NAM edition is here, though, can it deliver on the promise?

Saying that anticipation has been high for the Nokia N97 is an understatement. The handset’s spec sheet reads like a must-have list: 5-megapixel camera, triband HSPA, WiFi and Bluetooth, plus a 3.5-inch touchscreen, hardware keyboard and 32GB of standard storage, all features which are just as relevant to flagship smartphones today as they were when the N97 was first announced.

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One of the things that I was hoping would make it to the new iPhone 3GS was flash for the camera. One of the worst aspects of the original iPhone was the low light performance if its camera. Alas, the new iPhone debuted without flash as well.

A company called ON Semiconductor has announced a new flash module for phones that promises to improve the low light functionality of camera phones. The flash module is called the NCP5680 supercapacitor-optimized LED flash driver. Read the rest of this entry »

With the poor global economy, many people are looking for every way they can get to save money. Many people are closely looking at their mobile phone bills and other expenses to shave any money possible from bills.

According to research firm Strategy Analytics 48% of Americans would drop their mobile phone data plans completely to save money. Only 10% of users would drop their home broadband connection to save money. Read the rest of this entry »

Bluetooth headsets are required for drivers in many states and hands free laws are passing in many other states all around the country. As more people are required to use hands free kits while driving more and more of the devices are hitting the market.

A company called Acoustic Technologies has announced a third-generation solution for dual-mic and mono Bluetooth headsets called the SoundClear ATS6020. The device uses multi-stage beamforming technology to eliminate noise in all types of environments. Read the rest of this entry »

I have been playing games since I was in grade school. I still remember how bad graphics were in the days of Pong and Atari, but we thought they were great at the time. Today our mobile phones have better graphics than most game systems of my youth.

EA Mobile has announced that it will be bringing new mobile games to phones this summer based on some of the blockbuster films released for the summer. The games that are coming for compatible phones are Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, G.I. JOE The Rise of Cobra, Star Trek and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Read the rest of this entry »