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Smartphones and Cell Phones

Matthew Miller provides you with news, commentary and in-depth reviews of the latest in mobile phones sporting iOS, Android, and Windows.

Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller started using mobile devices in 1997 and has been writing news, reviews, and opinion pieces ever since. Matthew started using mobile devices with a US Robotics Pilot 1000 and has owned hundreds of devices running Palm, Linux, Symbian, Newton, BlackBerry, iOS, Android, webOS, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone operating systems. His current collection includes the latest and greatest foldables, wearables, and more, along with classic devices like the Apple Newton MessagePad 2100 and Sony CLIE UX50. Matthew can be found on various social networks under the user name of "palmsolo."

Latest Posts

Buying the Nexus One unlocked is probably the best choice

Prior to the official announcement of the Google Nexus One there was a huge amount of hype surrounding the device and as I stated, there looked to be nothing special with this "Google phone" compared to any other Android device and pricing was no surprise and just what was expected. The actual device is fantastic and is currently the best Android device available as I talked about in my initial impressions and with such a powerful device I couldn't resist and bought my own unlocked one to use with T-Mobile. We are now hearing of some 3G connectivity issues (I can't say I have noticed anything unusual myself) and concern about the compound ETF charged by both Google and T-Mobile USA.

January 11, 2010 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

CES 2010: Hands-on with the ELSE ACCESS Linux Platform-based smartphone

It was way back in early 2006 when we read that ACCESS and PalmSource announced the ACCESS Linux Platform (ALP) that was initially intended to be the next Palm operating system. While Palm no longer has any ties to ACCESS, we heard in October that Emblaze Mobile Ltd. introduced the first ELSE mobile device running the ELSE INTUITION platform based on ALP. I had the chance to talk with Amir Kupervas, CEO, and Eldad Eilam, Chief Technology Officer, from Else Mobile and captured much of our conversation in the 20+ minute video you see below.

January 10, 2010 by Matthew Miller in Data Management

CES 2010: Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus hands-on

Wow, what a day at CES 2010. I was at the QUE proReader launch at 7 am yesterday and then went a full day with attendance at the Palm press conference, meetings with Nokia, HTC, and others along with some show floor wandering, then Showstoppers, and lastly a nice dinner with some good friends from Nokia. Andrew already posted on the specs and details of the Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus, along with the 3D gaming update and Verizon news. As a long time Palm user, I was getting quite concerned about Palm surviving 2010 with just Sprint and am pleased to see them coming to Verizon soon. I was able to head right over to the Palm lounge after the press conference to get some hands-on time with both new devices.

January 7, 2010 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

CES 2010: Hey Nokia, HTC isn't going to let you rest in the low end market

One reason I really enjoy HTC's Android devices is because of their Sense UI that adds a LOT of functionality to the platform. Today at CES 2010 we heard from HTC that they are taking this experience to the masses in the form of the HTC Smart that runs HTC Sense on Qualcomm Brew Mobile Platform. This should be a wake-up call for Nokia that they cannot rest on their laurels even in the emerging and low end mobile phone market. This additional strategy makes perfect sense to me as HTC seeks to be one of the leaders in all areas of the mobile phone market.

January 7, 2010 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

Hands-on first impressions of the Google Nexus One

As I wrote yesterday I just couldn't resist another great smartphone on T-Mobile USA and since I use lots of Google services I jumped on the Nexus One bandwagon and placed my order. It arrived via free FedEx overnight shipping at my hotel here at CES 2010 this morning and then had to go through a couple hours of Mirage loading dock processing. My tracking info also showed it as damaged and delivered so I was a bit worried I would have a dead device. As you can see in my image gallery the box was trashed and the plastic air pocket cushions were flat, but the Nexus One was packed in a very sturdy box and all seems to be well with it.

January 6, 2010 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

CES 2010: HTC HD2 coming to T-Mobile this Spring

You all know how impressed I have been with the HTC HD2 Windows Mobile device and the only issue I have with it has been support for 3G in the US. We knew that HTC was going to bring it to a major US carrier in 2010 and tonight Steve Ballmer will talk a bit about the HD2 coming to T-Mobile USA in the Spring. As a T-Mobile customer I couldn't be more excited, but after just buying the Nexus One I will have to think for a few minutes before jumping on the HD2. Regular readers know I won't be able to resist the HD2 on T-Mobile and we'll have to see what price and firmware it launches with.

January 6, 2010 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

CES 2010: Motorola announces BACKFLIP Google Android device

Andrew earlier reported on the Android phones coming to AT&T this year and I just attended a CES 2010 Motorola event announcing a device that is highly likely going to be one of those Android devices. Motorola announced the BACKFLIP with MOTOBLUR without announcing a carrier or pricing plan. It was confirmed to be a GSM carrier so it must be AT&T since T-Mobile already has the CLIQ with MOTOBLUR. I spent a few minutes playing with the BACKFLIP and I think people will like the large, spacious keyboard.

January 6, 2010 by Matthew Miller in Smartphones

CES 2010: FLO TV comes to the iPhone through Mophie sleeves

I talked a bit about the FLO TV service and new device on The Mobile Gadgeteer, but with today's CES 2010 announcement FLO TV is branching into the smartphone space. They announced a partnership with the folks who make the iPhone Mophie Juicepack batteries to launch a sleeve that fits on your iPhone or iPod touch to give you a wireless FLO TV experience. FLO TV is television sent out over the airwaves and does not use your wireless data for streaming television content. These products will start shipping during the first half of this year.

January 6, 2010 by Matthew Miller in Smartphones

CES 2010: Manage your Chevy Volt with your smartphone and OnStar

We are seeing more and more mobile applications that extend the functionality of your daily life and one of the coolest ones I caught a glimpse of at CES 2010 was the new OnStar application for the Chevy Volt that is available for Android, iPhone, and BlackBerry devices. OnStar Mobile lets owners communicate with their car and perform functions such as door lock/unlock, remote start, view charge status, view stats on vehicle usage (mpg, trip miles, etc.), and set charge reminders.

January 5, 2010 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

CES 2010: RIM announces wireless BlackBerry Presenter module

BlackBerry devices are extremely popular in the enterprise market and one thing that many of us in the business world do a lot of on the road is give presentations. LG recently rolled out their projector attachment that fits right onto the LG eXpo smartphone and here at CES 2010 RIM has announced an accessory to use with your BlackBerry to aid in giving presentations. The BlackBerry Presenter is NOT a small projector like the one we see from LG, but it is a module that connects via Bluetooth to your BlackBerry while physically being plugged into a projector or display so that you can display Microsoft PowerPoint presentations stored on your phone.

January 5, 2010 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

T-Mobile HSPA 7.2 upgrade complete, HSPA+ coming to devices later this year

Regular readers know I have stuck with T-Mobile for over 8 years in hopes that they would catch up their data network with the rest of the US wireless carriers. I jumped on the T-Mobile G1 when it was available in large part due to the support for 3G on T-Mobile. Unfortunately, it then took about another year before I had T-Mobile where I live, work, and play and now get 3G all over the place. T-Mobile is now passing up AT&T with confirmation that their HSPA 7.2Mbps network is now enabled across their entire 3G network. This 3G network is also constantly growing and now reaches over 200 million Americans. In addition, they have rolled out HSPA+ with 21Mbps (theoretical) speeds in Philadelphia and this will be much more prevalent by mid-2010.

January 5, 2010 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

Nexus One has four available prices with one subsidized plan option

If you are a smartphone enthusiast I am sure you have seen all the coverage of the Google Nexus One from today. I see that attendees at the press conference received a device and am bummed I didn't get an invite or I would have hopped over before CES. If you follow me on Twitter you will know I kept saying this was no big deal and while the hardware is nice there were no game changers. There were no killer surprises, but I have a very tough time resisting any device that supports T-Mobile's 3.5G wireless data network and readers knew I would give in a buy one. I have played with the HD2 and 1GHz Snapdragon so am looking forward to this processor on an Android device with an OLED display and voice text entry field support.

January 5, 2010 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

Firefox Mobile RC 1 now available for Nokia N900

Zack previously posted on the latest beta of Firefox Mobile for the Nokia N900 and to kick off the new year Mozilla gave us all a present with the Release Candidate 1.0 version available as of last night. I just installed it on my own Nokia N900 and look forward to trying out lots of different Internet sites.

January 1, 2010 by Matthew Miller in Enterprise Software

DataViz takes lead in iPhone Office war with PowerPoint & Gmail support

As I mentioned in my last Office for the iPhone post the folks at DataViz and Quickoffice keep going at it back and forth with improvements to their Office products. It looks like DataViz took the lead from Quickoffice with their latest release I just read about at The iPhone Blog site. DataViz renamed their Documents To Go with Exchange Attachments product to Documents To Go Premium and added some functionality that I know many have been waiting for, including PowerPoint and Gmail support.

December 31, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

Google Nexus One pricing, same old thing yet again

I previously wrote how I was baffled by the excitement surrounding the Google Android Nexus One smartphone and now that we have the pricing information (thanks Gizmodo) my understanding that this was just another T-Mobile Google Android device was correct. The only difference here between the T-Mobile G1 and the Nexus One is that Google will somehow be selling it to people rather than letting you go to a T-Mobile store and pick one up. The price should be $530 for unsubsidized, no contract plans and $180 with a 2-year contract and minimum $80/month plan. Unfortunately, those of you T-Mobile customers like me with a Family Plan only have the option of paying the $530 price. While the hardware upgrade is nice, without a QWERTY keyboard and a low subsidized price I will be passing this one up.

December 30, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

Smartphones and Cell Phones

Matthew Miller

Latest Posts

Buying the Nexus One unlocked is probably the best choice

CES 2010: Hands-on with the ELSE ACCESS Linux Platform-based smartphone

CES 2010: Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus hands-on

CES 2010: Hey Nokia, HTC isn't going to let you rest in the low end market

Hands-on first impressions of the Google Nexus One

CES 2010: HTC HD2 coming to T-Mobile this Spring

CES 2010: Motorola announces BACKFLIP Google Android device

CES 2010: FLO TV comes to the iPhone through Mophie sleeves

CES 2010: Manage your Chevy Volt with your smartphone and OnStar

CES 2010: RIM announces wireless BlackBerry Presenter module

T-Mobile HSPA 7.2 upgrade complete, HSPA+ coming to devices later this year

Nexus One has four available prices with one subsidized plan option

Firefox Mobile RC 1 now available for Nokia N900

DataViz takes lead in iPhone Office war with PowerPoint & Gmail support

Google Nexus One pricing, same old thing yet again

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