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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

Texting while driving increases collision risk 23 times, don't do it

Common sense lets us know that texting while driving is dangerous and many states and countries have outlawed this activity to help those with little common sense. We have seen one study recently where texting was found to be more dangerous than drunk driving and now the New York Times reports on a Virginia Tech study that shows your risk of collision is 23 times greater when texting. My advice is to NEVER text while driving and if you do it now, then STOP. My kids and I are on the road and I would hate to be hit by someone driving and texting.

July 27, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Mobile Carriers

King of the QWERTYs: AT&T Nokia E71x

The AT&T Nokia E71x was launched back in May and IMHO is the BEST Symbian smartphone launched and now carried by a US wireless carrier. There are very few of these smartphones that have been provided to us in the US so I think we were blessed to have such a fine one come to AT&T. The E71x is a third generation Eseries device in this particular form factor with the E61 (came to AT&T as the E62) and E61i came first. Check out to see how it stacks up with the other two QWERTY devices we covered.

July 26, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Microsoft

First impressions of the AT&T Nokia Surge

There have not been many Symbian smartphones in the US the last few years and one of the best devices, the Nokia E71x, was launched a couple of months ago on AT&T. AT&T and Nokia just started making the Nokia Surge available and I was able to get a review unit to check out for a while. You can read about my first impressions of this messaging-focused device. The $80 price point, with a contract like all subsidized phones in the US, is pretty low for a device running the full Symbian OS with S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2. It is quite a functional device, but the build quality is not the best and nowhere near what you find on the stainless steel E71x.

July 25, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Mobile OS

King of the QWERTYs: T-Mobile Dash 3G

We posted the first of three parts of the King of the QWERTYs feature with the BlackBerry Tour and now are moving on to take a look at the T-Mobile Dash 3G. You can check out my earlier review for some other thoughts on the device since this feature will look at a few specific categories across all three forward facing QWERTY devices and won't cover the device in detail.

July 23, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Mobile OS

Navigon's MobileNavigator brings offline voice guided navigation to the iPhone

The first voice guided navigation GPS system in North America for the iPhone was AT&T Navigator (see my review) that was launched back in June. I was very impressed with the software and service and used it quite a bit last weekend on an out of town trip where I brought no physical maps along. There are pros and cons to a connected, subscription-based solution and the major complaint is that a data connection is required for navigation. I just read a press release over on Gear Diary where Navigon announced the first navigation solution for the iPhone and iPod touch in North America (Navigon previously launched in Europe) where the maps live on the device so no active data connection is needed.

July 22, 2009 by Matthew Miller in iPhone

Hands on: T-Mobile myTouch 3G Google Android device is all about you

I was pretty excited about the launch of the T-Mobile G1 Google Android device last Fall and even flew out from Seattle to New York for just one day to attend the launch event. I still have my G1 and enjoy using it very much and have come to thoroughly enjoy the keyboard. T-Mobile continues to actively support the Google Android platform and will soon be launching the myTouch 3G. T-Mobile is focusing on the personalization and customization of the device, as I will talk about in my article. Check out the image gallery showing the T-Mobile myTouch 3G and Exchange client, as well as the unboxing video showing the rather unique packaging.

July 21, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

What's up with Zer01's unlimited no-contract service and is it even real?

Back in March of this year we heard about the Zer01 service that was going to use Windows Mobile devices and VoIP technology that gave you unlimited data, voice, and text for only $70 per month. This would also be provided with no contract and on a month-to-month basis. The Zer01 website is up and running, but I highly recommend you read through IDG News article before making a decision to leave your traditional US wireless carrier. There seems to be something a bit fishy with the service and I am personally not sold yet on its validity.

July 21, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

King of the QWERTYs: RIM BlackBerry Tour

Capacitive touch screen devices are all the rage today with the iPhone 3GS, Palm Pre, HTC Hero and BlackBerry Storm. However, there are still many people who want a non-touch screen forward facing QWERTY device that is heavily focused on messaging. While I tend to bounce around quite a bit between different devices, the forward facing QWERTY form factor is one of my absolute favorite. To help you figure out which of these devices might fit your needs we are going to present a three part feature (with a summary post too) looking at the best QWERTY devices running the BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian operating systems available from US wireless carriers. The three selected devices are the RIM BlackBerry Tour, T-Mobile Dash 3G, and Nokia E71x.

July 20, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

iPhone 3GS browser speed tests can't beat Opera Mobile 9.7

Nokia was the leader in mobile web browsing with their S60 browser launched a couple of years ago and as Rafe at All About Symbian shows the S60 browser is still a strong competitor in the browser loading race. However, the iPhone 3GS shows that even the mighty iPhone 3G can be beat and sets the bar for default browser. Default browsers are not the only game in town though and Opera Mobile 9.7 with Turbo shows what can be done by a 3rd party on an open platform.

July 20, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Enterprise Software

Quickoffice 1.3 for iPhone adds attachment support and universal cut, copy, & paste

Quickoffice was the first out of the gate with an Office suite for the iPhone and as you can see in my first take there were several issues that kept me from whole-heartedly recommending the application for everyone. The folks at Quickoffice have released a couple of updates and this latest 1.3 update, available now in the App Store, brings several features that now have Quickoffice being a fully complete and full featured product that I recommend everyone who needs Office support consider buying. There is also currently a sale on Quickoffice 1.3 so you can get it for just $12.99.

July 18, 2009 by Matthew Miller in iPhone

Geek.com podcast 19, back to chat with Joel about mobile gadgets

My mobile writing career really began with Geek.com back in 2001 when Chief Geek, Joel Evans, gave me the chance to write about the latest PDA. My first short post was actually about the HP 565 Pocket PC in August 2001. Joel and Sal asked me to participate in this week's Geek.com podcast and I had a great time sharing my thoughts on the latest gear and mobile news on Geek.com podcast 19. We covered several topics and I think the show sounds great.

July 17, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

Smartphone UI vs feature list, can any device excel in both?

The iPhone definitely sets the bar when it comes to a slick UI while devices like the Nokia N97 show that a manufacturer can pack it all into a single device and still not appeal to everyone. Here in this consolidated article I will take a quick look at the premier touch screen devices running each mobile operating system, even if that device has a keyboard as a major part of the device. You will see lots of articles comparing feature lists and people often shoot off to me that feature lists do not matter as much as the user interfacace. Do touch screen smartphone buyers have to pick one over the other or is there a mobile operating system and a device, or devices, that can give you both a slick UI along with all the latest specifications?

July 15, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Enterprise Software

iTunes update 8.2.1 breaks Palm Pre synchronization

One of the slickest and most convenient functions of the Palm Pre (see my review) was the ability to sync seamlessly with Apple iTunes. As CNET reports, the latest iTunes 8.2.1 update breaks the Palm Pre iTunes synchronization. This wasn't really unexpected, but it is a bit disappointing if Apple created this update just to break the Pre sync capability. They could have just left it alone and let those few Pre owners enjoy and continue to purchase and support iTunes.

July 15, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hands-on with the BlackBerry CurBold (aka Tour) from Verizon

I took a look at both the BlackBerry Bold and Curve 8900 and thought each were excellent devices at the time. The new RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630 takes the best of both of these and provides Verizon Wireless and Sprint customers with an outstanding BlackBerry smartphone that is tough to beat when it comes to forward facing QWERTY devices.

July 15, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Mobile Carriers

Windows Marketplace for Mobile taking submissions starting 27 July

All of the primary mobile operating systems have on-device application stores, except for Windows Mobile. We have been patiently waiting (we seem to do that a lot with Microsoft's Windows Mobile products) for the launch of Windows Marketplace for Mobile and today we at least have some news that the launch is getting closer. Starting on 27 July, developers can submit applications to the Windows Marketplace for Mobile from 29 supported countries. The launch date is still vague with a time frame of Fall 2009, but at least it looks like it will launch with applications ready and available to download and install.

July 14, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Windows