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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

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 reviewers are quite impressed with this powerhouse

I have way too many phones as it is now, but one device that keeps drawing me closer is the Sony XPERIA X1 and a couple of new reviews aren't helping to keep it out of my hands. Lisa Gade posted an excellent and detailed review (aren't they always great?) on MobileTechReview and Joel Evans chimed in with some initial impressions on Geek.com. Both of these mobile phone enthusiasts are quite pleased with the device and agree that it may be the best current Windows Mobile Professional (touch screen) device on the market.

December 6, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Windows

Want an unlocked Google G1 Android device for $399?

I am pretty pleased with my T-Mobile G1 Google Android device (see my review) and in a couple of months I understand I will be able to unlock it and use it with my AT&T SIM card or overseas too. If you want an unlocked G1 now, according to Engadget you can buy one for just $424 right now. The G1 is US$399 and then you have to register as a developer and pay the US$25 fee to get access to the purchase option from T-Mobile USA.

December 6, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

MobileTechRoundup show #156, Nokia N97, capacitive vs. resistive user experiences

The big news of the week, at least from Nokia's perspective, was the announcement of the Nokia N97. James, Kevin, and I offered our opinion on the device on MobileTechRoundup show #156 and while it looks like a fantastic Nseries device, we were expecting something different from Nokia. The N97 discussion also brought up the issue of capacitive and resistive touch screen devices on mobile phones. As these high end devices all tend to have the same specifications today, the features do not seem to mean as much as the user experience. Apple iPhone sales have taken off over the past year and Apple has now passed up Windows Mobile while Nokia dropped below 50% worldwide share for the year. Kevin also mentioned a new iPhone freeware that you really need to try out.

December 6, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

AT&T's statement on a single smartphone OS makes little sense

An AT&T executive at the Symbian partner event made a statement (Yahoo! News article) that Symbian is "a very credible and likely candidate" to become the single smartphone OS of choice in the future for the wirless carrier. However, there are caveats to that statement that make the news really a non-event IMHO. AT&T stated this consolidation into a single OS is focused on AT&T branded devices. The iPhone is specifically excluded in the interview and RIM may be as well because there is no AT&T branding on the BlackBerry devices. That just leaves Windows Mobile that still has AT&T branded devices, such as the AT&T Tilt. So in reality, hasn't AT&T already consolidated their branded products on a single smartphone OS?

December 5, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

Gartner Q3 2008 data shows iPhone passes Windows Mobile and Nokia has first decline

Last month Canalys reported their 3rd quarter smartphone sales data with Nokia in first, Apple in second, and RIM in third. Today, Gartner posted their 3rd quarter measurements with Nokia still in first (42.4%), RIM in second (15.9%), and Apple in third (12.9%). HTC is shown in fourth place at 4.5%. The shocking number is the growth from Q3 2007 to Q3 2008 in Apple of 327.5%. The operating system breakdown is shown in the same order.

December 4, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Microsoft

PDAmill launches eight games for the iPhone/iPod touch, most 99 cents

Some of my favorite games on my Windows Mobile devices are from PDAmill and I was pleased to just receive a note that eight of their games (soon to be 11) are now available for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch. The games include Bowling for Burgers, The Corsair, Gamebox Classics (contains my daughter's favorite Jewel Master game), Gamebox Solitaire and Solitaire II, Gamebox Sudoku, Glyphos, and Melonchi Minecarts. All but The Corsair and Bowling for Burgers are available now for just 99 cents, the other two are just US$2.99. Fun Factory, Gamebox Asia, and Gamebox Gems will be coming soon.

December 4, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Mobile OS

I just ordered the Agora Pro Google Android device for less than $300

I purchased and for the most part enjoy using my T-Mobile G1 Google Android device. According to Engadget it looks like the second Google Android device may be coming soon to Australia from Agora. Ruslan Kogan posted more details on his blog about the Agora and Agora Pro. I placed my order and hope it arrives in January.

December 3, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

Pandora rocks its way to the top of the iPhone App Store, reviewers get a break

Apple showed us a new iTunes section this week where the most downloaded applications in the App Store were revealed. Pandora Radio was the top application of the year with over 2 million downloads as of yesterday. It is personally the most used application on my original iPhone because I rarely use it any more as a phone while it sits in a dock connected to my stereo receiver serving up Pandora music to my entire household. We used it all last weekend to stream Christmas tunes as we put up the tree and decorations. IMHO, Pandora deserves the top rating and is a fantastic application for the iPhone. VentureBeat has a good discussion on Pandora for the iPhone.

December 2, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Developer

Will Nokia use Linux in future high end phones?

According to a Reuters report from Nokia World in Barcelona, Nokia is open to the idea of using Linux on their high end phones. A Linux Maemo distribution is used now on their N810 Internet Tablet and it is quite a powerful solution. I enjoy using the N810, except for the seemingly slow responsiveness in some applications. Currently, Nokia uses its S60 implementation on their high end phones.

December 2, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Linux

Nokia updates Nokia Maps and Nokia Messaging clients and services

In addition to the amazing new upcoming Nokia N97 Nokia announced some service upgrades at Nokia World 2008. In particular there are new versions of Nokia Maps and Nokia Messaging. Nokia Maps gives you new features like high resolution aerial images, 3D landmarks, ability to share your location, and the capability to preplan your route and have it sent to your device. The new Nokia Messaging client integrates email and IM (from Yahoo!, Windows Live, Google and AOL). These two updated services are now also brought into the Ovi brand as Maps on Ovi and Mail on Ovi.

December 1, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Enterprise Software

Nokia N97 announced; QWERTY keyboard and touch on a Nseries device

Nokia World 2008 is taking place this week in Barcelona, Spain and the event kicked off with the keynote announcing the Nokia N97 multimedia computer. The Nokia N97 brings a QWERTY keyboard and touch screen to the Nseries or you could say it brings a phone and S60 to the Nokia Internet Tablet. The Nokia promotional materials state, "Desktop.Laptop.Pocket" as they bring you a device with a 3.5 inch touch screen display (640x360 pixels resolution) that slides up and at an angle (similar to the AT&T Tilt) to reveal a full 3-row QWERTY keyboard and directional pad. I was expecting to see S60 touch launch on a Nseries rather than the Nokia 5800 we saw last month.

December 1, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Smartphones

Holiday Gift Guide 2008: Feature phones

I've now given you a Holiday Guide for smartphones and free cellphones so this Guide presents the best of the devices that are commonly called feature phones. With the power of today's feature phones, the line between a feature phone and smartphone is getting blurred so most people won't see much of a difference between the two categories of devices and I imagine there will soon be no distinction at all.

December 1, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Networking

MobileTechRoundup show #155, Nokia Legends, Lotus Notes on S60, & BlackBerry Storm

James had a chance to try the BlackBerry Storm and started off MobileTechRoundup show #155 with a few thoughts. Kevin is still enjoying his iPhone and told us about a new application he is using via WiFi on his device. I had a chance to chat with Ross Lamont, from Nokia, about the Nokia Legends campaign in one of our rare podcast interviews. Nokia just took a big step towards supporting all enterprise solutions with their announcement supporting Lotus Notes. Our freeware of the show requires two Macs on one network and after the show Kevin ended up buying another Mac too.

November 30, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Microsoft

Joost streaming video application appears for the iPhone

The TechCrunch post on Joost for the iPhone came across my Twitter feed so I quickly launched iTunes and found the free Joost application. The application started up and looked promising on my WiFi connection, but I found the same issues that TechCrunch did with the application unable to play movies.

November 28, 2008 by Matthew Miller in iPhone

David Pogue forecasts a depression for the Storm and I completely agree

It is not that often that I agree whole heartedly with David Pogue's reviews since he is a little too pro-Apple for me, but this time I can honestly say his review of the BlackBerry Storm is right on. The power of a BlackBerry is their QWERTY keyboard and RIM needs to forget about future Storm devices and stick with their niche of the market.

November 26, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Hardware