Were Smartphones "Slow" Phones Before 3G? 4G?

This article was used and submitted with permission from jakeculpmedia.com.

Yesterday, I was checking my email on my phone and I had come to realize that even with 3G running, it was still slow. Even though my phone is not a smart phone, (its a world phone, the Samsung Impression to be exact) it still is fast enough to compare with other smart phones. With the new Evo 4G from Sprint coming out, does this mean that we are now getting into the "fast" smart phone age? Mmy opinion is that smartphones don't really have to be so called "fast" in order to be a smartphone. A smartphone's job is to make it easier for the average person to check their email and browse the web. Speed is not a factor in this situation. I think that most smartphones do that and do it very well. 

My point is that smartphones do what they say they do, they are SMART. They help create and manage your everyday tasks in your life with ease. Yes, smartphones were "slow" phones before 3g or 4g, but that is not the point; the point is that smartphones help run your life PERIOD.

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BlackBerry Torch Announced

Today, RIM held an event in New York City to announce their newest smartphone, the BlackBerry Torch. We've heard rumors and seen leaked shots of this phone, and we finally get its specs today. First, the phone will be available on AT&T for $200 with a 2yr. contract, which is inline with most of their other smartphones. The phone itself is a slider phone, a first for RIM, with a 3.2" touchscreen (We'll have to see if it has the same touchscreen as the Storm line. The phone has the same trademark BB keyboard that we know and love. It has your typical BB buttons, including the new optical trackpad, in favor of the older trackball. The Torch has a 5-megapixel camera, finally moving away from RIM's 3.2 megapixel obsession, with a flash. The phone is running the newest version of BlackBerry's OS, OS 6, with WiFi and Quadband 3G, which will work internationally as well as here in the states. The Torch has 512MB of RAM, a nice feature, considering most of RIM's other phones have 256. The phone ships with 4GB of internal storage, and a 4GB microSD card. The Torch has a new feature called Media Sync, which lets your wirelessly sync your phone to your computer over WiFi, something us iPhone owners have been wanting for a while. 

The phone will be available through AT&T starting in December for $199 with a 2yr. contracts, and if you don't already have an account with AT&T, you'll only have the option of 250MB of data, or 2GB. I hope you've enjoyed my rundown of all the new and exciting features in the new BlackBerry Torch.

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14-Megapixel Smartphone Coming Next Month?

In the past cell phones haven’t always had very powerful cameras. Sony Ericsson introduced the Satio, which was a pretty good phone with a 12-megapixel camera. But now Altek is teasing us with their new “Leo” model, which apparently has a 14-megapixel camera on the back. Alex Hsia stated in the company’s press release, “Picture taking has already risen to become one of the most important mobile phone functions for consumers."

Phones able to capture high definition, high quality images and video are a win‐win for users, as well as telecommunication service providers. The camera also has the ability to capture 720p video. The phone will officially be released next month at the CommunicAsia show in Singapore. But since this phone is still a phone, it has your typical smartphone features: Wi-Fi and HSDPA. Engadget speculated the phone will most likely be running Android OS, however version information has not yet been released. Pricing information hasn't been announced either, but as the CommunicAsia rolls out, we most likely will hear more information on this monster of a smartphone.

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Palm is Coming to AT&T

Recently, Palm announced that AT&T customers will have a new smartphone to chose from, announcing that the Palm Pre Plus and the Pixi Plus will be coming to the AT&T network. This is in light of Palm announcing a loss in profit of $22M. Having sold less phones than the pervious quarter, Palm is hoping that expanding their smartphone line to more than 80M AT&T subscribers will boost profits.

 Many bloggers have speculated wondering why people would consider coming to AT&T as opposed to Verizon Wireless or Sprint for these phones. I don’t think this is a case of trying to lure new customers, I think this is a case of offering existing customers a new smartphone. Yes, I’m sure that people are more keen on moving to Verizon, but for customers who are set on AT&T, it just expands the variety of smart phones available to them.

 Based on prices of other carriers, Palm has stated that the Pre Plus will be priced at $149 after rebates with a 2-year contract, and the Pixi Plus will be priced reasonably lower at $49 after rebates and a 2-year contract, which is priced competitively with other smart phones that AT&T offers such as the iPhone and BlackBerry. Palm has not yet released a launch date of this merge, but has said that it will be showing the two phones at CTIA working on AT&T’s network.

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