Nokia Nuron Smartphone Without The Price

You’d like to have a smart phone, but all you’ve got is a dumb phone budget. Well, the Nokia Nuron is here to change all that. It’s got smartphone features at a great price... FREE.

You read it right. The Nokia Nuron 5230 for T-Mobile is available (as of this writing) free of charge when you order it online. It’s shipped to you, also free of charge, ready to use. No standing in line to get served at a cellular or big box store. No shelling out the big bucks for your new cell phone.

What type of phone is the Nuron? It’s got a 3.2 inch touch screen and even contains a guitar pick-shaped stylus if you prefer to use it. It comes with a 4 GB microSD memory card pre-installed. You can upgrade for more memory at any time. Simply plug in a memory card up to 16 GB to store your music, photos and videos.

Music? Photos? Videos? You bet. This is a multimedia phone. There’s an MP3 player, so you can listen to your favorite music and manage playlists anywhere. Tired of your own music collection? Use the built-in FM radio for music, news, weather and sports wherever you happen to be.

How about video? Sure. Enjoy streaming multimedia such as YouTube videos. You have access to the Web at 3G speeds, where available. Use the built-in web browser and email client to give you Internet access on the go. Text messaging, instant messaging, and multimedia messaging are all supported. Even corporate Microsoft Exchange is supported and the ability to view Word, Excel, and PowerPoint attachments. Looks like you’ll be able to work as well as play on this phone. Oh, well. There’s no getting away from work. This phone even has international compatibility.

A couple of other features worth mentioning are the 2 Megapixel digital camera that also works as a camcorder and GPS services support for navigation and location based apps. All this capability and you’ll still be able to talk up to 7 hours or keep your phone on standby for up to 18 days.

Does the Nuron sound like the right phone for you? If so, learn more and order your Nokia Nuron 5230 for T-Mobile to get in on the limited time FREE offer with FREE shipping.

Yes, there are also good deals on other smartphones and basic cell phones. Check out the current specials at Cell Phone Plans Finder now.

HTC HD2 Smartphone With Movies

When was the last time someone offered you a cell phone with two full-length movies already installed? That’s just the start of the surprises you’ll find with the HTC HD2 smartphone for T-Mobile. It doesn’t just say “entertainment,” it screams it!

You might suspect this phone is built for multimedia when you take a look at the huge touch screen display. This one boasts a screen size of 4.3 inches and a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. Does that sound like a cell phone or a small computer? Yes.

The HD2 is a widescreen Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone with HTC Sense running on a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor. You saw correctly. This gadget runs at a blazing GHz. That means you can run multiple applications at once without experiencing time lags. To keep up, cellular broadband is at the 3G level wherever available. Not fast enough? Step into the closest WiFi hotspot and download even faster.

But what about those movies? Oh, yes. You get “Transformers” and “Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen” pre-installed on a 16 GB memory card. You can use other memory cards up to 32 GB for all the storage you need. That’s storage for movies, of course. But it's also storage for the pictures and videos you take yourself. Plus eBooks, music, and documents (for those occasional times you have to work). The HD2 comes pre-loaded with apps that include Blockbuster, Barnes & Noble eBooks, MobiTV and Guitar Hero. The MobiTV app includes a 30 day free trial, the Barnes &Noble eBooks app includes 3 free books, and the Blockbuster app includes 2 free rentals. There’s also a GoGo app that includes 6 months of free in-flight WiFi. No reason not to use this beauty as you soar through the skies.

The digital camera of this HTC smartphone deserves special mention. It’s got 5 Megapixels of resolution and multiple capture modes, including widescreen. There’s a dual LED flash and zoom. So, you need a standalone digital camera... why?

For you mobile professionals, this is also a work phone. You can access Microsoft apps including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Enhanced teleconferencing includes easy invites to conference call participants from your email. The SWYPE keyboard option helps you type up to 50 words per minute. That important because it lets you get back to entertainment as fast as possible.

It’s an entertainment phone. It’s a work phone. That pretty much covers the day’s activities. The question is whether this is the phone you must have next. Well, is it? If so, learn more and order your HTC HD2 smartphone for T-Mobile at a deep discount online. You’ll also get free shipping. But hurry, this deal could change at any time without notice and you don't want to miss out.

Of course, if you prefer a different model of phone or a different carrier there is a huge selection of free and low cost mobile devices to choose from. Shop now through Cell Phone Plans Finder and be sure to check the specials for today.

LG enV Envy Touch Phone Messaging Machine

Are you torn between wanting one of the new touchscreen phones but wanting, perhaps needing, a full QWERTY keyboard with physical buttons? Well, no need to make that choice anymore. The new LG enV Touch is both a touchscreen phone and a messaging phone.

Look at the “Envy” Touch phone closed and you’ll think it is a standard touchscreen smartphone. Clever disguise. Yes, the external 3 inch display is an 800 x 480 pixel color TFT touchscreen with tactile feedback and customizable shortcuts. But did you know that there is another 3 inch 800 x 400 pixel color display inside? This one isn’t a touchscreen. It doesn’t need to be. You’ll use your inner high resolution display in conjunction with the spacious QWERTY keyboard.

Just open the case lengthwise and you’ll find everything you need for fast, efficient messaging. Advanced features include instant reply and auto-complete. You can send and receive text messages with threaded, chat-style view. Instant messaging is supported, as well as multimedia messaging for picture and video messages. The email client supports popular web-based mobile email accounts such as Yahoo! and corporate email.

Such a well engineered phone should be able to browse the Web in style. Indeed, the LG enV Touch is equipped to do just that. The HTML Web browser is powered by the Verizon Wireless EVDO Rev-A data mobile data network. That means high speed downloads and faster than you might expect uploads. Verizon Wireless 3G offers download speeds of 600 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps and upload speeds of 500 to 800 Kbps. That’s easily competitive with many landline DSL services.

What other surprises does this advanced envy phone offer? You’ll like the 3.2 Megapixel digital camera with auto-focus, flash and image editor, among other features. It also works as a camcorder to record and share video clips with your friends and colleagues.

As you might expect, multimedia is also well supported in the LG enV Touch. You get an MP3 player that also plays AAC and AAC+ files. You can order stream media plans including V CAST music with Rhapsody and V CAST videos. Multimedia is another reason you’ll be glad you’ve got Verizon Wireless’ 3G network. Listen to your audio and video content through headphones connected to the standard 3.5mm stereo headset jack or make use of the Bluetooth A2DP wireless capability to stream to wireless headsets or other compatible devices.

What cutting edge technology phone would be complete with GPS support? This one has it so you can use the VZ Navigator service and never be lost again.

Memory is expandable using microSD memory cards up to 16GB. That way you’ll have all the room you need for photos and music. You can record voice memos up to one hour in length, so go ahead and dictate your memoirs while you’re at it. Then get back to texting!

What are the hottest cell phone deals available right now, including free cell phones? Use the Cell Phone Plan Finder to check out the top phones and associated wireless service plans.

We Welcome a New iMac to the Family

It’s Saturday afternoon. I’m wondering where it is. Could the FedEx online tracking be wrong? The truck’s been out for delivery for about six hours now. They must have unloaded every package possible long ago. Oh, wait. What’s that white truck across the street? Is it? Is it really? Yes, it is!

Inside a plain brown corrugated cardboard outer shipping box is what I’ve been eagerly anticipating for a week. It’s a brand new Apple 24 inch iMac shipped with custom options from the factory.

What’s perhaps a little silly about all this anticipation is that it’s taken me a year to actually order one of these. In fact, I’ve been on the PC side of things for about 10 years after well over a decade as a Mac only user. Why the change of heart yet again? What is it I hope to achieve with a Macintosh that I can’t with a PC? Why now?

It all comes down to two things. How decrepit your current computer is and what you are planning to do from now on. Notice I didn’t say what you are actually doing. The choice of the iMac is more for the future than the present.

I’ll explain. The whole reason I switched from Mac to PC in the first place was incompatibility with the corporate world I was deeply immersed in at the time. The PowerPC Mac I was using was in need of replacement. The processor was too slow, the hard drive was too small, and the memory was laughable tiny even after a couple of upgrades. The cost of further upgrades was approaching the cost of a new machine, so I figured that was the perfect time to switch to a more corporate computer.

Now fast forward to this year. The Compaq desktop Windows PC has slowed with every browser and system software update. It takes up to 20 minutes every morning for it to power up, load all the software in the tray, check for new virus definitions and update the virus software. You wouldn’t dare bring in email or go searching the Web without those updates. When we go out for lunch, I run a full system virus scan. That may sound like overkill, but it finds something at least once a week.

In addition to the maintenance time needed and the slowing performance, the processor fan is starting to make crunchy noises. I’ve already replaced a disk drive and a monitor. A new fan wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But the truth is that “grandpa” is getting tired. Today, a fan. Tomorrow, a power supply. The next day? Hey, the keyboard is getting a little sticky and the wireless mouse needs more time to charge every day. No, it’s really time for a replacement once again.

But why switch back to a Mac? I’ve eyed my wife’s MacBook Pro with envy for a year now. I used it to record some audio reports using GarageBand. The audio quality was startlingly good and the process of recording and editing was nearly intuitive from start to finish. I would have done more, but there was no way to get enough time on that computer.

Therein lies the explanation. You can get a wide range of software to do just about anything on a PC. But the Mac comes with creative multimedia tools already installed and ready to use. They’re also tightly integrated as a system. With a PC, it’s up to you to make all those disparate functions sing together in harmony... if you can.

So, the iMac is an investment in the future. In my opinion, that’s a creative future full of interactivity and multimedia. It’s a world that I want to be part of as a matter of course, not as a heroic process of kludging together pieces of this and that. I think that Apple is, and truthfully always has been, way out in front of Microsoft and others in evolving toward the future even when the status quo seems to be working just fine. So, Mac it is.

Now, do the results live up to the anticipation? Here’s how it went down on Saturday. Within 15 minutes after arrival, the iMac was out of the box and on the desktop with power, broadband and keyboard connected. Minutes later, it was on and connected to the Internet. The wireless mouse (an upgrade) worked fine with no adjustments needed. There were no other connections. It’s one integrated unit with software installed and running as soon as you can see the screen light up.

Granted, there was some customizing required. Gmail worked immediately because it’s Web based and the Safari browser comes ready to run. Email needed to be told what mail servers to use. I’ve got 4 POP mail accounts I need. Oddly enough, the computer never once asked me anything about connecting to the Internet. It found the LAN connection and configured itself. I could have used wireless also, as it comes built-in.

The rest of the weekend was spent playing around with the dashboard widgets, so I’ve got weather radar, forecasts, time, temperature and stock prices at a click of the mouse ball. I’ve also installed the Talking Moose for company, the Firefox browser just because it’s familiar, Stuffit Expander for downloading programs, and Flip4Mac to view Windows Media videos online. Oh, yes, and a favorite photo to use as a desktop background.

That’s it. There was no trial-ware and no junk-ware offers to fend off. In fact, there’s no clutter at all. All the programs are on the dock at the bottom of the screen. The only other object on the desktop is the Macintosh HD in the upper right hand corner.

Now it’s Sunday night. As a test of how useful the new iMac is, I’m writing this on the TextEdit program that automatically checks spelling and grammar as I type. That’s an immediate improvement over WordPad on the PC. Grandpa is snoozing away on the typewriter return. Haven’t needed to turn him on all day. That’s pretty amazing in itself. I recall it taking several days to be able to use him productively in his prime. It took about week after that unfortunate disk crash to get everything back in order. We don’t need to say any more about that.

Now to post to Blogger and then get back to exploring all these new programs. Wow, look at all that space on the desktop. Did I mention this machine has a 24 inch monitor? I’m sure we’ll find some way to put it all to good use.

On a Red Hot Rant With Samsung

With the Samsung M540 you can get on a red hot rant. What's more, you can choose between a verbal rant and a text rant. They're equally as easy with this wireless gadget.

The Samsung Rant in Red is technically a cell phone. But they didn't call it a "Rant" for nothing. The hot red color is indicative of its hot performance. In the closed position, it's an attractive cell phone with the buttons you need for dialing right there on the face. Make and receive calls. Get pictures from your friends on the high resolution 2.1 in. LCD color main display, and snap a few pix of your own using the 2.0 Megapixel digital camera.

While you're at it, why not make a movie? The Samsung Rant works a camcorder to capture video as long as you have memory available. That can be quite a while, because this phone accepts expandable MicroSD/Transflash memory up to 4 GB per card.

But voice is only half the story. Slide out the hidden backlit QWERTY keyboard and you have the means to easily text and email to your heart's content. The POP email client with wireless sync is built-in. So are an instant messenger and mobile Web browser. You're all set for multimedia messaging, including video messaging. You'll need the appropriate Sprint add-on plans for these extra capabilities. But you won't be wanting for speed. The Samsung Rant runs on the Sprint EV-DO broadband 3G cellular network for downloads up to 700 Kbps. In the case where you're away from the EV-DO footprint, you still have data capability at the reduced rate of 130 Kbps.

Maybe you'd just like to rant to yourself. No problem. The Rant has a voice memo feature that lets you record up to 100 memos-to-self at a minute each.

When not ranting, you can relax with your favorite tunes using the MP3 player with files synced from your PC. A standard 2.5mm stereo headset jack is included to make this easy. Or get Sprint Music and TV delivered with optional service packages.

What are the hottest cell phone deals available right now, including free cell phones? Use the Cell Phone Plan Finder to check out the top phones and associated wireless service plans.

From Here to Samsung Eternity

Outside the building, winter winds are howling and snow is piling up. But right in front of my eyes the surf is pounding on the shores of Hawaii. There, on the beach, a young couple frolics in the waves. Wow, if I could just step through this screen and flop on the sand myself. It looks real, but it's really just a TV picture. Even so, I think the temperature in here just went up a few degrees. The power of suggestion has never been stronger than what I'm seeing on this little screen that I'm holding up to block the winterscape out the window.

Ah, such is the power of video anywhere. You no longer need to be in the moment, miserable as it might be. Bored waiting for an appointment? Check the latest breaking news or stock reports. Stuck on the bus for the indefinite future? Watch a little comedy or a reality show. That's possible now on your mobile TV set that just also happens to be a cell phone. Not just video clips, mind you. Full length TV shows in real time. The service is AT&T's MediaFLO Live TV and the player is the amazing Samsung Eternity A867 Black.

The Samsung Eternity offers a slim touchscreen experience, just a half-inch thin in a sleek black package. The face of the unit is dominated by the 3.2 inch color main display that offers touchscreen control using the TouchWiz user interface. You touch the screen and you feel a small vibration to let you know you've made an entry. An accelerometer detects whether you are holding the phone in portrait or landscape mode and adjusts the display automatically. Your dial pad is on the screen, as is a full QWERTY keyboard in landscape mode that offers decent size keys for texting and URL entry. A full HTML web browser is included.

The Samsung Eternity is a true multimedia phone that supports both mobile television and videos. It also sports a 3.2 Megapixel digital camera with smile detection and a panorama mode. Switch to video capture and you can use it as a camcorder in a variety of formats. Send and receive picture and video messages as well as text messages and email.

The music player in the Eternity supports MP3, AAC and other popular music formats with playlists. The Bluetooth A2DP and AVRC profiles are supported, in addition to a standard Bluetooth telephone headset for handsfree operation. That means you can also stream stereo music to compatible devices in your car or at home.

What are the hottest cell phone deals available right now, including free cell phones? Use the Cell Phone Plan Finder to check out the top phones and associated wireless service plans.

LG enV2 Sparks Envy Too

The original enV "envy phone" from LG turned a lot of eyes green. The new enV2 VX9100 upgrade makes the envy factor even stronger, especially for heavy text messagers, mobile gamers and mobile media aficionados.

What makes the enV2 really special is the hidden full QWERTY keyboard. This phone doesn't force you to tap out messages on a virtual keyboard shown on a glass screen. Oh, no. This is a real keyboard with nice size keys. Normally, you'll keep your enV2 closed and use it just like any other candybar phone for making and receiving calls. But when you want to text, just open the case to reveal both a full keyboard and a larger 2.4 inch high resolution color display. There are also dual stereo speakers to make your multimedia experience special.

The sleek black and silver styling of the LG enV2 sports a plethora of features that make it an up to date high-tech cellphone. It's broadband data connectivity is EV-DO on the Verizon Wireless network. That gives you up to 700 Kbps download speed, similar to many DSL connections. This bandwidth is great when you are watching on-demand TV or listing to music with Verizon's VCAST add-on plans. It's also valuable for sending and receiving picture messages.

Photographic capability of the enV2 includes a 2.0 Megapixel resolution digital camera that can be used in camcorder mode with QVGA resolution (320x240 pixels) and record videos up to 1 hour long. There is 63 MB of memory built-in and you can expand that up to 8GB using plug-in MicroSD/Transflash format memory cards.

Other niceties include GPS services support so you can get turn-by turn directions from VZ Navigator, if you choose to subscribe to it. There is Bluetooth streaming for musical enjoyment on high quality wireless headphones and other devices that support the A2DP protocol. Voice activated dialing lets you speak a phone book name with no pre-training required.

What are the hottest cell phone deals available right now, including free cell phones? Use the Cell Phone Plan Finder to check out the top phones and associated wireless service plans.

Laptop Too Big? Try a Tablet

You'd like to tote your laptop computer everywhere. That is, if it didn't make your arm fall off. Internet enabled cell phones certainly take care of that size and weight problem. But then you have the challenge of dealing with the itty bitty buttons and the teeny tiny screen. It sure would be nice if there was something in-between. What you want is a device that will fit in the palm of your hand, yet have a screen big enough to easily use the Internet and Web based tools. Have you considered an Internet media tablet?

The Archos 7 Internet media tablet is a high end model of the ultra mobile computer. Think of a device that looks like a much larger version of the iPhone. It's all touch screen on front. That way you get a 7 inch color touch display with a resolution of 800x480 pixels. That's big enough to render Web pages directly, so you don't have to slide around peeking at little slices of the page content. Your browser is the Opera Web browser with Adobe Flash 9 video support, just like on a larger machine. You also get a PDF viewer and Email client.

Hmmm. Where's the keyboard? It's on the screen, of course. To continue the iPhone analogy, you use a touch screen keyboard for your data entry. Of course, the Archos 7 has a much larger keyboard because it has a much larger screen.

Connectivity is via built-in Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g access. You also have the option to plug-in a 3.5G cellular broadband adapter with a USB connector to a mini-dock adaptor. That should be everything you need to get on the Internet.

Now, truth be told, the Archos 7 and other members of the Internet media table product line are really targeted for multi-media on the go. Hence, the "media" tablet designation. What types of media? Movies, music, photos. Even high definition video, Web radio and TV, video podcasts, and video recording using the optional "helmet cam."

A helmet cam? It's a tubular video camera that connects to the Archos tablet so you can use it as a camcorder. I suppose you could strap it to a cycle helmet and go zooming down the street. Too bad about anybody subject to motion sickness who happens to be watching the results.

Video support includes MPEG-4, WMV, and M-JPEG. Audio support is MP3, WMA, Protected WMA, WMA pro 5.1 and WAV. There are additional plug-ins to support other formats such as MPEG-4 (ASP 720p) & WMV HD (MP 720p), H.264 up to DVD resolution with AAC, MPEG-2 MP@ML up to 10 Mbps (up to DVD resolution) and AC3 stereo sound (5.1).

How about storage capacity? Forget those little memory cards you plug into cell phones. This Archos 7 comes with 320 GB capacity so you can enjoy up to 400 movies, 3.2 million photos, or 190,000 songs before you run out of room. Battery life is a generous 12 hours for listening to music or 4 hours for watching videos.

If you feel your needs are gravitating toward more multimedia applications on a mobile basis, you might want to think about one of these media tablets to bring along. You'll also have access to the Internet on at least a casual basis. For some users, this could be just the right combination for personal and business use.

New Things BREWing in Wireless

Mobile content has become a hot area of development as everything goes more and more wireless. A cell phone is no longer just a cell phone. It's an information and entertainment device that also makes and receives phone calls. Any mobile device that isn't also a portable computer, gaming console, music machine, GPS navigation system or video player gets ignored in favor of those that are. One of the key technologies in making those 3G and 4G technologies work in wireless handhelds is BREW, and new things have been BREWing at their just completed conference.

What's BREW? It stands for Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless. In other words, a technology that enables multimedia applications to function in a wireless device. BREW was created by Qualcomm in 2001 as an applications development for CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) mobile phone networks, such as the ones operated by Verizon and Sprint. It's been expanded to include GSM networks, which include AT&T, Alltel, T-Mobile and the rest of the world. BREW applications run on the BREW RTOS or Real Time Operating System, much like PC applications run on Windows or MacOS.

So, what's new with BREW? One big improvement is plan to integrate Adobe Flash technology into the BREW platform. This should be available in the fall of this year. That's not too far away for developers to get ramped up with new tools. But the good news is that developers can use their existing Adobe tools, including some popular ones contained in Adobe Creative Suite 3, to quickly port their Flash applications for BREW.

Qualcomm is also introducing a new framework called Plaza for creating widgets. It's an open standards-based system for developing modular internet applications that can run on many platforms. Such widgets are popular for delivering content from Websites and information services.

What's this all mean for users? Clearly, the mobile application experience is going to be richer and more diverse in the near future. Apple and BlackBerry have set expectations high for both personal and business use. Many new wireless devices will certainly expand the range of content and interactivity available to users on the go.

For a rich selection of BREW enabled and other wireless devices and cellular phones, browse now at Cell Phone Plans Finder.

Motorola RAZR 2, The Razor Phone Legend Lives On

Motorola's RAZR V3 is undoubtedly the most sensational and well received business phone of all time. So how do you follow a winner like that? With the RAZR 2, of course. Motorola's razor phone legend lives on with upgrades that keep it at the front of the pack. Its multimedia features also make it a highly desirable personal cell phone.

Here's what stays and what's new in the RAZR 2. First of all, don't worry about a bulging phone. The technology upgrades have been integrated without fattening up the chassis. The RAZR 2 V9m is still a svelte 0.5 inches thin and weighs in at a mere 3.6 ounces. Battery life is up to 250 minutes of talk time and up to 280 hours on standby.

The most noticeable difference in razor families is the new large color display on the outside of the case. No more little bitty window. This is a high resolution color 320 x 240 pixel screen displaying over 65,000 colors. The main display is also 320 x 240 pixels but is upgraded to display over 262,000 colors.

All this resolution is put to good use for taking and viewing still photos and downloading videos. The digital camera is now 2.0 Megapixels. It can be used in a camcorder mode to capture video up to 2 hours in length. Yes, you too can make a full length movie right on your cell phone. At 15 frames per second and 176 x 144 resolution, however, you won't exactly be shooting content for the resurgence of the drive-in theater.

Bluetooth wireless is implemented extensively in the RAZR 2. You get support for the usual hands-free headset, but also streaming stereo music to external A2DP Bluetooth devices. You can also print your photos directly from your phone using a BPP or Bluetooth Basic Printing compatible printer.

The RAZR 2 V9m is optimized for Sprint's multimedia services. These add-on plans offer you Sprint Navigation turn-by-turn directions, Sprint TV video, Sprint Music streaming radio and downloadable music over-the-air. The technology that makes this possible is EV-DO cellular broadband, available in most metro areas, plus expandable memory capacity up to 2 GB.

What are the hottest cell phone deals available right now, including free cell phones? Use the Cell Phone Plan Finder to check out the top phones and associated wireless service plans.