Courtney Carlisle's latest articles

Verizon takes San Francisco by Storm to give away 100 BlackBerry devices

According to the very well connected Boy Genius, Verizon is setting up a BlackBerry Storm challenge in San Francisco’s Justin Hermann Plaza downtown. For a chance to win, step inside the  BlackBerry Storm challenge station’s giant plastic box that shoots air from the bottom to create a whirlwind of Verizon business cards. If participants can pluck at least seven black BlackBerry Storm cards out of the chaos in the allotted time, they...

BlackBerry App center to launch in March 2009

While I’m certainly not thrilled about the wait, I am very excited about the new BlackBerry App store that RIM finally announced and dated this week. Beginning this December, developers will be able to submit their applications to be considered for the RIM storefront of the BlackBerry Application Center, which is set to launch in March 2009. Similar to the Apple model, RIM will take a 20% revenue share (10% less than Apple). RIM will allow...

Samsung lays down the beat

Samsung launched the Beatb and Beats, two new handsets centered around Motion Play, which lets users access and enjoy music with a couple of clicks.  Shake the phone to skip to the next track, tap it to pause the beats and flip it over to mute. Yes – the devices also comes equipped with the standard side keys, but if you can’t be bothered… Beats, the candy bar style phone slated for October, also comes quipped with Bang & Olufsen...

Samsung and AT&T: The perfect rugby match

AT&T released the Samsung A837, the bright colored new clamshell that can withstand shock vibrations, rain, humidity, solar radiation and dust and is duly dubbed, the Rugby ($129.99 after rebate). Certified to Military Standard MI-SID-810F, the device is built tough to withstand harsh conditions of all on-site jobs. The perfect gift for every outdoorsman or ski instructor in your life, it also comes equipped with integrated aGPS with...

HTC Dream gets release date

According to my friend, Greg Kumparek on the Crunch* team, we can expect HTC’s Dream out on T-Mobile as early as mid-October; in fact his post from this week says to expect in on October 20th if everything goes to plan for the carrier.  The company will be making the official announcement in a press conference next week on September 23rd in New York. If that’s the case, the HTC Dream will be the first Android-enabled phone to the...

JuiceCaster now available on BlackBerry

JuiceCaster, the photo/video sharing application, is now available for free on the Blackberry Curve. Users can sign up to receive the JuiceCaster beta from here. The free beta application is available to Curve owners on AT&T and Verizon and will soon be available for Blackberry Pearl users (and for Blackberry users in Europe). JuiceCaster is the social media application that lets mobile phone users capture pictures and videos and...

T-Mobile unveils the BlackBerry Curve 8320 in sunset

This week, to spice things up a bit, T-Mobile launched the BlackBerry Curve 8320 in Sunset Red.  Like it’s titanium and gold siblings, the Sunset version includes a 2 megapixel camera, music and video multimedia player, a microSD expandable memory slot that supports up to 4GB of memory and stereo Bluetooth® as well as HTML Web browsing at Wi-Fi speeds, personal and corporate email and built-in spell check. The device is also...

WordPress available on iPhone

WordPress, the most used blog tool in its category, announced this week that they are live for iPhone! WordPress for iPhone is now available for download from the App Store.  All iPhone blogging junkies have to do is go to the store, download it and start blogging on the go. The WordPress for iPhone open-source application lets users create and edit content on their WordPress blogs and comes complete with the following features: support...

New slydial services

We all do it. There is one call that you have to make that you keep putting off until tomorrow, and then the next day. Well, now, you can try Slydial, a new service that lets you connect directly with another person's cell phone voice mail, bypassing the traditional ringing process that often results -- sometimes disastrously -- with someone picking up on the other end. Users call (267) SLY-DIAL from either a cell phone or a landline, and...

Google Talk for the iPhone now available

A new version of Google Talk is now available for the iPhone and iPod Touch browsers to let users not only communicate via Gmail but also keep in touch with quick bits via Talk. Users need to use Safari on iPhone to get to Google Talk. When you navigate away from the page on your web browser, status is set to unavailable, and the session restarts when you return. So, it’s not as integrated as a downloadable app, but it’ll do for a quick fix....

Google maps for mobile with voice search for BlackBerry

The Google Maps for mobile team announced that you can now speak your query instead of typing it on a certain BlackBerry devices (Pearl 8110, 8120, and 8130, US only). Using the same speech recognition engine as GOOG-411, the free directory assistance service, Voice Search for Google Maps is great in situations when you can text…like while driving in California as of this week.

Stay plugged in with Samsung this 4th of July

Samsung Mobile recently added 22 new charging stations at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) to help phone junkies stay juiced up while traveling this week. I am personally grateful for the free Samsung Mobile Charging Station service, which I coincidentally took advantage of yesterday at one of the 51 charging stations in Los Angeles at LAX. In addition to MSP, power thirsty and travelers desperate for a little battery boost...

AT&T announces iPhone 3G pricing and availability

Today, AT&T announced the pricing plans for this month’s arrival of the highly anticipated iPhone 3G. iPhone 3G will be available for $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model. These prices require two-year contracts and are available to the following customers: iPhone customers who purchased before July 11 Customers activating a new line with AT&T Current AT&T customers who are eligible, at the time of purchase,...

BONDI to provide new platform for mobile applications

The BONDI initiative is a new platform for secure mobile application development backed by industry giants including 3 Group, AT&T, T-Mobile, Telenor, Telefonica, Telecom Italia and Vodafone. The goal is to create a secure web service interface to be used by web developers across multiple device platforms. Set up to help web developers create more function-rich, user friendly and relevant applications, the initiative is designed to drive...

Free mobile content site: Myxer

Myxer announced today that they have passed 10,000 users and 20 million downloads a month – for you math wizards out there, that’s 150 million downloads since they launched – that is a lot of people checking out free mobile content downloads. There is no shortage of new content either – Myxer has more than 400,000 ringtones, wallpapers, games and videos available on the ad-supported Myxer website, from over 17,000 partners and content...

Free Bluetooth headsets in L.A. from LG

With California going hands-free next month (on July 1st), San Diego-based LG is giving away 1,000 Bluetooth earpieces at the Peterson Automotive Museum (catch the relevance?) in Los Angeles (tomorrow) on June 19th beginning at 11 a.m. to ensure safe drivers will abound on the parking lot that is the 405. And, yes, of course they will be partnering with the Ponch (Erik Estrada), an apparently tireless supporter of law enforcement, who will...

Nokia officially announces and unveils the E-Series

Today Nokia officially unveiled the E66 and the E71 smartphone that sports a full QWERTY keyboard. Although the E66 is a sleek slider, and the E71 comes candy-bar style, the devices both support Microsoft exchange and are set to be messaging devices at the core. Blutetooth compatibility, GPS, expandable memory perfect for a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash come standard on both handsets. Sadly, they won’t  be available...

Nokia E71 pictures are white hot

In January, our own Noah Kravitz reported that the Nokia E71 would be available in the second quarter of this year. Well, we are ready for the roll out! Peter Ha at Crunchgear posted images of the E71 smartphone this weekend that look sexy and sleek. Based on the other recent Nokia offerings, this should be a fully loaded device. Earlier reports claim that it will come packed with a 10mm thin body with a 3mp camera, WiFi, GPS and HSDPA...

BlackBerry nation: Bold and Thunder

This week, The Boy Genius Report created a lot of buzz when they posted a picture of the Blackberry Thunder, RIM’s rumored next generation touch screen device that is expected out later this year on Verizon’s 3G network. Offering a little something for everyone, this summer RIM will roll out the Blackberry Bold on AT&T in July. The Bold, which appeals to everyone who has to have a physical keyboard and powerhouse email device also comes...

BlackBerry users score extra memory

As an avid fan of BlackBerry handsets all around, I was really excited to find out about the new service Cortado Connect for Box.net. The free service lets RIM users transfer files from their BlackBerry devices to store online at Box.net up to 1GB. The service even let’s you share your files with others. Box.net gives all mobile users with a supported web browser access anywhere to their documents, photos and files through m.box.net. Users...

Mobile companies bring TV to the small screen

According to a recent survey from CNN, mobile TV took the honors of most-wanted feature for consumers on their mobile phones. Have no fear, there are some great options rolling out on the market for those seeking a little portable on-screen entertainment. Check out two picks below from AT&T and Verizon. In March, Samsung & AT&T announced Access, a candybar handset designed to support AT&T Mobile TV and Video Share video...

Check out my EGO

My new favorite gadget, the EGO CUP from Funkwerk Americas, lets you convert your cup holder into a Bluetooth hands-free car kit with a sleek and inconspicuous design. While I loved the ergonomic style, I was a little concerned that no one would be able to hear me since every other device I have tested has either been an earpiece or clipped to the visor. I was pleasantly surprised. The EGO CUP is a simple plug-n-play solution with great call...

T-Mobile begins 3G rollout with NYC

It's a great day for T-Moble subscribers in New York. The carrier announced that the company has taken the first commercial step in the rollout of its third-generation (3G) wireless network by launching its UMTS/HSDPA network in New York City. T-Mobile plans to roll out the high-speed data network in major cities throughout the year and be up and running in areas where most subscribers currently use data services by the end of the year. The...

Samsung's Slash comes to Virgin Mobile

Virgin Mobile is expanding their portfolio to offer it's first Samsung device, a sleek looking slider called Slash. Not much information is out about the device yet, but it will feature voice activated calling, SMS, speakerphone, camera, MP3 ring tones, Bluetooth, and a wireless Wen browser. Pricing and availability haven't been announced yet.

iPhone coming to Canada

This morning Ted Rogers, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rogers Communications Inc. issued the following statement: “We’re thrilled to announce that we have a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year. We can’t tell you any more about it right now, but stay tuned.” Not much more than that was released, but iPhone fans in the North should be excited by the news and can anticipate Rogers and Apple to provide...