Entries tagged with “mobile coupons” from WIRELESS AND MOBILE NEWS

Wireless and Mobile News' "Review of Reviews of the the BlackBerry Niagara 9630."

The BlackBerry Tour (Niagara) 9630 has many features that reviewers love such as the speaker phone, excellent talk time, keyboard, and the over all feel of the smartphone.

The BlackBerry Tour (Niagara) is cross between the BlackBerry Curve and BlackBerry Bold with an operating system similar to the BlackBerry Storm.  Because it has the new operating system when the BlackBerry app store opens, software should be compatible with this smartphone.

The BlackBerry Tour (Niagara) has not been released yet, but a few reviewers got a hold of it and are saying good things about the smartphone.

In a sneak peak hands-on review, Boy Genius was wowed by the BlackBerry Tour (Niagara) and gave it kudos and called the BlackBerry Tour (Niagara)'s keyboard the best BlackBerry keyboard, ever. It also has the BEST BlackBerry, speakers, screen and size/feel ever.

The BlackBerry Tour (Niagara) has also gotten a hands-on pre-release review from CrackBerry, where it felt awsome. The keyboard worked well. CrackBerry did not test the software yet therefore it is just a review of the hardware.

Most reviewers don't like that the BlackBerrry Tour (Niagara) 9630 does not come with Wi-Fi. It will most likely be launched on the Verizon Network in May.  It may also appear on Sprint.  It is a CDMA phone and will not work with T-Mobile or AT&T.

To see summaries of the current reviews continue reading.  When more reviews appear we will update this "Review of Reviews" from Wireless and Mobile News.

Juniper Research predicts that the redemption value of mobile coupons will increase by over 30% by 2010.

Juniper Research found that the twin effects of shoppers needing to make economies in their spending and merchants ever keen to make sales will combine to have a very positive impact on the overall demand for mobile coupons.

Mobile coupons are attractive to both consumers and vendors as they can be targeted at specific groups of customers and can be matched against particular interests and purchasing patterns, as opposed to the vanilla approach where "everybody gets every coupon" as in the traditional model.

T-Mobile Samsumg Memoir Rated 4 out 5 by Wireless and Mobile News' Review of Reviews (Best Camera Phone)

The Samsung Memoir ( T-Mobile) packs a full digital  camera in a feature phone. The  8 megapixel camera has advanced camera features including video recording. Reviewers praised the camera naming the Samsung Memoir it the best, highest- performing, camera phone in the United States, as well as Editor's Choice (PC Mag)

Reviewers stated that the Samsung Memoir's touchscreen is responsive. There are separate buttons for camera functions. It has textured covering for an easy grip and looks more like a camera. The Samsung Memoir allows users to upload photos to photo sharing websites easily, but not as quickly as Wi-Fi.

The Samsung Memoir is not a smartphone, but has many addtional features including GPS, e-mail, music/video player and web browsing. Itis lighter and has tons more of camera features than the iPhone.

Reviewers were not thrilled with the web browser, although it surprised on reviewer, he suggested using Opera mini, instead.

The onscreen keyboard was liked and found responsive by reviewers. The Samsung Memoir doesn't have a standard earphone jack and reviewers did not like that it lacks Wi-Fi connectivity. All the reviewers agreed the Samsung Memoir is the Best Camera Phone in the United States. The Samsung Memoir is available directly from T-Mobile and as of this writing costs $250 with a contract after rebates.

Wirefly is selling the Samsung Memoir to new customers with a two-year contract for the $49.99 month plan and rebate for $149.99. If you sign up with LetsTalk.com you can get 25% off accessories  with a phone (use Coupon Code 698adb7e) the Samsung Memoir  price of $149.99 with a contract extension and rebate, or $99 with a new contract/rebate and $99 @ month unlimited plan.

Verizon's Samsung Omnia Rated 3.5 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News Review of Reviews

The Verizon Samsung Omnia  is a full haptic touchscreen Windows Mobile Professional smartphone with lots of features including 3G access, push email, GPS, Microsoft document editing, multimedia player, 5 megapixel camera, video recorder and Wi-Fi.

Reviews were mixed over the addition of the Samsung TouchWiz widget on top of the Windows Mobile interface on the Samsung Omnia. Because it is a touchscreen smartphone, the user has to adapt to the interface. You can use a stylus for functions, but there is no holder to keep the stylus in the Samsung Omnia.

Two reviewers noted the outstanding quality of the camera and concluded that the Samsung Omnia was a tad faster and better choice than the BlackBerry Storm smartphone. While the Samsung Omnia screen is not as brilliant than the BlackBerry Storm screen.

All reviewers thought the call quality was excellent with one commenting it was close to landline-quality.  The Samsung Omnia comes with 8 gigabytes of storage and you can add a 16 gigabyte microSD card. 

This smartphone has been very popular and Samsung announced at Mobile World Congress that they will be making a Samsung Omnia HD which may be why Verizon dropped the price of the Samsung Omnia to $99 when you use the Wireless Mobile News' direct coupon-link Instant Phone Rebate Only Available with Online Purchase. That's a lot of phone for a little money. Wirefly has also lowered its price for the Samsung Omnia which costs $99 for new customers with a contract and free FedEx shipping. Don't forget, Wirefly also offers on all cell phone purchases or upgrades a free Bluetooth headset phone purchase or upgrade. Use coupon WIREFLYBT23 at checkout, offer expires March 31.

There has been a lot of buzz from CES about the Palm Pre, that will be offered in the U.S. from Sprint. So you don't have to scroll through all the reviews so far, we've summarized them for you here.

Reviewers' first impressions of the Palm Pre are very positive, calling it amazing and the most important smartphone to be announced in the last two years.

The user-interface of the Palm Pre was loved by all who viewed it for its ease of use and beauty.  The keyboard similar to other Palm smartphones was admired just for being there.  The touchscreen is brilliant and reviewers gushed over how gorgeous it is and how well it worked. The Palm Pre web browser is super fast, outstanding and responsive.

In other words, the early evaluations of the Palm Pre are very very very suplerlative with an excitment that has not been seen since the iPhone.  The Palm Pre does have more features than the iPhone including: multitasking, copy and paste, an LED flash, web integration, and a wireless charger. To read summaries of each of the super megaliscious fantabulous reviews continue reading.

LG Incite (AT&T) Rated 3.5 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News Review of Reviews

The LG Incite is a touchscreen smartphone that has many more features than the popular LG Vu but is as shiny as the LG Shine. The best capabilities of the LG Incite, according to reviewers, are fast 3G access, Wi-Fi, external microSD slot, standard headphone jack and good call quality. Reviewers noted that the web browsing on WAP sites was fine, the auto-rotate for portrait/landscape was sluggish, and the mirror-like finish was so shiny it showed smudges.

The LG Incite packs the power of a business smartphone using the Windows Mobile operating system. You can sync your calendar and contacts from your PC in Microsoft Outlook and copy/paste, view or edit Microsoft Word files (these functions are not possible in the LG Vu.) It has email capabilities and handwriting recognition via a finger or stylus. Other neat features include voice dialing, voice commands and built-in FM radio.

Reviewers wrote that the onscreen keyboard works, but takes up most of the touchscreen. The multimedia functions of the LG Incite were not rated highly, with dim photos/video and  music playing not as good as an MP3 player.

The LG Incite has been temporarily out of stock for the past few weeks online at the AT&T Store. We think it has to do with the excellent value because AT&T is selling the LG Incite for $99 after a rebate with a contract. When you add the Wireless and Mobile News'  $50 Off on AT&T phones or accessories with a plan "online coupon-link"  that would bring the price of the LG Incite down to $50 much cheaper than most other full-featured smartphones. If you require a lot of data input or typing the LG Incite may not the best choice. If you don't need the super-slickness of the iPhone, the LG Incite may give you the insight you need from a smartphone.

To see summaries of the reviews we reviewed continue reading.

Samsung Behold Rated 3.5 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News Review of Reviews

The Samsung Behold holds a lot of promise as mid-level feature phone for users who want a 5 megpixel camera, multimedia capabilities, email syncing, Bluetooth, GPS, and some web browsing. One reviewer thought the full-featured camera was better than the Moto ZN5 while another thought the Samsung Behold camera was not as good as the ZN5.

All reviewers commented on the great 3G speed of T-Mobile with the Samsung Behold. They also noticed that all features were not top of the line.  Web browsing was called lackuster because it defaults to mobile-friendly WAP pages when they are available.  The on-screen QWERTY keyboard is small but functional. 

Due to the constant iPhone comparision reviewers did not like that the Samsung Behold lacks Wi-Fi.  It's mutimedia functions as music player were fine although it requires a propriety headphone jack. The Smasung Behold comes in rose and espresso and  is considered by one reviewer to be a fun phone. Call quality was excellent.

To read summaries of the reviews reviewed for this "Review of Reviews" continue reading. It looks like Wirefly has the best deal deal on the Samsung Behold after rebates for new customers.

Wireless and Mobile News Rates the AT&T Quickfire 4 out 5

AT&TQuickfire is “tween” phone. It has some high-end features but it is not a full smartphone. Therefore although reviewers liked it, they found it useful to tween-users especially the young texting crowd.

The AT&T Quickfire has both a touchscreen and a a slide-out keyboard. It is built for texting, IM, email and other textual uses.  The touchscreen is capacitive like the iPhone and can be used in conjunction with the the roomy keyboard.  The call quality was very good and camera works fine.

The AT&T Quickfire has a good full HTML browser with fast 3G speeds for data, music and video.  Reviewers liked the speed and the music, but found it strange that AT&T Quickfire doesn’t come with ear buds.  It does however offer stero Bluetooth for music listening.   AT&Tsells it for $99 with a rebate and contract, while the AT&T QuickFire is free at Wirefly for new AT&T customers.  It is a good value for texters who don’t need super iPhone web browsing.

Our original RoR of the BlackBerry Storm was based on the early first-looks. Now that the full new reviews are in, we decided to update the survey.

It's always hard to find the truth when there is so much hype.  Reviewers tend to put down devices if they get too much media and start niggling over problems. Since the touch screen is new, they find that it takes time to get used to it, while one notes that he loves it. One reviewer lost patience and said that although he was excited about the BlackBerry Storm, it has too many bugs and buyers should "wait out the storm."

They mention and like the brilliant beautiful screen, push email capabilities, and call quality. The compatibility with Microsoft Office products and ability to copy and paste are seen as useful.  The speaker phone, multimedia capabilities, sideloading of music, and camera were all well-rated.

So even though the BlackBerry Storm has more features than the iPhone, it hasn't gotten a "wow" coolness reception, yet.  It's like a new flavor of ice cream, it will take getting used to.  The original reviewers we cited in the first Review of Reviews of the BlackBerry Storm has gone from hot to luke-warm.  Since there is a shortage of the BlackBerry Storm, there is no rush to buy it, unless you decide you must have it.

Wireless and Mobile News' Review or Reviews of the Motorola Krave ZN4 from Verizon Wireless.

Almost simultaneously with its release, reviews are available for the Motorola Krave ZN4 from Verizon. This phone really looks like a Star Trek communicator and boldly goes where no touchscreen phone has gone before because it has a clear  flip cover, that doesn't have to be opened to make the Krave ZN4 work.

Reviewers found the design innovative and the touchscreens on the outside and inside accurate. Where the Krave ZN4  excels is as mobile TV device and real conversation piece.  The screen is clear and vibrant.  For iPhoneaholics this phone will not fulfill those who crave Wi-Fi.

Some reviewers noted that the touchscreen required acclimation, while others found it awkward.  CNET loved the user interface while PC Magazine's Sacha Segan thought it was "stale."  Reviewers were mixed about the web browsing that was clunky at times. Currently, the  Motorola Krave ZN4 lacks full IMAP 4 support making it poor choice for enterprise users. POP3, however was easy to setup and use.

As with all cell phones, your choice depends on what you need and if you personally can use the phone.  Star Trek fans will want flip the Krave ZN4 open at the next Star Trek Convention while other humanoids may want to try it out first. For summaries of the reviewers who did and did not crave the Motorola Krave ZN4 continue reading.

Wireless and Mobile News' Review of Reviews of the BlackBerry Storm

RIM hopes that the BlackBerry Storm takes the enterprise market by storm and the reviewers, so far, are amazed with the new click-screen. There's suspension under the display so you feel like you are acutally pushing keys on a keyboard. The most positive reviewer called the BlackBerrry Storm "drop-dead gorgeous."

The BlackBerry Storm has some features the iPhone does not have, strong compatibility with business documents, the ability to "copy and paste," turn-by-turn directions and the 3.2 megapixel camera, has video recording capabilities which appear to work well.  The 480 x 360 3.26-inch display was called stunning and beautiful. The screen auto-adjusts to light.

The user-interface has been enhanced for touch navgation with some neat mutli-touch features such as the ability to highlight text. The BlackBerrry Storm has all the features needed for enterprise business users including the ability to view and edit documents in Word, Excel and Powerpoint. In the US it will only be available on the Verizon network which may be a factor in buying decisions. 

To read summaries of the reviews we reviewed, continue reading.  You may want read the earlier  BlackBerrry Storm announcement with photos.

HTC Touch Diamond, Review of Reviews:  Not iPhoney Enough? Beauty and the Beast

The HTC Touch Diamond is due from Sprint  and reviewers are already talking about it, commenting on the Windows Operating System calling it "out of date,' making and it a beast while others find it a beauty.

The TouchFLO 3D interface along the bottom of the screen allows for one-handed touching of the screen to move through menus. The HTC Touch Diamond is packed with lots of features. It was called "beautiful and fun to learn"  and a "slab of sculpted elegance."
 
Many more reviews were written since we first wrote this article therefore we created a new "Review of Reviews"

Peek Mobile Email Device Rated 3 out 5 by Wireless and Mobile News

The Peek is simply for email. The Peek keyboard was called "one of the best QWERTY keyboards we've ever tried" by CNET, while some reviewers say it lacks a stylus but not style.

Peek's user interface, keys and jog wheel were all liked by reviewers and email from services like gmail, Yahoo mail and Hotmail were all easy to master and set up. The reviewers, who are used to rating cameras and MP3 players rolled into smartphones think that for a one function device, the Peek is too expensive. The no-contract $19.95 a month service plan doesn't compete with some of the wireless carriers email only plans that go on top of calling plans.

Ladies with long nails will rejoice, however, because it has been noted that Peek's keyboard is roomy enough to accommodate long nails, which the iPhone does not do.

So even though, there are few reasons for Peek-a-yays (like the keyboard) the Peek received more Peek-a-boos for the price and lack of Wi-Fi from  the peak-reviewers. To see summaries of the reviews continue reading.

Palm Treo Pro Rated 4 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News Review of Reviews

Palm has been losing market share recently reviewers are testing the new Palm Treo Pro for strengths and weaknesses. Palm Treo Pro's strengths are it's design, powerful business apps, large screen, push email and unlocked world access, Reviewers refer to the Palm Treo Pro as the best Windows smartphone yet and mostly liked the navigation, except some found the QWERTY keyboard cramped. The screen is bright and sharp. Although the finish looks cool it's prone to smudging.

Some reviewers found the Palm Treo Pro to be "sluggish' and web browsing to be a "mixed-bag."  The places where the Palm Treo Pro shines is business enterprise and the ability to push MS Exchange email and edit Microsoft documents.

Almost all of the reviewers commented that the current suggested price of $549 is too high in comparison to competitors.

Please note:  The Palm Treo Pro is an unlocked GSM handset and will work with a GSM SIM card. 3G aata connection will work on AT&T's network but not for the T-Mobile  frequency.

To see summaries of the reviews revied, please continue reading.

Today we added more sources to the ""Samsung Omnia Review of Reviews." The Samsung Omnia was launched on the same day as the iPhone 3G. When more reviews appear, we will update the "Review of Reviews"

Samsung Omnia Reviews Show Beauty, Brains, Top-End Features

There has been a lot buzz about the Samsung Omnia.  When we originally wrote this Review of Reviews it was for the unlocked international version  To read the Review of Reviews of the Verizon version of the Samsung Omnia click here.

Editor's Note February 24, 2009. The most recent news is that Verizon has dropped the online discount price to $99 when you use the Wireless Mobile News' direct coupon-link Instant Phone Rebate Only Available with Online Purchase. That's a lot of phone for a little money.

When the Samsung Omnia originally came out it was priced $249.99 it got a lot of OMG's that it was a little pricey. We have now collected more reviews in the Verizon Samsung Omnia Review of Reviews 2  for your reading and decision making.

We live in word due to all types of technology that has become too loud for some people.  Bose revolutionized flying when it introduced that Quiet Comfort headsets that electronically made signals which canceled out certain sounds like the rumble of the plane's engine.  The Bose headsets spawned copycats and created a whole new industry as well as inspiring headset makers to create all kinds of new technology to cancel noise. However, the cost of buying into the Bose fraternity is not cheap, $300 and not easily available to those who are not frequent business class flyers.  

So what's a noise plagued person to do?  Well, regular foam earplugs cut out noise and are fairly cheap, but they can also push wax back into the ears, and in warmer climates ear muffs are just too warm. There is a fairly new invention that is wonderful solution to too much noise - Sensgard ZEM Hearing Protection.

Auditory research authority, Dr. Jozef Zwislocki, Professor Emeritus at Syracuse University created ZEM attenuation technology, after years of research and development.  Basically, ZEM directs sound away from the ears and sonically sealed chambers act as an extension of the ear canal which form a vacuum that pulls harmful sounds away the ears.  Proprietary sound dampening material inside the chamber filters and cancels sound waves.

LG Decoy Rated 3.5 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News Review of Reviews

The concept behind the LG Decoy is very handy, kind of like when they put special compartments in purses for cell phones - the LG Decoy has a built-in docked Bluetooth headset that locks onto the phone and shouldn't get lost. The LG Decoy headset combo is the first of its kind and makes sense for many. The reviewers, however, were not keen on the quality of the Bluetooth headset that lacks noise canceling - making it hard to hear in loud outdoor areas.

The reviewers referred to the LG Decoy as a mid-range phone, and liked the tactile keys, fast web browsing, music playing features, call quality, email support, Bluetooth file transfer/printing, fast EV-DO, decent camera and speaker phone. Some reviewers found the joy stick and buttons quirky. Although the Bluetooth headset charges while docked to the phone, the battery life was short.

The LG Decoy is so pretty and shiny it smudges a lot. The shiny screen is difficult to see in bright light. Because it comes as a combo, the LG Decoy with its headset has to be judged as married couple. When they are together they may work just fine for you, as long as you don't need to make calls in a very loud outdoor environment.  For links and summaries of the original reviews continue reading.

Wireless and Mobile News has updated the Review of Reviews of the the New IPhone 3G.  The new reviewers are saying that if you have waited for the iPhone, now is the time to buy and the new iPhone 3G is an improvement over the original iPhone.

Although there appears to be confusion on what happens when you try to sync to multiple calendars, the email push function is easy and works well.  GPS is not turn by turn but worked for the reviewers. A new features that had not been noticed previously is the ability to take a screen shot of the iPhone 3G screen which is saved like a photograph.

Although we haven't found a rating of the iPhone 3G above 8.3, we're sticking by our 4.5 rating, because it has such a huge fan base. Our ratings are like American Idol, if the people love it, we rate it a winner.

New iPhone 3G rated 4.5 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News Review of Reviews (Updated July 14, 2008)

The greatly anticipated iPhone 3G received  favorable reviews for fast 3G access (where covered), GPS which worked well, better audio/call quality, push email, lower initial price, standard audio jack and the new iPhone App Store.

The plastic case gets better reception, but the 3G access causes battery drain which may require you to charge the battery more than once during a day. The Bluetooth  does not always get the best reception.. iPhone 3G still lacks video capture, expandable memory, voice calling and ability to view web and common programs such as Flash. Copy cats will be disapointed because there is on copy and paste function. The battery is not removable.

The push e-mail was enjoyed by most reviewers and the phone handles easily. The touchscreen keyboard is pretty much the same as the previous version and may not be liked by all users (especially those with long finger nails or disabilities.)

iPhone 3G (8GB ) is $199 and iPhone 3G (16GB) is $299 with a two-year contract. Unlimited data plans for iPhone3G customers is $30/month while business users  pay $45/month.

We believe that the iPhone 3G will be more popular and chic than its predecessor for its Pc-like web browsing  which is always rated better than any other phone and 3G access.  Although the Samsung Instinct is cheaper as well as has more more features (see chart) and the LG Dare come close,  Apple's iPhone 3G offers more appeal and trendiness. For summaries of the reviews that were used to create this review continue reading.