It turns out the smartphone heir apparent is Samsung, as the global leading smartphone maker received quite the blessing from Consumer Reports:

“The Samsung Galaxy S 4, one of the most advanced Android smart phones ever, is our new top-rated smart phone. The S4 delivered top-notch performance in the most critical areas of our tests, including the camera. It dethrones the LG Optimus G, which occupied the top spot in our Ratings for several months.” 

The Optimus G is now ranked No. 2, followed by the HTC One, the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the Apple iPhone 5. The ranking is yet another blow to Apple's diminishing confidence and a boost to Samsung, as the two smartphone providers have been at each other's throats for a while. Samsung's latest ad was only the most recent in a long line of mud-slinging spots targeting the once dominant company.Continue reading...

BlackBerry is not giving up. At Tuesday's kick-off to its annual developers conference, Canada's embattled mobile brand unveiled the BlackBerry Q5, a lower-priced, more youthful smartphone to broaden its appeal to the mobile market. 

The new device, which will be available in select markets in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America starting in July, actually brings back old technology with its QWERTY keyboard, a feature that may very well attract users who are averse to touchscreens as well as heavy texters. 

"The BlackBerry Q5 gives you the best of everything with its cutting-edge BlackBerry 10 functionality and a physical QWERTY keyboard. It is for youthful fans that are passionate, confident and bold, and it makes it easy for them to have fun, create, share and stay connected," according to a press release.

The brand is hoping to capture young, emerging markets in order to shore up losses from Apple's iPhone and Android devices.Continue reading...

Ardent sports fans love having access to info as it happens. What’s the score right now? Who is winning the race? How many fouls have already been committed?

But answering questions like these along with watching videos of spectacular plays or events can use up a lot of a mobile user’s monthly data plan, but ESPN is apparently considering a way to help those poor sports-obsessed folks out.

The Wall Street Journal reports that, “ESPN is considering a plan to pay wireless carriers for the mobile content used by the sports channel's subscribers.” That way, any usage of ESPN mobile content wouldn’t count against a user’s monthly data plan. Such a deal isn’t imminent, but it has been discussed with at least one major carrier, the Journal notes.Continue reading...

Trying to understand what’s actually in a cell-phone contract can get a little hairy, but consumers in Orlando, Tampa and Houston won't have to bother now that AT&T has launched its new, prepaid wireless phone service, Aio.

There is no annual contract involved in the new plan, which AT&T plans to roll it nationwide in mid-June, according to Fierce Markets. 

According to AT&T's press release, the brand name (pronounced as a cheery "A-O") "encapsulates Aio’s brand promise: simply, delightfully, more."

“We talked with no-annual-contract customers and created our service around what they want. They want simple, easy plan choices with unlimited offers; first-class service at affordable prices; great devices; nationwide voice and data coverage; and no annual contracts. Today’s wireless customers don't want to compromise,” stated Jennifer Van Buskirk, president of Aio Wireless. “We are set up to win over value-conscious customers who are increasingly moving towards smartphones and mobile broadband."Continue reading...

Microsoft's Windows Phone may lag behind Samsung and Apple in the battle for America’s mobile-phone patronage, but the company seems to think that being in the lower spot isn’t always a bad thing.

Its most recent commercial, which debuted on NBC's “Today” show on Monday, features fans of the top two mobile phones attacking one another at a wedding while two folks working at the nuptials enjoy the pleasures of their Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phones. That sure beats going negative, like it did with its Scroogled ads. 

“We have our own fans, of course,” Microsoft writer and editor Michael Stroh said in a blog post, AllThingsD.com reports. “And while they may be outnumbered (for now), they’re no less proud and routinely urge us to do more to get the word out about Windows Phone … There are choices. iPhone and Android Smartphones aren’t the only—or even best—options out there for all Smartphone buyers.”Continue reading...

In today’s culture, touchscreens abound. But for those unwilling to part with their classic keyboards, BlackBerry is here to help. 

When BlackBerry introduced its new Z10 earlier this year, longtime BlackBerry users were likely put-off by the appearance of a touchscreen on the device rather than the keyboard the company has traditionally had on its mobile devices. It appeared that BlackBerry was keeping up with the iPhone and Android Joneses.

Now, though, BlackBerry is introducting its Q10, which has got an old-school keyboard for the large majority of its old-school clientele that stuck with the company even when it appeared to be crumbling and everybody else was waving iPhones and Android devices in their faces. According to Wired, the Q10 will hit store shelves at the end of May for about $200 to $250 from AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon. It will appear in the UK at the end of April and in Canada on May 1.Continue reading...

T-Mobile may be in fourth place when it comes to cell-phone carriers in the United States, but it is making a big move on April 12th in an attempt to change its position.

That's when T-Mobile will finally become an iPhone distributor, and it is asking current iPhone owners to come turn theirs in and upgrade to the new phone. The incentive to switch phone companies? For those who trade in their iPhone 4S or iPhone 4, they can get a iPhone 5 for $0 down plus monthly payments, according to a press release. If the phone is in decent shape, the consumer will get a $120 credit to apply to the payments, buy accessories with or pay off a T-Mobile bill.

Couple that with T-Mobile’s recent acquisition of MetroPCS and its announcement that it wouldn’t hold consumers to annual contracts and the company is clearly doing all it can [update: including new ads, below] to pull itself up into the ranks of Verizon, AT&T and Sprint.Continue reading...

It’s here, and it’s not just a phone. Facebook's highly anticipated event today confirmed swirling rumors that the social network would release a product closely tied to a mobile device, and that product is Facebook Home.

"We asked ourselves if sharing and connecting are what matter most, what would your phone be like if it put your friends first?" Facebook stated. "Our answer is Home. Home isn't a phone or operating system, and it's also more than just an app. Home is a completely new experience that lets you see the world through people, not apps."Continue reading...