5 Trends to Watch at CTIA Fall 2010

About 12,000 people are expected to be in San Francisco this week to attend Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery CTIA Enterprise & Applications 2010, and as you can tell by the name, it will definitely have a business focus. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be any excitement. Motorola, Sprint, Samsung, and others will be holding press conferences to announce new products and services, and Verizon Wireless is expected to reveal more details Sony VGP-BPS13A/Q Battery about its blazing fast 4G LTE network. Here are five trends to watch Sony VGP-BPS2C Battery at this fall’s show, which starts today and runs through Friday, Oct. 8. Stay tuned for live coverage and our top picks.

1. 4G Wars Heat Up

Hot on the heels of Sprint and Clearwire turning 4G WiMax on in parts of New York and San Francisco and T-Mobile unveiling its Sony VGP-BPS13A/B Battery second 4G smart phone (the myTouch), Verizon Sony VGP-BPS2B Battery Wireless COO Lowell McAdam will take the stage for a session called “Mobile Commerce, Smart Energy, and LTE: The Transformative Next-Generation Network.” The carrier has already said it will launch LTE service in 25 to 30 markets by the end of the year, but Sony VGP-BPS13/B Battery we hope to learn more about which ones and possibly pricing. And since the product roadmap good battery has already been leaked, perhaps Big Red will spill the official beans on the first 4G mobile connection cards. We can’t wait to try it out.

2. Video Calling Gets in Your Face

Apple has done the most thus far to take video Sony VGP-BPS13B/B Battery chatting on mobile devices into the mainstream with FaceTime. But now other companies want to share the spotlight. Last week, startup Tango unveiled a video chat service that works across Android and iPhone, and this week Damaka will show off its cross-platform solution, which promises to help business users stream video from any mobile device to any mobile device. You can even see up to four callers at once. Now that Skype is officially in the Android Sony VGP-BPS13B/Q Battery market, perhaps we’ll hear more from them about their mobile Sony VGP-BPS8 Battery video plans

First came the Cisco Cius. Then the BlackBerry PlayBook. What’s next for business-focused tablets Sony VGP-BPS13A/S Battery or tablets in general? We expect to see at least one or two new slates at CTIA Fall 2010. It’s Sony VGP-BPS9A/B Battery certainly possible that Motorola will show of its first Android-based tablet, but it’s not expected to launch until next year. Overall, though, we expect to see carriers, manufacturers, and other players pitch tablets as more than Sony VGP-BPS13/Q Battery just consumption devices. With the right apps (and accessories), they can be very useful business tools.

4. Mobile Banking and Payments Take Off

Everyone wants to replace your wallet with an app these days, but now we’re finally starting to see solutions that make sense to Sony VGP-BPS9 Battery everyday consumers. For example, Square makes it easy to Sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery swipe credit cards using an attachment for the iPhone, and MobilePay USA is an app that lets you check into a retailer and then choose an existing credit card from a cloud-based menu. We’ll also be meeting with Mitek, which lets you make deposits using your smart Sony VGP-BPS9/S Battery phone’s camera.

5. Cars Get More Connected (For Better or For Worse)

With reports of texting-related traffic fatalities still on the rise despite increased awareness Sony VGP-BPS8A Battery of the issue, we approach any technology that can potentially distract drivers more with caution. However, several companies Sony VGP-BPS2 Battery are making a concerted effort to balance convenience with safety. We’ll be kicking the tires of Ford’s new Sync technology platform, which is more touch-friendly. We get a little squeamish when the company says it’s trying to “create an ecosystem to make mobile technology work Sony VGP-BPS2A Battery for you at 60 miles per hour—in a safer, smarter and simpler way,” but we’ll reserve judgment until we go hands-on

BlackBerry Torch Hands-on: What We Like, What We Don’t

The pressure is on for RIM, and the Torch could be viewed as a make-or-break Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery device for the company. Yes, the BlackBerry brand is still riding relatively high, but an increasing number of smart phone shoppers say they want iOS or Android. What the Torch needs to do is get those wandering eyes back. We spent a good 20 minutes with RIM’s new slider, which features the latest BlackBerry 6 OS, and came away with mixed feelings about its new flagship phone. There’s a lot to like about the Torch, including Sony VGP-BPS13A/B Battery the much-needed interface makeover, better media capabilities, social feeds, souped up browser, and other goodies. But the slider also has its fair share of shortcomings.

We’ll be bringing you our full review soon, but in the meantime we wanted to summarize our early impressions. Check out our Sony VGP-BPL9 Battery hands-on video, pros and cons, and the gallery and tell us what you think. Is the BlackBerry Torch good enough?

What We Like

•Improved UI: BlackBerry 6 brings a new notifications window you can launch with Sony VGP-BPS9 Battery a tap, where you can see upcoming appointments, incoming messages, social networking updates, and more. It feels a little cleaner and more organized than the Android OS. Swiping to the right lets you see favorite apps, and you’ll see other screens (for media, downloads, etc) as you continue to swipe.

•Premium Design:We really like the fit and finish of the Torch, from the smooth sliding mechanism to the dark chrome accents. The optical trackpad also worked well.

•Universal Search: Yes, we know Sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery that RIM borrowed this idea from webOS, but so far the execution of this feature looks pretty solid, with the ability to scan folders, apps, e-mail, and more on the Web. We especially like the integration with third-party apps, like Slacker.

•Social Feeds: If Motoblur and other Android widgets make your head spin, you’ll appreciate the simplicity of this app, which integrates Facebook, Twitter, and more in a single feed that looks like an inbox. Swiping to the right allows you to add RSS feeds.

•Much Better battery Browser: Based on WebKit, BlackBerry is back in the game with this browser, which supports pinch to zoom and an intuitive Sony VGP-BPS9/S tab interface that lets you switch between tabs and add more without leaving the page you’re viewing. (However, it didn’t feel very fast. See “What We Don’t Like”)

•Good on-screen keyboard: Despite the fact that the Torch sports a small 3.2-inch display, we found the onscreen keyboard to be fast and accurate. Plus, you don’t have to deal with any annoying SurePress feedback that the Storm series had. It just works. In fact, at least based on our initial impressions, we prefer the on-screen keyboard to the physical one.

•Enhanced Multimedia Experience: RIM really stepped up to the plate in this category, Sony VGP-BPS9A Battery refreshing its music player UI while adding a host of premium apps, including PrimeTime2Go for downloading shows. Photo management is made easier with folders and the ability to select multiple images simultaneoulsy.

What We Don’t Like

•Performance a Bit Sluggish: Sony VGP-BPS9A/B Battery To be fair, the devices we played with weren’t quite final, but we did notice a fair bit of lag when switching between screens in the main menu and when zooming in and out in the browser (at least while the page was still loading). There’s a 624-MHz Marvell ARM 11 processor under the hood.

•Relatively Small, Low-Res Display: In the age of superphones with 4- and 4.3-inch screens with 800 x 480 resolutions, a 3.2-inch LCD with 480 x 360 pixels might not cut it for some. This is really a matter of personal taste, but you definitely notice the smaller size when web surfing.

•Physical Keyboard Not Fujitsu Laptop Battery That Great: The fact that it’s a toss up for us as to whether we prefer the Pre Plus’ keyboard or the one on the Dell Latitude E6400 Battery Torch isn’t the best sign. Maybe it’s the case that the Torch’s QWERTY will feel better once we break it in, but at first we thought it was a little flat and stiff.

•QVGA Video Recording? Seriously? The iPhone 3GS had VGA recording last summer, and now the iPhone 4 and a host of other Android phones to 720p video. So why does the Torch record only QVGA clips? That’s a major shortcoming for a $199 smart phone these days.

•Still Lacking High-Quality Games and Killer Apps Noticeably absent from today’s launch Dell Inspiron 1545 battery were any demos of high-octane games. Granted, webOS showed off some pretty cool titles and that wasn’t enough to move the needle, but App World could really use some 3D eye cany, assuming the hardware can handle it.

BlackBerry Torch Outlook

Based on our early Dell Vostro 1510 Battery impressions, RIM has probably done enough to keep a fair share of BlackBerry loyalists around, but we’re not convinced the combination of the Torch hardware and the new BlackBerry 6 OS will keep those already interested in devices like the Evo 4G, Droid X, Captivate, and iPhone 4 from thinking twice. We may change our mind though once we’ve done our full review. Stay tuned.

Sony VAIO P

Sony's amazingly light and stylish ultraportable offers compelling Sony VGP-BPS13/B Battery features for the money, but it's performance could be better.

Editors' Note: We tested a Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery pre-production sample of the VAIO P Series. We'll update this review once we receive a Dell Latitude E6400 Battery final production unit.

To say Sony is Sony VGP-BPS9A/B Battery going against the grain would be an understatement. At a time other notebook vendors are heavily promoting Sony VGP-BPS13A/B Battery low-cost $499 (and cheaper) 10-inch netbooks, and establishing a new category of affordable 12-inch ultraportables, the VAIO P stands alone. This premium lifestyle PC (starting at $899, $1,199 as configured) emphasizes design and fashion over speeds and feeds, sporting a one-of-a-kind design that's not only incredibly Sony VGP-BPL9 Battery compact but a feather-light 1.4 pounds. When you see it, you want to hold it.

The VAIO P also differentiates Dell Laptop Battery itself from the netbook field by including features like mobile broadband, GPS, and Dell Inspiron 1545 battery an instant-on mode. Plus, the keyboard is quite usable given the device's tiny footprint. Add it all up and you have a premium netbook that bests the field when it comes to its combination of design and features. Unfortunately, this system doesn't provide the kind of performance we would hope for under a resource-intensive OS Sony VGP-BPS9 Battery like Vista, and many may find it difficult to justify the high price. Nevertheless, if you can afford it, the VAIO P Series has a lot to offer.

Design

Sony has long been a leader in Dell Vostro 1510 Battery making miniaturization sexy, and the VAIO P is a quintissential example. The machine is considerably longer than other Sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery netbooks but also remarkably thinner and smaller at 9.7 x 4.7 x 0.8 inches. To put its size in perspective, when closed the VAIO P has about the same footprint as just the keyboard on the Lenovo ThinkPad X200s. We had no problem slipping this device in a suit jacket pocket, even though we could feel the weight. In a way Sony VGP-BPS9/S the VAIO P is in a category all its own when it comes to sheer portability.

Ultimately, however, battery the VAIO P is something you'll want to show off, not hide. Our configuration of had a Apple Laptop Battery glassy onyx black lid (with subtly visible specks in the paint job) and a silver deck and keyboard. It's also available in standard black, as well as red, green, and white. To drive home the fact that the VAIO P is a fashion statement, the company sells luxurious color-matched protective cases made of leather ($89) and Bluetooth VGP-BPS9/S mice ($69), although we think at least the former should be included given how much the device Sony VGP-BPS9A Battery itself costs.