With the Apple iPhone 3G being released just three weeks ago, there is still buzz about the elusive smartphone and all of its capabilities.  And while many people are still dying to get their hands on this device, AT&T can remain confident in its relationship with Apple as there are talks of a new agreement to bond the two together until 2010.  That’s right .. if you want an Apple iPhone  3G, you will have to go and sign-up for a two-year contract with wireless phenom AT&T.

According to an engadget.com article, USA Today says that AT&T’s US exclusive on the iPhone isn’t officially announced, but it’s being citied in the context of a long interview with AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson.  According to Stephenson, “The iPhone has repositioned AT&T as the premier wireless brand in the world.”  Even better for AT&T, iPhone customers are spending almost double on rate plans compared to the average AT&T customer.  This isn’t surprising though as data plans are increasingly expensive.

Apple iPhone 3G — More Powerful that Nintendo DS?

We’ve heard the rave reviews on the iPhone 3G with its amazingly fast speed and ever-appealing graphics, but Id Software co-founder John Carmack makes a bold statement.  According to Apple Insider, while Carmack admits that graphics memory could be a limiting factor, he describes the phone’s hardware, in terms of raw specs, is “more powerful than Nintendo DS and PSP combined.”

Apple continues to pave the way for future smartphone’s, and with its new relationship with AT&T, Apple should continue to dominate the market.  To see accessories for the Apple iPhone 3G, check out Gammoth’s accessories page.

It’s been run through the rumor mill that the 3G BlackBerry for AT&T will delay its release from June to August because of a “technical glitch.”  Fortune magazine reported on Thursday that the delay in the launch of BlackBerry 8900 is because of concerns of call quality.  And since AT&T is the largest wireless carrier in the U.S. and wants to maintain its valued reputation, therefore it is necessary to fix this problem before any 3G BlackBerry is released. 

iPhone vs. BlackBerry

We all know that the release of the 3G version of the iPhone is expected in the early summer months (analyst say June 9!), so some speculate that AT&T wanted to delay the 3G version of the BlackBerry so they wouldn’t have to deal with competing interests.  But just for fun … who would win this competition?

  VERSUS 

The Smartphone Battle

RIM and Apple are the two major smartphone companies in the U.S.  In June, it is expected that Apple will release an SDK which will be enterprise-friendly and give RIM a run for its money as far as a “corporate smartphone” goes.  RIM already has the corporate-user base that Apple will need to establish once the SDK is released, but it makes me wonder how the delay in the release of the 3G version for BlackBerry (BlackBerry 8900) will affect corporate users.  Will corporate beings give the 3G iPhone a shot once it is established with its SDK?  I am guessing so … this summer should be a tell-all summer as far as corporate smartphone’s go … we just get to sit back and watch the battle.  4 … 3 … 2 … BATTLE!

The Unlocked Palm Centro is a hot commodity among unlocked phones.  A few weeks back I did an article on unlocked phones and the benefits of having one.  To sum it up, an unlocked phone is an extremely good investment if you find yourself traveling overseas often, or if you need a second option for a smartphone.  It allows you to switch your phone’s SIM card, thus decreasing the expense of international calling.  So here’s a little ditty about the Unlocked Palm Centro:

Unlocked Palm Centro

The Unlocked Palm Centro is designed with a white and green color scheme and has a glacier white casing, giving the device a fresh look.  In comparison to the older Treo models, the Unlocked Palm Centro is much smaller and thinner, measuring only 4.2 inches tall by 2.1 inches wide by .7 inch deep. It weighs in a very light 4.2 ounces making it very easy to carry in a pocket or a small bag. The Unlocked Palm Centro features a 2.25-inch, 320×320 touch screen and a full QWERTY keyboard, making the user interface very easy to use. Other great design elements on the Unlocked Palm Centro include a volume rocker and push-to-talk button on the left side and an infrared port and microSD expansion slot on the right side. When using the Unlocked Palm Centro, you can use the silent ringer switch located on the device top, the 2.5mm headset jack and multi-connector port on the bottom, or take a self portrait with the mirror/camera setup. When you purchase the Unlocked Palm Centro, you will also receive the standard AC adapter, a USB cable, as software CD and a reference manual.

Unlocked Palm Centro: Features

In addition to being able to use the Unlocked Palm Centro on any GSM carrier worldwide (in the U.S. it is compatible with AT&T, T-Mobile and Rogers Wireless), it also comes with a wide array of features packed in such as:

  · Speakerphone
  · Three-way calling
  · Voice dialing
  · Speed dial
  · Ignore with text
  · Threaded text chat view
  · Picture and ringtone caller-id
  · Push to talk
  · EDGE data transfer
  · Quad Band GSM (850/900/1800/1900)
  · Push email capability

The Unlocked Palm Centro runs Palm OS 5.4.9 and comes with 128MB ROM and 64MB RAM and the microSD slot can accept up to 4GB cards. You also get all of the standard office tools such as calendar, to-do list, calculator and a voice recorder. With the Unlocked Palm Centro, you also get Documents to Go, so you can open and edit Microsoft Word and Excel documents and view PDF’s and Powerpoint presentations. You can add a Bluetooth GPS receiver (also available from Gammoth) and you will have real-time location tracking and GPS.
To access your email on the Unlocked Palm Centro, there are a few options. VersaMail email application has built in support for Microsoft’s Direct Push Technology for real-time synchronization with Microsoft Exchange Server. VersaMail also supports POP and IMAP email accounts for AOL, Apple.Mac, Gmail and Yahoo.

The Unlocked Palm Centro also comes with PocketTunes Deluxe Edition, allowing you to listen to MP3 and DRM protected music files. And don’t forget that your Unlocked Palm Centro is equipped with a 1.3 megapixel camera with 2x zoom and video recording capabilities. The battery is rated for 3 hours of continuous talk, but many users have experienced 4-5 hours on a single charge.

Unlocked Palm Centro: Basic Specs
  
Platform: Palm OS® by ACCESS 5.4.9
 
Bluetooth: Version 1.2
 
Memory: 64MB available user storage
 
Camera: 1.3 megapixels with 2x digital zoom and video capture
 
Battery: Removable 1150mAh, lithium-ion. Up to 4 hours talk time, or up to 300 hours standby time
 
Expansion: microSD™ card (up to 4GB supported)
 
Dimensions: Length: 4.22″ Width: 2.11″ Depth: 0.73″ Weight: 4.4 oz
 
System Requirements: Windows® XP, Windows Vista™, Mac OS X v10.2-10.4

Alternative Options

There are many alternative options for unlocked phones.  If you want a smartphone, then look into the Unlocked AT&T Tilt or the Unlocked BlackBerry Pearl.  There are many options for beating that international roaming rate … and an unlocked phone will get the job done.