Now playing: Watch this: Dialed In #217: It’s now or never for Windows Phone 39:22 First, the bad news. Saying goodbye to this weekly Dialed In podcast isn’t something that any of us expected to do for some time, but it’s true: this week marks the second-to-last episode of CNET’s cell phone podcast, and of …

Video chatting in Hangouts is busting out of Google+. Video calls among two or more Google+ users was the big draw when Hangouts launched, but now Google has flipped the switch the allow Google+ users to make phone calls to almost any phone number, not just within the Google+ ecosystem. That means that users will be able, for example, place …

If you use Google Voice, and you have Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on your phone, life is going to get a little bit more practical. Starting now, you’ll be able to view and play visual voice mails that you receive from Google Voice right in the phone’s native call log. The feature only works on Android smartphones running the …

In an age of clone phones, it’s refreshing to come across a handset with a character of its own. It might be just me, but the combination of the aesthetics and its software interface on the Huawei Pinnacle for MetroPCS struck a chord. With the vast majority of the phones I touch being Android handsets, using the Pinnacle made an …

Boost Mobile is the king of shrinkage, and proud of it. The no-contract carrier, a Sprint subsidiary, is offering a new $45 nationwide unlimited plan for three of its feature phones: the LG Rumor Reflex, Motorola Theory, and Sanyo Innuendo, from March 29 through May 31. Boost’s plan, which gives you all the voice minutes and texting you can use …

U.S. Cellular makes good today on a February promise to launch its 4G LTE market with a tablet. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 marks U.S. Cellular’s first LTE offering, making it the fourth U.S. carrier (behind MetroPCS, Verizon, and AT&T) to offer devices on the LTE, or Long Term Evolution, technology for 4G data speeds. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 slate, which …

Now playing: Watch this: Ditch your cell phone contract 3:10 We talk a lot about early-termination fees, or ETFs, here at CNET because we have a love/hate relationship with signing a two-year service agreement (or three years if you’re in countries like Canada). On the one hand, who doesn’t love being able to own a $500 or $600 smartphone for …

With so many interested parties digging for early information about the Samsung Galaxy S III, the successor to its immensely popular Galaxy S II Android handset, it’s no surprise that multiple sources are claiming to strike gold with leaked images and specs. Netherlands-based mobile blog GSM Helpdesk (in Dutch) is the latest to post an image that it claims is …

There are a few things I can say about the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G. The Android Gingerbread phone might not be the most high end of all, but it offers a huge performance increase over the original Samasung Galaxy S phones, yet keeps the familiar design. That 4-inch Samsung Super AMOLED screen is always a crowd pleaser (at least …

Now playing: Watch this: Dialed In #215: The agony and ecstasy of Mike Daisey 37:39 Actor Mike Daisey’s one-man show on his depiction of deplorable working conditions at Apple’s iPhone factory took a sharp turn when Daisey’s “facts” were revealed as partial fiction. It isn’t just Daisey’s shaky credibility that’s on the line, nor the news outlets that publicized his …