This year’s Consumer Electronics Show may not have produced much in the way of quad-core Android phones, save one Fujitsu-made Android prototype that was encased and untouchable, but make no mistake: this is their year. Thanks to abundant and well-defined product leaks, we have strong expectations for next month’s Mobile World Congress (MWC). Thanks to …

Ever since Google officially revealed the Ice Cream Sandwich operating system in mid-October, Android fans have been hungering to try it out on their Gingerbread smartphones. I can’t say I blame them. The OS is bold and beautiful, without too many hiccups and with a few more tips and tricks to try out. With only the Sprint version of the …

After long years of troubled management for BlackBerry-maker RIM, the company’s two co-founder CEOs stepped aside to see what some fresh blood could do to revive the ailing smartphone brand. Yet for those outside the company, Thorsten Heins (pronounced TORE-sten) is a veritable man of mystery. That’s about to change, and rapidly, as the new executive gets pushed into the …

Now playing: Watch this: Dialed In #207: Inside RIM’s reboot 34:15 At BlackBerry-maker RIM, it’s out with the old and in with the new–at least as CEOs go. Last night’s news of Thorsten Heins’ ascent at our favorite Canadian smartphone company got us thinking long and hard about what the new leadership means for RIM, especially since Heins isn’t exactly …

There are a couple of unique features that will help the announced, but not-quite-released, Samsung Galaxy Attain 4G stand out when it hits store shelves. First, and most importantly, there’s the 4G LTE compatibility for this Android smartphone. MetroPCS doesn’t have a 3G network to speak of, so the speed differences between the 2.5G network and the LTE are significant. …

Verizon may have competition in the 4G LTE space, but it’s still way out in front. Starting January 19, the nation’s largest LTE carrier added five new markets and built out three existing coverage zones. The lucky denizens of Glens Falls and Utica, N.Y.; Lawton, Okla.; and Brownsville and McAllen, Texas, will now start getting Verizon’s LTE speeds. In addition, …

Cell phones and smartphones aren’t the only things that phone makers like Samsung sell. The occasional accessory also sneaks out to complement those phones. Just days before the mammoth Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Samsung is releasing not one, but six. Four new wired headsets and two new Bluetooth headsets make their debut, ranging from $20 up to $130. …

It’s earning eco cred with its lower-impact packaging and build, but tree huggers aren’t the only ones who will eye the Samsung Replenish for Boost Mobile. Budget-followers will also gravitate toward Boost’s first smartphone priced at about a hundred bucks, a rock-bottom cost for a market where prepaid smartphones typically cost between $200 and $300. The Android 2.3 Gingerbread device …

Earlier today, AT&T officially turned on its 4G LTE network in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, and eight other cities. The move comes almost a month after LTE was first spotted on compatible smartphones in San Francisco and elsewhere, before AT&T had begun supporting it in full. Trials like that are not unusual for carriers. To quickly test the …

Every once in a while, a carrier and manufacturer will pause the parade of superphones to nod to their humble roots. Today, Samsung and Sprint introduce the modest Samsung M370 flip phone. The pewter gray handset has a clamshell design, a 2.4-inch internal display, and a 1.3-megapixel camera. There’s also Web browsing, Bluetooth support, and speakerphone support. Beginning on Sunday, …