Now playing: Watch this: Samsung Transfix (Cricket) 1:18 Samsung may have crushed our CTIA dreams by pulling back on its biggest announcement here at CTIA, but thankfully it still introduced a number of new handsets. The Samsung Transfix sits on the opposite end of the grandeur spectrum from the Galaxy Nexus we were all anticipating, …

Now playing: Watch this: Samsung Transform Ultra (Boost Mobile) 1:11 It’s been about a month since Boost Mobile and Samsung announced the Samsung Transform Ultra, but we only just got our hands on it at CTIA. The specs are nothing to sneeze at–they include Android 2.3 Gingerbread, a 1GHz processor, a VGA front-facing camera, and a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera–but the …

SAN DIEGO–For the last decade, Shenzen-based Huawei has been a little-known brand in the U.S., but at a press conference today here at CTIA, the company made some ambitious plans known. Their goal: to become one of the top five wireless vendors in just three years. That may sound like a lofty and highly unrealistic goal for a company whose …

SAN DIEGO–For those in the know, Sonim is synonymous with rugged phones up to military specifications. The last Sonim phone we saw, the Sonim XP3300 Force, was swathed in rubberized material and impervious to concrete (but not to us.) Now, the San Mateo, Calif. company adds three new GSM wrld phones to its rough ‘n’ tumble lineup, including one with …

Now playing: Watch this: T-Mobile SpringBoard 1:36 Just when you thought the world didn’t need another 7-inch Android tablet that few would end up buying, here comes the T-Mobile SpringBoard, the 7-inch tablet you’d do well to look at, for the right price. Announced just before CTIA officially kicked off in San Diego, the SpringBoard offers quite a bit–“4G” speeds, …

Good: The LG Esteem runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, taps into MetroPCS’ 4G LTE network, and has an impressive pair of front- and rear-facing cameras. Bad: Bulky and heavy, the LG Esteem’s worst offense is its poor battery life. Its slow data speeds keep it from working well outside of MetroPCS’ 4G LTE territory. Bottom Line: Specs-wise, the LG Esteem …

Good: The Pantech Breakout runs on Verizon’s 4G LTE network. Android 2.3 Gingerbread is dressed up with a handy custom UI, and the phone has good call quality. Bad: The Breakout doesn’t have a flash, and it has a poor front-facing camera, jerky video, and shutter lag. Bottom Line: If you don’t give a whit about the camera or video, …

It may be a little large as a stocking stuffer, but theSamsung Galaxy Note is coming to the U.K. in time for the holidays. The 5.3-inch Android 2.3 Gingerbread handset is expected to launch at a range of U.K. carriers on November 17. There’s no price tag confirmed. Samsung first introduced the Galaxy Note at the IFA trade show in …

This article was originally posted June 6, 2011, and updated on October 4, 2011. Apple has unveiled the next iPhoneat long last, and with it comes iOS 5, which we first learned of in June. We got demos of 10 of the 200 additions and enhancements, including the hotly anticipated over-the-air system updates, new message notifications, and group messaging. The …

The LG Optimus LTE, announced today, is another new Android 2.3 phone we in the U.S. can only dream about from afar, at least for now. The Gingerbread handset has a 4.5-inch touch screen with a 1,280×720-pixel HD LCD display. LG claims it’s the “highest-resolution IPS (in-plane switching) display” available on a smartphone. The Optimus LTE also has a dual-core …