You might not know what to make of the HTC Freestyle when you first see it. And, to be honest, we didn’t either. Though it looks like many an HTC smartphone, the AT&T handset is really a “quick messaging device.” Communication and basic productivity take center stage and you won’t find a lot of high-end …

Just like it did last week, the Federal Communications Commission gave the nod to a lot of new cell phones and tablets this week. Among the highlights were Sprint’s quirky new Kyocera Echo, the LG Revolution and the RIM BlackBerry PlayBook. Because the FCC has to certify every phone sold in the United States, not to mention test its SAR …

For the third consecutive Congressional session, a bipartisan bill is aiming to limit new taxes on your cell phone bill. Introduced today in the House of Representatives by Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) and in the Senate by Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Olympia Snow (R-Maine), the Wireless Tax Fairness Act of 2011 would prohibit state and …

When the Verizon iPhone finally went on sale last month, it bested its AT&T cousin by offering a wireless hot spot that could support up to five devices. It was a welcome addition and, as we found in our Verizon iPhone review, the feature performed well. It wasn’t necessarily better than other smartphone hot spots we’ve tested, but it offered …

Call it valley between two trade shows, but the cell phone world is having a quiet week for a change. As we’re three weeks past Mobile World Congress and two weeks to CTIA, cell phone makers must have their heads down planning what’s to come. Yet, there was at least one piece of news that brought out the CNET readers …

On Call runs every two weeks, alternating between answering reader questions and discussing hot topics in the cell phone world. Bloomberg today revived a long-simmering story in the wireless world when it reported that Deutsche Telekom is considering selling its T-Mobile USA subsidiary to Sprint Nextel. A deal is nowhere near definite, sources told Bloomberg, but the two companies are …

Apple’s iPad may soon find its way onto your next commercial flight, and not just in the cabin as an entertainment device. Major airlines and a charter jet company are considering using the tablet as a way to replace both paper navigation charts and laptops on the ground and during flight. So far, no U.S. airline has adopted iPads exclusively, …

Phew! We picked a good week to pick up our semiweekly blogs on the happenings at the Federal Communications Commission. The agency certified a hefty load of big-name devices this week, including the iPad 2 and the HTC Merge. The feds also gave the thumbs up to many of the gadgets we saw last month at Mobile World Congress, including …

Just a few weeks after it updated its Android app, Twitter today sent out a major revamp of its free iPhone app to the iTunes App Store. As with most software updates, there are both good and bad changes here. The former definitely outweigh the latter, but Twitter needs to step in and correct one irritating addition. Here’s the full …

After it unveiled the new iPad 2 today in San Francisco, Apple also announced that iOS 4.3, the latest software version for the iPad and GSM iPhones, will be available for download March 11. Compared with iOS 4.2 the update doesn’t bring a lot of new features, but it offers all iPhone 4 owners the personal hot-spot feature that debuted …