My daily trawl for the latest smartphone news is being plagued with a recurring theme, an annoying headline that rattles around my RSS feeds like the tiresome reappearance of a spectre in a nightmare: “Why Nokia should switch to Android”. Not only do I think this would do more harm than good for the beleaguered …

SAN FRANCISCO — The Motorola Flipside is one of three Android handsets that Motorola announced for AT&T this Tuesday. We had a chance to take a look at it, and it’s overall a decent and simple Android smartphone. We like the slide-out QWERTY keyboard–it is roomy and the keys have a nice raised texture–and the 3.1-inch high-res HVGA display. The …

Now playing: Watch this: Motorola Flipout (AT&T) 1:04 Even though we heard about the Motorola Flipout earlier this year, we didn’t know if it would be coming to the U.S. until this Tuesday when Motorola announced it would be available from AT&T. The square phone reminds us a lot of the Nokia Twist, especially because it swivels open to reveal …

If you were questioning how much influence the iPad has in our education system, Discovery Education may be part of the answer. The company announced today a new optimized version of its platform, specifically for the iPad. Discovery Education provides curriculum-based digital content to more than half of U.S. schools. The company said the launch of its iPad platform supports …

Tabletmania is getting out of hand in the run-up to Christmas — now Dixons has entered the fray with two Android slates. The technology retailer is loading the Advent Vega and the Advent Amico with Android 2.1 to take on the Apple iPad. The Advent Amico is the budget model, costing just £130. It boasts a 7-inch touchscreen — the …

SAN FRANCISCO – Motorola is taking on Research In Motion, the maker of the popular BlackBerry smartphone, with its new Droid Pro. Motorola announced the new Google Android smartphone at a press event here Tuesday on the eve of the 2010 CTIA Enterprise & Applications tradeshow. Motorola co-CEO Sanjay Jha called the phone, which sports a 3.1-inch touch screen display …

SAN FRANCISCO–Verizon Wireless provided more detail today about the launch of its long awaited 4G wireless rollout, but the company still didn’t reveal pricing or device information. At the CTIA fall 2010 trade show here, Verizon Communications Chief Operating Officer Lowell McAdam said the company plans to launch its 4G wireless network in 38 markets by the end of 2010 …

Samsung Transform AndroidGuys SAN FRANCISCO–We know that Sprint is planning a CTIA press conference at 2 p.m. today, but so far the carrier has kept the exact news under wraps. According to AndoidGuys, however, we should see two new Android handsets that will launch next Sunday, October 10. Though it will be new to Sprint, the first phone is something …

SAN FRANCISCO – A recent leak of training documents and screenshots created a swirl of rumors that T-Mobile would make Wi-Fi calling available on its Android phones, and now we have official confirmation from the carrier itself. On the opening day of CTIA Fall 2010, T-Mobile announced that it will offer its Wi-Fi Calling service on a selection of Android …

There aren’t many reasons to celebrate British mobile-phone networks. One network doesn’t understand the word ‘unlimited’, one owes the British public £6bn and the rest either offer no coverage in our kitchen or cost too much to use. But T-Mobile and Orange have done something amazing — they’re letting their customers use both mobile networks. The network-sharing system will allow …

Now playing: Watch this: Samsung Transform (Sprint) 1:06 The Samsung Transform is one of three Android smartphones to have the new Sprint ID interface. Photo by Kent German/CNET SAN FRANCISCO–Sprint today unveiled the Samsung Transform, an Android smartphone running Android 2.1. It has a 3.5 inch HVGA touch screen with 480×320-pixel resolution. We haven’t had much time to play with …

Huawei Ascend Huawei Cricket Wireless continued its dive into Android today with the announcement of the Huawei Ascend. The Ascend is the prepaid carrier’s second Android smartphone after the Sanyo Zio, which went on sale last month. Positioned as a low-cost device, the Ascend won’t wow in the features department, but it comes with all the usual Android offerings, such …

SAN FRANCISCO–Sprint kicked off its CTIA presence today by announcing a user customization feature for its newest Android phones. Sprint ID will transform the standard Android home screen with user-specified wallpaper, widget selection, and features. You’ll be able to create up to five identities per handset and program each with your preferred options. As you switch between IDs, the home …

SAN FRANCISCO–LG has just announced the LG Optimus T, which it bills as a handset for first-time smartphone users. It looks a lot like the Optimus One that was announced for Europe last month. The Optimus T ships with Android 2.2, and features “Voice Actions for Android,” which lets you control the phone just by speaking–you can send texts, listen …

Now playing: Watch this: Motorola Droid Pro (Verizon) 1:14 SAN FRANCISCO — The big surprise at the fall CTIA show this year had to have been the Motorola Droid Pro. As a direct challenge to Research In Motion, the Droid Pro is Motorola’s bold take on a business smartphone. It has both a 3.1-inch HVGA touch screen and a QWERTY …