Samsung Strive and Sunburst hands-on photos +7 more See all photos LAS VEGAS–Samsung released the Strive and Sunburst phones a week before CTIA, but the show provided us our first opportunity to examine them closely. The two AT&T handsets are focused on messaging and offer fairly standard designs. They also support AT&T’s new cloud-based services …

If you’re Yahoo, looking at a landscape where Google Search and Microsoft’s Bing app pretty much have search sewn up, how do you get noticed? You try something a little eccentric. The free Yahoo Sketch-a-Search app does what the name implies, letting your fingertip inscribe a shape on the map that will become your searching area. Maybe you want to …

LAS VEGAS–HTC, the company behind many of today’s most popular smartphones, including the recently announced HTC Evo 4G for Sprint, launched its own online store on Tuesday to provide a one-stop-shop for all of its devices and accessories. The www.shopamerica.htc.com lets customers search for smartphones by carrier, type of rate plan, and desired features, and the company will activate any …

Here’s a potentially noteworthy development in the patent litigation-riddled mobile device market. The patent is No. 7,679,604, “Method and apparatus for controlling a computer system,” and it describes motion control as a means of interacting with smartphones and the like. The invention, the patent’s authors explain, “facilitates an intuitive motion control of the application by physically manipulating the electronic device…it …

LAS VEGAS–MetroPCS leaped ahead two of its larger rivals today when it announced that it would introduce 4G LTE networks in the second half of this year. The network, which will come first to Las Vegas, will run on a Samsung-powered infrastructure. Sammy also will provide Metro PCS’s first LTE phone, the SCH-r900. Samsung didn’t reveal any details about the …

LAS VEGAS–It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a handheld device from Dell (moment of silence for the Dell Axim PDAs please), so you could say we were pretty anxious to check out the Dell Aero in person. The Aero is Dell’s first U.S. smartphone and AT&T’s second Android device (after the Motorola Backflip) that will be available in …

LAS VEGAS–Samsung released a couple of new Bluetooth headsets here at CTIA 2010, and they are the Samsung Modus 3500 mono-to-stereo headset, plus a simple mono headset called the Samsung HM1000. Both headsets will be available in Q1 of this year. The Samsung Modus 3500 is Samsung’s response to what it says is the popularity of the WEP870, which is …

LAS VEGAS–AT&T execs said there is big opportunity in selling mid-range phones to consumers who think smartphones are too expensive and too complicated. Executives talked about this new cell phone category they call “quick messaging devices” on Wednesday at an event at the CTIA tradeshow here. What is a quick-messaging phone? Think the LG Neon and Samsung Propel. These are …

LAS VEGAS–Sprint Nextel and Clearwire executives admitted Wednesday that they could follow the rest of the worldwide wireless network and adopt LTE for future network upgrades. Spring Nextel CEO Dan Hesse and Clearwire CEO Bill Morrow sat down separately and talked to CTIA CEO Steve Largent during the keynote session on the second day of the CTIA trade show here. …

There’s no shortage of e-mail utilities for BlackBerry phones, and a new one entered the market this week. Like Gwabbit (review) and Xobni, Bccthis began as an Outlook add-on and migrated to the next most popular intersection of business users–the BlackBerry. At CTIA, we got a hands-on demo of the free Bccthis for BlackBerry. Bccthis adds a private message on …

Now playing: Watch this: HTC HD2 (T-mobile) 1:12 It’s been a long wait but the HTC HD2 is officially available for purchase from T-Mobile starting today. You can buy the mega-multimedia smartphone for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement or $449.99 with an Even More Plus Plan, which doesn’t require an annual contract. However, could the timing be any worse? …

LG Arena (photos) +6 more See all photos LAS VEGAS — Even though the LG Arena debuted at GSMA 2009, we had yet to see it arrive on U.S. shores. That is, until a month or so ago when AT&T announced it would be bringing the Arena to the States complete with support for AT&T Mobile TV, AT&T’s live mobile …

LG Cosmos (photos) +1 more See all photos Despite its heavenly name, the LG Cosmos does not quite reach for the stars when it comes to features. However, it is a pretty decent starter messaging phone for Verizon customers. The Cosmos is essentially a rejiggering of the LG Rumor 2 for Verizon. The design is about the same–it has a …

Now playing: Watch this: Samsung Galaxy S 2:33 LAS VEGAS–Samsung and Sprint continue to jostle for the spotlight on the second day of CTIA 2010. Sprint and HTC deserve a lot of attention for launching the Evo 4G, but Samsung is holding its own with its new Galaxy S. Though we still don’t know details regarding U.S. availability, the handset’s …

CNET’s cell phone crew has been on the ground in Las Vegas covering CTIA 2010 since Monday, and, boy, did we have plenty to cover! Here’s a brief overview of the news that broke on the first day of CTIA 2010: Palm Pre Plus, Pixi Plus headed to AT&T AT&T snags a Dell Android phone, the Dell Aero Nextel goes …