I had to wait, and wait, and wait for that delivery man to bring the ThunderBolt to my then ghetto-situated apartment building, and when he did get there, he went to the door without a ringer on it. Because this delivery man, again rogue, mind you, saw such a situation, he did not look at the rest of the doors, all of which had ringers, and instead pasted a “better luck next time” sticky to the door. Thus is my situation now with the Galaxy Nexus, and the way I feel now about this situation should very well be the same feeling Google has for Verizon now that they’ve started a fire in the hearts of Android fans across the United States.

Though I’ve literally just written an article by the name of “I have no need for a tablet” yesterday which expressed my lack of must-have feelings for the large screen devices, I must say that the need is there for this device. The need is not mine though, it’s Google’s. Dear Google developers: you are currently in a situation where your user base has seen a very large preview of what they could potentially have in a device, Ice Cream Sandwich on the Galaxy Nexus, yet inside the USA they do not have the ability to trade money to attain it.

When this device is released, I will own it. It’s part of my job to own an Android device with version 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on it, and the best place to do this is with a Verizon-connected Galaxy Nexus. I can’t deny that. But let me ask you users out there who aren’t publishers like I am: after such a long set of weeks of leaks, teasers, and notes that literally say that the devices are in the stores but aren’t for sale yet, will you still be going out to purchase a Galaxy Nexus?

[Image via Android Central]

ESRB has had the rating system you’re reading about today has been in the mix for a few weeks now, appearing in an application already on the market by the name of “ESRB Rating Search” which works on the iOS, Android, and Windows Phone devices right this very moment. You’ve only to type in the name of the game you’re about to purchase for your kid (or yourself, if you’re strange like that), and you’ll have the rating right there in front of you. Check out this informational video to see how exciting it can be!

The ESRB is the same group that has run ratings on all your favorite video games since all the way back in 1994. I know what you’re wondering of course, what about the original blood-filled murder your way to victory game Mortal Kombat? Sega was one of a few video game groups to have their own ratings system before the ESRB came around, and as it happens, the game Mortal Kombat II was one of the last games to still be rated by Sega’s VRC group, aka Videogame Rating Council, as seen here:

Now we’ve got essentially the whole of the cartridge video game industry on one standard, and the mobile world is split as the ESRB (promoted by CTIA) attempts to move into this space. Groups that HAVE joined in with the ESRB so far are AT&T, Microsoft, T-Mobile USA, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless, only Microsoft and Verizon having actual app stores to speak of, Microsoft’s easily the biggest of the bunch with their Windows Phone app store. You’ll find that while the carriers do hold quite a bit of sway in the mobile industry, they’ll have more than just a rough time getting the Android Market and the iTunes Appstore to drop their own ratings systems and high five the new team.

[via ESRB]

Included in this set of completely voluntarily followed guidelines, providers would be sent information about their monthly limits BEFORE they reach them – plus, for those traveling abroad, alerts will be sent out showing customers what they’ll be paying if they want to continue using the devices they’re using overseas – roaming fees and the like. These regulations come from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and include the stipulation that all alerts will be completely free to customers.

Kathleen Grillo, Verizon senior vice president for federal regulatory affairs had the following to say on the situation:

“Chairman Genachowski [of the FCC] deserves credit for raising the industry’s awareness of the value of more usage alerts. He encouraged the industry to address usage alerts in a manner that recognizes that innovations in the wireless world develop quickly. The result is an industry code that will serve consumers better than rules that would soon be outdated, and that is responsive to President Obama’s request that federal agencies avoid imposing unnecessary regulation on businesses when a nonregulatory solution is available. We hope that in the future this industry effort serves as a model for the communications space.”

Guidelines were revealed today at a conference that included the head of wireless industry trade group CTIA. According to the LA Times, a Consumers Union poll this May showed more than 60% of wireless customers polled supported a government-led initiative and rules to avoid bill shock. Since then, CTIA opposed the first round of FCC regulations and they’ve been in talks since that’ve lead to today’s announcement. CTIA notes that “Regulations, no matter how well-intentioned, simply cannot be as flexible and responsive to consumer needs as a self-regulatory code.”

Alerts will be in place, all four of them: voice, data, text, and international charges, within 18 months on of the carriers that’ve agreed to take part.

The Asus Eee Slate EP121 got an official release date. The tablet will hit the UK on April 20 and it will sell for the equivalent of $1627 here in the US, which is a lot of green. Microsoft might be eyeing 2015 for a replacement for the Xbox 360 game console. The tip on the date comes from the portfolio of a designer working with Microsoft.

T-Mobile customers will eventually need to replace their mobile phones once the merger with AT&T goes through. AT&T notes that it will be years down the road before that happens and most people will need a new handset by then anyway. The Blackberry PlayBook tablet got an official price and launch date Tuesday. The tablet will hit the US on April 19 starting at $499.

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 8.9 and Galaxy Tab 10.1 went official at CTIA. The new offerings are billed as the world’s thinnest mobile tablets. We spent a bit of hands on time with both of the tablets at CTIA. The tablets are nice, but Samsung is mum on pricing which is one of the most critical aspects of the tablet.

Sprint held an event at CTIA where the HTC Evo 3D smartphone was unveiled for the first time. The device has a dual core processor 4G connectivity, and 3D with no glasses needed. We got our geeky mitts all over the Evo View 4G Tablet at CTIA as well. We think the Scribe Pen that the tablet can use might be the superstar feature.

In more hands-on action, we felt up the HTC Evo 3D under the bleachers at CTIA. The phone is cool but the test unit had poor viewing angles and the screen looked bad in 3D from anything but straight on. A former curator for the Science Museum in London built a model of an ancient astronomical calculator. The model found that the original was able to precisely predict the yearly motion of the sun, moon, and planets and was a calculator.

Sony claimed late in the week that GeoHot had run away to South America to get away from the legal crusade Sony is on. Sony also claims Hotz sabotaged HDDs that were handed over to third parties for investigation. 2K announced that Duke Nukem Forever has been delayed again. The game was pushed to a June launch making this the shortest delay in the games history.

NVIDIA has unveiled a new video card called the GTX 590. With the card NVIDIA laid claim to the world’s fastest and quietest crown. Google has announced that for now it has decided not to release the source code for Android 3.0 to outside devs. This is the tablet specific OS, it seems that with the Tablet focus Google fears it would land on some smartphones and provide a bad user experience.

RIM has announced that the Playbook will officially support Android apps. The announcement came Thursday as RIM promised to expand the app ecosystem for the tablet. GeoHot responded to Sony’s suggestion that he fled the country to avoid prosecution on Friday. Hotz says he is on vacation for Spring Break, not running away.

The Nook Color eReader is getting access to apps on Barnes & Noble and Flash support in April. The new features will make the Nook Color into a cheap little Android tablet. Researchers have created some really cool batteries that have very fast recharge times. The tech in a full-scale battery would be able to charge to 90% capacity in two minutes.

Friday we posted up our review of the Nintendo 3DS. We figure 3D is a bit gimmicky and while the 3DS is cool, seeing value in the expensive console and the expensive games is tricky. Thanks for reading this week’s edition, see you next time!

Reuters reports that Verizon Wireless CEO Daniel Mead has stated that he would not oppose the plans of AT&T to purchase T-Mobile. Mead noted that he didn’t want to distract his company from its goal of being the most profitable wireless carrier in the country.

Mead said at CTIA, “We’re not interested in Sprint. We don’t need them.” Mead also thinks that regulators will approve the deal if the two firms agree to certain conditions. Mead figures AT&T is going to have to sell off some assets to get approval. I wonder if Verizon is hoping some of those assets might come its way.

[via Reuters]

The product is called the Cobra Tag and it is designed to connect to anything you want like your keys or purse and then interfaces with your Android phone or Blackberry using Bluetooth. The device has two functions. You can activate the alarm on your smartphone from the Cobra Tag on your key ring if you lose your phone. You can also activate the Cobra Tag’s integrated alarm using the app if you leave your keys somewhere and you can’t find them.

The device will also alarm if the phone or keys are separated from each other. The GPS coordinates and time of the separation are recorded and texted or emailed to a set contact list. The Cobra Tag will launch in July and the app will hit the Android Market at the same time at no cost.

[via Android Community]

The stand sticks to the back of your device with tape that is pre applied to the stand. You peel the cover off the tap, align it to your device, and stick it down. Once it’s stuck to your smartphone, the wEASEL can be used to prop the device up in portrait or landscape modes.

The stand also has an extendable top section that will stick up above the smartphone to allow you to hold it with a finger. The ring can also be used to mount the smartphone in your car as you see in the pic above. That would drive me crazy though since the phone would swing back and forth. Check out the video below and see the stand in action. Pricing and availability are unannounced at this point.

One of the possible identities for the unknown LG phones is the G2X, which is a version of the LG Optimus 2X that is rumored to be T-Mobile’s new phone. The other phone could be the 3D Optimus that was shown at the MWC in Barcelona recently. CTIA organizers sure know how to get people excited with mysterious phones and the upcoming Samsung tablet announcements.

CTIA is held in Orlando, Florida and will run from March 22-24 at the Orange County Convention Center. It’s one the world’s largest trade shows for mobile devices like phones and tablets. The show will draw 1,000 companies and have 40,000 professionals from 125 countries to descend upon Orlando. We will be there to give you the latest updates and news.

[via Android Community]

In an official announcement published today, Verizon announced that the company is going to detail their 4G network launch. We assume that means there’s going to be something more than just “We’ll be launching it later this year,” and that McAdam will do his best to give us all the information he can, and perhaps even outline when and where 4G will launch in the year 2010.

As for the network and Verizon’s plans, Big Red hopes to launch LTE in 30 markets by the end of 2010, and be providing coverage for 100 million people. A lofty goal to be sure, but one that the company has been testing for quite some time now, and seems perfectly ready to make happen. Hopefully the announcement tomorrow says just that, and more.

Press Release

WHO:
Verizon Wireless, the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network leader and builder of the world’s first large-scale 4G network

WHAT:
Verizon Wireless will hold a news conference during CTIA Enterprise & Applications™ 2010. Lowell McAdam, president and chief operating officer of Verizon, will detail the company’s major 4G LTE network launch.

WHERE:
CTIA Press Conference Room: Room 2A – Level 2
Moscone Center West
800 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

Via webcast (view/listen-only):
http://www.verizonwebcasts.com/vzw/10825
U.S. toll free: 800-857-1380 / International: +1 773-799-3385
Passcode: 3243400

On Twitter: Follow the news conference and join in live tweeting from the conference by following @VerizonWireless #VZW4G at http://twitter.com/VerizonWireless

WHEN:
11:30 a.m. PDT / 2:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010

BACKGROUND:
Verizon Wireless expects to commercially launch its LTE 4G network in up to 30 markets in 2010, covering 100 million people. To view a video about Verizon Wireless’ 4G network, visit http://bit.ly/vzw4g. For more information about 4G from Verizon Wireless, visit www.verizonwireless.com/lte.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s most reliable and largest wireless voice and 3G data network, serving more than 92 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 79,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

This little gadgets are power inverters that lets you juice your netbook or notebook up and use it in the car from a DC power source. The netbook Power line includes a 100W inVERT unit, 50W netVOLT unit, and a 40W netVOLT. Scosche also has a cool new skyCASTER wireless RF headphone set that uses USB to transmit sound from your Pc with no cables with up to 100-foot transmission range.

Other products include a netbook connect line of great that offers a low profile Bluetooth USB adapter not much larger than those nano transceivers common on mice today. The thing adds Bluetooth to netbooks and notebooks lacking it.

Zer01 is contract free, pre-paid, and thus sells unsubsidized devices. You’ll see a larger cost initially for the purchase of your phone (unless you bring your own) but you’re paying considerably less for the service overall. In addition, you can cancel when you want, so the company has to work much harder to retain your business. We’ve been seeing more and more pre-pay options in this economic climate, and the slow increase in diversity of carriers is a good thing to see.

Zer01 is using VoIP technology over existing cellular networks, and won LaptopMag’s Best of CTIA for their service, which is a pretty big deal. Not as big of a deal as SlashGear’s Best of CTIA, but I guess you have to start with something. Look for Zer01 to end beta in May, and service starting in June.

Zer01 Mobile

Best Concept Phone- docomo Separable Phone

Even though we’ll never see it on U.S. soil, the docomo Seperable Phone was freaking sweet. The device was two pieces, a number pad/remote and a screen, held together by magnets and could be pulled apart. The screen could be placed on the wall to watch television, and the number pad acted as the remote. You could also take the screen and use that as a touchscreen phone separately from the keypad.  Even cooler were the add-ons, like the wrist band for running that displayed all sorts of information relayed to the large display by the keypad that would be in the runner’s pocket.

Best Real Phone-Palm Pre

You saw that one coming, didn’t you? Of course the Pre was going to win that one. Even though we were only allowed to hold it while a Palm rep kept their fingers touching it, and we weren’t really allowed to explore the functionality of the phone past the demos, the Pre was still impressive. The interface was smooth, the features were amazing, the display was stunning, and the applications promising. I can’t wait for this phone to be released, and I know I’m not alone. We had all of our real Palm Pre coverage over at MyPre.com, which you should check out if you haven’t already.

Best New Online Service-RocketVox

We saw RocketVox at ShowStoppers and I was immediately impressed by it. The service creates an aggregate inbox for all of your communication (chat, email, voicemail, IM, fax, etc.) and also provides a phone number for calls to be directed to multiple cell phones if you have them, much like Google Voice. Where RocketVox differs is the ability to control your contacts and create security layers called “orbits” that allow you to assign a specific amount of information that the contact can see or get from you.  It also does voicemail to texting if you miss a call, which is sweet. I’m really looking forward to getting in on the Beta for RocketVox, and this service looks like it’ll be fantastic to use.

Best Peripheral-Hantech’s Siso Tablo

Yes, you saw this one already, but we were so impressed by the abilities of the Tablo that we threw it up here again. The Tablo turns any laptop PC into a tablet PC through a small sensor that is placed on top of the display, and a pen that allows you to write on your screen.  The Tablo works with all MS Office applications, as well as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Corel Paint. There’s even an attachment to turn the pen into a normal ballpoint, and whatever you write on a piece of paper shows up on the screen. We’re getting a unit to review, so we’ll let you know how well the Tablo works in the coming days.

Best New Product Line-Kyocera

We got a chance to sit down with some people from Kyocera and be briefed on their upcoming product line, as well as their recent shift in business strategy since their takeover of Sanyo. Kyocera has some excellent phones that are debuting on Sprint very soon. The low-cost, high-volume full qwerty keyboard phone, is a promising device that targets the teenage texting generation. It was a durable phone, easy to use, and very sturdy with some nice features such as dedicated “Text” and Emoticon buttons. Their new slider phones feature full qwerty keyboards as well, and were a pleasure to use. Kyocera has some big plans for it’s future devices, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw jumps in their marketshare in the coming years.

Best Booth-LG

We were told that it was less extravagant than years prior, but we couldn’t tell. The LG booth was one of the largest and was the first booth you saw walking onto the main floor in the central conference hall. It featured light effects, a live DJ for pounding music, and ridiculously plush carpeting and couches for comfort.  We seriously felt like we were in a new dance club that only invited old dudes in business suits.  They even had a piece of the “All-Spark” from the Transformer’s movie (I found out later that Michael Bay was there and embarrassed himself in front of his LG handlers by pulling out a $39 Samsung phone).

Best Food-Sprint VIP Lounge

We camped out in the Sprint lounge to work, mainly because the Palm Pre was there, and because the people were awesome (and Vincent was hoping he’d get to meet Dan Hesse again). We have to say though, the food rocked. caprese sandwiches, sushi, fruit cocktails, desserts, yogurt parfaits, roast beef, and the list goes on.

Best Cell Phone Accessory-BlueAnt Q1

It was a tough decision between Sound ID’s 200 model and the BlueAnt Q1, but the BlueAnt won out by a hair, only because the integrated speech commands took it beyond the expected capabilities of any other bluetooth device out there.  The Sound ID had the comfort and the style, but the BlueAnt Q1 had the functionality that made us “wow” and realize that all other Bluetooth headsets should incorporate hands-free commands.

Best Use of Capacitive Touch Surfaces-LG GD900

The GD 900 features a transparent keypad that acts as a second capacitive touch surface for controlling the phone.  The main display and the keypad are both capable of multi-touch, so resizing and swiping through photos is easy on either surface.  The phone uses the S-Class user interface, and attempts to mimic the iPhone in photo resizing and simplified menus.  This phone basically dominates the fashion-accessory category too. It’s a gorgeous looking handset, but unfortunately, this GSM device isn’t going to be hitting our shores any time soon. North and South American launch dates are yet to be determined, and Europe is in the coming months.

Best Use of OLED Displays

Samsung had a nice booth, but the best feature was a giant exclamation mark made out of the displays from the Samsung Impression. Hundreds of AMOLED displays flashing different images in bright colors showed off the beauty of AMOLED screens. It looked beautiful, and the best part was that the images were visible from most angles, which really showed the capabilities of the AMOLED displays.

Well, that’s the best stuff that we thought of. Every company there had interesting products and services. If you happen to think we missed something, let us know and why you thought it was so great. We enjoyed bringing the CTIA coverage to you, and we hope you enjoyed reading it! Thanks for following our posts from CTIA!

We took a look at the MSI X-Slim X340 and compared it to the iPhone 3G and Lenovo ThinkPad X301 in terms of size. The MSI X-Slim X340 is an attractive laptop, and the planned sub $1000 price tag makes it even more so.

There are rumors circulating that Apple has ordered 3.2 MP and 5 MP camera sensors, possibly for use in their next revision of the iPhone and possibly another unannounced device.

We had a plethora of Palm Pre coverage from CTIA over at our sister site, MyPre.com and if you missed it all, go check it out. The Pre is set to make some trouble for the iPhone’s, assuming that Palm and Sprint announce the release date and price point for the device. First there was the hands-on video and then the demo of the Pandora and Fandango applications, which are looking pretty slick.

SoundID has some new Bluetooth headsets that we got our hands on at CTIA. We got an interview with the CEO of SoundID and got a demo of the device.

BlueAnt also had some new Bluetooth headsets that we got a demo of at CTIA. They’re featuring voice controls for easy pairing and information such as battery life and pairing status.

And finally, we got a look at the previously announced Motorola Evoke and MOTOROKR headset. The Evoke is a new touchscreen phone meant for users who are new to touchscreens as a whole, and the MOTOROKR’s are some lightweight and quality sounding headsets.