Today we’re taking a look at some software for a change, namely Chit Chat for Facebook from the UK company Athena IT Ltd. The Windows version has been out there for a while, but Athena have just launched a Chit Chat app for your Blackberry. The app is currently available at a special price of $1.99 for those early adopters, and sports a tabbed user interface for handling multiple conversations. There’s nothing worse than having a message meant for your spouse or partner ending up on your boss’s computer screen! The Chit Chat app for your Blackberry ensures that no wires get crossed!

The Blackberry app, just like the Windows versions hooks into your Facebook account and shows all your friends on one tab, with other tabs for current conversations and unread messages. Here are some more features of Chit Chat for the Blackberry

* Customizing Contacts and Conversations on Chit Chat
* One Screen Access to Contacts, Current Conversations, and Unread Messages
* Quick Access to Contacts

In fact Chit Chat is about as customizable as it gets, allowing the user to enable emoticons, choose a wallpaper, amend text size and alter message colour within the application. And I think we all agree that Facebook’s messaging colour scheme is, well, just a little drab?

So what’s $1.99 to add a bit of colour into your life, or at least your messages. If you’re keen as, hop on over to the Chit Chat for Facebook on Blackberry website to read some more about this colourful app.

System requirements: Blackberry OS – 4.2 to 6.00
Supported Blackberry models: 9780, 9700, 9650, 9520, 9550, 9530, 9500, 9000, 8530, 8520, 8900, 8800, 8820, 8330, 8320, 8330, 8320, 8220, 8100, 8110, 8120, 8130

Featured Tags blackberry, cellphone


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Touchscreen smartphones are ‘where it’s at’ in the world of cellphones at the moment and Blackberry have a nice addition to their range, namely the Storm 9530 which is currently available at Amazon unlocked for a mere $155. The Blackberry Storm 9530 features a clickable touchscreen and fast internet browsing.

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Sony have unleashed a sleek and stylish smartphone with the Xperia Arc and if you like slim smartphones then the Xperia Arc could just be what you are looking for. It measures a mere 8.7 mm from front to back and in a novel design twist the back panel of the Xperia Arc actually arcs inwards. But enough of design features here are the spec numbers on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc

* 4.2 inch LCD screen
* Android 2.3 Operating System
* 8 megapixel camera
* 125 x 63 x 8.7 mm
* 117 g
* GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900, UMTS 900, 2100 networks
* Data networks – HSDPA 7.2 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s
* 4.2 inch TFT 480 x 854 pixel multi-touch display
* 6.91 hours talk time
* 430 hours standby time
* Qualcomm MSM8255 1000 MHz processor
* 1280×720 (720p HD) video capture
* Supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, WAV, AMR, OGG audio formats
* Supports MPEG4, H.263, H.264 video formats
* FM Radio
* Supports IMAP, POP3, SMTP, Microsoft Exchange email
* microSD, microSDHC card slot (32 GB max)
* 2.1 Bluetooth, Wi-Fi connectivity
* microUSB 2.0 port
* 3.5 mm headphone socket

The net seems to rave about the Xperia Arc with it receiving glowing reviews on many sites, here are few for you to peruse at your leisure

Trusted Reviews – 9 out of 10
enGadget
CNet – 4 out of 5
TechRadar – 4.5 out of 5
phoneArena – 8.5 out of 10

Pros

* Brilliant screen
* Camera has shutter button
* Wafer-thin, curved case
* Gorgeous wide-screen display
* 8.1-megapixel camera with innovative sensor

Cons

* Doesn’t have a dual-core CPU
* Almost too slim
* Battery life still not great
* Thin, plastic case seems delicate
* No privileged access to PlayStation content or Sony’s music and film catalogues

Overall, Sony seem to have a winner with the Xperia Arc with all the cons either being similar cons on the competition or relatively minor issues. If you’re really keen you can grab an unlocked Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc over at Amazon currently for a bargain price of $375.

Featured Tags cellphone, sony-ericsson


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US Cellular customers can get their hands on Samsung’s latest made-for-texting slider cellphone the Messager Touch (SCH-R630). The mobile sports a QWERTY keyboard, long battery life and a 2.6 inch 240 x 320 resolution LCD touch screen. There’s a 2 MP camera as well as a memory expansion slot and microUSB port. Here’s a full list of the bells and whistles on the Samsung Messager Touch slider cellphone

* Provider – US Cellular
* 2.6 inch, 240 x 320, 262K color TFT LCD QVGA resistive touch screen
* 2MP Camera
* CDMA network (850)
* 3.5mm jack
* 4.13 x 2.12 x 0.59
* 1000 entry phonebook with 17 ringtones
* microSD slot

The Samsung Messager Touch is not exactly packed to the brim with features but it’s a pretty impressive-looking ‘standard’ cellphone. It may be ideal for anyone heavily into texting and not much else. Otherwise it’s pretty so-so.

Samsung Messager Touch Reviews

PCMag – 3 out of 5
CNet – 3.5 out of 5
phoneArena – 8.2 out of 10

Pros – Large QWERTY keyboard, loud speakerphone, good battery life, good call quality
Cons – Lack of GPS, poor video recording, no quick access to email or browser apps

So there you have it, generally the Samsung Messager Touch received a mediocre review score. What this slider phone is designed for it, appears to do well, but is lacking in other areas.

Featured Tags cellphone, samsung, us-cellular


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Verizon Wireless have unleashed the HTC Thunderbolt LTE on the world, this sucker with its 4G technology enables high speed browsing with expected speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps. On the downside, it chews through juice like no other phone. The Thunderbolt LTE sports a 4.3 inch Super LCD screen with capacitive multi-touch and a 480 x 800 resolution. There’s an onscreen QWERTY keyboard, support for Exchange email, and it runs Android 2.2. Here is a full list of the features and specifications fo rthe super-fast HTC Thunderbolt LTE

* Android 2.2 operating system (Froyo)
* ROCK BAND Mobile
* DLNA capabilities
* Full messaging capabilities including SMS text, MMS picture/video and IM instant messaging
* Access to personal and corporate e-mail
* HTML Web browser (WebKit-based)
* Music player compatible with MP3, WMA, and AAC
* Video player compatible with MPEG4, WMV, XviD
* Built-in stereo speakers
* Dolby Mobile + SRS WOW HD surround sound enhancement
* 32 GB pre-loaded microSD memory card with support for other optional cards up to 32 GB.
* 8 GB internal memory
* 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video chat capabilities.
* 8-megapixel camera with dual LED flash plus auto focus, face detection, and geo-tagging.
* HD 720p video capture capabilities (1280 x 720 pixels)
* 1 GHz Snapdragon processor
* 4.3-inch Super LCD display with capacitive multi-touch capabilities
* Onscreen QWERTY keyboard
* Dual microphones and noise canceling technology for clearer calls.
* 3.5mm headphone jack
* Micro USB 2.0 port with mass storage capabilities.
* Speakerphone for hands-free communication.
* Hearing Aid Compatibility: M3 and T3
* 5.78 ounces
* 4.8 x 2.6 x 0.52 inches
* 1400 mAh lithium-ion battery

Here are a few reviews for the HTC Thunderbolt LTE

Reviewer	Rating	Pros	Cons
PCMag	4 out of 5	Incredible Internet speeds. Big, gorgeous screen. Elegant interface.	Heavy. Poor battery life when surfing or streaming on 4G. Occasional bugs.
Amazon	4.5 stars out of 5

So the HTC Thunderbolt certainly seems to get a general thumbs up if you’re after lightning fast internet access from your phone.

Featured Tags cellphone, htc


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Looking very much like a Blackberry, Cricket’s cellphone the TXTM8 is ideal for the texting types with its full QWERTY keyboard. Other highlights include the TXTM8′s 320 x 240 res display, tri-band connectivity, 2 MP camera and GPS navigation. Unfortunately there are a few downsides, poor battery life and below par voice performance according to PCMag. Here’s the full list of bells and whistles on the Cricket TXTM8 cellphone

Cricket TXTM8 specifications

* 3G connectivity
* Tri-band EVDO Rev 0 (850/1700/1900 MHz) 3G CDMA
* No Wi-Fi connectivity

* 2.2 inch 320 x 240 res display
* Full QWERTY keyboard
* 4 hours and 57 minutes of talk time.
* 2 MP camera

* 4.5 by 2.36 by .55 inches
* 3.58 ounces

* Web-based widgets
* Email app which talks nicely to AIM, AOL, Gmail, Windows Live, and Yahoo Mail, as well as POP/IMAP accounts
* Cricket GPS Navigator

* 120MB of internal memory
* microSD cards up to 16GB.
* Plays nicely with AAC and MP3 files
* Standard 3.5 mm jack

Cricket TXTM8 reviews

Reviewer	Rating	Pros	Cons
CNET	3/5	Slim and lightweight design with a usable QWERTY keyboard, a 2.0-megapixel camera, mobile e-mail	Cheap feel in the hand and widget navigation is rather sluggish
PCMag	3/5	Comfortable keyboard. Good built-in Web browsing and e-mail support. Free GPS navigation.	Sluggish home screen. Only-average voice performance. Poor video playback. Mediocre battery life.

So whilst the 3G TXTM8 from Cricket doesn’t get a resounding thumbs up, it gets a sort of OK review. Probably only an option if you are an existing Cricket customer.

Already have a 3G TXTM8? Then check out these great accessories from Amazon for your Cricket TXTM8.

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AT&T have got a new smartphone out there, namely the Samsung Captivate. The Android based 4 inch AMOLED unit will set you back $200 with the usual two year plan or $500 sans plan. Here are the specs on what looks like a decent smartphone from AT&T

* Android 2.1 OS
* 4 inch 800×480 res AMOLED capacitive touch screen
* 5 MP Camera with 4x zoom
* 802.11x connectivity
* Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity
* GSM, UMTS networks
* GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA high-speed data
* 1 GHz processor
* Music player with streaming radio
* IM AOL®, Windows Live, GoogleTalk, and Yahoo!® Messenger
* POP, IMAP4, SMTP email
* 5 hours 50 min talk time
* 340 hours standby
* 4.5 oz
* 4.18 x 2.5 x 0.39 inches
* 16 GB internal memory expandable to 32 GB (microSD)

It certainly has all the features you’d expect from a decent smartphone. Here are a few reviews of the Samsung Captivate for you to mull over.

infoSync – 85% – screen, OS speed positives, iPhone 4 better negative
CNET – 4 stars out of 5 – screen, 16GB memory positives, lack of apps and no flash negatives
phoneArena – 8.5 out of 10 – screen, processor speed positives, photo and call quality negatives
PCMag – 4 out of 5 – processor speed, syncing options positives, flash, lack voice dialing over bluetooth negatives

Pretty good reviews all round for the Samsung Captivate. If you’re keen then check out the product info ovet at AT&T.

Featured Tags at&t, cellphone, samsung


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