Verizon Launches G'zOne Phone For Adventurers

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Are you a rock climber? An avid fisher, hunter, hiker, or climber? Since you're reading this website, the answer to this question is probably 'hell no'. But there must be a few of you rugged, globetrotting adventurers out there, and Verizon's just built the phone for you. It's called the G'zOne, which wins our prestigious "Worst Cell Phone Name of 2009" award.

The G'zOne is apparently pronounced Jeez_wun, which makes it no less indecipherable and ridiculous. The phone comes from Casio, makers of fine, cheap-ass wristwatches. It's built to comply with MIL-STD-810F standards for durability and comes loaded with a ton of neat features for people who leave the house occasionally.

Posted on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:50:00 CST | by Robert Evans

BlackBerry Storm 2 Hits Verizon Friday

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Verizon Wireless announced Friday that the Storm 2 from Blackberry was available on its network for customers to purchase. The Storm 2 runs Blackberry OS 5.0 and uses touchscreen technology with a 3.25-inch screen with a resolution of 480 x 360.

The touchscreen uses capacitive touch and has integrated send, end, menu, and escape keys. The screen also uses SurePress technology to make touching things on the screen easier to do. Other features of the handset include WiFi, 256MB of flash memory, and microSDHC card support. Read more

Posted on Mon, 9 Nov 2009 11:00:00 CST | by Shane McGlaun

New Verizon Ads Hint At Verizon iPhone?

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Christmas is coming up, and Verizon's launched a whole new bevy of ads in order to push their new smartphone line-up this holiday season. If you haven't already seen it on television, you can check out any of the ads on Verizon's YouTube stream. Most of the ads are your normal fare, but one of them has got me thinking.

The ad is set in the isle of misfit toys, and features the iPhone as a newcomer to the island. The interesting thing about this is that Verizon isn't attacking the iPhone itself in this ad. In fact, the line the ad states that the iPhone is a fantastic smartphone, shackled to a terrible carrier with poor 3G coverage. That's somewhat different than Big Red's previous tactics, which included focusing on the iPhones shortcomings.

Posted on Sun, 8 Nov 2009 16:27:32 CST | by Robert Evans

The Verizon iPhone: Coming Q3, 2010?

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Verizon's recent “Droid does” ads are probably the most pointedly anti-iPhone pieces of advertising out there. This has led some people to theorize that Big Red has given up all hope of ever carrying the iPhone, instead choosing to focus their efforts on the Droid line. In the current climate, the idea of a Verizon iPhone certainly seems a little preposterous. And yet, if AppleInsider's sources are correct, that's just what's headed our way next year.

The blog has received a report from an industry analyst with OTR Global which states that Apple is hard at work developing a “worldmode” iPhone. This device would be smaller than the iPhone, with a screen of just 2.8”, but would be compatible with both CDMA2000 networks and UMTS 3G networks. The report claims that this universal functionality will be made possible thanks to a new hybrid chip from Qualcomm.

Posted on Sat, 7 Nov 2009 05:43:39 CST | by Robert Evans

LG Chocolate Touch Available On Verizon Wireless

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Another day, another sweet new mobile release. Verizon has just announced that the LG Chocolate Touch is now available for their subscribers. While it certainly lacks the power of VZW's new Droid, the Chocolate Touch has a number of sweet options for music lovers and a low price to boot. $79.99 (after a $50 mail in rebate) and a 2-year contract puts this new LG mediaphone in your pocket.

The Chocolate touch benefits from Dolby Mobile, which LG claims helps to increase the quality, volume, and depth of the music it plays. It also packs an FM radio with 12 pre-sets, as well as piano and drum set “Join the band” functions that let you play along to your favorite music.

Posted on Fri, 6 Nov 2009 05:22:27 CST | by Robert Evans

BlackBerry Curve 8530 Announced By Verizon Wireless

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Verizon Wireless has more new phones coming than just the hyped Droid that launches today.
Verizon Wireless and Research In Motion (RIM) introduced the BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone featuring built-in GPS and Wi-Fi capabilities.
Other features of the new Curve 8530 include 256MB flash memory and 528MHz next generation processor, 2MP camera, 3.5mm stereo headset jack, and microSD slot. Read more

Posted on Fri, 6 Nov 2009 04:26:52 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Verizon To Offer Prepaid Wireless Service For Laptops

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Folks who want the option of having mobile wireless broadband access without the cost or commitment of signing up for a contract now have a new option. CNet reports that Verizon will soon begin to offer prepaid wireless services. These new services will come bundled with a VZW USB760 and will be available for laptops running Windows, Mac, or Linux.

One day of pre-paid access will cost you $15 and get you up to 75 MB of data. That's enough for a fair amount of browsing, but if you need more there'll also be a weekly plan available for $30. That one comes with a 250 MB data allotment. The largest prepaid option is the monthy plan, which costs $50 and gives you 500 MB of data.

Posted on Thu, 5 Nov 2009 09:33:53 CST | by Robert Evans

Verizon To Charge $350 Cancellation Fee

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As you've probably heard, Verizon is about to start a huge BlackBerry sale. This sale will include some exceptional deals which, Verizon fears, are ripe for exploitation. In order to prevent customers from cancelling their line and selling their new phone on ebay for a profit, Big Red is about to hike their cancellation fee. Boy Genius has come across proof that Verizon will soon up their cancellation fee for 'advanced devices' from $175 to $350.

Posted on Wed, 4 Nov 2009 05:25:15 CST | by Robert Evans

Verizon's New Netbook: The Vaio P?

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Verizon already carries three netbooks and, if this rumor from PhoneArena (via Electronista) is correct, a fourth is on the way. The Sony Vaio P netbook is said to be making its way to Big Red for a very low price; $300. The Vaio P retails for $850, which means quite a subsidy from Verizon, and quite a deal for their customers.

Posted on Mon, 2 Nov 2009 12:14:39 CST | by Robert Evans

Black Friday Rumored To See Launch of Verizon BlackBerry Curve2 Or HTC Passion

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Verizon Wireless is currently the hottest carrier in the news with the upcoming Droid release this week. BGR has a hot rumor on hand that Verizon Wireless is not done with hot new smartphone releases this year.
Verizon is supposed to launch the BlackBerry Curve2 or the HTC Passion on Black Friday.

Overall Verizon is said to introduce 15 new phones during the coming holiday shopping season. Read more

Posted on Mon, 2 Nov 2009 09:00:26 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Verizon Stores: Open At 6 AM For Droid Launch

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Big Red has really high hopes for the imminent launch of the new Droid handset. I have to say, if you're going to bet millions on a smartphone, you could do a lot worse than the Droid. As a way of encouraging more sales (and in order to build-up hype) it looks like VZW will be opening their doors early on November 6th. Boy Genius reports that one of their contacts has informed them that Verizon stores will open at 6 AM on Droid launch day.

Of course, Moto's masterpiece isn't the only smartphone that's going to launch that day. Verizon will also start selling the $99 Droid Eris on the 6th. Is it just me, or does all this seem eerily familiar?

Posted on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:38:30 CDT | by Robert Evans

HTC Eris: $99 From Verizon?

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The Droid may be the big name in the news right now, but it's far from the only Android smartphone that's making its rounds. The HTC Eris will launch on November 6th under Verizon's Droid brand. According to gdgt (via Android and Me) the Eris will cost just $99 and launch with Android 1.5. It's suspected to be unable to handle 1.6 due to an incompatibility between that update and the HTC Sense UI.

The Eris packs the same 528 MHz processor as the Hero, and comes with a 5 MP camera and touchscreen. It's basically Verizon's answer to the $99 iPhone 3G. There's nothing particularly impressive about this phone, but it is another Android device with some good, if not fantastic, hardware.

Posted on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:01:43 CDT | by Robert Evans

Verizon Wireless: BlackBerry Curve 2 This Holiday Season

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Verizon's holiday line-up contains quite a few sweet new smartphones, but it's been hard to focus on anything but the Droid. Motorola's flagship smartphone is so cool that it's started to somewhat overshadow the other sweet phones hitting VZW over the next few weeks. The Droid isn't the only awesome device coming to Verizon, as this leak from Boy Genius illustrates.

Posted on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:58:15 CDT | by Robert Evans

Android Loaded HD2 Clone Coming To Verizon?

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If you're like me, the HTC HD2 presented a genuine temptation. If it weren't for the fact that it was a WinMo 6.5 device, the HD2 would have been a much more attractive proposition. Fortunately, it looks like we're about to get our shot at a clone of the HD2 that runs the Android OS. Unlockr (via Gizmodo) has found that the mystery HTC phone that's been floating around the 'net lately is, in fact, the HTC Dragon.

Posted on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:48:58 CDT | by Robert Evans

BlackBerry Storm2 Launches On Verizon On October 28th

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The new BlackBerry Storm2 is launching on Verizon Wireless this coming Wednesday. RIM made the new touchscreen BlackBerry official 11 days ago. What was missing was pricing and the launch date.

The new BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone is available for $179.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement on a voice plan with an Email and Web feature or an Email and Web for BlackBerry plan.
Customers will receive the mail-in rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted. Data plans for the BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone begin at $29.99 when added to any Nationwide voice plan. Read more

Posted on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:40:53 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

'Droid' To Be A Verizon Phone Brand?

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Back when we first started to hear rumors about Motorola's flagship Android smartphone, it was named the Sholes. It's been a while since then, and the Sholes has gone through two name changes. First, briefly, to Tao, and now over to Droid. However, new information has leaked out (thanks to Phonescooper) that makes it seem likely that Droid is, in fact, Verizon's brand name for their Android phones.

According to sources from inside Verizon, "Droid" will be the name that Verizon brands all of their future smartphones with. The Sholes/Tao was just the first phone to carry the Droid name. Electronista reports that the upcoming HTC desire will also be a Droid. Current info suggests that it will be named the Droid Eris. In case you aren't up on your ancient Greek dieties, Eris was the goddess of discord.

Posted on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:00:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Verizon Set to Offer Mini 311-1037NR Netbook With Subsidy

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Verizon Wireless is set to add a new subsidized netbook to its line called the HP Mini 311-1037NR. The horribly named product will be offered with subsidized pricing in exchange for a two-year contract on a data plan.

The machine has Windows 7 Home Premium, Intel Atom N270, 2GB of RAM, and a 160GB HDD. The screen of the device is 11.6-inches and LED backlit with 1366 x 768 resolution making it HD compatible. The machine also has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built-in. Read more

Posted on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Apple iPhone 4G Already Testing On Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Network?

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Verizon Wireless already said earlier this year that they see the Apple iPhone on their 4G network in 2010. A rumor about Verizon and Apple already testing a new iPhone on the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network sneaked its way through the Motorala Droid coverage over the weekend. MacTouchUser points to a report on Fone Frenzy that says that Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam has been at the Apple headquarters several times and that indeed Apple is testing a CDMA iPhone on the Verizon 4G LTE network. Read more

Posted on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Verizon Re-Confirms Palm Pre

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The saga of the Palm Pre and Verizon has been long and confusing. After rumors of Verizon denial and months of waiting, we have confirmation from Big Red itself that the Pre is coming to town. And this is the sort of confirmation that doesn't just rely on advertising leaks and inventory screenshots. Verizon's Twitter feed, VZWOffers (via Boy Genius) told us almost everything we needed to know.

Posted on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 13:17:12 CDT | by Robert Evans

Motorola Droid, Calgary In Verizon Internal Systems

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There's been more hype around the release of the Motorola Droid (aka Sholes aka Tao) than pretty much any smartphone since the iPhone 3GS. By contrast, very little is known about the Calgary, which was initially billed as Motorola's first Android smartphone. The one factor (other than Android) that unites these two smartphones is the fact that, according to Boy Genius, they've both just been spotted in Verizon's internal systems.

Every VZW retail outlet has a gadget called a Cellebrite. The Cellebrite allows employees to transfer customer data from phone to phone. Apparently, the latest Cellebrite update added both the Motorola Droid, and the Calgary A555 to its internal library. This means that both phones are very close to a release date.

Posted on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:33:22 CDT | by Robert Evans

Verizon's Holiday Line-Up Leaks

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Good news, VZW subscribers. A "reliable source" has sent in a leaked list of the Verizon holiday line-up to Gizmodo. Thanks to it, we now have a much better idea of what new mobiles the carrier will offer over the next few months.

Posted on Wed, 7 Oct 2009 05:00:00 CDT | by Robert Evans