The Razr is about razor thin at 7.1mm thin.  But it boasts kevlar body material and Gorilla Glass.  Yeah, you know this would be the perfect smart phone for someone who is suuuuuper clumsy.  But it’s not only well built, the Razr enters the market with bang-up tech within.  The 4.3 inch HD amoled screen will grab eyes.  Of course, it takes advantage of 4G.  Once you use it, you won’t go back!  Yeah, and that dual core 1.2GHZ processor ain’t too shabby either.  Yeah, that’s being sarcastic.  Full 1080p video recording, 1 gig of ram, wireless n capability, GPS, accelerometer, bluetooth, and on and on will keep your head spinning.  Oh, and that droid platform.  Yeah, you will be giggling like a school girl.

There is still an open jury around the effects of radiative energy and cell phone use.  Pong isn’t taking any chances, however, offering an innovative iPhone case that directs that energy away from your melon.

So, how exactly does the Pong case work?  Well, it attracts the radiative energy from your cell phone antenna.  It works like a chimney, funneling that energy away from your mop top.  So, what about signal loss or distortion?  Well, Pong is claiming that there is no signal loss or distortion with this technology.  Wired did a test not too long ago and made the following observations: “Specific Absorption Rate fell from 1.181 W/kg for a bare iPhone 3GS to 0.421 W/kg for the same iPhone 3GS with a Pong case, a drop of 65%.”  That’s pretty impressive.  Cost is $60.

HTC is pumping out some good smartphones as of late.  The HTC Touch Pro2 is another example of that.  It’s a bit hefty and pricey, but it gives some nice voice additions.

The HTC Touch Pro2 comes available on the T-Mobile network.  It offers a nice, big touchscreen (3.6 inch – droool) and a very useful keyboard.  Sporting the Windows mobile platform, the HTC Touch Pro2 is surprisingly easy to use.  They have done a good job making the navigation easy to use.

Now, the Touch Pro2 is really making a punch into business users base by offering a really nice conference call speakerphone right into the hardware.  And email and contact management really revolves around making it easy to connect with as many people as you like simply and quickly.  Another pretty cool feature of the conference call functionality is that you can grab a participant for a private sidebar.  Click on the participant, tap back on the screen to go back to the larger conversation.  At $350, some people have balked.  But those who use it regularly swear by the incredible screen, the well thought out keyboard, and the great conference speakerphone.

Photo Source: Skatter Tech

This phone is very popular and there are reasons for it.  My wife has the enV3, which I think is okay.  She seems to really like it though.  But back to the LG enV Touch.  Two large displays seem to grab your attention, but can they keep it?

The consensus seems to be yes.  The front touch screen offers convenience.  Flip the phone open to reveal a very nice keyboard.  The interior screen is also very nice.  But the UI is a little dodgy.  And this really underscores the design overall on the layouts.  This is something that Apple does very well on the iPhone.  Not so much here.  Also, the lack of wireless (c’mon Verizon!) is a big disappointment.  The front resistive touch screen is well done.  And those menus and speed are pretty good.  But the addition of Dolby mobile sound software and a nice 3.2 megapixel camera are welcome.  Overall, nice phone with a few annoyances.

Well, Android has found another partner in the HTC Hero.  HTC has really done a good job of making an interface that is user friendly and sexy.  And the chassis looks great and is highly functional.  The grease resistant screen is great, but then they go a step further by providing a teflon, scratch resistant posterior.  Bueno.

Here’s a good, quick tour from Orange:

Here’s a better tour of the OS, ported to a T-Mobile phone:

And finally, the specs:

Electronics forensics tools are an interesting group of utilities.  I usually find that forensics and security experts like them, but also a whole underground of hackers.  That’s because folks who love to learn and tinker like these kinds of tools.  Time to hide your cell phone!

This little device allows you to grab SMS, call logs, media, etc from cell phones.  It’s easy to use, which makes it dangerous.  It can suck data out of Samsung, Motorola, and LG cell phones.  Here’s a video on this heinous device.  But seriously, folks wouldn’t really use this for anything other than forensics, would they? ;^)  Oh, it’s $299 for the kit.

In need of a cell phone antenna? Well, you know what I like better than a high tech solution to a problem?  A low tech solution that costs a lot less!  This low tech cell phone antenna from Wilson brings more clarity and drop outs to those cell phone calls.

Specs:

• Part Number is 304203.
• Frequency Ranges:

• • 806MHz – 866MHz
  • 896MHz – 939MHz
  • 1850MHz – 1990MHz
• Impedance 50 ohms
• Antenna Gain 5.8 dBi at 806 MHz – 866 MHz, 896 MHz – 939 MHz, and1850 MHz – 1990 MHz.
• Omni directional.
  
• Vertical Polarization.

Will run you around $20.  Not too shabby for a cheap cell phone antenna.

Well Palm has been on hard times as of late, but a nice cash infusion and changes seem to be taking effect.  Palm announces the Palm Pre at CES.  And it seems like Palm fans may have something to cheer about again – if the price is right!

Features:

• TI’s latest OMAP CPU
• 3.1 inch 320×480 multi touch screen
• full QWERTY keyboard that slides out from the bottom
• EV-DO Rev. A
• 802.11b/g WiFi
• GPS
• Bluetooth with A2DP
• 8GB flash storage
• 3MP camera
• LED flash
• magnetic wireless charger
• 4.8 ounces

No word on pricing.  The touted webOS will have to be tested by users for the real word.  So far though, it’s step in the right direction.

It seems that people really like the Samsung Eternity A867 cell phone.  Maybe it’s the 3.2 inch touch screen.  Maybe it’s the haptic feedback.  Or maybe it’s the $50 price tag with the service plan – or $350 on its own.  gulp.  Either way, people go nuts over this phone – and for a good reason.

Features:

• Black-and-chrome multimedia phone with large, vivid 3.2-inch touchscreen, haptic feedback, and intuitive TouchWiz interface
• 3G-enabled phone compatible with AT&T Navigator GPS turn-by-turn directions, AT&T Mobile Music, Video Share service, and Mobile TV
• 3.2-megapixel camera/camcorder, Bluetooth stereo music, MicroSD expansion to 8 GB, access to personal email and instant messaging
• Up to 5 hours of talk time, up to 240 hours (10 days) of standby time

I have to say off the bat that I am not a fan of bluetooth headsets.  But some people go gaga over them.  I can understand if you are in a profession where being hands off is a must.  That sort of freedom and flexibility would come in handy.  And the Plantronics Discovery 925 does the job and is able to isolate ambient sound pretty darn well.

Features:

• VFrame design captures your eye as well as your voice
• Rechargeable case keeps you in charge
• AudioIQ noise control technology for clear calls
• Multipoint technology lets you stay connected with two Bluetooth® mobile phones
• Three sizes of self-stabilizing eartips let you tailor the fit
• Quick and easy set up with Bluetooth phones
• Available in metallic and jewel tone colors
• Enjoy up to 5 hours talk time or 7 days standby from a single charge