Today at CTIA TeleNav announced GPS Navigator 7.1 for Sprint Android smartphones.

The new GPS Navigator is designed to help people who are always on-the-go like me, who always need to know where they are at and where they need to be.

Navigator 7.1 has a new home screen, called “My Dashboard” which gives quick access to all the things they need to know, yes like your current location and real time traffic. I love my Sprint Navigator even more now!

Navigator 7.1 also features improved map options real time traffic and turn by turn navigation. You can now also change your little car icon!

There is now also a widget for Navigator, something it lacked and something I welcome since I will now have even quicker access to my beloved GPS!

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Sprint is having a promo where you can buy movie tickets for $4 each – Limit 2, valued up to $14.50 each and they don’t expire till October 15!

The sale started today and lasts till tomorrow but there are only 100,000 tickets available… so grab a pair quick! There were about 60,000 left when I purchased mine!

https://m.sprinticketakedown.com/index.php

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Motorola’s Sanjay Jha and Sprint’s Dan Hesse got together with NYC techies to unveil the Photon 4G, one of several Motorola Android phones coming to Sprint. The Photon 4G is as fast as ‘smart’ gets at the moment with a dual core processor and 4G speeds, 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB for storage. The Photon is sleekly designed with rounded corners, a textured back for comfortable hand grip,  a phenomenal display resolution and a kickstand around back so it stands on it’s own. It has everything you’d expect: Gingerbread, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 8 megapixel HD video front-facing camera and a few things that you wouldn’t expect but will be thrilled with like International GSM capabilities and 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot capability for up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices. The talk was heavy on specs but sparse on availability and pricing so the best I can tell you is to watch for it this summer…and it is worth watching for….

While you wait, check out this video of the Photon in action…

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Today Radiris Diaz and Michael from HardwareGeeks.com were at a Sprint event in New York city, and they were able to see and play with what I think is the coolest phones I have ever seen. Or is it a tablet? You be the judge.

The video below is of Michael demoing the phone, he doesn’t say much as there was a lot of background noise, but I think what he shows us is super cool!!!

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When I first heard about the EVO launching – I thought “Oh I’m definitely getting it.”. Then, I ended up having to get a Blackberry Tour, about a month before, due to some technical difficulties with life. Either way, had I waited – I would’ve never gotten one.

Want to know why?? Because even as a loyal Sprint customer (for over 10 years), and even as the Editor In Chief of CuteGeek.com with contacts at Sprint Corporate – it didn’t matter because demand was that HIGH. The EVO was sold out before it arrived at its stores. Even with hookups (you know how that goes) it was impossible to find – but, I did find a friend of mine who did…let me introduce our guest blogger for this review – Mr…yes, he’s a man…Domingo (yes – that means Sunday in Spanish) Espinal Jr.

I asked him a couple of questions (in bold) – please check out his responses.

What’s the scoop on it’s packaging?

The EVO 4G comes in a recyclable egg carton in a rather weird design. Rather than the traditional box that accompanies most new phone purchases, the EVO goes with a trapezoidal design that’s more fit for a frozen TV dinner. Anyhow, its fantastic, fits the EVO’s uniqueness and accentuates the growing trend towards environmentalism. Included are the usual user guides, “Get Started” manuals and even a brief explanation from Sprint regarding your new plan. Finally, the last bit provided is the charging cable and charging adapter. The usual stuff – no big deal here…

What the skinny on the battery?

Battery life sucksssssss, If you’re on your phone 24/7. Its moderate to even excellent if you know…don’t use it.

Point blank – most smart phones have terrible batteries so continue reading…

The levels of fail on the EVO’s battery life borders that of Radiris’ love life – haha! Just kidding! It has so much potential but seems like a bowl of fail waiting to tip over. This is by far the biggest drawback to the HTC EVO because what good are all of the apps/features, if you don’t have the battery life to enjoy them?

Jumping off the pessimistic wagon, I’d like to say you will be able to enjoy this phone for several hours and your usage will most likely vary from mine. I mainly used the EVO to read digital comic books, surf the web, watch an occasional TV episode, catch up on email, Facebook and I text my butt off. And even though it does pale in comparison to other smartphones’ batteries, it can be extended through minor tweaks like lowering the brightness, turning off the 4G, WiFi and GPS when not needed. Other helpful tips can be found online. Therefore, while you may get a better battery life out of it than me, carrying an extra microUSB charger isn’t a bad idea either.

How good does it feel??

(Like the announcers at a boxing match) Coming in at 6 oz. and measuring 4.8 x 2.6 x .05 inches, the EVO is a lot of phone to handle in one hand, even in my manly hands, especially after previously owning a Blackberry. However its not impossible to use single-handily. Although, for those of us with smaller hands, it is recommend to keep both hands inside the joy ride at all times. It does have a natural feel to it and after some time will feel less bulky and more elegant in your hands once you become accustomed to its size. Now the bigger question is how does this relate to texting, emailing, or simply the general use of the keyboard. One of the great things about writing in Android is that it tries to anticipate the words you’re writing, like the T9 feature on more simplistic phones but better. Once you customize it to the spelling of your most common words, writing will be simple whether in portrait or landscape mode.

Holla if you hear me (aka Does the phone work like a phone? Sorry iPhone users who had to deal with non-working phones…sorry…)

So the general consensus amongst cell phone users, or at least what the PR machines want you to believe is that Verizon has the best voice network out there. However, I’m inclined to believe that Sprint’s isn’t that far off when it comes to the major cities. The sound quality has been excellent on the EVO, crisp and clear. Now if you’re in a poor reception area, like a basement, you won’t get amazing service but you will most likely still get signal. One major concern I had regarding a touchscreen phone was whether my cheeks would accidentally call someone, write a weird text message or something odd. Luckily, the EVO saves you the embarrassment by blacking out when you’re making a call. (I hate butt dialing too)

Hottest apps to get excited for:

The coolest apps included on the EVO are definitely the Gmail, Google Maps, Qik, Facebook and the Google Voice App. But that’s the great thing about the Android OS, you have a market that gets you even more apps! While not as numerous as the Apple App Store, the Android market definitely comes with some noteworthy apps. It’s got apps for mobile banking, living a healthier lifestyle and so much more. Some of my favorite apps right now include Google Goggles, a visual search app that allows you to take pictures to search the web or even business cards to import into your contacts. The other Android app I love using whenever the opportunity strikes is “Barcode Scanner.” This sweet app allows to scan any and everything with a barcode and allows to find it in either the Market, Google or product websites. Another awesome app recently release is Chrome to Phone and the similar Fox to Phone. This allows all you Google Chrome and FireFox users to send any link to your Android phone so you can continue viewing that webpage on the go. Finally, the Google Voice app. Briefly exclusive to Android, the Google Voice app allows you to get a secondary number, FOR FREE, so you can forward annoying texts, translate voicemails, or when you wanna save minutes.

Do you dig the screen & quality?

Officially, the EVO 4G has a 4.3 inch screen which means it’s meant for HD goodness. I have tried movies, YouTube and read comic books on this thing and I can vouch that it ALL looks glorious. Picture quality on imported video files are absolutely stunning. Websites look fantastic, YouTube has its HD features available and pictures look great. This also means that anything you’re watching that lacks in quality will also be shown in it’s disheveled glory. The EVO has an 8.0 megapixel rear camera which takes great shots and a 1.3 mega-pixel fixed focus front facing camera that allows for some video conferencing or some model/MySpace shots in the bathroom when the mood strikes.

Favorite feature:

My favorite feature thus far is the kickstand. By far the coolest/dumbest thing to brag about to other smart phone users but it has its benefits. It absolutely convenient when you wanna watch a video while you sit down and study, eat, etc. as it frees up your hands to allow to do stuff while you’re phone is propped up displaying your current video. But in all honesty, best feature on the HTC EVO is the Google integration. While some of you may be fighting off the monster that is Google, embracing it and doing it all on an Android phone like the EVO is one of the best things out there. Gmail reads like if it was on a actual computer. Google Voice is so integrated, you’ll wonder why you even have a mobile contract to begin with and Google Contacts & Calender sync seamlessly to keep you up to date on your life and those in it.

Also, quick mini feature that will be a lifesaver to the women who have a “stalker” problem, to say the least. Under every contact there’s an option to send any calls from that contact to voicemail. So those of you with stalkers, frenemies or just annoying people in general, congratulations. Problem solved.

Least favorite:

Now as to my least favorite feature. Wait a minute… if you have an EVO, is it even acceptable to hate this phone?! Like is that even possible??? I would marry this thing if I was technologically obsessed and socially and emotionally deprived. Yea, no way anyone who has this phone can hate it… its not possible… I refuse to believe its possible. Better yet, I dare you to find someone….. I’ll wait.

Worth the wait?

This phone was the Moby Dick to my Captain Ahab, the Ramona Flowers to my Scott Pilgrim. In essence, I almost started believing that this phone was a myth and I’d never be able to find it this year. That’s how high the demand is for this phone and proves how low its supply is…but once I got my hands on it….Oh Baby!!! What a thrill ride its been. After solidly searching weeks, calling just about every store south of 86th St. in Manhattan, leaving my name and number in the hopes that, soon, this mini-computer would be mine, to then finally receive it, is a journey I would happily complete, albeit with the hopes of finding this phone quicker than the last trip.

Besides the cute reference to my love life, which just so happens to be blossoming like spring’s beautiful flowers – I thought it was a pretty darn good review. Thanks Mr. Espinal. Thank you very much.

Here’s a little humor for those that still don’t believe the hype…please excuse the language – CuteGeek.com has no affiliation with the makers of this video. If you beep out the F-Bombs, it is actually a pretty funny video…
-Radiris

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The Samsung Restore is bright green, and for a reason. It’s made of 27% recycled materials, comes packaged in fully recycled materials, has a low power drawing charger,  and when you’re done with the device, can BE recycled (well, 84% of it anyway.)

Its a slider text phone with a couple of extra features– the interface, a simple Samsung OS, has dedicated shortcuts for Twitter, Facebook, and (oh boy.) Myspace. The 2.0 megapixel camera can also record video, and there’s a setting for videos you plan to email, which I assume records them in lower fidelity. The slide-out hard QWERTY keyboard is great, with very little mistyping and really satisfying clicking sounds reinforcing the typing you’re doing.

The phone goes for $50 with a 2 year Sprint contract, which seems standard for a feature phone. A smart-phone its not, but with the angle of being earth-friendly (I mean, they even pre-programmed some “favorite sites” with a page about Green tips) the lime green Restore is a solid texting phone, with several cool added features that I think make it a great option for anyone in need of a phone that does more than call folks but doesn’t need a smartphone.

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This wasn’t required but after seeing some of the comments on my initial video I figured, why the heck not?

At first I wanted to make a nice video, and give the Hero all the kudos in the world, but I can’t lie. I’m not a fan of the phone, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

If you want to listen to mine, click below…if not, don’t click, but realize that most phones always get a huge hype stirred up about them before they’re released – this doesn’t mean they’re great. Before buying a phone, or any gadget for that matter, try to check it out and actually play with it. Mess around with it and see how it performs.

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Sprint launched a new phone today, the latest iPhone competitor – the HTC Hero.

The HTC Hero (loaned to us by Sprint) is a great alternative for those that yearn for something iPhone-ish, but that do not want to switch from having Sprint as their cell phone service provider. Initially, I ooh-ed and ahhh-ed, but once I actually started using it those pleasant sounds turned into grunts, and sighs of exasperation.

The phone is very light weight, very thin, and the screen’s resolution is up to par (if not exceeds) the top phones on the market right now, but when I tried clicking on something on the screen I got nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Thanks to the precedent set by the iPhone, the HTC Hero now has a capacitive touch screen which means by lovely stabs at its screen meant nothing. It only measures or registers electricity from fingertips, so I had to angle my fingers in such a way that it would actually get the phone to respond. Doesn’t sound that difficult right – yea – think again. Think about having a lovely French manicure, on hands that are not a mechanics, and that actually have lengthy nails. It’s a nightmare.

If you’re texting/typing skills were great before – they’re going to decrease a bit in its accuracy. Why? Because if you try to click on one thing, you’ll most likely end up pressing something around it. As a non-iPhone user, I was taken back by it all, but I’ll make sure someone with an iPhone gets their hands on this phone to provide their experience.

The camera on the phone is 5 megapixels, which to me, is great because my first camera ever was a Casio Exilim and the poor thing only had 2 megapixels and it still rocked and captured all of my best high school moments.

I tried capturing my initial thoughts of the camera, using the camera, so you can check out the camcorder’s skills. (I recorded with the phone vertical – assuming it was the right way, and on the phone it looked correct…until I loaded it…sorry)…

The phone is intuitive to use, and because I accidentally left the manual of the phone when it was given to me, I’ve been using it ‘commando’ – with no direction, but no worries, because Sprint has a bunch of user videos that provide some guidance with the phone’s feature.

I mention it’s a great alternative to the iPhone because it runs Google’s Android operation system which to some is a bit easier to understand than Microsoft’s or Blackberry’s system (Research in Motion).

I won’t give up just yet but I’m going to try to find all the cool aspects of the phone before telling everyone with nails to stay clear from it. It was definitely a stressor in my life yesterday when it took me over 5 minutes to log into my facebook account but that’s probably a good thing, I’m too addicted anyway.

Today I did try signing onto AIM though and only 34 of my buddies loaded, so it appeared as if I had 2 friends on, when in reality I have many more. That was annoying, but once I couldn’t figure out how to access my IMs easily, without having to go through tons of screens, I gave up, and let the phone hang out, online, leaving my IMs unanswered.

I’m not giving up, but I will say I’m a little bit disappointed. I thought this Hero would actually come into my life and save parts of it. It’s not (it looks way better than an iPhone though

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Greetings! My name is Maya, and I am a super geek.  I’m not sure that you would be able to tell immediately that this is the case– I look and act normal (…uh, I’ve been told) and I don’t have a CS degree or a technical background. But here it is, in one sentence (with a colon, because I never do things the simple way)–

There are three things I love: my family, my boyfriend, and the interwebz.

I consider it pant-worthy when Apple unveils some new ultra-cool device after letting the public speculate themselves into the ground for many months. I consider internet people to be celebrities– once, Steve Jobs rode past me on a bicycle as I waited to cross the street after lunch in Palo Alto (along with two bodyguards). I nearly got hit by a car whipping my phone out to Twitter about it as fast as I could. My news comes from my favorite podcasts and blog networks. Oh, and Twitter, of course. Television newscasts, you ask? What is this, the 20th century?

One of my favorite things to do is go to the retail stores where new gadgets are sold and play with them. Try before you buy type of deal. Last weekend, I was at Sprint playing with the Pre and inquiring about when the Pixie gets store bound. The week before that, I was fiddling with test videos on the new nano in the Apple Store. I once made an unboxing video when I got a Kindle 2, but didn’t want to put it up until I got my own blog more prettified– the vanity!

I am all about social media, gizmos and gadgetry, and the latest internet memes. I love to write and I could read all day, whether it be on a screen or in a book.  I could probably write you a whole essay in LOLspeak.  And still, there’s so much to explore and discover!

So! When I met Radiris at work, the first thing I did after shaking her hand was Google her. And that’s when I discovered my long lost twin (or, geek sister, at least…we should start a sorority.) She was a geek too! We speak the same language (when I keep it english, and not internet meme-ish.)

So when she asked me to write for the site,

Are you kidding? Do I even need to finish that sentence?

I just hope I do the blog justice, in the name of lady geeks everywhere. A-men!

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Anytime Mobile?

Heard of it? If you haven’t and have an unlimited data plan on Sprint’s network, you are now (or will be at the start of your new billing cycle) able to call ANY mobile phone unlimited.

T-Mobile?

Yup!

Verizon?

Yup!

AT&T?

You bet!

You can call anyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I haven’t extended my Sprint contract, although they’ve been my provider since I was 16, but now I may just have to. Not only because of this added perk, but because of their upcoming phone – the HTC Hero!

disregard the pen marks on my hand, networking with a slow drying marker pen is not the best thing to do…

It’s a morph between the Palm Pre and any older generation of an HTC phone but according to the representative that I met at Pepcom – it’s different. Completely different and she meant it in a ‘it’s-a-very-awesome-phone, just-not-quite-what-you’re-used-to’ kind of way.

It has the same swivel ball as Blackberry’s and it’s user interface reminded me of the Palm Pre, but also had the great touch screen capability like most HTC phones. High resolution, tons of apps but the one thing I’m not sure I can part with is the fact that it does NOT have a QWERTY keyboard.

The phone looks great though, I can’t wait to get my hands on one of them (for more than the couple of seconds that the video lasted).

I have yet to own a Palm but Sprint will also bless the world with another one. The Palm Pre will soon have a taller little sibling, called the Palm Pixi. The Pixi will be the stylish one out of the two, with the option to own a case designed by an original artist from California.

I took some pictures to show the coolness. I also asked if the Palm Pre would be so lucky to have something like that for itself, but I received somewhat convincing shrugs that they may or may not come out with cases like that. Cross your fingers Palm Pre owners, iPhones have way too many cool cases out there for the Palm’s to be out left in the cold.

I didn’t ask much about the Pixi but to me it looked like a phone that would be targeted for the teenage population that love to text…that’s just my opinion, but I may be wrong. As soon as I get more information on it, I’ll be sure to post.

Just for the record, I have been a Sprint customer for over 8 years for a couple of reasons. Sprint was recently the topic of conversation and the consensus was that yes, they are one of the best, if not the best, service provider. They work almost everywhere, even in some underground train stations in NYC. As a customer, you usually run into problems when you have to call them. They tend to leave people on hold, or transfer too many times for my liking.

Despite it all, Sprint may be winning this race. I’ve never been an ‘iPhone-r’ and Sprint gave me yet another reason, to hold out on jumping providers. This is a much needed move considering they’ve been bleeding customers and were also highlighted as one of the companies veering towards bankruptcy. Lower your plans and I’m sure you’ll get more and keep the ones you already have – just food for thought Sprint Gods.

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When looking at things around you, do you ever wonder “who thought of that?” or “how they’d think of that?” – I do. All the time…Years ago we probably would’ve never expected to have cell phones the way that we do today, and today, so many of us have them, and for different reasons that there are various categories (so to speak) of cell phone users.

Sprint sent CuteGeek the Sanyo SCP-2700. First off, its pink with flower decals. Very cute. Thumbs up. I never considered myself to be that girly, but I would purchase this phone and love it as much as my old gray mogul. I liked the phone’s design a lot. The color was soft and inviting, as if it told you “Come pick me up, I’m great”. The flowers were fun and flirty. The phone is also available in a bright blue, not highlighter blue, but like an electric blue – very nice.

The phone looked like the morph of Palm’s Centro with the Blackberry’s keys but it felt much lighter. Light phones can be tricky – it can mean less work when into it, or cheap parts, so I was a skeptic at first.

Sanyo’s SCP-2700 is the ideal phone for a texter. The keys are the best I’ve ever felt. They had the perfect curve, rubber like/clean feel at all times (like when you run your fingers on a clean glass) and there are buttons that facilitated and increase your texting capability. There is a ‘TEXT’ button – thanks for that Sanyo, that’s ideal for the go-getters who don’t like wasting time going through various windows. There is a button with a smiley face, aka the smiley button. That button held the magic behind everyone’s life. It had a bunch of cute emoticons and it’s the first I’ve ever seen of its kind and I thought it was very cute.

The screen is 2.2 inches (diagonally), and it takes great pictures (1.3 MP) but is NOT a touch screen. Touch screen users – this is hard…I found myself banging on the poor screen a couple of times, and no, I’m not an idiot – I’m just a touchy feeling kinda gal’ when it comes to my phone. I quickly grew out of that though and mastered how to use the phone.

Now when I say it’s a texter’s dream I mean it. I mean it because when you receive phone calls, an option you have is ‘Ignore with text’. Now how awesome is that. How often have we received calls while on hold with our credit cards and we can’t pick up, and we feel bad for ignoring, but we can’t hang up so we just wait it out in hopes of whoever called not being mad and understanding the situation. Oh yea – that feature is cool.

User guides are undervalued. I would’ve never known of some of the cool things about the phone had I not read it, so I encourage everyone to read their user guides because theres only so much a commercial or quick in-store demo can show you – uncover the goodies by reading it, or skimming if that.

The phone also came with a tiny paper and it showed how to get the best hearing device experience with your phone. Again, not a big deal, but as a visual learner, I can’t tell you how easy that was to comprehend, instead of reading it written as ‘Place phone in the middle of your palm, in a 90 degree angle, while curving your pointer and thumb, and positioning the fingers….yea…a picture did the trick.

The phone has most of the options as most phones but it also comes with ‘Chat & Dating’ something Sprint has identified as something that is frequently changing, so you have to go back and see what is new. They have wireless chatrooms there, and I won’t lie, when I got my first cellphone, I chatted in one of those wireless chatrooms – it was 8 years ago…I’m afraid about the conversations that go on today – people actually probably hook up…not interested.

I didn’t try the SMS voice messaging, and I should’ve, I just forgot. I know you can leave up to 3 minute messages though.

One of the tools that the phone comes with is a stop watch. I can play sports, and no I don’t do it on a regular basis, but as someone who is slowly developing into a marathon runner (yes – positive thinking brings positive things), keeping track of my time is great. I haven’t had one cell phone in the past to have that.

As a first generation Dominican, I often have to call my family abroad and this phone has a plus (+) code dialing, which allows the phone to automatically enter the international access code for the location you are calling (another time saver). That feature is subject to network availability.

The battery capacity on this phone was the best I’ve had in years. I’m so used to having an ‘intelligent phone’ that I’ve accepted subpar battery performances because I know my gadget is always working hard at something. The SCP-2700 went days without charging sometimes, and this was all the while I updated my facebook on a very consistent basis, texted the world, called loved ones, and used the navigation to get to my destinations. Battery capacity rocked!!!!

Using the internet was awkward for me in the beginning due to the transition of ‘non touch screen’ and because my facebook homepage looked different than my other phone, due to the smaller size, but that wasn’t a hurdle in my facebook status update performance. A facebook app would’ve been nice but I never really used one so I didn’t think to download it and am unsure if theres one available.

The biggest mistake I made while having this phone was setting facebook.com as my homepage, accepting the ‘keep me logged in’, and then always finding myself clicking on their one click button to the web. I was beyond addicted…no good.

There were features of the phone that intrigued me and then awakened the scorned woman lurking inside my brain.

SO – phone now come with “secret contacts entries”. Oh, what is that you ask. It’s a number that is stored in your phone, but when called, does not appear as if it’s stored. I didn’t see the purpose in that, unless you’re trying to hide something…again, sorry, it was the scorned woman coming out, but I thought the feature was cool. I like options, even if they encourage sneaky behavior.

Now back to business. I’m not sure if many phones have this feature but you can restrict the calls you receive, incoming or outgoing. Let me explain further, or help you visualize…are there ever days where you are swamped with work, or overwhelmed with life and you just don’t want to be ‘available’ – well if you answered yes to any of these, or if I confused you, then you should purchase this phone. You can restrict your incoming calls and when used in conjunction with “special numbers” (another feature), you can identify numbers that you are always available for.

Again, think Sunday afternoon…you just woke up at 2 pm from a fun night of partying and the last thing you want to do is talk to anyone because you want to catch up with your DVRs…but you know you can’t ignore your mom or significant other’s phone because they will call the cops to find out where you are at or blow up your house phone…well, here’s your answer.

The most impressive part to this story is that you can get this phone for free at Radio Shacks (those eligible for upgrades and new Sprint customers) or for $30 at a Sprint store/retailer. Sanyo has answered the need to provide a phone with extraordinary texting capabilities without giving the phone a lot of extra features that won’t be used. You may not be able to take videos on the phone, but if you’re a social networking guru and prefer texting over talking then this phone was tailor made for you.

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Isn’t that harsh? Now that I think about it, I almost feel bad. Can’t we all just get along? Can this world be filled with iPhones and Pres?

I hope – because it doesn’t look like Sprinters are running to get the new iPhone, and vice versa.

Palm’s Pre is amazing but contrary to common belief, you don’t need to be a Palm OS user to get it. Actually, ANYONE can use it because its operating system is completely new. It’s a hybrid of a Mac, Windows and Palm – the best of all worlds.

Some of the cool things about the Pre:
When the keyboard is visible, there is a mirror on the back…nice addition for the conscious people who don’t like having things stuck in their teeth…

Consolidates accounts (facebook, gmail, etc)…this means a lot of things. For your contacts, think of pulling your facebook friends and gmail addresses straight into your phone, or merging various accounts for one user – yea, that’s a timesaver 
For calendars, the synergy of the phone is the bomb. It inputs events into your calendar from different places for example facebook and gmail, and color codes them so you can tell them apart…uh yea! Who needs a personal assistant?

Some of the things that weren’t so cool is that smileys do not appear when you’re texting…not a big deal, but Sanyo’s SCP-2700 has a smiley button so now I have these high expectations. How else can I express my emotions through a text message if you can’t see a face…

The Pre can’t tether (yes, I’m still complaining about that)

The battery life is far from great. It’s actually pretty crummy, I won’t lie.

And this thing called digital voicemail…have you heard of it? I didn’t, until my iPhone loving coworker showed me and made me jealous.

Think this – being able to screen your voicemails? Ahh, what a time saver…We all have people in our lives who love speaking to that machine of ours, as if it really was our personal assistant. I blame those people, for making me cringe at the little voicemail notification on my phone, and why I usually let them build up for days, avoiding the long uninteresting message…sorry…emotional outburst…

Digital voicemail is an iPhone thing – I have to give props where its due, so I admit. iPhone, you rock because of that. It’s like having your voicemails turn into songs on your phone and you be able to pick which one you want to listen to and which one you want to skip…nice!

Cute Geek will soon have some guest bloggers on the site – both are Pre owners so we hope to bring you the inside scoop on what its really like to have one of this summer’s hottest phones…

Oh, and I also upgraded my phone – finally! I purchased HTC’s Touch Pro, the upgrade to my old phone…I’ll let everyone know all about it once I figure it out. It’s been out for a while, but I think I discovered a diamond in the rough that may need to be brought out into the light.

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I attended Sprint’s Pre-launch party on a whim – Mike from HardwareGeeks.com got the invite but he couldn’t make it because he was out of town so he put me on the list. I’m glad he did.

The event was real laid back, but still had that red carpet feel. Nice carpets out front, security, men in black, hot ladies walking around with hors d’oeuvres, and like most cool events some celebrities.

The Sprint reps were extremely helpful and the first person I chatted with ended up being the store manager. Chatting with the store manager is like chatting with a secretary when you go for your huge Wall Street interview. They usually know the most, but unless asked, won’t tell you anything.

Uy Lam and I talked about the Pre, while I put my things away, and it went something like this:

“So what do you think? Are you going to upgrade your phone?’ – Me
“Well, I’m not sure yet. I’m impressed, the phone is amazing, but I’m a skeptic. I want to see if it ends up having a bunch of flaws and I’m so used to the Windows operating system.” – Uy
“As am I! I read so much about it, that now I just want to get my hands on it” – Me
“I know the phone in and out, and it’s really great. It’s better than an iPhone for so many reasons. Let me show you why…” – Uy

At first I tried messing with it, and then he volunteered to show me the works, since he knew the phone really well. He showed me his favorite functionalities – synergy, consolidated calendars, apple-like features (when it comes to having multiple programs open), being able to back up whatever goodies you have on your phone (on Palm’s server, so you have to agree to having all of your information saved before actually doing it) and also being able to whip out your phone from whatever personal data it may have, remotely, in the case where you lose it.

I recorded most of what he told me, but realize, he is the store manager, so we got interrupted a couple of times (also, I didn’t record his face because I forgot to ask him before I started – this is all still very new to me).

I also spoke to current ‘upgraders’ and asked them why they bought the Pre, and one woman, Sonia, told me she was a current Palm phone owner and just loved their operating system. I got her on video and when I asked her about her thoughts on some of its downfalls, she pretty much said it was something she didn’t focus on because what may please one person, may not please all. It’s a good way of thinking, and many of us don’t put it to use. We usually try to find the flaws, or the areas of improvement, when we should just try to enjoy the damn thing. Sometimes, if they’re not brought to our attention by someone else, we would never find out about them, so if you’re going to upgrade to a Pre, don’t listen to bad reviews, figure them out yourself.

The two celebrities were two great New York Jets/Giants football players (I’m a fan, but I had to text a couple of people before realizing who they were)…Leon Washington and Brandon Jacobs were at the event and were very approachable. Leon and I talked about the Pre for a while, because even he said he was considering becoming a Sprint customer. We played with the phone together, and I tried to act like an expert by pretty much telling him everything Uy had told me minutes before. The one thing I told him was that it wasn’t able to be used as a modem, not even Bluetooth, something even he wasn’t too happy about (come on Palm – why didn’t ya’ll think of this!).

Brandon Jacobs and I spoke about gaming. I used a Kodak HD camera to take pics and videos at the event so it was also something else that came up in conversation. I got autographs and pics, or videos with the gentlemen. One fun fact that Leon told someone was that him and Brandon play the same position but that he’s the shortest player in the NFL. Height really isn’t everything, we took a pic, but I had 5 inchers on so he’s really taller than me.

In the end, I left with a smile on my face. The last time I went into a Sprint store it was to complain about one of my phones not working. Today, I was shown a new side of Sprint, and the hopes of it becoming a better service provider. Mike Brito, a Sprint rep, almost convinced me into getting the Pre and a broadband card but I kept on telling myself no…he did a great job, but I need to minimize my gadget consumption. The cutie also let me take a pic of him and the Pre.

Good job Sprint – it was a nice event.

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Sprint sent CuteGeek.com the Sanyo SCP-2700 phone. It’s a great phone and has been very pleasant to use

Check out the unboxing below and keep your eyes open for the review!

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I’ve been a loyal Sprint customer for over 8 years now and through time, like most relationships; there have been ups and downs. One of the ups was when I received the LG Lotus to try out. From the moment I saw commercials for this phone, and when I tried playing with it in the Sprint store all I thought was ‘what the heck?’ – Why? Because over the years, I’ve been trained to think that all phones, to be normal, are rectangular, and most smart phones are touch screen or sliders.

Can you blame me? Not really. Most of us don’t live overseas, or spend enough time toying with the savy phones that come out, so when Sprint launched the Lotus I thought “Woohoo, change is coming!’.

First off, it’s square, that’s the first thing you notice. If you’re looking at the purple version then the flower decal is definitely what attracts your attention but if it’s the black or red (new color!), it’s the shape of the phone.

The shape of the phone seems a bit odd at first and although it was a tad bit wider than my current phone it’s thinner, shorter and was actually more comfortable to have in my pocket. It is 3.3 inches wide, 2.4 inches tall, 07 inches thick and weights about 3.7 ounces. .I’m not one of those geeks that carry huge bags, clip my phone to my belt, or actually invest in bulky covers and cases for them. I minimize my luggage and fit all of my necessities into tiny purses or wristlets. This phone fits perfectly in my back pocket without sending a sharp reminder when I accidentally forget that I have it there, and sit down. I did the test. It’s comfy, I promise.

When you open the Lotus you’re greeted with a nice sized screen on the top part of the flip, and a wonderfully perfect sized QWERTY keyboard.

The outside of the phone has buttons to facilitate the user’s music listening experience (something I did not use), but one thing I can say is when the phone rang for the first time, I jumped out of my seat and ran across the room to pick it up. It was the loudest ring tone I’ve ever heard, combined with unrecognizable song that was a tad bit embarrassing…From that experience I decided this phone has a great set of speakers and you can probably put your favorite songs on the phone and use it as mini speakers. It has a built-in media player, which allows you to switch back and forth from calls to music.

When I first started clicking around, it reminded of the user interface that HP’s TouchSmart PC has. “Sprint’s One Click”, brings a bunch of fingers to your fingertips by having a carousel-like display that lets you scroll to the left or to the right without bringing you to a stop. Does that make sense? It’s like flicking through pictures on your iPhone or like swiping your finger across the TouchSmart – it won’t end, but just bring you back to the beginning. It’s cool. Unlike other phones, you don’t have to leave the main screen to navigate through the majority of the phone’s features.

My favorite feature is to add ‘bubbles’ to your main screen, which is the equivalent of widgets for computers. For example, if you’re always checking weather, that’s a ‘bubble’ you can add to your main screen.

On the main screen, there are tiles. The tiles are the different icons, an example of one is messaging. When messaging is highlighted, a preview window pops up that shows you “Email”, “Text”, etc That’s how most of the icons work. Before actually having to click on them, you view what is waiting for you, which makes it easier to get used to, instead of having to click back and forth when you’re trying to find something in the phone.

As a touch screen user, I had some difficultly getting used to its non-touch screen. I found myself touching the screen more than I hoped, with nothing happening. I am a creature of habit – what can I do? I’ve had a touch screen phone for almost 2 years now and it’s hard to break that sort of trained behavior.

Something else I’ve gotten used to in the last couple of years is the comfort of a large keyboard. I have an outdated phone, and despite my friends’ requests to upgrade, to maintain ‘cute geek’ status, I refuse because I love my keyboard. I felt like I was cheating on my old phone as I started texting on the Lotus because I was happily able to use one hand and one hand only. I held the phone and maneuvered my thumb across that keyboard like a pro. A multi-tasker’s dream…

Disclaimer: It’s not safe to text while driving, but even that task was made easier with this phone.

The LG Lotus is also “phone as modem” capable, which is one of the key features that I look for. It allows you to use your phone to get online anywhere, without having to lug around a wireless card, or an expensive data plan. (I currently pay $15 to enable this feature on my phone but it could vary because I’ve had the same plan for years).

I would recommend this phone to an avid texter, or someone that is looking to make the switch from a regular flip phone, into something with better features. The LG Lotus provides multimedia enthusiasts music, TV, GPS directions, easy texting, quick emailing, and nice style. Smart phones are fun, and their functionality may intrigue many, but some of us need less than half of what they offer. I can use Microsoft’s PowerPoint to view documents through my current phone, but will I ever? Probably not. I do enjoy taking pictures and this phone has a good 2.0-megapixel camera. I took a picture of my work space and it came out very clear, and surprisingly bright.

Its 2.4 inch wide screen display really facilitates Sprint’s Power Vision add-ons like on-demand TV shows and watching movies. Images appear very bright, and unlike regular flip phones, the display on this phone is great. Colors appear life-life (and what I mean is that things appear the way they should – for example, viewing pictures online and on your phone won’t vary much).

As someone who owns a phone with a significantly bigger screen, I would recommend sticking to something in its size range. Although texting is not affected much because of the QWERTY keyboard, the smaller screen size you see a lot less on the screen and if you’re online often, I would suggest sticking to a phone with a bigger screen. Searching for things online or even checking your Facebook account was less enjoyable for me. This is a good upgrade from flips, but not the ideal downgrade from PDAs.

The LG Lotus is ‘competively’ priced (they all say that, but this time it’s true). It’s only $49 for new customers and current customers looking to upgrade.

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