http://www.phonearena.com/ PhoneArena.com - Cell Phone Reviews, News, Specs and Info. en-us Copyright 2001-2006 PhoneArena. All rights reserved. phonearena@phonearena.com http://www.phonearena.com/img/logo-en.gif http://www.phonearena.com/ 107 80 http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-All-posts-in-one-place_id37952We can't deny that 2012 was a year full of excitement. And what is it that gets a geek excited? Gadgets, of course! We got to play with a whole bunch of smartphones and tablets, some of which we weren't that impressed by, while others we simply fell in love with. And now that 2012 is coming to an end, we decided that doing a thorough wrap-up would be a great idea. Over the past couple of weeks, we took a look back at the products and events that shaped up the mobile industry and highlighted the devices that had the most impact...]]>NewsFri, 21 Dec 2012 03:01:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-All-posts-in-one-place_id37952/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Best-Phone_id37770Cue the drum roll, pop the champagne, and throw the confetti up in the air! Get ready for the grand finale in our PhoneArena Awards of 2012 series because today we are announcing the year's best phone. And as you might expect, the winner in today's category is a smartphone - a smartphone that is great in many ways, which is why it truly deserves to be honored...]]>NewsMon, 17 Dec 2012 12:04:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Best-Phone_id37770/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Worst-Phone_id37691Our frequent readers are probably well informed as to which of the phones currently on the market are good and which aren't. After all, it is our duty to review as many of them as possible and then tell you which handsets you should avoid or purchase in case you're out looking for one. Speaking of which, the great majority of the phones we got to play with over the past 12 months were actually very decent devices. Some of them, however, weren't that well executed, and today we'll tell you about the ones that underwhelmed us the most...]]>NewsFri, 14 Dec 2012 11:09:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Worst-Phone_id37691/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Best-Tablet_id37644Tablets - they're getting pretty popular, aren't they? Just a couple of years ago, they were regarded mostly as pricey toys rather than gadgets that one actually needed. But as they are getting cheaper by the day and as the number of apps optimized for tablet use rises, more and more people now own one. But not all tablets are made equal, and it is our duty to inform you which ones are actually worth getting. In fact, today we'll tell you which are the best tablets that launched in 2012...]]>NewsThu, 13 Dec 2012 12:12:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Best-Tablet_id37644/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Worst-Tablet_id37589Slowly but surely, we're on our way to announcing the best smartphone and tablet of 2012. But before we get to them, we'd like to take a look at the other end of the spectrum. Today, we'll talk about tablets - bad tablets, to be more specific, namely the tablets that we were most disappointed by this year. Yeah, we know that nearly all of the tablets we reviewed over the past 12 months were given decent scores, but a couple of them were just meh. Care to know what they are? Okay, enough talking then.]]>NewsWed, 12 Dec 2012 09:57:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Worst-Tablet_id37589/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Best-Cameraphone_id37545Phones aren't just for calling anymore, and we bet that even your grandparents are well aware of that. Instead, taking photos is what smartphones are used for the most, as recent surveys have shown. And that should come as no surprise: most high-end smartphones can capture images so good that they are well capable of replacing an entry-level point and shoot camera. Therefore, including a 'Best Cameraphone' category in our PhoneArena Awards of 2012 seems quite logical to us...]]>NewsTue, 11 Dec 2012 10:37:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Best-Cameraphone_id37545/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-App-of-the-year_id37508It isn't what your smartphone can do, it's what you can do with your smartphone. And for the most part, what you can do with your smartphone depends on what app you have installed on it. Speaking of apps, we got to try a lot of them over the past 12 months – some useful and easy to use, others not so much. A handful of these apps, however, stood above the rest, so we decided to dedicate an entire post to them...]]>NewsMon, 10 Dec 2012 12:25:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-App-of-the-year_id37508/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Game-of-the-year_id37437Have you played any cool games on your smartphone or tablet lately? We know we have. In fact, we got to try out a plethora of great games over the past 12 months - so many that we had a really hard time selecting the best ones among them. Still, we had to pick a game of the year for our PhoneArena Awards of 2012 series...]]>NewsFri, 07 Dec 2012 11:29:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Game-of-the-year_id37437/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Best-Product-Design_id37391When checking out a new gadget, one of the first things that creates an impression in a consumer's mind is the way the device looks and the way it feels when it is being used. In other words, a product's design is a pretty big deal, and companies that make phones and tablets are well aware of that fact. That is why the next category in the PhoneArena Awards of 2012 is for the best product design...]]>NewsThu, 06 Dec 2012 13:44:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Best-Product-Design_id37391/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Most-Overpriced-Product_id37347Ladies and gents, welcome back to the PhoneArena Awards of 2012! Today, we'll be talking about pricing - unjustified pricing, to be more specific, as the next category in our series is for the year's most overpriced product...]]>NewsWed, 05 Dec 2012 12:57:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Most-Overpriced-Product_id37347/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Game-changing-Product_id37300Every once in a while, a new product steps in and changes everything. Its impact on the mobile industry is so significant that it causes competing companies to rethink their strategies if they are to survive on the market. And that's when things get really interesting!...]]>NewsTue, 04 Dec 2012 11:44:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Game-changing-Product_id37300/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Best-Innovation_id37253We have to admit it, folks, we aren't that easy to impress. We are a well-trained team of geeks that has laid hands on much more phones than an average Joe can even name. Simply put, we've all been there and we've all done that, as far as phones are concerned. Every once in a while, however, a new product or technology gets announced - something that really make us go "wow". And today, we'll talk about several such solutions: this year's PhoneArena awards begin with the Best Innovation category...]]>NewsMon, 03 Dec 2012 12:24:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2012-Best-Innovation_id37253/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/Samsung-Galaxy-S-III-wins-EISAs-Best-Mobile-Phone-2012-2013-award_id33362The European Imaging and Sound Association, EISA, has crowned the Samsung Galaxy S III as the Mobile Phone of 2012-2013. Wondering which devices won the other awards?...]]>NewsThu, 16 Aug 2012 08:32:00 -0500http://www.phonearena.com/news/Samsung-Galaxy-S-III-wins-EISAs-Best-Mobile-Phone-2012-2013-award_id33362/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/Verizon-Wireless-wins-third-straight-JD-Power-and-Associates-award-for-customer-care_id32695For the third consecutive time JD Power and Associates has named Verizon Wireless first in customer care among the nation's top four major carriers; with a score of 771 Verizon beat the industry average by 12 points...]]>NewsThu, 26 Jul 2012 14:24:00 -0500http://www.phonearena.com/news/Verizon-Wireless-wins-third-straight-JD-Power-and-Associates-award-for-customer-care_id32695/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/Nokia-Lumia-900-gets-a-top-buy-rating-from-Consumer-Reports_id30459Taking the top spot amongst other reputable smartphones, the Nokia Lumia 900 was given a top buy rating from Consumer Reports. Moreover, it seems to be the perfect fit for dads and grads, as the group specifically mentions the following about the smartphone...]]>NewsTue, 22 May 2012 14:51:00 -0500http://www.phonearena.com/news/Nokia-Lumia-900-gets-a-top-buy-rating-from-Consumer-Reports_id30459/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/T-Mobile-named-Walmarts-2011-Supplier-of-the-Year-still-has-trouble-convincing-carriers-to-end-subsidies_id28050Walmart's phones and plans shopping service is already making inroads, eating Amazon Wireless' bread-and-butter discount model, and apparently T-Mobile was able to come up with the best deals to suit value-for-money shoppers last year...]]>NewsWed, 14 Mar 2012 10:01:00 -0500http://www.phonearena.com/news/T-Mobile-named-Walmarts-2011-Supplier-of-the-Year-still-has-trouble-convincing-carriers-to-end-subsidies_id28050/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/New-round-of-financing-for-Instagram-values-company-at-cool-half-a-billion-dollars_id27872While Android users are waiting to hear the news of Instagram's launch in the Android Market, the company is raising another round of financing which will value it at a cool half a billion dollars, twenty times the value of Instagram last year...]]>NewsFri, 09 Mar 2012 00:31:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/New-round-of-financing-for-Instagram-values-company-at-cool-half-a-billion-dollars_id27872/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/Best-MWC-2012-phones_id27598MWC 2012 has come and gone, but what's left behind it is a good number of awesome devices that we'll be looking forward to seeing again later in the year. For now, however, we decided to sit down and reminisce, trying to remember exactly which of the newly-announced phones made the biggest impression on us...]]>NewsFri, 02 Mar 2012 07:22:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/Best-MWC-2012-phones_id27598/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/Apple-is-Fortunes-Most-Admired-Company-once-again-winning-for-the-5th-straight-time_id27575For the fifth straight year, Fortune's Most Admired Company is Apple based on the Cupertino based firm's financial performance; the tech titan beat out Google, Amazon. IBM and Coca-Cola for the award which was another feather in Apple's cap after a year that saw a 75% appreciation in the company's stock...]]>NewsThu, 01 Mar 2012 13:30:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/Apple-is-Fortunes-Most-Admired-Company-once-again-winning-for-the-5th-straight-time_id27575/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/Nokia-808-PureView-wins-Best-New-Mobile-Handset-award-at-Mobile-World-Congress-2012_id27550It's an award that recognizes novelty and things we haven't previously seen, rather than what's already out there, therefore it is not very surprising that Nokia 808 PureView won the Best New Mobile Handset award at Mobile World Congress 2012...]]>NewsThu, 01 Mar 2012 05:36:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/Nokia-808-PureView-wins-Best-New-Mobile-Handset-award-at-Mobile-World-Congress-2012_id27550/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/Samsung-wins-awards-from-the-MWC-as-Manufacturer-of-the-year-and-for-Smartphone-of-the-year_id27495While Samsung itself admitted yesterday that it isn't doing too well with its tablets, the company's remarkably successful Samsung Galaxy S II was named "Smartphone of the year" and Samsung was "Manufacturer of the year" at the annual MWC Awards...]]>NewsTue, 28 Feb 2012 19:24:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/Samsung-wins-awards-from-the-MWC-as-Manufacturer-of-the-year-and-for-Smartphone-of-the-year_id27495/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/Steve-Jobs-wins-Grammy-Trustees-Award_id26820Somebody no longer with us won a Grammy posthumously on Sunday and it wasn't Whitney Houston; the late Steve Jobs won a Grammy Trustee Award which is presented to those who with their career in music, have made a difference]]>NewsSun, 12 Feb 2012 21:14:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/Steve-Jobs-wins-Grammy-Trustees-Award_id26820/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Best-smartphone_id24725Well, folks, the big moment has finally arrived. The last and most exciting category in the PhoneArena Awards of 2011 honors the year's best smartphone. And don't think that we intentionally left out the prestigious title for last just to tease you. In fact, it wasn't easy...]]>NewsWed, 14 Dec 2011 10:46:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Best-smartphone_id24725/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Worst-phone_id24697Today, the PhoneArena Awards of 2011 are dedicated to the phones that disappointed us the most this year. One of them will be given the “Worst phone” title and two other handsets will grab the slightly less humiliating second and third place respectively...]]>NewsTue, 13 Dec 2011 16:56:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Worst-phone_id24697/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Best-tablet_id24630Ladies and gentlemen, the time has finally come for the PhoneArena Awards of 2011 to pick the year's best tablet. What makes a tablet worthy of becoming numero uno in today's category? Well, we are...]]>NewsMon, 12 Dec 2011 10:08:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Best-tablet_id24630/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Worst-tablet_id24554Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for another post in our PhoneArena Awards of 2011 series! Today, we are here to unveil the worst tablet of the year, and we believe that you will agree with our choice once you see it...]]>NewsFri, 09 Dec 2011 10:13:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Worst-tablet_id24554/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Person-of-the-year_id24507Today, the PhoneArena Awards of 2011 will be honoring the person of the year. The individual that will be awarded with the prestigious title needs to be hardworking, dedicated, and capable of making the right decisions...]]>NewsThu, 08 Dec 2011 10:25:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Person-of-the-year_id24507/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Reader-Awards-2011-The-winners_id24445The time has come to announce the results of our 2011 PhoneArena Reader Awards! Which is the best phone according to you? Which is the best tablet? Which person from the industry you've chosen to be the "Person of the year"? Well, all of this is now clear...]]>NewsWed, 07 Dec 2011 11:11:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Reader-Awards-2011-The-winners_id24445/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Best-cameraphone_id24446Today, the PhoneArena Awards of 2011 will honor the year's best cameraphone. And the rules are pretty straight-forward – for a device to be pronounced winner in today's category, it needs to be capable of taking excellent shots under a broad range of conditions]]>NewsWed, 07 Dec 2011 09:24:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Best-cameraphone_id24446/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Best-budget-friendly-smartphone_id24392Today, the PhoneArena Awards of 2011 will honor the best budget-friendly smartphone of the year. And for a handset to deserve the prestigious title, being reasonably priced is not going to suffice...]]>NewsTue, 06 Dec 2011 08:08:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Best-budget-friendly-smartphone_id24392/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Game-of-the-year_id24363We are here to present the Game of the year award, which is the eighth category in the PhoneArena Awards of 2011. And believe us when we say that it was not easy for us to pick the best one...]]>NewsMon, 05 Dec 2011 11:15:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Game-of-the-year_id24363/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Best-product-design_id24298Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the PhoneArena Awards of 2011! Today, we are here to announce the best product design of the year, and boy do we have a lot of candidates to grab...]]>NewsFri, 02 Dec 2011 11:15:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Best-product-design_id24298/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Most-overpriced-product_id24260Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to announce the next category in the PhoneArena Awards of 2011. Today, a “prestigious” award will be presented to the most overpriced product of the year...]]>NewsThu, 01 Dec 2011 10:29:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Most-overpriced-product_id24260/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-awards-2011-Game-changing-product_id24226Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the PhoneArena awards of 2011! Today, we are here to honor the game-changing product of the year; the product that boldly broke the well-established standards...]]>NewsWed, 30 Nov 2011 09:18:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-awards-2011-Game-changing-product_id24226/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Most-delayed-smartphone_id24186We at PhoneArena have another award to present today, and the most delayed smartphone of 2011 will be the one to walk away with it. But before we announce the absolute winner in this category, let us start by making it clear...]]>NewsTue, 29 Nov 2011 10:02:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Most-delayed-smartphone_id24186/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Most-Significant-Deal_id24149Ladies and gents, after bringing you the best innovations and the top technology breakthroughs of 2011, it is time for us to highlight the most significant deals that occurred over the past year...]]>NewsMon, 28 Nov 2011 10:54:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Most-Significant-Deal_id24149/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Best-Innovation_id24080It's time for our second post in the PhoneArena Awards 2011 series, where we acknowledge the best (or worse) products, technologies and achievements that have occurred during the year. This time, we'll be awarding the most significant innovations that have happened within the wireless industry this year...]]>NewsFri, 25 Nov 2011 10:32:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Best-Innovation_id24080/commentsPhone Arenahttp://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Technology-Breakthrough_id24033So, while you guys are having fun over at the PhoneArena Reader Awards 2011 post, we decided that we shouldn't just sit aside and watch, you know, we felt that we want to give our own awards to the best (or worse) products, technologies and achievements that have occurred during the year...]]>NewsThu, 24 Nov 2011 04:36:00 -0600http://www.phonearena.com/news/PhoneArena-Awards-2011-Technology-Breakthrough_id24033/commentsPhone Arena