The Nexus One Smartphone is the first mobile phone designed and marketed by the search engine giant. The Nexus One is built on the Android operating system, unlike many competing Smartphones that utilize Windows Mobile platform as their OS for mobile browsing.

The Nexus One features GPS directions, mobile web browsing, camera and videocamera capabilities, just to name a few.

The Nexus One is currently available for sale and costs $529.00 if consumers purchase it without a calling service. The Nexus One can also be purchased with a 2 year service agreement for $179.00 through T-Mobile. In addition to these offerings, Nexus One will be made available through Verizon Wireless and through Vodafone in Spring, 2010. Pricing for Verizon and Vodafone have not been announced.

To learn more about the Nexus One Google Smartphone or to purchase one, please visit Google for more information.

The reviews are coming in concerning the Droid. David Haskin, of ComputerWorld thinks the phone is a great buy at $200.

“My conclusion: My iPhone lust has been sated. The Droid, which costs about $200 after rebates and a two-year contract with Verizon, is superlative. On the whole, it is as carefully designed, useful and fun to use as an iPhone. At last,” he wrote.

He praises the functionality of the Google Android 2.0 and thinks the phone will be a big hit.

The L.A. Times says the Droid is the best phone Verizon is offering.

“Yet, as a phone, the Droid is top-notch. It integrates seamlessly with Google Voice and runs on Verizon, a telecom with a superior reputation for reliable call coverage — unlike AT&T, the exclusive carrier of the iPhone,” they wrote.

The reviews are still coming in. Some are not so satisfied, but overall, you get the sense that people are very impressed with the Motorola phone running the Android 2.0 O/S. This has to be music to the ears of Motorola executives every where.

These new Apps are iPhone companion Apps for popular podcasts offered currently on the Wizzard Media Network. Once installed on an iPhone, these apps will offer audiences one-click access to the podcast on either their iPod Touch or iPhone.

The App market is currently valued at $1 billion, with sales projections indicating volume of $4 billion by 2012.

“We think our podcast companion App initiative is a game changer for the podcasting industry. We believe the next great opportunity on the web for media is the seamless combination of three trends – publishing services, advertising and micropayments for App sales,” says Dave Mansueto, co-founder Wizzard Media. “Now, podcasting becomes a platform that converts audiences to revenue,
accelerated by the micropayment billing process that Apple has created with the App store. We believe this new process is the model for how digital media is published, audiences are grown and revenues derived.”

Wizzard Media currently has launched 70 iPhone Apps in the last 90 days.

Verizon Wireless has opened its doors at its Florida locations starting at 7:00am today in anticipation of huge interest.

“There has been great anticipation for the DROID in the tech community because of its many technological advances, which general consumers will enjoy as well,” said Pam Tope, Verizon Wireless spokesman . “The DROID launch is big news with techies and it also should be the first big shopping salvo and hot product of the upcoming holiday season.”

If you aren’t one of the shoppers to hit the stores on Friday, you can always go in later and learn more about Android(TM) 2.0, the new SmartPhone O/S.

The cost for the DROID phone is $199.99 when you agree to a two-year customer agreement and send in your $100 mail-in rebate. The rebate comes in the form of a debit card you get upon paying. Once you have the debit card you can use it anywhere debit cards are accepted.

A statement issued by the company read, “At this time, approximately 5 percent of T-Mobile customers are experiencing service disruptions,” the company added that voice and some data services are affected by the disruption which began at 5:30 p.m., Eastern time.

“Our rapid response team is working continuously to fully resolve this disruption.”

T-Mobile offers family calling plans, data plans, prepaid mobile and unlimited calling plans to both businesses and consumers.

Nokia is the world’s largest cell phone manufacturer, with over 60% of the global market. One area where they haven’t fared as well is with lower cost cell phones.

The new phones will be offered from $29 to $65.

“The long battery life, with up to 22 days of standby time, is vital for people in areas where access to electricity is limited,” said a statement from Nokia regarding the product lease.

The new Nokia 2220 is priced at 45 euros and the Nokia 2690 will cost 54 euros. Both devices support e-mail through Nokia’s Ovi Mail.

Nokia also announced they will be offering their Life Tools service in Indonesia starting in early December 2009. Life Tools is a comprehensive service offering agricultural, education and information services to cellphones.

The Storm 2 will be Wi-Fi® Enabled, include a 3.2 MP Digital Camera, have Video Camera Capabilities, Supports BlackBerry App World™, are Bluetooth® Enabled, with their own Multimedia Players. They also support SMS/MMS and Wireless Email, and come loaded with an Organizer, Browser, Phone, and Corporate Data Access.

Not only that, but the Blackberry Storm 2 contains strong multimedia support, including MPEG4 H.263, MPEG4 Part 2 Simple Profile, H.264, and WMV formats. Audio formats aren’t lacking either, with MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, and WMA ProPlus included.

Add in GPS capabilities, a 3.2 megapixel camera, and your choice of wireless networks and you can quickly see how the Blackberry Storm 2 is a powerful smartphone alternative to current offerings.

Of course many others have already attempted to surpass the iPhone. Now it’s RIM’s chance to do it.

The Tour has all the great features that consumers have come to expect on their Blackberrys. Access to Email, the internet, the ability to access corporate information and access to Verizon’s 3G network. The Tour is manufactured
by Research in Motion.

Timothy O’Rourke, vice president, computer and information services at Temple University has used the device exclusively since it was introduced. O’Rourke said, “University faculty and administrators are very mobile these days. They need a dependable, easy-to-use device that keeps them in touch with students, e-mail and the university while they are out of the classroom. We also have faculty who travel to our international campuses in places like Brazil, China, France and even Senegal. The ease of use and the global capability of the BlackBerry Tour make it an easy device to recommend to our faculty and administrators.”

The Blackberry Tour is now available at Verizon Wireless communication stores and online. The Tour costs $199.99 after a $70.00 mail in rebate and requires a new 2 year customer agreement that includes voice and an Email plan.

For more information on the Blackberry Tour, please visit Verizon Wireless.

The Nokia N86 is considered to be a strong alternative camera phone.

It has an 8-megapixel camera with dual LED flash, auto-focus features, and a mechanical shutter for snapping pictures at quick speeds.

The handset also comes with integrated Wi-Fi, 3G capabilities, and GPS, and all of these can be used with the photos users take. N86 users can wirelessly upload pictures to photo-sharing sites such as Flickr and Facebook, as well as geotag the pictures.

But the N86 goes much further than just taking pictures. It’s also a SmartPhone running the Symbian O/S so is capable of internet surfing and much, much more.

The Nokia N86 will be sold unlocked for $588.

The new texting and driving ban went into effect on Sunday, July 19, 2009.

Drivers caught texting while behind the wheel of will now be subject to costly fines. First time offenders will be charged a fine of $100.00, second time offenders will be fined up to $250.00 and third time offenders will be charged a $500.00 fine.

Cleveland joins a number of municipalities and states that have enacted a texting and driving law. Twenty three states in the US have already enacted partial or full texting bans.