Panasonic has announced plans to re-launch its range of mobile phones in Europe, after an absence of almost six years. The Japanese manufacturer said it would launch its first 'global' smartphone next year. The new handset will be released in Europe in March 2012 and later in the US, China and elsewhere in Asia.

Panasonic said the phone featured a 4.3-inch OLED screen and would be waterproof and dustproof. The company did not confirm any other specifications for the handset.

The pictures of the handset that the company issued showed an NFC logo, raising the possibility that the device would support Google Wallet for mobile payments.

"We are well aware of our powerful competitors," said Toshinori Hoshi, head of Panasonic's mobile communications unit. "However, market shares are changing dramatically and if we launch into this fast-changing market, we believe we have a chance of a hit."

The company said it hoped to sell 1.5 million smartphones in Europe in the next financial year, with the aim of reaching 15 million handsets worldwide by 2016.

Panasonic has not sold mobile phones in Europe since January 2006 but it continued to make handsets for the Japanese market.

Is what you see in the image, the "Sony Ericsson Atrix Black Z Plus Prime," the name of a phone or an American Gladiator?

Sadly, this is a question I've asked myself before, as cell phone names have become a bit ridiculous these days. It appears that I'm not the only one who feels this way either because a company called YinzCam has come up with an entertaining way to poke fun at phone-naming schemes.

The Android Phone Name Generator is a simple site that randomly generates names based on existing Android phones. Some of my favorites include the Samsung Amaze Neo Z II G1, the Motorola Hero Neo, and the Sony Ericsson Motivate Black One. There are also some that I could actually see becoming real names, such as the Samsung Nexus Touch.

To be fair, the process of naming cell phones isn't a particularly easy one, but still, there had to be better options than these, right?

Though the Apple Store memorials have since given way to long lines for the iPhone 4S, it's still difficult to imagine the technology company without Steve Jobs at its helm. And while much has been written about the gadgets that defined perhaps Jobs' most productive decade, it's tough to isolate one device for its impact above the rest.

But this Sunday marks 10 years since the keynote that announced the iPod—a device that started the chain of successes in an Apple renaissance, and one that completely redefined the experience of listening to music, as well as making it.Jobs and his team at Apple seized a moment as much as created a culture with the iPod.

Though the specter of the internet and the high-speed connections that made MP3s available and largely free of charge had already reared its head by the late 1990s, the music industry itself had been slow on the uptake.

It wasn't until the year 2000 that record companies—and famously, Metallica—filed their first lawsuits against Napster, accusing the service of robbing musicians of their royalties. By that time, file sharing had become an unstoppable force, and the music industry was scrambling; but importantly, it was still an unwieldy process to steal music.

Mismatched file names and catalogs of thousands of songs almost negated the value of having a library larger than your record (or CD) collection.

By Doug Gross, CNN

Editor's note: This is part of "Our Mobile Society," CNN's weeklong series examining how cell phones and other electronic devices have revolutionized the ways we work, play and communicate.

(CNN) -- It's a mobile society.

Call it good. Call it bad. It just is.

With an estimated 5 billion mobile phone connections in the world, not to mention the emerging number of tablet computers and other on-the-go connectivity gadgets, mobile technology has altered the way we live.

It's as hard to imagine spinning a rotary dial or fumbling for a quarter for the pay phone -- both staples of the generation before us -- as it is imagining what new mobile technology may exist in the generation to come.

But, for now, here's a look at 10 ways the omnipresence of mobile gadgets has already changed the wayMeeting up is easier

"We'll meet you there."

There was a time when those words would have required a bunch of follow-up details. That time is called "all of human history before everybody had a mobile phone."

Now, all we need to do is get our friends in, generally, the same geographical region. To finish the drill, dash off a quick "Where R U?" text. (Or, "Where are you?" if you're not into the whole brevity thing. Or if you like grammar).

Change the old adage. "Close" now counts in horseshoes, hand grenades and meeting each other when you have mobile phones.

There's no excuse to be bored

Standing in line? Killing those last five minutes before quitting time? Stuck in the doctor's waiting room or *shudder* the DMV?

There was a time in human existence when all of these occasions would have left us staring at the walls in a zombie-like stupor, particularly if there's not a magazine or book handy.

Now? Chat with a friend. Surf the Web. Check your stocks. Fling birds at pigs.

Smartphones, or tablet computers, put an amount of computing power in your pocket that would have taken up an entire room a generation ago. If you can't find something to entertain you for a few minutes of down time, you just haven't downloaded the right app.

(Editor's note: Notice we didn't say you could do any of this while stuck at a red light. Because we'd never endorse fiddling with your phone while driving. Nope. Never. Ahem.)

Fast-twitch brains

And here's the downside of that one.

Find yourself with a dead battery, malfunctioning phone or -- gasp -- a few minutes away from the thing, and watch what happens. Getting twitchy? Afraid that Words with Friends game has gotten out of control? What if you missed a text?

Or there are those moments when you really should be doing something else, but the buzz of the BlackBerry draws you to its screen again and again and again.

No less an authority than the New York Times posits that "computers and cellphones, and the constant stream of stimuli they offer, pose a profound new challenge to focusing and learning."

Gadgets help us do things fast. But sometimes, it's worth wondering whether their constant, glowing allure helps us do them well.

You're always around

Call this one a blessing and a curse.

There was a time when "Sorry, I popped out for a few minutes" would have worked as an excuse when you're boss called to ask you to go ahead and come in on Saturday. Now, even "I'm on vacation in Bulgaria," "I'm in the middle of L.A. rush-hour traffic" or "I'm currently on the operating table" might not work.

It's just expected that we all have a mobile phone on us at all times. Honestly, when's the last time you heard the phrase "I don't have a cell phone" from someone who lives in an industrialized nation?

The upside is some of the other stuff mentioned here. The downside is that, in a way, we never leave the office.

Horror movies had to add a line

There was a brief moment in the '90s, before Hollywood caught up with real-world consumer technology, when horror-movie audiences were getting their suspension of disbelief slashed to bits.

I mean, sure, we'll accept a kill-crazy animated children's doll or a horde of slavering, reanimated zombies. But how could a cabin full of randy co-eds or a baby-sitter left alone in a creepy house not have a cell phone to call for help?

Fear not. The writers and directors got more savvy, and soon, every single horror movie contained a pivotal "Why the Cell Phones Don't Work" scene.

Don't believe it? Watch this video for five straight minutes of soon-to-be-terrorized scream queens and kings bemoaning their lack of signal or otherwise losing, breaking or abandoning their life-saving phones.

We're particularly fond of "The Hills Have Eyes." "Nothing," our hero says. "Ninety-seven percent nationwide coverage, and we find ourselves in that 3%."

We bet some mobile customers in big, tech-centric cities can sympathize.

Smile! You're on camera!

In our mobile world, everybody's a one-man or one-woman reporting crew.

If you've got a mobile phone, you've probably got a camera on it. If you've got a smartphone, that most likely means camera, video and sound recording abilities.

All this means that, with no planning whatsoever, we're able to document our lives quickly and easily when the desire strikes.

This can lead to great stuff. Our own iReport thrives on it. And much has been made of the role participant videos and photos have played in circumventing crackdowns on traditional media in places like Iran and Egypt during recent political unrest.

It also means that, if you're planning on any sort of bad behavior in public, you'll be surrounded by digital shutterbugs more than happy to put it on YouTube for you.

Update anxiety

What? You've got an iPhone 3G? Luddite!

You like your Droid X? That's so July 2010. The guy in the next cubicle just walked in with the Droid Bionic.

The lightning-fast cycle of electronics updates these days can cause folks walking around with perfectly functional phones, tablets and the like to feel like low-tech outcasts.

We all know that the iPhone refreshes itself roughly once a year (the unveiling of the 4S being slightly behind schedule). So, for roughly half of your phone's life, you'll know the world is closer to seeing a newer, sleeker, shinier model than it is to the day your current phone seemed ... well ... new, sleek and shiny.

All-In-One

A phone. A map. A compass. A camera. A video recorder. A video-gaming device. A portable music player. A laptop. A GPS device. A flashlight.

There was a time in the not-so-distant past when, if you wanted to have all of those things, you had to carry all of those things.

And that's just the first 10 that came to mind.

Today's mobile devices keep you lighter on your feet, cramming them all into one device.

Conversation killer

She's chatting you up. You're checking your e-mail.

They're laughing at a hilarious joke. You're tweeting about your appetizer.

He's declaring his undying devotion. You're cutting the rope, blitzing jewels or angering birds.

Yes, our gadgets provide a world of possibilities. But if we're not careful, they can sometimes pull us away from the real one.

Conversation killer (Redux)

On the other hand, some conversations aren't necessarily awe-inspiring.

There's the guy on the airplane who wants to tell you all about affordable business-overhead expense-disability insurance. Or the one you barely knew, and didn't much like, in high school who, 20 years later, insists upon an awkward stop-and-chat.

Dive deep into the friendly confines of your mobile phone and you're safe.

It's essentially a ... wait. I'm sorry. I've got to take this.

source: edition.cnn.com

(CBS) - T-Mobile has been bragging that the new myTouch 4G Slide, which hit stores yesterday, is the most advanced camera ever available on a mobile phone. Does this new gadget live up to the hype?

The cons? At first glance, tech reporters said the quality of this $199.99 cell phone is iffy (sharp edges, slippery surfaces and all), plus some question its battery life. However, along with its Dual-Core Snapdragon Processor, nice user interface, the latest Android Gingerbread software and HTC Sense 3.0 - all pros - the myTouch 4G Slide really does take great photos.

When we surfed around for reviews, the overwhelming sentiment seemed to be: the camera on this mobile device trumps others on the market. Here's what tech reviewers said:Gizmodo loves the camera phone

"The cameras in your average smartphone today are, by and large, pretty okay. But they're generally not good enough to replace a cheap point-and-shoot," according to Matt Buchanan. "If you're on T-Mobile and having a solid camera built into your phone is a serious priority, well, it's kind of a no-brainer - if you don't mind the added heft or Android, which could be two serious downers, depending on who you are."

Engadget says your mom won't be disappointed

"The myTouch 4G Slide is certainly a worthy contender in the race for best cameraphone, but it takes more than hardware and software wizardry to make 'the most advanced camera of any smartphone,'" explains Myriam Joire. "There's room for improvement in the display and keyboard departments, which don't quite live up to our standards. Ultimately though, none of this really matters -- the Slide is pleasant and easy to use, looks and feels great, and takes gorgeous pictures. As such, your mom won't be disappointed."

TechnoBuffalo doesn't hate the keyboard

"There are three things that are going to make you want to buy this phone: The keyboard, the camera and the fact that it is one of the latest and greatest. I was definitely impressed with the overall user experience of this phone and the camera really made me feel comfortable leaving my Canon point and shoot at home," says Jon Rettinger. "You will hate the keyboard if you never use it, because it adds bulk and weight."

I have wanted to like Android for quite some time. I really did. I kept trying device after device hoping that the next device would be “the one”. Sadly, that never seemed to happen. Even with those devices that I initially liked I found myself growing tired of both the device and the operating system within a relatively short period of time. As a result, the Android handsets I purchased ended up on eBay within a relatively short period, and those that I had received as loaner review units went back without any remorse on my part. Yes, I wanted to like Android, but none of the smartphones I tried were able to win me over.

That was, until now.

I’ve been using the T-Mobile MyTouch 4G for the last week or so, and I have to tell you… I like this device. I like it a lot. How much? Well, let me put it this way, I forwarded my iPhone’s number to it the other day and haven’t missed the iOS handset one bit.

Yes, this iPhone fanboy is actually using an Android headset as his primary device and… liking it!

Here’s why

Before we go any further let me get one thing on the table and out of the way; this is not a good-looking phone. In a beauty contest it would be lucky to come in 10th. If it were a model it would be starving. At a dance this phone would turn heads but not for the right reasons. Yes, this is an unattractive a piece of hardware that seems a bit “thrown together”.

It has a metal back that appears to have texture but is actually smooth. It has a rubbery material around the sides that makes it easy to grip but looks somewhat unpolished. That might be okay, except that the front of the device looks like it belongs to an entirely different headset.

Put it all together and the MyTouch 4G is a bit of a Frankenstein phone (FrankenPhone?) that seems to have a little bit from one device and a little bit from another, and then parts from a third or even a fourth. It makes for a truly hybrid-style device, and I don’t mean that in a good way.

But here’s the thing, I don’t care.

I don’t care that it isn’t the most attractive of handsets. I don’t care that it looks a little bit like a bunch of parts were slapped together. I don’t care because, as a whole, the device works so well for me that I can overlook just about any aesthetic issues I might have with it. This is a case of “function is so good that form becomes secondary”, and as I have used it, I have grown to like its looks more and more.

So let’s talk about what I find to be so great about this device.

First of all let’s talk about the build quality. It is phenomenal. The handset is rather heavy. At 5oz it is only slightly heavier than the iPhone 4 and the Motorola Atrix which weigh in at 4.8 oz each, but it FEELS significantly heavier for some reason. It’s well-built and it feels more solid than just about any other device I have used. It feels solid like the iPhone 4, but doesn’t feel like a delicate flower the way that an iDevice does. [Are you listening Apple?]

No, if anything, this phone feels like it’s a little bit more on the ruggedized side of the spectrum. The rubber material that goes around the side of the phone may not look all that attractive, but it makes the phone more durable, easier to grip, and it makes me feel confident when placing the device on any surface or trying to hold onto it while walking around. Yes, this is a smartphone that is meant for the real world!

After reviewing the Inspire HD for the AT&T network a few weeks ago, I was a bit concerned about the build quality of products being put out by HTC. Some of the back plates didn’t fit properly on that device and it got worse over time. It just didn’t feel like the high-end device that I know the company can create. I was concerned that this might be the new norm for handsets from HTC. Thankfully this phone shows that is not the case.

One example to explain what I mean. The metal plate on the back of the MyTouch 4G is thick and heavy just the way a phone’s back panel should be. It snaps into place quite securely and literally needs to be “popped” off when you want to access the battery; the fit is so good that if you are not careful you can lose a nail or two trying to open it. Unlike the Inspire HD, the fit is tight and perfect; strangely, both are made by HTC.

The Screen

The screen size strikes the right balance. It is a little bit larger than the iPhone’s screen but it isn’t too large the way those behemoth 4.3″ screens that are becoming so commonplace right now are. Yes, the size of the MyTouch gives you enough screen real estate to do what you need to do, but not so much that it’s difficult to hold the device and manipulate the phone with one hand.

The Buttons

And then there are the buttons. This phone actually has REAL physical buttons. You know, the type of buttons that actually have to be PUSHED and actually make a clicking sound. You know, the things Steve Jobs said we don’t need! Yes, the MyTouch 4G has real physical buttons and… I like them! A day into using the phone I suddenly came to the realization that I missed physical buttons. They are there to give the tactile feedback and make it easy to use the phone without looking at it, and I’m sold. They just work well and, like the rest of the phone, feel heavy-duty.

The optical D-Pad in the center took some getting used to, but after a few days I found it to be quite nice for navigating the phone.

The camera works just fine. The rear 5mp camera takes nice pictures and shoots decent video. Overall it is on par with the majority of 5+mp phone cameras I’ve seen recently, and it does mean you can go without a point and shoot or pocket camcorder.

The phone also has a front facing camera that shoots stills and video. This isn’t a camera you would want to rely on for pictures, but it will do fine for video chats.

The phone is running Android 2.2. Sure it would be better if 2.3 were pre-loaded but, at least at the moment, 2.2 seems to be standard. To me 2.2 seems like the first “mature” Android release.

HTC Sense

When I got the Nexus 1 last year I turned off a lot of the graphical wizbang features to save on battery life and to make sure it maintained enough speed. That’s not an issue with this phone. It has HTC’s Sense UI and speeds though it with ease. Sense actually works great on this device. I was tempted to use a 3rd Party program such as Launcher Pro, but I’ve really found that the Sense UI does what it needs to do with good speed. It, combined with some of T-Mobile’s unique features such as the MyFavs feature, makes this an incredibly customizable, and easy to use, handset.

Speed

We are now seeing the release of the first handsets with dual-core processors. That means that this handset is already old technology. That’s the bad news. Fortunately, there’s good news, too. The MyTouch 4G may not have a dual-core processor, but it is incredibly fast. If you didn’t know you had a single core processor, you wouldn’t think twice about the speed of this device. In other words, from a spec perspective it is old technology, but from an actual “real world usage” perspective it’s more than fast enough.

Yes, every now and then I found that it did have a period of slowdown, but it didn’t happen that often and it didn’t happen for very long when it did occur. The 1 ghz processor holds its own just fine.

The T-Mobile Factor

The other thing that made using this handset so enjoyable has less to do with the handset and more to do with the carrier. Usually having devices modified to be specific to one of the major carriers in the United States is a bad thing. They lock the handset down, they add tons of crapware and they replace some applications with paid services so they can make more money. In this case, however, having the handset designed specifically to work with T-Mobile in the US is a very good thing.

The Genius Button launches voice recognition powered by Nuance, and one of the standard keyboard choices is Dragon Dictation. It is, as I have often written, the best voice recognition currently available.

Then there’s T-Mobile’s WiFi calling feature. I’ve noted elsewhere on the site and on Twitter my AT&T iPhone gets lousy reception at home. I tried to get a microcell from them, but it isn’t available in my area. AT&T’s suggestion to me was that I dropped my iPhone down to EDGE speeds since I might see better connectivity that way; that’s unacceptable! T-Mobile, on the other hand, had a number of handsets can now use their “WiFi calling” feature. It’s built into this phone, and it simply means that you are able to make calls over any known a WiFi connection once you set it up. Sure, the WiFi calling feature uses plan minutes, but T-Mobile has great plans with unlimited minutes and even if it didn’t getting good reception at home is priceless … and T-Mobile doesn’t even charge for it.

The T-Mobile TV functionality that is there is interesting, but it costs $10 a month and isn’t something that I would ever use. But it is available and does not seem to crap up the handset.

Yes, there is a lot of good news with the MyTouch 4G. The handset is made by HTC ,and the build quality is great. (This is in contrast to the Inspire HD which was quite problematic in my opinion.) HTC’s Sense UI adds a degree of usability to the handset that is quite welcome. Some have written that the interface is a little bit stale, but that isn’t my experience at all. And the battery life is good; good but not great is how I would describe it, but that is pretty much the case with all current powerhouse smartphones.

Left HD7, Right MyTouch 4G

Unfortunately the news isn’t ENTIRELY good. Unfortunately this handset seems to suffer from an issue that I’m finding across all the current HTC devices I’ve tried. The speaker stinks. Seriously, it leaves a good deal to be desired. It is usable, but it is not enjoyable for more than a brief conversation. The sound is a bit crackly and it’s a little bit too soft. This is not a handset that you would want to use to listen to music unless you’re using a headset or some sort of connected speaker.

I have no doubt that HTC could do a great job with the audio quality of their handsets, but for some reason, at least in my experience, they don’t. Since the speaker is usable this isn’t anywhere near a deal breaker for me, but I really wish that the audio quality was better.

So let’s get to the bottom line of this phone. What do I think of it?

I’ve been using the phone as my primary handset for about a week and a half now. And in that time I’ve come to like using it more and more. I was impressed the first day, but that has been the case with most of the Android devices I have tried. This one, however, actually grew on me. I like its weight, I love the way it feels in my hand, the screen is gorgeous, and it’s fast.

Left Motorola Atrix, Right MyTouch 4G

In fact, I asked for a two-week extension on keeping the review unit so that I could find the time to compare it to the Motorola Atrix that just came for review and decide which one I want. Yes, for the first time since the iPhone came out, I am not using an iPhone as my primary handset.

Left iPhone 4, Right MyTouch 4G

In addition to the iPhone I also have a Windows Phone 7 handset that I can use if I like, but the MyTouch is the one that has been seeing the most use.

iPhone 4, Motorola Atrix, MyTouch 4G, HTC HD7

I think from an aesthetic perspective the iPhone wins hands down. From a power and cool accessory perspective, the Motorola Atrix now wins handily. From a “new stuff to play around with” the HD7 running Windows Phone 7 wins. But from an overall usability perspective, the MyTouch 4G is a winner. It’s easy to check and reply to e-mail via voice, and it’s easy to find what you need and to customize each of the home screens so that they work the way you need to work. Sure all Android phones do that, but HTC and T-Mobile add a whole additional layer. The battery life is good but not great. When are I lowered the screen brightness I found that it did much better, but it still leaves something to be desired. But after all isn’t that the way things are these days with pretty much all these powerful smart phones? I like that this phone doesn’t need to be “babied”.

I was ready to go back to my iPhone when this review period was over, but I can’t bring myself to do that. I’m finding it too easy to access and reply to my e-mail and to keep up with my social network messages. So, to T-Mobile I go… Unless the Motorola Atrix that just came for review wins me over.

One final note. The big winner for me when it comes to Android is the ability to use voice transcription anywhere you might use a keyboard. I wrote the vast majority of this review using the MyTouch 4G and its Genius Button integration. Try doing that with iOS.

The MyTouch 4G is available on the T-Mobile network for $250 on contract.

What I Like: Heavy and well-constructed; crisp middle-of-the-road screen size; physical buttons; good back camera, usable front camera; holds signal well; T-Mobile customizations add to ease of use; Genius Button/Dragon Dictation make this a great device to use on the go; rubber on sides makes it comfortable to hold

What Needs Improvement: Battery life is average; speaker is horrid; already “old technology”; Android 2.2

This post was written by:

Dan Cohen - who has written 1794 posts on Gear Diary.

By Wailin Wong
Chicago Tribune
February 27, 2011

CHICAGO — Ron Rakow had a cell phone but never owned a smart phone until a holiday promotion at U.S. Cellular caught his eye. He took the plunge in late December.

“It’s a computer,” Rakow, 44, said of his new HTC Desire. “I was thinking of going home and canceling my Internet service.”

Rakow recently went to a workshop at a U.S. Cellular store to get more comfortable with his phone and learn how to customize it. During the free one-on-one session, store employees walked him through using a navigation application, setting up a screen of speed-dial contacts and downloading an app that syncs with Apple’s iTunes on his home computer.

“This is a smart phone for dumb people,” Rakow joked.

Four years after Apple’s iPhone showed the world the potential of a powerful, fun-to-use mobile computer, wireless operators are looking to bring smart phones to consumers outside of the early adopter crowd.

At stake is the growing pot of data revenue that smart phones generate. Wireless data revenues totaled $46 billion in 2010, up from $41.5 billion in 2009 and $32.3 billion in 2008, according to industry association CTIA.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas early last month, T-Mobile USA Chief Executive Philipp Humm said smart phone penetration in the U.S. is just 31 percent of mobile consumers, leaving a wide playing field for carriers.

But catering to the mainstream requires different strategies than those used to woo early adopters, who are willing to pay premium prices and work out the kinks of a new product. Carriers are now offering smart phones at lower prices. These devices may lack the full processing power of the priciest gadgets, but they are positioned as entry-level products for younger users or customers who may be upgrading to a smart phone for the first time.

“Affordability is really critical to making sure we get market penetration,” Humm said at CES. Last year, T-Mobile launched four Android smart phones priced under $100 and introduced a $10 monthly data plan.

The growth potential for smart phone adoption is big. Research firm In-Stat released a report last week predicting that more than 50 percent of U.S. handset shipments will be smart phones by 2012. The 2010 percentage was 42.7 percent, a figure representing future sales to new and existing smart phone users.

“Prices have gone down for the data plans; they’re becoming more affordable,” said Allen Nogee, principal analyst at In-Stat. “Certainly the phone prices have dropped a whole lot. The operators are really pushing to have more volume.”

Demand for smart phones has also caught the attention of prepaid carriers, which in the past few years have been shedding their image of catering only to budget-conscious consumers or those with bad credit. Operators such as Virgin Mobile and Cricket Wireless have introduced Android smart phones and are offering competitively priced data packages without contracts.

“Within the prepaid space, you really are seeing what I would call a second wave of smart phone users now moving in,” said Bob Stohrer, vice president of corporate marketing at Sprint, which owns Virgin Mobile. “Those people ... weren’t early adopters and have been standing on the sidelines for a while, but now recognize that smart phones and the ways that people can connect have fundamentally changed.”

At Virgin Mobile, the $249.99 Samsung Intercept represents about 20 percent of the operator’s sales mix, Stohrer said, upending the traditional belief in the prepaid industry that customers would balk at handsets priced above $99.

Prepaid carriers historically have offered lower phone subsidies than their postpaid rivals, but no-contract subscribers are showing a willingness to pay more for sophisticated devices — a dynamic that’s boosting these companies’ ability to compete for smart phone users.

Cricket Wireless, for example, inaugurated its smart phone portfolio with the BlackBerry Curve in August and followed with two Android devices, including the Huawei Ascend, which costs $159.99. By the end of 2010, 9 percent of Cricket’s 5.3 million customers owned a smart phone.

“We saw that the demographic for prepaid and the demographic for smart phones was really a mass-market, value-driven demographic, much different than it was a few years ago,” said Matt Stoiber, Cricket’s vice president of devices.