Verizon

Shopping for a new mobile phone? Best Buy has announced that they are giving consumers a $50 gift card to anyone who registers and then purchases and activates a mobile phone at Best Buy by December 31, 2012. The offer is valid on Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile phones activated with a new two-year agreement at Best Buy or online at BestBuy.com (excluding T-Mobile activations requiring a deposit).

The offer is simple:

• Step One: Consumers register their phone number at www.bestbuy.com/phonefreedom by Feb. 12, 2012
• Step Two: Consumers activate the registered phone number with the purchase of a new mobile phone with a two-year agreement at Best Buy or BestBuy.com any time before Dec. 31, 2012
• Step Three: Upon purchase and activation, customers will receive their $50 Best Buy gift card

There is no obligation once a phone number is registered. Best Buy Reward Zone program members may register their phone number online between Wednesday, Feb. 1 and Sunday, Feb. 12 to qualify. All other customers may register their phone number online between Sunday, Feb. 5 and Sunday, Feb. 12 to qualify.Read more

It's official! The DROID RAZR MAXX by Motorola will be hitting Verizon Wireless stores on January 26, the company announced today. It will sell for $299.99 with the usual new two-year agreement.

The RAZR MAXX measures in at 8.99 mm thin and is touted as "the longest-lasting smartphone on the block" with a talk time of more than 21 hours straight on a single charge. This 4G LTE smartphone includes a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with 1080p HD video capture and image stabilization and also has a front-facing HD camera for video chat, etc.

Additional features:

• Powered by Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread, upgradable to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
• Powerful 3300 mAh battery
• 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot capable – share 4G LTE speed with up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices
• Remote wipe, pin lock and government-grade encryption for email, calendar and contacts, as well as voice and video chat conferencing
• 32 GB memory – 16 GB on-board memory and 16 GB microSD card pre-installed (actual formatted capacity is less)

Numerous smartphones were announced at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, which took place last week. One of the devices – the LG Spectrum – is one of the first to become available. You can now pick it up at Verizon Wireless stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com for $199.99 with a new two-year agreement.

Powered by Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread (upgradable to Ice Cream Sandwich), the LG Spectrum features a 4.5-inch True HD display with 720 x 1280 resolution, an 8-megapixel rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p video capture, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and has a Qualcomm 1.5 GHz dual-core processor. The dual-core processor, when combined with 4G LTE, gives the device super-fast download speeds and allows you to multitask with ease.

The LG Spectrum offers Mobile Hotspot capability and also comes loaded with SmartMovie HD, an app that lets you create and edit HD videos right on the device. In addition, for all you sports fans out there, the Spectrum features the ESPN ScoreCenter application which offers up exclusive HD video. Dolby Digital Plus is supported as well, allowing you to stream up to 7.1 channels of surround sound through your home entertainment system. Read more

The Motorola DROID RAZR is being touted as the latest flagship phone from Verizon, and for good reason. The company is claiming that it is the thinnest smartphone to date, and we can't argue with that. This thing is wafer-thin, but that does not slow down its performance or features. In fact, this sucker is very robust, durable and just plain cool.

The DROID RAZR is a descendant from the RAZR family introduced back in 2004. But this ain't your grandmother's phone. It runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) with lightning speed, has a very good battery life, and if you drop it, the Kevlar back panel will protect its internals.

Star Rating:
Cost: $111 to $299 on contract
Where to Buy: Amazon, Verizon

Read more

In case you didn't get what you wanted this holiday season, give yourself the gift of one of the hottest smartphones of the season – Motorola's DROID RAZR – in a cool white color.

Available at Verizon Wireless, DROID RAZR by Motorola in white is the thinnest 4G LTE smartphone available today, packing in a dual-core 1.2 Ghz processor, 1 GB RAM, 8-megapixel rear camera with 1080p HD video capture, front-facing HD camera, 32 GB memory (16 GB on board and 16 GB microSD card pre-installed), and Bluetooth 4.0. It touts a 4.3-inch Corning Gorilla Glass display and is also the first smartphone capable of streaming movies and TV shows through Netflix with (up to) HD resolution.

It includes MotoCast - a free Motorola solution that lets you stream or download your music, pics and more from your home or work PC to your phone –anytime, anywhere. And the phone's Smart Actions app helps extend battery life so you don't have to worry about being caught without a charge. Plus, it will be upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich soon!

DROID RAZR by Motorola in white is available in Verizon Wireless Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com for $299.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.

There are two new tablets from Motorola coming to Verizon Wireless - the DROID XYBOARD 10.1 and DROID XYBOARD 8.2. Both 4G LTE tablets boast dual-core 1.2 GHz processors, 1 GB of RAM and MotoCast for remote access to non DRM-protected music, pictures, videos and documents stored on work or home computers' hard drives.

The tablets feature Android 3.2 Honeycomb (upgradeable to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich) and are Business Ready with enterprise-grade security and apps such as Quickoffice HD, Citrix GoToMeeting and Google Talk for video conferencing.

The DROID XYBOARD 10.1 also includes a stylus for taking notes and offers 2.1 adaptive virtual surround sound.

Tablets will be one of the hottest devices this holiday season, with Amazon's 7-inch Kindle Fire (in all probability) leading the pack. But Verizon Wireless wants you to know that the Kindle Fire isn't your only option for a $199 tablet. The company just announced that on Black Friday they're giving the Fire some competition, offering the Motorola XOOM 4G LTE – which features a larger 10.1" screen – for just $199.

Want a tablet even cheaper than that? Verizon will also offer the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 4G LTE for just $149 (after $50 mail-in rebate). Both these devices will be equipped with Verizon's 4G LTE, so you can be connected anywhere, anytime. Plus, these devices use Google web-browsing and have full access to the Android market's 500,000+ available apps, (which the Kindle Fire does not offer).

Additional Black Friday discounts:

• 4G Pantech Breakout - $49*
• 4G LG Revolution - $49*
• 4G Novatel 4510 WiFi - $29*
• 4G Novatel 551L USB modem – FREE*
• 4G CPO Novatel 4510 WiFi – FREE

There's a new Android smartphone hitting store shelves soon that will make music lovers happy, the HTC Rezound. The first smartphone in the USA to feature Beats Audio, the HTC Rezound also comes with new Beats headphones, created exclusively to integrate with the Beats' audio profile on the device.

The HTC Rezound features Verizon 4G LTE technology and boasts a 4.3-inch true HD 720p display, 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, 16 GB on-board memory, 1 GB DDR2 RAM, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, and comes with a 16 GB MicroSD pre-installed. It runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread with an upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich available in early 2012.

Because it's from HTC, the HTC Rezound comes packed with the latest HTC Sense experience and also includes a built-in microphone and an on-cable remote to pause, advance, rewind and answer a call mid-track. You'll also find an 8-megapixel camera with autofocus, dual LED flash, a f/2.2 and 28mm wide-angle lens with BSI sensor, as well as a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.Read more