LG Select

The LG Select ($59) is better than most. It contains just enough features to satisfy most users, while retaining MetroPCS's low plan pricing. For just $10 more up-front than the inferior Samsung Contour($49, 2.5 stars), the LG Select offers good value. Just make sure you check out the other handsets MetroPCS is selling for roughly the same price. The silver LG Select looks a little sharper and more sophisticated than most budget flip phones, mainly thanks to its black, gray, and chrome detailing. The varying plastic textures feel good to the touch. The Select measures 3.7 by 1.9 by 0.7 inches (HWD) and weighs 3.2 ounces. The left side contains a volume rocker switch, a covered microUSB charger port, and a covered, non-standard 2.5-mm headphone jack. The right side holds the camera shortcut button.

Apple changes its direction as the iPhone thwarted plans

Whilst in America the iPhone is stuck on AT&T contracts for at least another 2 years, if the rumored 5 year contract length the company had with Apple holds true (supposedly set to run out in 2012), the European market does not have such problems, with companies like Vodafone, O2, Orange and Tesco all offering the iPhone on various contracts.

Mind you when it comes to having the flexibility to change contracts at a drop at a hat you are still bound by the original contract terms, so it’s difficult to swap to a different carrier when you want to. Apple decided to resolve the problem by creating a special sim card (using the mobile SIM card maker Gemalto as their manufacturer) which could bypass operators.

Apple Must Kill The iPhone 4

Image is everything. And that's why Apple must terminate the iPhone 4 as quickly as possible.

In his Friday morning news conference, Apple CEO Steve Jobs admitted the iPhone 4 is flawed, no doubt a painful admission for a proud man known for his perfectionist ways. He even offered free cases to alleviate the signal and reception problems plaguing some iPhone 4 users.

Jobs went to great lengths to defend the iPhone 4, arguing that the antenna glitch was overblown, and claiming that phones from other manufacturers suffer from the same problem. He also presented statistics to bolster his case: A measly 0.55 percent of iPhone users have contacted Apple support to report antenna or reception woes.

But none of that matters. The iPhone 4 is now tainted in the consumer's eyes. It's no longer a triumph of form and function, but rather a crippled device that requires protective headgear to work properly.

We could debate the merits of the iPhone 4's antenna design all day, but that's beside the point. Perception is reality here, and the public now views Apple's latest offering as The Phone That Drops Calls. And no one can blame AT&T this time either.

I'm not suggesting that Apple completely redesign the iPhone 4, which has gotten rave views for its high-resolution display and other new features. But the company must redesign the phone's antenna to eliminate the Grip of Death problem once and for all. A few minor cosmetic changes might be in order as well, if only to distinguish the new model from its dishonored predecessor.

Then, hopefully after rigorous beta testing, Apple will rename the phone and release it to an adoring public. Well, maybe not as adoring as before. There's bound to be more (healthy) consumer skepticism and less fawning next time around.

Apple needs to act now. Rather than follow its annual upgrade cycle for the iPhone--a relatively leisurely pace in the mobile phone world--it must deliver a new model ASAP.

Again, the iPhone 4 has lost its cachet. It's no longer the coolest gadget in town. People won't swoon over your new iPhone, they'll ask if you're having signal problems.

And, hey, how's that new bumper thing working out for ya?

Yikes. It's enough to force a mass migration to Motorola's new and very popular Droid X.

So, Apple, kill the iPhone 4! Remove all traces of it from the Apple Store. Indeed, drive a stake through its call-dropping heart.