Palm Aims $100 Smart Phone at the Masses

New offerings can be used as hammers, soaked, dropped

(NEWSER) - The iPhone might be pretty, but it’s probably best not to use it as a hammer. If you’re looking for a phone that can handle such treatment—and can be thrown, showered with, or plunged into beer—your best bet may be one of the rugged models from firms such as Nokia and Sonim. “Some people just want a device that is built to last,” Sonim’s CEO tells Wired. More»

(NEWSER) - This should make it easier to charge your phone: Most of the big players in the industry said today they will work toward a universal charger by 2012, Wired reports. That means a standard USB cable will do the trick, no matter the brand. However, Wired notes one notable absence from the eco-friendly industry agreement: Apple. More»

Apple's upgraded phone goes on sale in Japan, elsewhere

(AP) - The new iPhone model went on sale in the Asia-Pacific region, with throngs at one Tokyo store counting down the last 30 seconds in unison. The celebration is part of a global rollout in 22 nations of the 3G, or third-generation, wireless connecting iPhone, an upgrade of the model that went on sale last year in the US and several other nations. The phone goes on sale in the US at 8am tomorrow in each time zone. More»

Michael Meehan says other theft victims get same treatment

(NEWSER) - Berkeley's police chief is in hot water for sending 10 officers to find his son's stolen phone—with four of them spending two hours each of overtime on the case. But Michael Meehan says anyone else would have received the same assistance, and anyway, it's the field supervisors who decide how to assign cases. The chief tells the Oakland Tribune that 11 officers investigated two other iPhone thefts and six officers took on the case of a stolen iPad. More»

Singer allegedly furious after woman snapped photo

(NEWSER) - Another woman is leveling accusations against Chris Brown. One Christal Spann, 24, told police he stole her iPhone after she took a photo of him leaving a Miami Beach club last weekend. According to a police report, Brown "reached through his car window, snatched her phone from her hands, and said, 'B--ch! You ain’t going to put that on no website!'" While police have "an allegation and an open case ... there is no warrant for his arrest. We have not charged or accused him at this point," an officer tells the New York Daily News . Of course, if they do, that could spell trouble for Brown, who is still on probation. More»