When the first BlackBerry Bold debuted late last year, I called it the best BlackBerry smartphone yet. Now, I've gotten my hands on the updated BlackBerry Bold, the 9700, and I like it -- a lot.

But a lot of excellent BlackBerry smartphones have debuted in the past year, like the BlackBerry Tour. And the Curve 8520. And the BlackBerry Curve 8900. So, can the new Bold top those phones?

Maybe. Just maybe. Read my full review of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 to find out.

Image © RIM

Rumors and rumblings have long suggested that Google is working on its own smartphone. Now, new details released over the weekend seem to suggest that this mythical device is very much a reality. Pictures of the rumored Google phone were posted to Twitter, and Google itself has posted a blog entry that seems to confirm the existence of the rumored handset.

"At Google, we are constantly experimenting with new products and technologies, and often ask employees to test these products for quick feedback and suggestions," the blog entry, posted on the Official Google Mobile blog, says. "We recently came up with the concept of a mobile lab, which is a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities, and we shared this device with Google employees across the globe."

Google says it cannot share "specific product details," but notes that it hopes to share more after the testing is complete.

The lack of specifics has not stopped bloggers from speculating about such details, though. Technologizer.com, a site run by my former boss Harry McCracken, has a great roundup of the latest rumors surrounding the device.

Whether the device that was spotted this weekend is the real Google Phone -- and whether there really is a Google Phone -- remain to be seen. But rumors suggest that the phone could be launched as early as January, so we just may see for ourselves very soon.

The Motorola Droid has earned some pretty impressive reviews and collected scores of fans in the few weeks since its launch. And now this Android-based smartphone has another claim to fame: it's being called Time Magazine's Gadget of the Year.

"Everybody likes Android, Google's open-source smartphone operating system. But a smartphone operating system isn't all that satisfying without an actual kick-ass smartphone wrapped around it. Now Android has one: The Droid is a hefty beast, a metal behemoth without the gloss and finish of the iPhone, but you don't miss it," Time says in its description of the Droid.

I like the Android operating system, too. And I do like a lot of what the Droid has to offer, but I'm not sure I'd called it a "kick-ass smartphone." I, for one, did miss the gloss and finish of the iPhone. (And the iPhone 3GS, by the way, landed at number 3 on this very same list.) Still, I like the idea of the Droid as the gadget of the year. It is the first Android smartphone to truly compete with the iPhone, and I think that competition is only going to lead to better devices down the road.

Image © Motorola

Think all those apps out there are only available on high-end, expensive smartphones? You may need to think again: Samsung today announced a new mobile phone platform, called bada, which is designed to bring "a rich smartphone experience to a wider range of consumers around the world."

Samsung says bada will enable developers to create applications for new Samsung mobile phones, but did not offer any details on the devices themselves, such as when they would be available and how much they would cost.

It's difficult to figure out where bada will fit in what is already a crowded smartphone market. Samsung has typically been considered a hardware manufacturer, providing devices that run on other mobile phone software platforms, like Windows Mobile. It's not clear whether Samsung will switch to making only bada phones, or if the bada platform will somehow run alongside other smartphone software.

Photo copyright Samsung