Until now, AT&T has been without a phone sporting Google’s Android Operating System. Android has finally joined their line-up, with the new Motorola Backflip being the first chosen to sport the OS in AT&T’s wide list of smartphone models.

The Backflip, which is slated for a March 7th release date, features Motorola’s Motoblur, which delivers contacts and social media and networking content directly to the homescreen. There is a touchscreen and a full QWERTY keyboard (in a “reverse flip design” that leaves the keyboard exposed when closed), as well as a BACKTRACK™ navigation pad behind the screen.

Other notable features are a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, GPS navigation, 802.11 b/g WiFi connectivity, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, meaning no need for adapters for music listening. Motorola boasts a battery life of 13.5 days on standby and 6 hours talk time.

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Now your phone can match your shoes — maybe.

Puma just announced plans to become a cell phone maker. The Puma Phone isn’t made from recycled shoes and doesn’t have different funky designs. Instead, it’s a joint effort with Sagem Wireless, who will be making the devices branded with the Puma name.

“Just as Puma is unlike any other sportlifestyle company out there, the Puma Phone is unlike any mobile phone on the market,” said Jochen Zeitz, CEO of Puma.

Well, that’s definitely true. We don’t think any other phone companies have a footwear empire to fall back on, do they?

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Well that didn’t take long. The protective plastic hasn’t even come off the iPad’s touchscreen, and Samsung says it’s ready to rumble in the tablet market.

According to Bloomberg, the company is already planning to build its own tablet computer. “We will respond,” said J.K. Shin, president of Samsung’s mobile-communication division in the interview on February 14.

It should be pretty easy for them to do that, too. Samsung actually builds the processor that powers Apple’s iPad. If all goes well, the manufacturer should be able to clean up from both sides, as supplier and competitor. Analysts Needham & Co. are predicting that the iPad will sell about 2 million units this year, with another 6 million shipping out in 2011.

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Crocs are one of those seriously divisive brands — you either love ‘em or hate ‘em, but either way you fall you’re probably going to laugh when your dad shows up for dinner at a nice restaurant wearing black socks and bright blue Crocs. And now they’re releasing the perfect accessory for that fashion-blind weirdo in your life: a matching Crocs Cell Phone Case.

Because why not.

With all the crazy colors and jibbitz (we actually had to look that one up) standard to the Crocs line, the new cases are expected to hit the market on May 1. No word on pricing, but if you’ve already thrown down for a pair of shoes you’ll probably be ok with the pricepoint for the case.

Liberate your power strip! If you’re anything like us, you’ve got an overloaded power strip somewhere in your house with a pile of wires connected for charging up all of your portable goodies — cell phone, camera, mp3 player, an extra cell charger for when your friends come over with a nearly dead cell phone, etc. It’s an unsightly mess and, if you’re really unsorted, likely a fire hazard. So here’s to simplifying life and consolidating that socket frenzy into a single plugged multicharger.

The Five Device Recharging Station stores and powers up to five devices with four integrated AC ports and two USB ports with surge surpressors (the integrated surge protector is rated at 1,080 joules, the strongest available in a charging station). The grey front panel features nonskid surfaces to cradle your devices as they charge keeping your iPod, PDA and cell phone on display and within reach while juicing up simultaneously. This is extra handy for the traveling types as the unit easily folds flat for charging on the go (never mess with swapping cords in the hotel room again!). For $49.95 from Hammacher Schlemmer, put this on your must-have list for 2008 de-cluttering.

Is newer always better? We took the Motorola RAZR2 for a test drive to see how it stacked up against the first generations and found it slick and stylized, everything the press promised it would be. The first thing you notice after charging up is how impossibly clear the new screens seem in comparison to the older versions; a solid and elegant chunk of molded metal and plastic (the keypad has graduated from the etched metal to a grooved heavy plastic) features an internal and external display set that immediately blows you over, perfect for video playback and scanning info without squinting. Playing up to its media features, the external screen has a touch-sensitive strip along the bottom allowing you to control your music playback without engaging the keypad, and supports up to 2GB of onboard memory (enough for up to 1000 songs) for easy storage of your mp3s, pictures and videos on the go (check below for samples of pictures taken with the RAZR2).

Answering a long call for faster Motorola software, the company also upgraded to a lightning-fast 500mhz processor to help speed things along as you stream audio and video directly . There’s some concern that this may actually drain the battery much faster than before (one friend insists he has to recharge every evening, but this may also be a product of sitting on the phone all day), but we’ve only had to recharge every few days without much problem on the standard battery. Plus synching up with your computer is a snap — no cables or software necessary to crack to code, just use the Bluetooth feature to download photos from your phone, drag-and-drop new ringtones from your arsenal of mp3s, or back up your contact list. The new RAZR2 features Motorola’s Crystal Talk technology which works to reduce noise and adjust volume automatically leading to quality, clear calls on both ends of the phone (it’s not another one of those “phone in a box” speakerphone mobiles). If your service is carried through Sprint Nextel or Verizon, you can also utilize a built in receiver to pick up GPS satellite signals for pointed driving directions when you’re in a lurch.

The RAZR2 also comes with a full media player with the ability to sync with Microsoft Windows Media Player 11, a full HTML web browser, external music keys, point-to-point video, built-in email functionality, Google mobile search, USB 2.0, stereo Bluetooth, and Haptics technology that provides vibrating feedback when the keys are pressed. The RAZR2 is available in 3 versions: the V9 (3G HSDPA), the V9m (EVDO CDMA) and the V8 (GSM).

Photos taken with the RAZR2:

Say hello to the Helio Fin. Manufactured by Samsung, the Fin is the thinnest flip phone on the US market, measuring in at a cool 11.4 millimeters.

Being the first flip phone launched by Helio, the Fin is born under the Ocean’s shadow, but don’t underestimate this little powerhouse.

On the exterior of the phone lies a 3 megapixel camera. The pictures and videos you capture can be instantly uploaded to Flickr or YouTube, quite speedily at that, over Helio’s 3G network. Inside is 100MB of internal storage that can be expanded via microSD to a maximum capacity of 4GB. Additionally, the Fin sports stereo Bluetooth support, meaning you can listen to your music library through any set of Bluetooth headphones.

The Fin includes Google Maps-navigation right out of the box, but Helio is also announcing Garmin Navigation for the Fin and Ocean. The fee for the GPS service is $2.99; steep, but acceptable for when Google Maps isn’t the best way to go.

The Fin is available now for 175 dollars.

Read[Helio]

Alltel has added the very curvy, also (dare I say it) wavy, LG Wave to their phone lineup. The phone features a 1.3MP camera that can also do video, the A2DP Bluetooth profile, an MP3 player with external controls and a memory card slot allowing for expanded storage as well. To top it off the phone has integrated GPS.

The phone looks decent and is priced very reasonably considering the device sells for only $80 with a 2-year contract.

Via [CG]

You’ve probably gone to great lengths to get cell reception before — crowding up against a window, standing outside in the cold, hanging on to a metal pole because for some reason that just seems to help. The real trouble is all of the sneaky cell phone deadzones hiding in our everyday lives, especially if you’re lucky enough to live or work in a high rise building.

The Cellphone Signal Extender helps smooth over those troubled spots by increasing your signal strength, at home or at work (maybe you can even expense it?). Available in three different models to match your service, by mounting the extender antenna near a window and running a coaxial cable back to the booster unit, you can cover several rooms and go from one bar to five in a flash. The unit takes minutes to install, works with almost any cellphone provider (it covers all of the big networks — CDMA, GSM, TDMA AMPS, GPRS, EDGE, 1xRTT, EVDO), and has been approved for use throughout North America. For $249.99 – $359.99 (depending on the model you need), this just may save you from having to ever utter “can you hear me now?” Because really, we’ve all heard it enough.

New from FIC in partnership with OpenMoko, here’s a true iPhone alternative — at half the price. Available to developers, the company is releasing the quad-band GSM/GPRS phone for developers to preview (think of it as a .01 release) and begin working collaboratively to build the best Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Get excited — the possibilities are endless with this one. This device is USB chargeable, engages GPS for mapping technology, and capable of routing a connected PC to the internet.

The Neo 1973 has a robust hardware spec list, including 128MB of RSM, 64MB of Flash, a 2.8″ VGA TFT color display with touchscreen, USB 1.1, integrated AGPS, 2.5G GMS, Bluetooth 2.0, 266MHZ Samsung System on a Chip (SOC), MicroSD slot, and high quality audio codec. If you’re a developer with some free time on your hands and a yen for accelerating Linux-based open source solutions, check out the full developer preview wiki for more information on what to expect.

The Neo base standard kit, packed along with a battery, headset, Neo pouch, stylus, lanyard, MicroSD card, and USB cable, is available in black & silver or white & orange for $300.