Stories by Ginny Mies

T-Mobile announced Thursday that it plans to double the speed of its HSPA+ networks and unveiled a line-up of new 4G products including tablets and phones.

The tidal wave of 4G phones at CES is just beginning with this morning's launch of the HTC EVO Shift 4G from Sprint.

As CES 2011 approaches, here are a few smartphone trends we expect to see at the show

The first phone to ship with Android 2.3 (also known as "Gingerbread") as the well as the follow-up to last January's Nexus One, the Nexus S is a joint effort between Samsung and Google with some impressive features. The hardware is gorgeous, and Android 2.3 delivers some useful enhancements; but with no support for HSPA+ or expandable memory, the Nexus S falls short of its potential.

It has been a busy morning in Mountain View as Google has announced the official details and specs regarding Android 2.3 (also known as "Gingerbread") as the well as the first phone to ship with the new version of the operating system. The Nexus S will be available (unlocked or with a T-Mobile service plan) and can be purchased online and in-store from Best Buy starting after December 16.

Watch out RIM, the Motorola is out to get your enterprise customers with the Motorola Droid Pro ($180 with a two-year contract from Verizon). This smartphone, unveiled at Motorola's press event at CTIA Fall 2010 in San Francisco, has some features ideal for business users and IT professionals. The other features and specs, however, aren't enough to entice the everyday user. On top of that, call quality is surprisingly uneven.

The latest addition to the T-Mobile myTouch family, the myTouch 4G ($200 with a two-year contract from T-Mobile; price as of 10/28/2010), has the most impressive specs of the myTouch phones to date boasting a front-facing video camera, HSPA+ data speeds and HD video recording. HSPA+ coverage isn't everywhere however -- and might be spotty in cities that do support it.

Android phones were all the rage at this year's CTIA, but there were a few non-smartphones launched at the show. One of these phones, the Pantech Laser, impressed me in particular. Coming to AT&T on October 17, the Laser is an ideal phone for somebody who wants to stay connected via text, e-mail or social networks, but doesn't necessarily need Web or app access.

So far, a trend at this year's CTIA show in San Francisco is Android for everyone.Tuesday night, Motorola launched a slew of Android phones targeted at younger audiences and first-time smartphone owners. On Wednesday, LG unveiled the Optimus T for T-Mobile, a slick-looking phone running Android 2.2 (aka Froyo) with some useful tools for smartphone newbies.

Sprint brings Android smartphones to the masses with the introduction of three budget-friendly Android phones here at CTIA. Phones include LG Optimus S, Sanyo Zio and the Samsung Transform. The three phones will be first to take advantage of a new Sprint app program called Sprint ID, also announced Wednesday.

Watch out RIM, the Motorola is out to get your enterprise customers with the just announced Motorola Droid Pro. I got a first look at this device at Motorola's press event at CTIA in San Francisco and was really impressed with this latest addition to the Droid family on Verizon.

Samsung's latest addition to its Galaxy series, the Galaxy Tab Android tablet made its very first appearance today at IFA in Berlin. The Tab will initially launch in Europe in mid-September and makes its way to the U.S. and Asia in coming months.

Research in Motion (RIM) unveiled its first BlackBerry with both a touchscreen and a physical slide-out QWERTY keyboard at a New York City press event on Tuesday. The phone is also the first BlackBerry to run 6 OS. The Torch 9800 will debut August 12 on AT&T for $200 with a two-year contract.

The follow-up to Motorola's wildly popular Droid on Verizon, the Droid X ($US200 with a two-year service contract from Verizon; available July 15) is one of the hottest phones to debut this summer. Its specs outshine those on the other Droid phones available on the network, but it falters a bit when it comes to performance. Nonetheless, the Droid X is one of the top phones to debut this summer, on a par with both the HTC EVO 4G and the iPhone 4.

Microsoft took the wraps off of Windows Phone 7 Series (the official name for Windows Mobile 7) here Monday at Mobile World Congress. Slated to launch on handsets by holiday season 2010, Windows 7 is a complete overhaul from previous versions of the OS.