T-Mobile Complete doesn’t require an annual contract agreement and allows customers to buy four phone models starting at $59.99, with the first month of data being free.

Two of the phones included by T-Mobile in the new offering are the BlackBerry Curve 8520 (available for $299.99) and the BlackBerry Pearl (available for $149.99). The other two handsets were not unveiled, but they’re probably not made buy RIM.

T-Mobile Complete should be available across the US through Best Buy and select Walmart locations.

Via Engadget

• T-Mobile UK announces Pay Once for BlackBerry
• Pelago Whrrl opens up for BlackBerry Pearl and Curve
• T-Mobile USA’s BlackBerry Curve 8900 already in stores, available starting February 11
• AT&T Blackberry Plans Include 4 New Devices
• Rogers Wireless launches BlackBerry 8120 Pearl

The company, ZTE Corp., is a Chinese-based company that mainly deals with manufacturing base stations for wireless carriers but dabbles with devices on the side. And now it appears that ZTE is in talks with each one of the 4 major US carriers to bring its own Android handset to market sometime next year.

So where is ZTE’s handset division currently seeing success? You can find phones made by ZTE at UK’s Vodafone, Spain’s Telefonica, and China Mobile.

Dale Ying, ZTE’s managing director of handset business marketing, revealed in an interview that the company’s smartphone division is really starting to beef up and will continue to do so over the next few years. “We see big potential in the smartphone market. We are targeting to ship more smartphones in the coming few years which will help to improve our gross margin,” he said.

So now the question becomes if any of the big carriers will bite at the chance to sell ZTE Android handsets. I am curious to know if there is a reason the US doesn’t sell any ZTE phones.

via Total Telecom

• Android 2.0 on Sony Ericsson’s first Android smartphone?
• Motorola’s Handset Division Could Sell for as Little as $500 Mil
• Huawei Android handsets to be launched via T-Mobile, TIM Brazil
• Acer to release it’s first smartphone
• LG aims to sell 100,000 Secrets, capture 10% mobile phone market share in Malaysia

This particular time, Microsoft is announcing that Windows Mobile 7 will make its grand official appearance at the MIX 2010 conference in March 2010. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to the most eager of WM7 fans, as the new OS was rumored to be announced in Q1, with a Q3 launch.

Complete with the confirmation of the announcement, Microsoft also gave us a sneak peek at a screenshot of Office 2010 for WinMo.

Turns out it was Microsoft Office Vice President Kurt Delbene that let the cat out of the bag. It was a little odd that the VP in charge of Office is speaking in behalf of WinMo, but we just assume they’re a pretty tight-knit bunch.

via Neowin via WMPowerUser

• Nokia, Microsoft sign deal to bring Office Mobile to Symbian smartphones
• Microsoft to limit number of Windows Mobile devices on the way to announcing something major at MWC 2009
• Quickoffice launches MobileFiles Pro, the first editable office app for iPhone
• Vodafone announces Microsoft Online Services with voice and data
• Nokia, Microsoft to announce alliance tomorrow, possibly related to MS Office

Samsung is just getting around to launching the Behold 2 on T-Mobile today, but it’s as if the device is already starting from behind. So how does it fare against some other Android strongholds now on the market?

Unwired View was honored to have an opportunity to try the Behold II before it was released, and there’s been plenty of good and bad to go with that. And we have pics and juicy details to share with you.

Android

Now that we’ve experienced the joys of version 2.0 in the Motorola Droid, it’s hard to go back to earlier versions. This doesn’t make it a terrible phone, but it has nowhere to go but up from this point on.

We won’t discuss the ins and outs of Android much in the review, but Samsung decided to add its proprietary TouchWiz UI to the Android OS, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your views of the UI itself. I found that the TouchWiz has been changed a bit, with a much larger widget box, in order to fit the needs of Android’s interface. The dial pad was also changed, as well as the SMS app, photo albums, and others. My opinion of TouchWiz on Android? Sluggish. It just seems to eat up processor capacity for breakfast. I have found faster performance on stock Android devices with roughly the same processor speeds.

In fact, my first impression of the TouchWiz was mistaking it for the stock Android app drawer. The difference was that this one was on the side instead of the bottom, and the performance was not all that great. It’s as if Samsung had been trying to add too much to a good thing.

Samsung has also added in its new 3D Cube feature to the interface, and even has its own dedicated button on the front. The idea of the cube is that each side is its own shortcut: YouTube, the Amazon MP3 store, music player, video player, web browser or picture gallery. It’s a clever little 3D graphic that you can spin around to find what you want to use. You can also shake the phone and the cube will spin until a random application is picked. While it’s an interesting premise, I don’t see much point to it since the home page has plenty of space to fit shortcuts.

Design

Samsung elected to throw in a 3.2″ AMOLED screen, which was definitely a good idea. At a 320 x 480 pixel resolution and complete with 16.7 million colors, the screen is gorgeous; it’s much brighter, crisper and easier to see as a result.

The Behold II itself is very well designed. It feels good in my hand and doesn’t feel bulky or awkward at all. The lack of physical keyboard helps keep the phone as thin as possible.

The buttons are the huge weakness in the whole design. There are a lot more on the front than I think is necessary. In addition to the usual call/end buttons, Samsung adds in a Menu (options) key, previous/go back, home and the Cube. Also present is the circular D-pad. My feeling is that there should be less buttons on the front and more screen to take up the critical real estate. But beyond that, I was very impressed by the look and feel of the device itself.

On the left side we find the volume keys and spot to put a lanyard.

Up top there’s a 3.5 mm headphone jack (which I was able to plug my stock iPhone headset into) and a MicroUSB charger port.

Over to the right there’s a lock key and camera button.

The plastic back features the camera lens and flash, next to a stylish (depending on your idea of style, I suppose) map of the world.

Underneath the hood there’s the battery, SIM card, and MicroSD card slot. The phone comes with a 2 GB card already installed, and fortunately you don’t have to take the battery out in order to access that memory card.

The Behold II weighs 4.2 oz, which in comparison is 0.5 oz lighter than the iPhone 3GS.

Features of the Samsung Behold II

Camera

One of the strengths of the Behold II is its camera app. It sure doesn’t hurt to throw in the 5 MP camera that the original Behold had, either. The camera app is the same as most other Samsung devices, with the left and right sidebars showing options like flash, timer, shooting mode, and other effects. When Samsung discovered the strength of the camera apps, the company decided to stick with what worked. Smart move.

Here are some pictures taken with the Behold II camera. I decided to take a couple pics of my house since there are plenty of different colors around to accentuate.

Voice Dial/Search

Both voice dial and Google voice search options are included in the phone, which are both very nice to have, and worked out beautifully. For instance, I did a voice search for “T-Mobile Behold 2″ and without any problem or delay it took me straight to the browser already pointed at google.com with the proper search results.

Memory

The Behold II comes with 153 MB of internal memory, so definitely make use of a MicroSD card. It supports as much as 16 GB.

Streaming

Both audio and video streaming are supported. I had no trouble using apps like YouTube and Pandora, and there didn’t seem to be any latency.

Google syncing

This was absolutely the simplest thing I did on the Behold II, though it’s more of an Android feature than the phone specifically; all I had to do was put in my Google login information and all of a sudden I had my Google Contacts, Gmail and Calendar all synced up on the phone. On top of that, any Google app I downloaded from the Market (including Voice) already assumed I wanted to use the same Google account, which made it that much easier.

Messaging

The Behold II supports threaded messaging, which is definitely crucial when doing a lot of texting.

Connectivity

There is support for WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS. Much like the iPhone, GPS is usable in the Google Maps application as well as various Android apps that can be downloaded. For Bluetooth, A2DP and AVRC are present to offer the best possible experience with stereo bluetooth headsets. WiFi was much more bearable than T-Mobile’s 3G network, which will be discussed later.

Apps

Google’s Market for Android phones is very well built up; while it may not have 100,000 apps like iPhone’s App Store does, it still has a very healthy selection of pretty much anything you would ever need or want your smartphone to do. Downloading apps via WiFi was incredibly fast, and I never had to wait longer than 30 seconds for an app to fully download to the phone.

Quick List

On the phone’s home page, one can find shortcuts to the dial pad, contact list, web browser and “Quick List”. Quick List is essentially a menu with the look and feel of a non-smartphone, and offers a few lesser-used shortcuts that could come in handy.

Web browsing

The Behold II uses HSDPA but maxes out at 3.6 Mbps. The only concern I have here is that if T-Mobile follows through on its promise of upgrading the HSPA network to 21 Mbps next year, the Behold II will be left in the dust.

Browsing the web was okay with the stock browser, though there are plenty of other available third-party browsers that can be downloaded through Market.

Social Networking

While it doesn’t come with Facebook or Twitter clients pre-loaded, it does have Google Talk and IM clients already installed. It’s easy enough to download apps from the Market, but I was hoping to see a couple options like the Motorola CLIQ did.

One cool feature thrown into the Behold II was the ability to upload photos directly to an online cloud of your choice. Flickr is the most popular, but a few other services are compatible as well.

Performance of the Samsung Behold II

Let’s get to the meat and potatoes of the review.

Phone performance

Fortunately it’s a world phone, which should always be expected for a device at this price point. Beyond that, I was able to make clear calls without any hassle. I didn’t have any issues of static audio quality or fuzziness.

The Behold II has Visual Voicemail, and after a few attempts I was able to get mine to work. Sadly I was unsure whether it was user error or something going on with the phone. Once set up, the voicemail feature is a breeze and very convenient to have access to it.

T-Mobile 3G/WiFi

The Behold II includes compatibility with T-Mobile’s 3G 1700 frequency but also throws in 2100.

While I had a great experience using the WiFi at my house, I was incredibly disappointed by the performance of the T-Mobile 3G network in my local vicinity. Running a couple speed tests revealed that the upload was faster than download, with the 3G downloading 300 kbps and uploading 650 kbps; it was barely faster than EDGE.

Battery Life

With a 1500 mAh lithium ion battery, the Behold II is rated for 6 hours talk time and 100 hours standby. On a typical day, I used the phone moderately and the battery was down to one bar of service by 6 or 7 PM; in other words, it’s getting about the same battery life as my iPhone, so it’s nothing spectacular. Not great, but not terrible either.

Processor

Packing a 528 MHz ARM 11 processor, it has an average performance amidst all the other Android devices that are also out.

Touchscreen

I haven’t discussed the touchscreen at all yet, so this is a good opportunity to bring it up since it has a great deal to do with overall performance and first impressions. As most phones with touchscreens get compared to the iPhone, it’s natural to do so with the Behold II. The menus and capacitive screen are just about as intuitive and easy to use as the iPhone, though I did find times that I had to press more firmly on the screen in order to scroll effectively. That didn’t occur all the time though, just every once in a while.

The touch keyboard also was difficult to get used to. Using the keyboard in landscape is almost a must, as using it in portrait resulted in pressing the wrong key 8 times out of 10. This will likely be something I could get used to after time, but first impressions were not very good on the portrait on-screen keyboard. Fortunately the transition from portrait to landscape and vice versa were smooth enough, as it only took a second or two for the transition to take place.

Multimedia/Email

In short, the audio quality when playing music or YouTube videos was rather nice; at least, nice enough not to notice any little nuances that were lacking. The UI itself on the media player was okay, but not really inspired.

Setting up email seemed to be easy, especially when having multiple accounts. Once I finished setting up the first email, all I had to do was hit the menu key and choose to add a new account. I was able to put two email accounts on there just fine and was able to differentiate the two. Any business user will easily be able to set up Exchange, which rounds out every possible option for email on Android. The only thing that was a bit annoying to me was that since I had synced up my Google information to the Behold II, my Gmail was separated from the default email client. If there was a way to combine them, it is beyond me.

Overall Impressions of the Samsung Behold II

In a sea of brand-new Android handsets, it’s critical to find a way to stand out of the crowd. It’s difficult to come out with a standard stock Android device and expect to turn heads, so it’s natural for Samsung to have vested interest in using TouchWiz to see how it works out. Sadly, that was probably not a good choice, considering it was more sluggish and a processor-hog.

Strengths included the camera, beautiful OLED screen, and the overall weight and feel of the device.

Weaknesses were the Touchwiz UI, gratuitous use of buttons on the front, small and cramped portrait keyboard, and average (but still slow) processor.

The Behold II will be on sale at T-Mobile for $229 starting today. Overall it was a decent enough device that anyone would be relatively happy with, but my concern is that it didn’t have enough of a WOW factor to turn those heads that may be turned in the direction of the Droid. Frankly, for the same or even lower cost, the Droid seems to have nicer specs. If you are a happy T-Mobile customer that doesn’t want to switch, the Behold II is one of the better Android devices T-Mobile has carried thus far.

What do you think so far? Have you seen one at a local store? Let us know if you’re planning on getting one.

Check out the gallery below for all the other pics of the Behold II.

• Samsung Behold II Announced for T-Mobile, Android is Confirmed
• Review of Samsung Highlight for T-Mobile
• T-Mobile Release Date Rumors: Tap, Behold II
• Google launches Finance for Android
• Archos Android Tablet confirmed for September?

I know many people were hoping to hear it would be coming to the US, but no such luck as of yet. At this point, the best option is now to find one sold in Mexico under Telcel and is now unlocked. Who knows how much that option will cost, but it’s the only way to get one here in the States.

But if it’s coming to Mexico, there’s a very good chance we’ll see it in a neighboring country sometime in the near future. Don’t hold your breath on it because there’s a lot of wishful thinking in that statement, but it would certainly be nice.

Of course, now that we’re seeing the Palm Pixi for sale here in the US on Sprint, the Pre seems a little outdated; too outdated for most people to even care.

via Engadget

• Rumor: Palm Pixi Hits Sprint October 20
• Palm Pixi to be launched in Europe and Canada too
• Sprint Palm Pixi price and release date announced: $99.99 starting November 15
• Palm gives away 25 free Pixi smartphones
• Palm Pixi now official, comes to Sprint later this year without Wi-Fi

Jim Balsillies, RIM CEO, announced at the Blackberry Developer Conference that in 2010 carriers will simply be able to bill you whenever you download an app off App World. This allows for spontaneous purchases and gets rid of the Paypal middleman approach.

Also announced was a new Blackberry Theme Studio to offer more customizable options on the Blackberry UI, as well as a new advertising service to aid developers in integrating ads into their apps.

No word on when next year we’ll be seeing the transformation, although I expect to see it deployed to one or two carriers at a time instead of all at once.

via WirelessWeek

• RIM announces BlackBerry OpenGL ES support, new deal with Adobe and more
• Blackberry App World Now Live
• RIM’s own App Store: BlackBerry Application Storefront, ready in March 2009
• PayPal goes mobile
• BlackBerry music downloads coming in September from 7Digital

Now LG would like to do it again. The company announced Thursday that there would no doubt be more styles of the innovative watchphone coming out in 2010. While no other details were unsurprisingly announced, it was interesting to note that LG mentioned additional styles in the plural instead of singular.

So what does CES 2010 have in store for the mobile community? Perhaps not just one watchphone, but several.

LG also offered further confirmation on Thursday that there are several new Android touchscreen devices in the works and will be out in 2010, including a little brother to the GW620 (aka Etna). This particular handset is rumored to contain Snapdragon as well as be a touchscreen-only device.

via AndroidCommunity

• Samsung S9110 is a touchscreen watchphone priced at €450
• HTC to release Snapdragon based handsets in Q2 2009
• Orange UK launching the LG GD910 watchphone for £500 on August 27
• Samsung i900 5 mpx WM 6.1 smartphone confirmed (sort of). Available in September 2008
• More HTC Leo Images and Video Emerge; New Details Thrown In

The latest idea is from Japan’s NTT DoCoMo, which has announced plans to license Nissan’s special scratch-resistant paint in order to use the technology on its own mobile phones.

Nissan’s paint is called Scratch Guard and was developed by Nissan alongside the University of Tokyo and Advanced Softmaterials, Inc. Scratch Guard contains a special type of resin that when scratched, is able to self-heal typically overnight (for extreme scratches it can take up to a week).

It probably won’t show up on every phone; the paint will be a value-add feature for future NTT DoCoMo devices, though. It’s doubtful that we’ll see anything similar outside of Japan for a while, but we love this idea and hope that others will follow suit.

via Gizmag

• Samsung’s cell phones with perfume
• NTT DoCoMo/Sony Ericsson SO703i Aroma Phone
• NTT DOCOMO launches PayPal-like service for mobile phones
• Mobile Paint for Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and S60 5th Ed. devices ready for download
• Motorola Extreme VA76r released in Canada, via Rogers

Now, this wouldn’t be the first time we’ve heard this rumor, but for some reason it’s resurfacing; word of a Palm takeover had been talked about as early as September 2008.

It is interesting to note, however, that the two companies don’t have a whole lot in common. For instance, Nokia is heavily invested in Symbian and Maemo while Palm already has established WebOS as its current OS of choice. Would Nokia be willing to takeover WebOS and make it its own?

We do know, though, that Nokia is having its fair share of problems getting any sort of stronghold in the smartphone market with heavy competition such as the iPhone and the large number of Android devices now emerging. If there is any merit to the rumor, it would likely mean Nokia is hoping to add strength to its smartphone market share.

via Electronista

• WebOS 1.0.4 available for the Palm Pre
• Next-gen Palm Centro with WebOS leaked
• Nokia to refuse carrier customization for its Maemo smartphones?
• WebOS SDK to be out by the end of the summer. WebOS 1.0.3 out now
• Keyboardless Palm Centro 2 with webOS in the making?

I checked my notes, and yes, indeed – it was a familiar topic. The visions of 2015 was not just a promotional video of cool things that will somehow come about in 6 years.

It is actually a visualization  of the stuff Nokia research labs, and some of it’s partners, are working hard to bring about. They have been doing it from 2006, at least.   And have the patent apps to prove that.

One of them, called “BIONETS architecture for building services capable of self-evolution” became public recently .

It describes:

“… the development of one or more flexible architectures that can support service creation/development and provisioning in addition to self-evolution. Therefore, various embodiments allow for continued self learning, customization and adjustment of BIONETS services to the needs and expectations of users in accordance with characteristics such as those exhibited by biological organisms, for example, the ability to continuously adopt itself to an ever-changing environment “

The basic idea behind BIONETS architecture,  is to split the actual services into a small components called “service primitives”. Those service primitives are combined into an actual service by “Expert/Decision making manager” module. Mobile devices have a BIONETS enabled client software which tracks service usage by individual users.

The tracking includes the steps user made to access the service, activities he performed just prior to it, the duration it took to perform the operations, whether the action was completed, etc;. Aggregating this data from a big number number of devices, the Expert/Decision making module can derive optimal service usage patterns and underperforming service primitives. Then it can automatically reconfigure the service primitives used to provide the actual service to fit user needs better. Or even create new services from observing the people use their devices, without intervention  of the service provider.

One simple example of such a service could be a stock ticker application:

“User may utilize a “stock ticker” service that provides the user with periodic or constant updates which inform the user of a particular stock’s value at a given time. The stock ticker service may evolve by monitoring the user’s interaction with the stock ticker service. For example, it may be noticed that the user oftentimes will execute a calculator application in parallel with the stock ticker service and utilize that calculator to multiply stock values by a certain number (e.g., the number of stocks held by the user). After observing this behavior of executing the calculator application in parallel with the stock ticker service a pre-determined number of times, the stock ticker service can undergo self-evolution by deciding to improve the services it provides by embedding calculator functionality and a corresponding UI in its stock ticker service. Moreover, the stock ticker service may by default, automatically multiply a given stock’s value by the earlier observed value representing the number of stocks held by the user, thus preempting the need for the user to manually perform the multiplication operation herself.”

That’s just one, and relatively simple application. Combining self-evolution capable services  with a widely spread passive and active sensors, and millions of exceedingly capable mobile devices, might lead us to that  future of  those “truly unique user experiences, from highly local traffic reports, to global weather trends..” Nokia was talking about in 2015 video.

But that’s for 2015.

For 2010 I’ll settle for a real improvement of OVI services, so all of them are well integrated,  work seamlessly and intuitively on my next Nokia device.

The BIONETS architecture is a part of a bigger 6.9 million EUR BIONETS research project financed by European Comission Framework program, that has been running since 2006. It involves multiple partners, including Nokia, Sun Microsystems, Telecom Italia and a number of European research institutes and Universities.

• Nokia Series 40 calculator enhanced and ported to Series 60
• Nokia Nseries get Baidu
• #NW09: Nokia World 2009 live report. Day two
• E-Trade preps BlackBerry application for easier stock trading
• Mobile Paint for Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and S60 5th Ed. devices ready for download

Well, actually,  the rumors about the upcoming Apple tablet have been flying around for years now. Some people even doubt that a mythical Apple tablet will ever be created.

But the crescendo of rumors from various sources these past few months, strongly reminds me of the situation we had with an iPhone, few months before it’s announcement. So I think Apple Tablet will show up pretty soon now.

And to pour some more fire into the Apple Tablet rumor mill, we have a new patent application by Apple. Which talks about improved digital ink recognition techniques for …you got it… a pen-aware tablet.

To tell the truth, the patent app has little to do with a tablet computer per se. It’s mostly concerned how to make digital ink recognition/interpretation process better, especially when filling out various forms. And it achieves that by trying to recognize full ink phrases, instead of a separate ink strokes:  The ink manager collects separate ink strokes, determines when a whole phrase have been entered and passes that phrase to handwriting recognition engine.

But the magic word “tablet” is all around the patent app, so I thought I’ll bring it up here.

And natural, intuitive, and well implemented pen input in a tablet device, could be one of the more attractive features of such Apple gadget, whenever it launches.

• New iPhone Docking Station. Apple Tablet next?
• Verizon to launch an Apple tablet computer this year
• Report: Apple Tablet Coming Soon, Made by Foxconn
• Another take on PSP phone, or Sony Ericsson’s own iPhone patent
• Turn your Nokia Internet Tablet into an extra PC screen

According to the article, an inventor by the name of Dr. Aydogan Ozcan has formed a company that converted an ordinary cell phone into a portable microscope capable of diagnosing diseases.

The piece is a cell phone add-on that utilizes the phone’s camera sensor which detects the slide’s contents and transmits that information to a hospital or other health facility.

The whole point of the setup is to allow these devices to be used in extremely remote places that don’t have access to modern health facilities, and these devices would be able to assist in diagnosing those who need it most.

Crazy as it sounds, the whole contraption only cost $10 to make. This is a good sign because it means this will be an extremely affordable solution in those remote areas.

What if your phone doesn’t have a camera though? The company has come up with ways to build a microscope without any lenses at all; in this case, a simple box with a sensing chip would be plugged into a phone or laptop with a USB cable. No need for optics or lens of any kind.

While this may not be the most popular contraption because of its limited use in the science and health communities, it’s a large indicator that other huge  breakthroughs will be made with mobile phones over the next decade. Plus, we’re that much closer to a real-life tricorder (from Star Trek).

via NYT

• Sony Ericsson announces J132 and K330 entry-level cell phones
• Sony Ericsson’s Mobile Phone/Universal Remote Control
• TXTBlocker Prevents Kids From Texting Whilst Driving
• Samsung SCH-W690 Anycall Origin launched in Korea
• Low-end phones now have a Push Email solution from Synchronica

Participating airports include Las Vegas, Seattle, Boston, St. Louis, San Jose, Houston, Baltimore, Burbank, Miami, Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, Charlotte and Indianapolis. Seattle and Burbank airports will continue to offer free Wi-Fi after the Holiday season, for an indefinite period of time.

Google says that more than 100 million people will pass through the 47 participating airports during the Holidays. Many of them probably carry Wi-Fi enabled laptops or smartphones, so Google’s new offering is more than welcome.

A complete list of airports that are providing free Wi-Fi can be found at the Free Holiday Wi-Fi website – where there will also be a photo contest, starting November 16.

Via Press release

• 3 starts offering £9 per month contracts
• T-Mobile to give free minutes for today’s Customer Delight Day
• Google Maps Editor for Android released
• RIM and its BlackBerry smartphones doing better than expected
• Study Shows Touchscreen Adoption Growing at Exponential Rate in USA

And they have every right to be frustrated. Nokia announced the device in August with  promised the delivery in October. And, in the beginning of October it actually loaned 300+ N900s to developers at Maemo Summit and a number of bloggers, for us to crow and fawn what a great device we’ve got here. And doing a number of N900 meet-ups at Nokia stores around the world, where fans were allowed to touch it, but not keep it.

Then, with the October almost over and tons of handsets on pre-order, they said “Ooops…, we didn’t make it, we’ll have it sometime in November”. From various retailers and other sources we learned that it’s probably coming next week, both in Europe and U.S. and were pretty happy about it.

But ten Nokia.UK folks started tweeting that they will have something for us this Monday (Nov. 9th) an we’ve got even happier, only to see Monday come and go, without a single Nokia N900 shipped. Which put even the next week’s launch in doubt… I thought we will have a rebellion of N900 fans yesterday, with mobs storming Nokia stores around the world demanding their new handsets.

Well, probably in part to calm the storm, Nokia CEO hastened to soothe the angry mob today, telling Reuters that Nokia N900 started shipping today.

There’s still a missing minor detail of where from they are shipping, and when  will the handsets actually reach the stores. BUT, HEY,  N900 IS SHIPPING!!!

So those rumored Nov. 14th-16th launch dates seems good, for now.

And Nokia Conversations blog gives us more details about the places where N900 is going: Europe, the Middle-East, Russia and North America. Well, not too detailed again, but it seems that most of Asia and Australia are out of luck for now. The rest, keep your fingers crossed.

Other tidbits – Nokia N900 will be around 500 EUR contract free, and, in many places will have some sweet contract deals.

Also, for now, N900 is not compatible with 3G SIM cards from 3 network in UK, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark and Austria, but Nokia promises the firmware patch by the end of the year to fix that.

• Nokia N95 is Finally Shipping
• Nokia N900 delayed a bit, will start shipping in November
• Nokia N81 Gaming Phone is headed for U.S. soon
• Nokia N900 Rover Internet Tablet with Maemo 5 coming soon?
• Nokia N900 on pre-order in the USA for $649

Now the same company, Vobis Computer, has announced its next attempt at Android called the Highscreen Zeus, which will be launched in Russia at an unknown time for 13,990 rubles ($483 US). Needless to say, the Zeus has a much nicer ring to the name than PP5420 ever did.

Fortunately we were able to find a pic and some specs on this new device.

Some of the Zeus’ specs include:

• Operating System: Google Android OS
• Network: GSM / GPRS / EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) UMTS / HSDPA / HSUPA (2100 MHz)
• Display: TFT, 3.2 inches diagonal, with a resolution of 240 x 400 pixels (WQVGA)
• QWERTY-keyboard
• Camera: 3 megapixel CMOS, Auto Focus
• Navigation: GPS / AGPS
• Processor: Qualcomm MSM 7225 (528 MHz)
• RAM: 256 MB
• ROM: 512 MB
• Expansion Slot: microSD
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, WiFi 802.11 b/g, micro-USB, 3.5 mm headset jack
• Battery: Lithium-Ion 1010 mAh
• GSM Talk time: up to 480 minutes for GSM
• Standby: up to 400 hours for GSM
• Dimensions: 110 x 55 x 15, 1 mm
• Weight: 124.6 grams

Overall, it sounds like another average Android device, especially considering the inclusion of a 528 MHz processor. We also don’t know which version of the OS will be working on the Zeus.

Among the features of the Zeus will be a brand-new navigation service called iDA which will offer voice turn-by-turn navigation courtesy of a Canadian company by the name of Intrinsync. It will also offer detailed Russian city maps from Navteq.

We will keep you posted on any news of a launch date.

via Mobile-Review

• HighScreen PP5420 – Android phone for Russia
• General Mobile DSTL1 dual-SIM Android phone for the US, Turkey
• General Mobile DSTL1 Imaginary – the first dual-SIM Android smartphone?
• Motorola Sholes to Bring Android 2.0 to Verizon
• Acer A1 with Android 2.0 on pre-order

There have been enough leaked pics and videos of the Behold II that its overall look and feel are no longer in question, and certainly no longer a mystery. And we’ve already heard nearly-confirmed rumors that the device will officially be on sale beginning November 18. So now all that’s left is an official proclamation that the Behold II exists and really is coming out when we all expect it to.

Behold II. Tell your friends.

Just in case you need a refresher on what it looks like, check this pic out below:

via IntoMobile

• T-Mobile’s Samsung Behold and Samsung Gravity now official
• Blackberry Storm 2 Official Video is Now Out
• HTC S522 approved by FCC with T-Mobile 3G support
• Nokia N900 delayed a bit, will start shipping in November
• T-Mobile Release Date Rumors: Tap, Behold II

This particular one is called the Saygus VPhone V1 and has already cleared the FCC for approval. Saygus is a relatively new player on the market, though this would certainly give immediate name-recognition to the brand.

Besides having EVDO Rev A, how can we be so sure the VPhone is coming to Verizon? Saygus’ own website is confirming it. They mention this to be not only the third Android phone to come to Verizon, but also the first to be approved via Verizon’s own Open Development Program.

We have specs and pics ready to throw at all of you. Specs first:

• 3.5-inch 800 x 480 capacitive touchscreen
• 624 MHz Processor
• 5 MP autofocus camera
• 512 MB ROM, 256 MB RAM
• WiFi/Bluetooth/GPS/Possible MiFi
  
• MicroSD slot
• Front-facing camera (will this be omitted from Verizon’s final version?)
• FM Radio
• No 3.5 mm jack
• Accelerometer/compass

Not bad. The processor could always welcome a nice bump up in speed, though 624 is still quite respectable for current standards.

Here are a few pics from the FCC files.

Likely release timeframe is set to be early 2010 as of now, but is not confirmed and always subject to change.

Are you intrigued?

via FCC File; via Slashgear

• Verizon announces the HTC Droid Eris, launches the LG Chocolate Touch
• Best Buy pre-selling Motorola Droid on October 29, no mail-in rebate
• Motorola Tao Will be Droid on Verizon, to Offer Flash?
• Verizon Motorola Droid announced, comes on Nov. 6 for $199.99
• Rumored HTC Passion Coming to Verizon, is a HD2 With Android?

It seems more realistic now than when the rumor surfaced previously, mainly because now AT&T is concerned about the buzz around the Motorola Droid being comparable to the iPhone. A move like this would certainly continue to give the competitive edge to Apple and AT&T for now.

My thoughts: it’s about time. The holidays can’t come soon enough. My concern is, though, that only AT&T is rumored to be making the leap at this point. Are other iPhone carriers planning on releasing the 8 GB version of the 3GS as well?

Ultimately my dream would be for the 16 GB 3GS to drop in price to $99, and have a 64 GB iPhone 3GS come out just before the holidays at the $299 price point. But I’ll settle for an 8 GB in 3GS flavor for now.

via BGR

• iPhone gets price cut in Britain, 3G version imminent
• Orange to launch iPhone in ten more countries
• Apple to sell iPhones through CostCo by January at $149?
• Apple to Allow iPhone Subsidies, Lower Revenue Sharing
• Analyst Predicts Verizon iPhone Deal in 2010

For Q3, T-Mobile lost 77,000 subscribers. This is a stark contrast to last year’s third quarter in which the company gained over 670,000 subscribers.

Other numbers of note: T-Mobile ended the quarter with 33 million customers, and reported a net income of $417 million. They are still the #4 carrier in the US, behind Sprint, AT&T and Verizon.

T-Mobile blamed most of the loss on FlexPay customers.

via CellPhoneSignal

• Sprint Nextel combo not getting any better, loses 1 million customers
• Deutsche Telekom to buy Sprint and merge it with T-Mobile USA?
• NTT DoCoMo has 10 million mobile payment customers
• Motorola posts Q3 results, Mobile Devices unit loses $183 million
• Palm announces Q1 FY 2010 results, says goodbye to Windows Mobile

We agree that was the right move. Verizon’s just having a heyday today with the Droid and Droid Eris coming out, as well as announcing several other devices. Sprint needed to do something to divert at least some of the attention away from Big Red.

No pricing set yet, but with Verizon’s model priced at $99.99 we anticipate a similar pricing on Sprint’s end, though it wouldn’t surprise us if Sprint undercut Verizon’s pricing by a small margin.

Sprint’s version will come in a choice of royal purple or black.

via news release:

Sprint 8530

• Rumor: Droid Eris to sell at $99
• LG Monaco, HTC Warhawk and Touch Pro2 leaked in Sprint document
• Samsung Exclaim M550 to hit Sprint; Samsung Alias 2 caught on video
• Pink Samsung Instinct now available from Sprint, only $99.99
• Sprint intros the Android HTC Hero – available starting October 11

Crackberry spotted the 9700 on sale on Rogers’ website, which is just about as official as you can get. Given the amount of love that Rogers and RIM have for each other, it’s no surprise Rogers would get first dibs at the Bold 9700.

And don’t forget that you getting your hands on such a premium Blackberry device when it first comes out will cost you roughly $299.99 ($281 US) on a 3-year contract and $599.99 sans contract.

So if forking out $300 or more for a new Blackberry isn’t really your style, perhaps you will instead be inticed to look at one of the other models Rogers sells, since Rogers just dropped the price of the Bold predecessor, Curve 8900 and 8520. Here are the new prices, which make those devices much more attractive:

• BlackBerry Bold 9000: $99.99 (in black or white)
• BlackBerry Curve 8900: $79.99
• BlackBerry Curve 8520: $49.99 (in black or lavender)

It is nice to see those prices drop, so now there’s a Blackberry option for every price range.

Bold 9700 via Crackberry

Price Cuts via IntoMobile

• Rogers to sell BlackBerry Bold for $399 with 3-year contract
• BlackBerry Curve 8900 officially released in Canada, via Rogers
• BlackBerry Curve 8900 quietly launched by Rogers?
• BlackBerry Bold to debut for Rogers Wireless on July 25th
• AT&T to Launch Bolds in White and Non-Camera; America Yawns

I was worried that this would have a negative ripple effect on the rest of U.S. telecom, causing every other wireless provider to follow suit. So far, 1 out of the other 3 major carriers has stepped up to the plate and rejected that notion.

That particular carrier is Sprint. Today it officially announced that there will be no change to its ETF policy in regards to this measure.

Sprint’s current ETF is set at $200 with it eventually decreasing to $50 when you are far enough through your contract.

via Sprint’s Official Twitter

• Sprint makes its ETF more user-friendly
• Sprint intros the Android HTC Hero – available starting October 11
• HTC Touch Pro2 details appear at Sprint’s website
• Samsung Moment (InstinctQ) with Android announced by Sprint
• Sprint announces 8,000 job cuts for the first quarter of the year

Another surprise is that only 6% of all mobile phones are being refurbished. Thus, only 8% of all cell phones worldwide are being disposed of properly. I don’t think I have to describe exactly what kind of impact this really is having on our environment, I’ll just leave it to you to imagine.

Fortunately this report isn’t all gloom and doom on the future; according to ABI Research, the number of recycled phones should double in 5 years and the total percentage of phones either refurbished or recycled will amount to 18%.

The future sounds much more acceptable, though I don’t believe it’s high enough. So then, what is the best way to dispose of your phone once you have moved on to the next? Most telecom companies offer a recycling program, and their retail stores typically have some sort of recycling bin. Many large electronics stores (Best Buy, as an example) will have a bin somewhere up front. If those options don’t fit your fancy, simply do an internet search for it and several alternatives will pop up.

In other words, there’s really no excuse not to recycle your phone if it’s not working or being of use anymore.

via ABI Research, via Environmental Leader

• LG Opens Developer Network
• Apple and Rogers feud rumor smashed: iPhone 3G won’t go on sale in all Apple stores outside US, not just Canada
• HSUPA mobile phone prepared by NTT DoCoMo, Renesas, Sharp and Fujitsu
• Web-capable mobile phones are in danger of being hacked, recent studies say
• Bang & Olufsen says goodbye to the cell phone biz

Beginning this month, Sprint will ship out these packages to all retail and online stores. The packages have become about 20 to 40 percent smaller, which will save 647 tons of waste each year; it will also help Sprint save 35% on packaging and shipping costs, to the tune of around $2.1 annually.

I do find it interesting that not only are these measures more eco-friendly, they will end up saving the company a load of money in the end as well. This is something every single telecom should be considering, if they aren’t already.

The new packaging will be available for several products, including:

• Samsung Instinct HD Protective Carry Wallet
• Blackberry Tour Holster
• Motorola i856 Holster
• Jabra C150 Behind The Ear Wired Headset
• HTC Hero Silicone Gels
• Samsung Reclaim Clear Ice Phone Cover
• Samsung Instinct HD Gels
• Samsung Intrepid i350 Silicone Gels
• Micro-USB Vehicle Power Charger
• Palm Micro – USB VPA
• Mini USB VPA – Rim 7250/7520/7100i/Ppc6700
• Samsung VPA – M300.M510

Sprint’s press release goes into a lot more detail about every little change that will make these packages environmentally friendly. Check it out here.

CORRECTION: I had written that Sprint was the 15th greenest telecom company, but I discovered that they were actually named the 15th greenest company in America by Newsweek. Here is the article.

• Sprint to launch WM 6.5 Samsung Intrepid (Ace II), Samsung Moment
• Samsung InstinctQ M900 to come with Android?
• Samsung SPH-M810 passes the FCC, could be Instinct Mini
• Samsung Instinct HD coming to Sprint on September 27?
• Samsung Instinct Mini / Instinct S30 in leaked images?

What the heck’s happening with this Android stuff? All was peachy with the Android 1.0, Android 1.1, Android 1.5 Cupcake, and even Android 1.6 Donut releases.

Google will make OS available, cellphone vendors will take the package and make cool smartphones with it. Everyone gets the same version and releases handsets with it, accordingly.

Then came the announcement of Android 2.0 running Verizon/Motorola Droid, release of Android 2.0 SDK to developers, and things started getting really confusing.

With much more advanced and visually appealing Android 2.0 available, and already running on one phone, one would expect other vendors to jump on the bandwagon, and announce Eclair running handsets as soon as they can.

But no, all others, announcing their Android smartphones, for some mysterious reason, are using the old 1.6 Donut version of the OS.  Even for the high end models, that will ship only next year, like Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, or other Verizon Droid series handsets, like HTC Eris.

And I think,  I know what this reason is.

There simply is no 2.0 version of Android operating system yet. At least in a way, we usually consider a software package to be ready for a version X.0 number.

What we do have as an OS, Google, Motorola and Verizon call Android 2.0 for marketing purposes, is a pre-release/beta version of the software, optimized to run on a single device by a single vendor.

If you think it’s unlikely that Google will give one vendor such a strong preference, to launch a competing device, with a more advanced version of OS, think again.

This is exactly the same thing Google did last year, when they really wanted to get their OS into the market, before the year/holiday season was over. Google worked directly with HTC, optimizing the unfinished operating system to run on a single handset. Then they called it Android 1.0, and launched HTC G1/Dream handset running on it. With tons of unfinished/absent features, bugs and all.

Even Andy Rubin himself admitted, that Android 1.0 wasn’t really a software package worthy of 1.0 tag. Android reached that level only with the release of the Cupcake 1.5/Donut 1.6 updates. That’s when all other vendors felt that the software was actually ready for their phones, and got busy releasing them.

The launch of Motorola Droid, is sort of a deja vu of the things that happened last year.

Close integration work exclusively for a single handset, from a single vendor. Advanced version of the OS, not available to other vendors. The feeling of a rushed job, manifesting in illogically unfinished/absent features (see the dismal multimedia/sync experience, camera issues, universal search limitations, laginess of basic UI elements, etc;  that Gizmodo found on Droid).

All are the mirror thing of the problems the original G1 faced in November 2008.

So, to anyone waiting for another Android 2.0 handset to be released anytime soon, sorry. You won’t be seeing any of them this year. If ever.

My guess is, that Android 2.0 will remain exclusive to Motorola Droid/Milestone. Just like Android 1.0 was exclusive to HTC Dream/G1.

The rest of us, who will not pick up Droid, will have to wait for the release of Android 2.1/Flan, to get our hands on the next generation Android goodness. The handsets with which should be announced in February 2010, and start shipping sometime in March/April.

• Samsung Spica and BigFoot Android 2.0/ Donut phone details leaked
• Motorola Milestone (Droid) officially launched in Europe. Gets multi-touch, loses free navigation
• Verizon and Google officially promise several Android phones
• Verizon’s HTC Desire shows up in the… dark
• GSM Motorola Droid caught on video

In time for Thanksgiving, the company will be offering its own T-Mobile channel within the Android Market, which will offer recommendations on which content to download, in order to add ease to the customer’s experience in finding new apps and downloads.

But wait, there’s more. T-Mo will also be adding in support for billing the customer’s account as an alternative to using Google Checkout whenever downloading a purchased Android app.

Carrier billing is somewhat unusual in the States for App Stores. Purchases made on the iPhone App Store, for example, are billed to the customer’s iTunes account instead of AT&T directly. Venetia Espinoza, Director of Mobile Applications and Partner Programs explained that:

We are making it very easy to purchase apps. Historically, research has shown that with carrier billing, there’s a big uptick of 30 to 40 percent in app or content downloads….We’ve been working very closely with Google over the last several months to integrate the Android Market with our internal billing gateway.

Any interesting insights to the news? Do you believe the “research” that’s been done to prove carrier billing is more popular?

via MocoNews

• Google to add carrier billing to Android Market
• Paid Android apps confirmed for this month
• Google and Baidu to fight over China’s mobile search market
• Google Analytics now available for mobile apps (Android and iPhone)
• Google Mobile App for BlackBerry now available

To be honest, we weren’t expecting to see the Jack to be one of the first 6.1 phones pushed through to 6.5 by its manufacturer. Nothing against the Jack at all; it’s just running Standard since there is no touchscreen capability.

So what does the Jack and any other WM 6.5 Standard phone get? Improved Internet Explorer, full access to Windows Marketplace, and free access to AT&T WiFi hotspots.

Woohoo? Anyone excited about this one?

In order to download the upgrade, check out Samsung’s official place to do so.

• More details on Windows Mobile Marketplace’s Phase 2
• Samsung Jack i637 officially announced by AT&T
• Microsoft is negotiating carrier-branded versions of Windows Marketplace
• Windows Marketplace opens for submissions on July 27; WM 6.0 and 6.1 will be supported
• AT&T finally offers free Wi-Fi for all iPhone users

That’s right — for advanced phones such as the Droid and similar smartphones, the Early Termination Fee will begin at $350 and decrease by $10 per month per line, starting November 15.

We can’t help but assume that the only reason this ETF is warranted is to prevent anyone from flipping their fancy new Droids on eBay for profit, but it still seems the penalty is a bit harsh.

Just when we thought contracts were becoming more fair by way of prorated ETFs, this comes out of nowhere and blindsides everyone. Thus there is a legitimate fear in other carriers following suit. After all, the iPhone is being subsidized by $400, so it wouldn’t be too ridiculous to imagine AT&T copycatting Verizon on this one.

Here’s a solution, Verizon: if you’re so worried about losing money and customers but yet want to be fair about the ETF, demand a $350 ETF for only the first 4-6 months to ward off the potential flippers, and then drop the ETF down to the same cost as every other device.

via BGR

• FCC Chair Proposes ETF Regulations
• AT&T Now Offering Prorated ETFs
• Sprint Defies Verizon, Will Not Raise ETF
• Verizon to launch an Apple tablet computer this year
• Verizon to finally launch an iPhone in 2010?

And were extremely disappointed, when Nokia delayed the release of N900 from October to November. Without even bothering to reveal more concrete release date, or even week.

Well, your wait is almost over. There are reports that Nokia N900 starts shipping in U.K. on Nov. 16th.

And now I have even better news for those, who have been eagerly awaiting  Nokia’s N900 arrival to the United States.

Nokia N900 will be released in U.S. next week. On November 14th, to be exact, if the info on NewEgg website is accurate:

As you can see, NewEgg is having a pretty nice discount on Nokia N900, and says that it’s being released on 11/14/2009 – that’s next Saturday.

The wait seems to be almost over. Let’s hope this is for real, and there will be no more last minute delays by Nokia.

• Sony Ericsson Idou release date rumors
• Nokia 6555 headed for AT&T soon
• Rumor: Nokia 5800 Tube to be released in the UK on October 8th
• Nokia N900 delayed a bit, will start shipping in November
• Telus Launching HSPA Nov 5; iPhone is on the List

It really shouldn’t be a surprise to too many Android fans, considering the short turnaround time between 1.6 and 2.0. It’s natural to assume Google would already be hard at work getting the next available version ready for developers as soon as possible. This ability to quickly update definitely can be a sign of a healthy mobile OS with a load of potential.

Here’s how it was discovered: Android and Me’s webmasters were tracking the site’s analytics reports and found that 0.04% of its traffic was coming from Android 2.1, instead of any other OS. It seems like such an incredibly simple approach, yet it worked rather well.

There are no reports of any brand-new features in 2.1 as of yet; all that is known for sure is that 2.1 will be a minor update to fix bugs from 2.0 and will be ready by the end of 2009. Still, that’s a rather fast turnaround time for an OS to get all major bugs fixed that soon.

via Android and Me, via PhoneArena

• Google Analytics now available for mobile apps (Android and iPhone)
• Google Chrome for Android in the works?
• Bug in Android phone triggers reboot with 8 keystrokes
• Samsung Spica and BigFoot Android 2.0/ Donut phone details leaked
• WAT: Why there ain’t more phones with Android 2.0. And there won’t be soon, if ever

The U.S. National Research Council (NRC) recently published a report which claims there are some natural signals, such as radio emissions from space and natural earth phenomena, are being impeded by consumer gadgets such as cell phones and other wireless devices.

These wireless devices are regulated, but the NRC is calling for stricter rules and regulations to ensure the devices won’t be bleeding into the same spectrum as these quieter natural signals that are crucial to collecting scientific data.

According to LiveScience:

The “electronic fog” of manmade signals could not only dampen scientific discoveries, but also threaten passive monitoring systems vital to agriculture, transportation and national defense.

Passive instruments listen for faint radio emissions from water, soil and atmospheric gases, as well as emissions related to atmospheric changes in temperature and humidity.

The NRC believes  that while these manmade wireless signals are essential to the global economy and thus are necessary to keep intact, a certain balance must be achieved so that both sides can be appeased.

Proper balance could be wrought about in a few different ways: set aside more spectrum for these signals that can’t be reached by mobile devices; develop new technologies to allow both to co-exist peacefully; or simply allow scientists the ability to briefly turn off radio transmissions so they can collect data when a satellite passes over a given area. There are certainly many possible ideas to ensure scientists can continue in their work unimpeded by the latest technology out there.

via LiveScience

• Cloaking device to eliminate cellphone static and render objects invisible closer to reality
• Verizon completes first LTE data calls over its 700 MHz spectrum
• Verizon expands, buys SureWest Communications for $69 million
• FCC Chairman Kevin Martin wants to allow the use of portable devices on white spaces
• New Samsung phones to help you pratice safe sex

It’s not an illusion; according to comScore there are 24 million touchscreen devices in use within the United States, a 159 percent growth year-over-year from last year at this time.

That is a huge rate of expansion for a US cell phone market that has historically been slower to adopt new trends and technology than overseas markets in Asia or Europe. On top of touchscreen growth the US has also seen a 63 percent raise in smartphone use.

Frankly, it doesn’t take a lot of thinking to figure out the main contributor to this army of 24 million touchscreen phones. Did you guess the iPhone? You would be exactly right. It turns out that 32.9 percent of US touchscreen phones are iPhones.

The breakdown goes as follows: 32.9 % iPhone, 8.7% LG Dare, 7.8% LG Voyager, 7% Blackberry Storm, and 6.5% Palm Treo. Also on the list at 5 percent or lower are the T-Mobile G1, HTC Touch, LG Xenon, Samsung Instinct, and Samsung Glyde.

Of note in the study is how popular capacitive screens are over the more traditional resistive screens, and touchscreens in general are becoming much more popular for people under the age of 35 than those over 35.

Check out the link for complete lists of all the breakdowns in the study.

via Cellular News

• Samsung to increase phone sales by 20% in 2010 (to 270 million units)
• Samsung to make 100 million touchscreen phones in 2010, 65% of them with capacitive screens
• AT&T Posts Q3 Numbers; Admits Possibility of Losing iPhone Exclusivity
• Samsung and LG both sell 20 million touchscreen phones
• Samsung’s mobile market share to top 20% by the end of 2009

And they are indeed pretty cool.

But today’s announcement actually gives even more hints, about how Sony Ericsson plans to go bout making new devices that should get it out of the current slump.

One of the first steps in SE plans, is making this *scape user interface, into an open UI platform, across multiple lines of devices.

Sony Ericsson head of portfolio planning has confirmed to Electricpig.co.uk that they do plan to port the new UI to Symbian handsets. And I will not be at all surprised, if their  own high end feature phones will get the same UX  too.

The other thing, revealed in Sony Ericsson communication to developers today, is that they plan to open Mediascape and Timescpe UI apps to third party developers, by releasing SDK sometime in 2010. According to SE:

We are keen to open up the APIs for these applications, and we welcome a dialog with developers to get ideas and feedback, with a view to launching a Sony Ericsson SDK in early 2010.

This common UI across multiple platforms approach, is actually nothing new. All major handset vendors are already doing it, in one way or another. HTC has the Sense UI, LG created “S-Class”, Samsung uses TouchWiz, which even has an SDK for third party widgets, etc;

But it’s good to see Sony Ericsson finally getting in tune with the industry trends with their multi platform user interface initiative and pretty cool devices. Both,  Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and Timescape/Mediascape UX apps, look good, albeit extremely laggy, in presentation and limited demos.

Hope they will iron out the bugs in a couple of months remaining before launch.  Which  was pretty nice.

Now comes the “easy” part. Implementation

• First handsets running Symbian Foundation’s open-source OS out in 2010
• Nokia S60 Devices to get touch interface next year
• Android 0.9 SDK beta released
• Sony Ericsson Rachael’s Android UI demoed on video
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is official, comes with Android 1.6, new UX platform and more

The TwitterPeek features a 2.5 inch QVGA landscape display, a full QWERTY keyboard, a trackwheel on the side, and a battery that should last up to three days.

So what can you do with it? Well, it’s a Twitter-only handset, so you can: read Tweets, send Tweets, reply, retweet, send direct messages, download followers and… that’s about it. When you receive Tweets, the TwittertPeek can vibrate, make a tweeting sound, and light up a blue light on the front.

The folks over at PC Mag already had the chance to play with a TwitterPeek. Reportedly, the device is very easy to set-up, but it’s “painfully slow” after that. When you’re viewing the main list of tweets, you can only see the first three and a half words of each tweet – you have to hit the Return key to read more. Also, you can’t search for trending topics, can’t view photos other than the ones stored on Twitpic, and can’t view full HTML pages.

TwitterPeek costs $99.99 with 6 months of free service, or $199.99 with lifetime service. You can buy the device via the Twitter Peek website.

• Vodafone UK allows Twittering via SMS; free for the first weeks
• Twitter 2.0 add-on for fring now available
• INQ to release a Twitter phone before Christmas
• O2 UK will offer free Twitter alerts via SMS
• Google Docs&Spreadsheets go mobile

The survey shows that, from over 3,000 phone users, 38% would prefer a finger-based touchscreen phone, while 16% want a stylus-based touchscreen phone.

However, from the customers who have tried a touchscreen UI, only 47% would choose it again for their next phone.

Interestingly, most of those who tried touchscreen phones from Apple and HTC want to continue with touch UIs, while only 27% of the users who had Sony Ericsson touchscreen phones would stick to the same type of UI.

“The results suggest that consumer awareness of touchscreen UIs is very high, driven by the marketing of Apple, Samsung and others, and there is no doubt that the changes in device design we have seen over the past couple of years have produced some very exciting products. But it is also apparent that, with experience, a significant proportion of users have not been totally won over by some of these devices. This is to be expected, as it is quite a big shift for many users to make, but a poor experience with one touchscreen device may dissuade users from trying another one in the future and it is imperative that vendors focus on usability and practicality as well as visual appeal, and continue to enhance their interfaces. There has always been a question mark over how well touchscreens would work among an SMS-centric audience and the results indicate the transition has not been totally smooth,” declared Canalys senior analist Pete Cunningham.

(Sony Ericsson Xperia X10)

Virtually all major phone makers have touchscreen handsets in their portfolio, and the years to come will probably see touch UIs getting closer to perfection. Will this lead to the extinction of classic cell phones? Probably not, but it’s obvious that the future isn’t made for non-touch handsets.

Via Press release

• Sony Ericsson files for touchscreen keypad patent
• Qik announces support for several HTC devices, AT&T Tilt and Sony Ericsson Xperia X1
• iPhone used for voice communications less than half of the time in US
• Android 2.0 on Sony Ericsson’s first Android smartphone?
• Sony Ericsson Aino passes the FCC with AT&T 3G bands

We saw a Wi-Fi and 3G less Dell Mini 3i officially launch in China, and we’ve heard that it may soon come to the United States.

But the U.S may not be the first country in Americas to get the new Dell handset.

Dell Mini 3iX just turned up on a site of a telecoms regulatory authority in Brazil.

And the X branded version comes with those things we missed most  in it’s Chinese sibling – Wi-Fi and 3G UMTS/HSDPA connectivity. With no less then 3 bands of it – 850/1900/2100 MHz.

We are not sure about the rest of the specs,  but if they remain unchanged, Dell Mini 3iX should come equipped with:

• 3.5 inch touchscreen display with 640 x 360 pixels, 262K colors and handwriting recognition
• Multi touch User Interface
• Virtual QWERTY keyboard
• A-GPS
• Microsoft Exchange support
• Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR, USB 2.0
• 3MP autofocus camera with flash and 30fps video recording
• MicroSD card support
• 122 x 58 x 11.7 mm
• 103 grams

• Dell’s China-bound Android smartphone spec’d, new photos show up
• Dell Mini 3iX passes the FCC, AT&T 3G included
• Dell Mini 3i smartphone finally launches in China
• DioTek’s DioPen 7 for Windows Mobile now available
• Samsung W599, a dual CDMA/GSM phone

There were enough trustworthy sources and hints, claiming that this hot Motorola Android 2.0 handset is headed for Europe too.

We just didn’t expect to get it across the pond quite so fast. Motorola Droid was just announced by Verizon last week, and today it already launches as Motorola Milestone in Europe.

Motorola Milestone is is not exactly the same phone as Verizon Droid. In one way it’s better – Motorola Milestone comes with multi-touch pinch&zoom gesture support, which, for some reason, was disabled in Droid.

But it loses free turn-by-turn navigation from Google, probably because this feature is not ready for primetime in Europe yet. Instead Motorola Milestone comes with a trial version of MOTONAV turn-by-turn navigation, which is free for the first 60 days, but then a license fee kicks-in.

Otherwise Motorola Milestone is the same old Droid with:

• WCDMA/900/2100, GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSPA, GPRS connectivity
• Android 2.0 OS
• 3.7″; WVGA (480 x 854 pixels); 16:9 widescreen; PPI 267
• 5 megapixel camera
• Wi-Fi, GPS, Accelerometer
• 1400 mAh battery

And all other goodies original Droid had.

Italy and Germany will be the first markets to get Motorola Milestone,other markets will have to wait for it a bit.

Via: Motorola

• WAT: Why Europeans did not get Google’s free turn-by-turn navigation on Motorola Milestone
• Brazil gets the Motorola Milestone too, multi-touch included
• Verizon opens stores early for the Motorola Droid
• Nokia offers one week free navigation on Maps
• Moto Droid / Milestone not coming to O2 and T-Mobile in the UK?

All five major handset vendors sold more phones in Q3 than in Q2, save for Motorola, which slipped to fifth place, previously occupied by Sony Ericsson.

Samsung and LG, the two South Korean giants, both broke new records. Samsung shipped more than 60 million phones in a quarter for the first time, so it now controls more than 20% of the market, as expected. LG shipped only 31.6 million units, but it is its highest number to date.

Here’s the top five handset vendors for Q3 2009:

• Nokia – 108.5 million units, 37.3% market share
• Samsung – 60.2 million units, 20.7%
• LG – 31.6 million units, 10.9%
• Sony Ericsson – 14.1 million units, 4.9%
• Motorola – 13.6 million units, 4.7%
• Others – 60.1 million units, 21.5%

Expectations for the fourth quarter of the year are high:

“We forecast 300 million handsets to be shipped worldwide in Q4 2009, growing 3% from 294 million units in Q4 2008. We believe this will be the first time the industry has returned to positive growth since Q3 2008, signaling an end to the handset recession after 4 quarters of decline. Consumers and handset vendors are gradually regaining a little confidence,” declared Neil Mawston, Director at Strategy Analytics.

Via Press release

• Gartner: cell phone sales declined 6% in Q2 2009, smartphone sales grew 27%
• Mobile phone market declined by almost 13% in Q4 2008
• 5 million Samsung TouchWiz F480 phones sold
• LG is the world’s third largest handset producer, with 100 million phones shipped in 2008
• Samsung sold over 10 million touchscreen phones in 2008

Considering the general public’s concern on the drain the iPhone’s demand has been on AT&T’s 3G network, Verizon Director of data services for the Illinois-Wisconsin region Arvin Singh is attempting to put those concerns to rest.

He says Verizon expects heavy demand of the Motorola Droid, and it has long architected its EV-DO Revision A network to handle these kinds of capacities.

“We’re anticipating the Droid will be a blockbuster, but we’re not adding any new backhaul or new EV-DO carriers for the launch. We’re not anticipating the network will take a hit on this.”

Obviously Verizon is rather confident in its network. So the big test is coming. They expect a blockbuster phone, and there is a very good chance the Droid will live up to the expectations. Now we sit back and see how right or wrong Verizon was in making those claims.

We know it would be difficult to be any worse than the iPhone’s strain on AT&T’s current data network, but will Verizon be any better off? VZW is almost cocky about its network, but AT&T is usually just as confident about its data capabilities.

via TelephonyOnline

• Motorola Milestone (Droid) officially launched in Europe. Gets multi-touch, loses free navigation
• SFR combines its HSPA and optical fiber networks
• Verizon to Launch Droid, Droid Eris on Nov 6
• Verizon-Motorola Droid event promises “the most desirable phone of 2009″
• Verizon Motorola Droid announced, comes on Nov. 6 for $199.99

Until that happens, we’ll still report the latest developments in that rumor. This latest go-round in the series of rumors is from Brian Marshall, an analyst for Broadpoint AmTech. In a research note, he predicts iPhone exclusivity will drop in the US and Verizon will pick it up, though at a different subsidy than AT&T currently uses.

Marshall predicts in contrast to the typical $400-450 subsidy AT&T provides to entice customers, Verizon would likely offer a $300 subsidy. In essence, Verizon’s iPhone would cost more to a new customer than one with AT&T.

While Marshall is positive this deal will happen, not every analyst shares his enthusiasm. Many argue that the recent Droid launch and future partnerships with Google will cause a rift between Verizon and Apple, thus keeping them from selling the iPhone anytime soon.

On top of that, other rumors point to Apple wanting to wait until Verizon’s LTE network is officially launched before offering the iPhone to the company. This could happen later in 2010, but it’s highly doubtful the LTE network would be running at full speed next summer (the time of year Apple has released each model of the iPhone thus far).

So who is right? Who is wrong? Frankly, analysts seem to think they know everything even while their associates may disagree with them completely. So I don’t look at analysts as portals to the future, but it is always intriguing to hear their professional opinions and predictions.

via Computerworld

• Verizon LTE iPhone Rumored To Be in Testing Phase?
• AT&T Paying Apple $325 iPhone Subsidy
• EVDO iPhone coming to Verizon in 2009?
• Verizon to finally launch an iPhone in 2010?
• 100,000 Motorola Droids sold by Verizon in the first week-end?

When the change happens, Sprint will stop shipping smartphones with pre-installed apps already on them, which would be a huge move for any carrier in the US; every mobile provider typically likes to throw in several of its own apps on branded handsets.

It will be interesting to see if Sprint’s new app store will complement the already-existing marketplaces on Android and WebOS. Will they help each other, or cannibalize one another?

Currently Sprint is promising a turnaround time of one week to review and approve apps that have been submitted to the store, which would be a huge difference from Apple’s App Store that typically takes 10-14 days, if not longer.

Does this new app store stand a chance?

via AppAdvice

• WebOS 1.0.4 available for the Palm Pre
• Sprint Music Store downloads to be available exclusively for handsets starting October 15th
• Sprint launches Android developer website
• Sprint intros the Android HTC Hero – available starting October 11
• Google Hard at Work on Android 2.1

At first Sanjay mentioned the number of new smartphones would be in “multiple tens”, before clarifying that at least 20 would be released.

This seems to be a rather good indication that Motorola is back on the right track, and is ready to pull some hefty competition on everyone else.

So here’s the thing: given Motorola’s dumping of virtually every OS but Android, we’re wondering how many of these 20+ smartphones will be Android and how many will be WinMo. We know Moto isn’t interested in 6.5 but most likely is waiting for 7 to come out; will it be a 50/50 split between WM7 and Android?

As you know, I love to speculate and ask questions. Only time will be able to answer those questions, but my hope is to spark conversation in our comments about this. My brain tells me it’s too soon for Motorola to make such a large commitment before posting some good quarterly numbers, but it shows that Moto is very confident in its future, and that should be applauded.

via Gearlog

• Motorola Devour Arrives at the Party, Puts on Nametag
• HTC Confirms its Involvement With Android 2.0
• Motorola to ditch Symbian, bet on Android and outsource WinMo phone production
• Motorola Android phone confirmed for Verizon for Q4 2009?
• GSM Motorola Droid caught on video

Peter Chou conducted an interview with Forbes yesterday and talked about quite a few aspects of the smartphone industry. But what was most interesting to us was his declaration:

Technically, we could make the HD2 an Android phone, but I have to take care of Windows Mobile.

Blammo. Just like that, all hope has been lost. Or has it?

I personally got a couple things from that nugget. He mentioned the HD2 specifically won’t be an Android phone. There will only be one flavor of HD2, and that’s Windows Mobile. But the rumor I mentioned specifically about the HTC Passion, was supposed to be an “equivalent” of the HD2; not actually the HD2 itself.

So my opinion is that the HTC Passion could be very real still, and could easily be on its way to Verizon. Technically it’s not the HD2, just a heck of a lot like it.

I also found it interesting when he said “I have to take care of Windows Mobile”, as if he were in The Godfather. As if he owes Microsoft something. This statement hints at some sort of mandatory contract or agreement HTC has with Microsoft to carry a certain number or percentage of Windows phones in a given year. I wonder if there’s any validity to that.

Thoughts? Feel free to call me out if there are flaws in my logic.

via Forbes

• Rumored HTC Passion Coming to Verizon, is a HD2 With Android?
• Microsoft to limit number of Windows Mobile devices on the way to announcing something major at MWC 2009
• Nokia N73 Godfather Edition comes out
• Windows Mobile 7 will feature Social Networking integration
• T-Mobile moving from WM to Android worldwide?

Gdgt has a source on good authority that knows the Droid Eris will be available with contract for $99, compared to the $199 price point of the Droid.

This actually makes a lot of sense. For one, the Eris will be a hard sell if it’s offered at the same cost as its more popular Android cousin. Especially if it isn’t rocking Eclair right from the get-go.

We want to hear from anyone who is planning on buying one of the two new Droid-series handsets. Would the $99/199 pricing make a difference on your decision? Which one are you going to go with?

via Gdgt

• Verizon’s HTC Droid Eris shows up in press and hands-on photos
• Verizon to Launch Droid, Droid Eris on Nov 6
• Verizon announces the HTC Droid Eris, launches the LG Chocolate Touch
• Droid Will be an Entire Series; HTC Desire Becomes Droid Eris
• HTC Hero, Android 2.0 to Come Together

The rumors are true! Hero will be getting an Eclair update. We ask for your patience as we update Sense for the fancy new Android OS.

Less than 140 characters long, yet it tells so much more. We just recently learned that HTC has been using Android 2.0 in-house for some time now and would be putting it in models in the near future.

Up until now the only device known to have the Eclair update on it is the Motorola Droid, just announced yesterday. So as far as we know, this will be the second device to have Eclair. That is, unless some other phone comes out with it first.

How will Sense UI fit into Eclair?  And will we now see a huge flood of other Android devices following suit with 2.0 updates?

via HTC Twitter

• HTC Confirms its Involvement With Android 2.0
• Droid Will be an Entire Series; HTC Desire Becomes Droid Eris
• Rumor: Droid Eris to sell at $99
• Verizon’s HTC Desire shows up in the… dark
• Sense UI update for HTC Magic is here. Only in Taiwan for now

Android 2.0 comes with new developers APIs for sync and Bluetooth, as well as lots of new user features.

The new features include: support for multiple accounts (Google and Exchange), search functionality for SMS and MMS, improved virtual keyboard, camera enhancements (scene mode, digital zoom, color effects, white balance and macro focus), refreshed browser UI, support for HTML5, support for double-tap zoom in the browser and so on. All the new features of Android 2.0 can be found here.

Most probably, the first phone to come with Android 2.0 is Verizon’s Motorola Droid, which should be officially announced tomorrow.

Meanwhile, here’s the Android 2.0 official video promo:

Via the Android Developers Blog

• Google intros free Maps Navigation for Android 2.0, Garmin and TomTom stocks plummet
• Gmail and Google Calendar for iPhone and Android updated
• Google Chrome for Android in the works?
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is official, comes with Android 1.6, new UX platform and more
• Google Letting Android Developers Slip

This particular update will be available for the Touch Diamond2, and not for just one carrier; it looks like it will be for most European countries.

For reference, here are the version numbers for each specific country.

                      Germany 2.16.407.1

                      Denmark 2.16.403.1

                      United Kingdom 2.16.405.4

                      Sweden 2.16.413.1

                      Norway 2.16.409.1

                      Portugal 2.16.410.1

HTC’s website has all the download details, but here are some words of warning before you perform the upgrade:

* Please note that this upgrade will erase any data stored on the device. Once you proceed with the upgrade, the system can not be downgraded again. 

* Please back up your data first before upgrading your device. Before you run the ROM Upgrade Utility (RUU), make sure you check and do the following:

* The USB sync cable is connected to your device and PC. If your PC is running Windows XP®, ActiveSync® will run automatically to establish a connection. If your PC is running Windows Vista™, then Windows Mobile Device Center will establish the connection between your device and PC.

* All running applications on the device have been closed.

* Make sure that the battery level of the device is at least 50%. To check, tap Start > Settings > System tab > Power.

* The update will take up to 30 minutes, DO NOT interrupt the update process, make/receive phone calls, disconnect the device from the PC, or press any buttons until the process has been completed.

Sidenote: Australia’s Telstra has also updated their HTC Snap to WinMo 6.5. Go here to get the download.

via WMExperts

• Windows Mobile 6.5 is now complete, “looks really good”
• Vodafone Updates Touch Pro2 to WinMo 6.5
• Windows Mobile 6.5 and MyPhone video demo and pics
• OTA software updates for Windows Mobile to come soon?
• Microsoft Gaming System for your Zune, Xbox, PC and PDA

Previously we expected to see two different launch dates on these handsets, with the Droid quite possibly around tomorrow-ish. But we can completely understand a double Droid-launch to start the new Droid series off strong.

How confident is BGR on this rumor? They say it’s the closest they can get without having an official announcement. That is particularly strong. Keep you posted.

via BGR

• Verizon’s HTC Droid Eris shows up in press and hands-on photos
• Rumor: Droid Eris to sell at $99
• Verizon: Our 3G Network Can Handle Large Droid Demand
• Droid Will be an Entire Series; HTC Desire Becomes Droid Eris
• Motorola posts Q3 results, Mobile Devices unit loses $183 million

There hasn’t been any official announcement from Apple yet, though it is possible we could hear something from them at any time about this. It seems a hefty enough milestone to at least mention somewhere.

Naturally this is a great deal ahead of any other mobile OS out there, by an astronomically large margin. Given the fact that most other platforms based their app stores on the one found on the iPhone, this is no surprise by any means.

But it is something worth celebrating. The fact that there are so many different apps available to allow you to customize your iPhone virtually any possible way you’d like, is what makes the iPhone so unique and has brought in such a large and loyal following around the world.

Is there a ceiling to how many apps can be supported in the App Store? It’ll be interesting to see the evolution of the Store over the coming years.

via Mobile Entertainment via PhoneArena

• Apple says iPhone App Store’s got “over 300 million” served
• Apple iPhone 8GB, 16GB currently unavailable at Apple Online Store
• Apple intros iPhone OS 3.1 and iTunes 9
• Opera Mini for iPhone rejected by Apple from App Store
• China Mobile readies an app store too

Spotted in the wild, we have photographic evidence of some kind of SIM card tray, quite possibly for a next-gen iPhone or iTablet.

I think it’s for the tablet, and here’s why:

• This tray is larger, indicating it is for a larger device
• iPhones are currently coming out each summer, and it seems a bit early to begin iPhone next-gen rumors as small as SIM trays
• If the tablet really comes out early 2010 as rumored, this would be ideal timing for a SIM tray to be leaked

If the SIM tray really is for the tablet, it will be cellular-based, not just WiFi/data-based.

There is far too little information to come to any conclusions, but if it is a bona fide SIM card tray, it’s either for the tablet or for a brand new iPhone coming out earlier in the year.

What do you think? Sound off in the comments!

via IntoMobile

• Verizon to launch an Apple tablet computer this year
• Report: Apple Tablet Coming Soon, Made by Foxconn
• iPhone 3G soft unlock accomplished, to be made available New Year’s eve
• Want a Home iPhone? Try the Orby
• LG Lotus 2 Leaked, Launching Early 2010?