Palm Treo Pro Pics & Vids!

The Palm Treo Pro came roaring into the picture only a few days ago with rumors galore. Now hands on videos and official press shots are starting to flow and its a matter of days/hours before Palm makes an official announcement. Here are two great press pics:

The hands on video…

And the full gallery for your perousal:








[Via Treo8]

New Android SDK Released!

FINALLY. Android Developer’s were revolting, the iPhone App Store was catching all the buzz, rumors of delays were piling and Android was starting to seem like a joke. But in less than 12 hours everyone is riding the Android Jock again.

First, FCC documents showed the HTC Dream to be not only real, but imminent. Then, T-Mobile confirmed that THEY would be the ones releasing the HTC Dream. Now, Android has given developer’s the key to their heart by releasing Android SDK Beta .9 which Google says should be more than accurate enough for all developer’s to start building out their apps immediately.

The new SDK sports tons of changes including a complete UI makeover that looks absolutely SICK!

The Android Developer’s Blog has all the details and Engadget has a nice video and gallery!

HTC Dream Passes FCC Hurdles

Words probably can’t describe how most Android enthusiasts feel right now. Excited? Sure but thats not powerful enough. Elated? Eh… too cutesy. Let us just say this: awwwww sooky sooky.

FCC Documents are showing a brand new HTC device that is labeled as “Dream” and having model identification DREA100. Tested on WCDMA 1700 it looks bound for T-Mobile’s new 3G network which would line up great with the rumors we’ve been hearing about an October launch!

Ladies and gentlemen start your engines… and buckle your seatbelts… because this whole Android thing is going to be a wild ride for the phone fanatics out there.

[Via Phandroid]

Nokia Fold Tickles Fancy of Phone-Centric Folks

Trying to say the title (of this article) 10 times fast is about the most fun you’ll have with the Nokia Fold. Its a simple phone made for simple people who are just looking for a phone that is small, looks good and does the whole “calling people” thing we’ve heard so much about.

It’s equipped with a 1.3 megapixel camera with 6x optical zoom but lets nip this one in the bud - the phone’s features aren’t why anyone would buy the Nokia Fold. Its intended to be about ergonomics and understated elegance.

To be honest, if you’re not all about the high tech stuff then it doesn’t LOOK too bad as far as basics go. When are they going to release a phone that is JUST a phone… no digital camera, no media player, no XYZ that fogies don’t need… so basic that when you sign a 2 year contract THEY pay YOU money?

[Via Unwired View]

The Best BiPhone

No… its not the greatest phone for sexually promiscuous people swinging from both sides of the plate. The Best BiPhone is our special way of saying that Best Buy will be selling the iPhone starting September 7th!

For a brand and a product typically veiled in a sense of exclusivity, the Best Buy deal furthers the iPhone’s push into the mainstream market.  The iPhone’s availability in 976 Best Buy store’s nationwide provides further convenience and availability to the smash success. But is it a mistake?

On Seeking Alpha, Kevin Maney warns that it could compromise long-term success: “If Apple simply pushes the iPhone into the mass market, it will be a temporary victory. As the RAZR showed, sales will take off like a rocket as the price drops — until a point comes when consumers see the product as run-of-the-mill, margins shrink, and prices can’t fall any further. Sales suddenly fall off a cliff, and the brand is all but dead.”

But Apple isn’t Motorola and the iPhone isn’t exactly the RAZR. But most importantly, its no longer about the phone… its about the applications. Apple knows EXACTLY what they are doing by making the iPhone as accessible as possible to the widest audience - they’re setting a volume standard for application developers and users that gives them a head start on Google’s Android platform.

Apple can always go back to offering an “elite” version of the iPhone just as they have released various versions of the iPod. The touch, nano, video, various sizes, various colors, etc… the iPhone has already established itself as a superior product and soon they can begin differentiating. But 3rd party applications WILL become the future of mobile and Apple cannot afford to lose the battle in this all important facet.

When Google’s Android was announced it seemed like somewhat like the knight in shining armor for mobile consumers. When Apple fanboys downplayed Android and trumpeted the iPhone, reasonable minds explained that the iPhone is just one device for an exclusive group of people while Android will be dozens and dozens of phones across dozens of countries, etc…

But what if the iPhone could become the iPod of the mobile market? The playing field would be leveled, would it not? Apple is well on their way to giving the iPhone an iPod like status and the entrance into Best Buy is part of the plan to get there.

Sure, Apple could have played the “premiere product” and “exclusive club” card and made the iPhone a cream of the crop only type of deal. But then they would have watched Android Phones with Android Applications gallop nonchalantly past them, easily taking the cake as the future of mobile. Instead, it is now Android that has the catching up to do.

And perhaps under the radar in this whole thing is the huge boost this provides to Best Buy. Remember that the only brand/phone to really take the Apple iPhone head on as a self-proclaimed iPhone Killer has been Sprint and Samsung with their Instinct. Best Buy is the exclusive retailer of the Samsung Instinct. Coincidence? We think not. Best Buy is making a strong push to become a goto destination for mobile consumers.

“Many of our customers come to our store every day asking for [the iPhone],” said Shawn Score, president of Best Buy’s mobile division, “We’re excited we’re going to be able to say yes.”

Mr. Score claimed that BestBuy’s market share for mobile has nearly doubled, from 2% last year to about 3.6% this year. Snagging the iPhone should really, really help their efforts.

Oops, Verizon Release Dates Spotted

Verizon recently pushed out information on the launch of their Mobile Email applications, listing several devices that would feature the update. In doing so, they mistakenly alerted us to several new handsets and rumored handsets release timeframes - oops!

Lets start at the top.

LG VX8360: The VX8360 is probably an update to the VX8350 (pictured below) which was released about the same time as the LG Voyager last year. Not a bad looking phone but certainly nothing special. It was overshadowed by the Voyager launch then, and unless they’ve hooked this thing up with something special, it won’t need to be overshadowed because it will simply be overlooked.

Motorola VU30 (Rapture) - Initially this bad boy was supposed to be called the Utopia. I suppose they realized that in the perfect world, nobody would actually own this thing. The picture below is supposedly a picture of the real thing from the folks at PhoneArena. Doesn’t look too snappy if you ask us… but nonetheless its touching down on September 9th.

Motorola V6C - Coming August 19th? Wait a minute thats… Tuesday?!?! Woohoo! Won’t have to wait too long to find out what the heck this is… probably something lackluster though so don’t get your hopes up.

Nokia 7205 - It doesn’t LOOK like your typical Nokia… in fact it looks like… wait, is that a RAZR? No, its a styled up Nokia with EV-DO, a 2 megapixel camera, and an extremely slim body. Eh.

Samsung U440 Cleo - this previously unnamed device doesn’t seem to have a launch date or any details so your guess is as good as ours.

UTST TXT 8010 - The July 31st date on this suggests it should have already been launched. It was - as the Verizon Blitz - on none other than July 31st. If nothing else, this could give the other dates a little more of a concrete feel.

[Via Engadget]

Palm Treo Pro… (formerly the 850w)

Much to the delight of Palm fans, we all know that there is a Palm Treo 850 coming out sooner rather than later. Call them rumors or whatever you’d like… but enough has been leaked that we were pretty darn sure. Now, we’re pretty darn positive.

We’re not sure when the last time we’ve been excited for Palm news is but rumor on the street is that the Palm Treo 850 will be called the Treo Pro and when coupled with some sexy, high resolution photos, we think Palm is looking up for once:

The Palm Treo Pro is a GSM phone running Windows Mobile and its got both WiFi and GPS on board. Somebody snooping around found a promotional flash site on Palm’s website for the phone which has since been taken down. But, here are a few screen caps to hold you over (click thumbnail to enlarge:

A 3.5mm headphone jack - nice! This thing looks like it could give the BlackBerry Bold a run for the money and if Palm appears to think the same… according to recent news reports they have put in an order for MILLIONS of new unnamed smartphones to be manufactured in upcoming months… estimates have been from 2 to 5 million. WOW.

We’ve got every reason to believe these rumors are true, especially after a TON more pictures of surfaced. We’ll end with another pic thats pretty hot:

[Sources: Engadget, WMExperts, SlashPhone, TreoCentral]

Samsung Instinct Application Updates

Sprint and Samsung’s self-proclaimed iPhone Killer is asking their owner’s a question: can we update your applications? Instinct owners are reporting sweeping updates of apps that include improved web browsing, quicker mobile tv/radio, Sprint Music Store improvements, improved picture mail and more.

In actuality you aren’t “asked” you are just “notified” that your application was updated next time you launch it. And the schedule for updates is pretty random so don’t be alarmed if some of your apps have been updated and others haven’t over the coming week or so.

Here is the official list of what is being updated:

Picture Mail
•    Reduce system busy errors for large picturemails
•    Reduction of “408″ timeout errors when sending large picturemails

Browser
•    Optimized vending machine shopping experience
•    More robust and user friendly access to Yahoo, Hotmail, Best Buy, YouTube
•    Remove feature that sent browser back one page with camera button

Sprint TV/Radio
•    Optimizations to resolutions for streaming video playback
•    Reductions of pausing. freezing and “flashing” during streaming video playback
•    Greatly increased start up and channel change speed

Sprint Navigation
•    Session will no longer run in background, preserving battery life

Sprint E-Mail
•    Ability to save email address from favorites menu

Sprint Music Store
•    Eliminates skips when listening via Bluetooth headset
•    Eliminates periodic timeouts for Websync of music
•    Eliminates changing of tracks when turning on screen from sleep mode
•    Eliminates periodic failure of skip button
•    Eliminates play/pause stopping after 30 - 35 minutes of music play

Push Info Services/Pocket Express
•    Increased ability to play video clips
•    Content for movie listing displays correctly
•    Eliminates periodic error for movie details/review

Visual Voicemail/Mobil Sync
•    Handle and present voicemail notification when out of data service
•    Eliminates “choppy” playback when dragging progress bar
•    Contact picture/image now shown correctly in playback form

[Via Instinct Insight]

2 New Nokias On August 18th!

At 8AM (United Kingdom Time), Nokia will unveil 2 new handsets at an invitation only event. We won’t BE there but the news will be HERE immediately following the event. Here is the invitation that was received:

The invitation says “Nseries” at the top which has some guessing that the N79 and N85 will be announced. The Nokia Tube is thought to be the XpressMedia 5800 and therefore WOULDN’T be included in this announcement but stranger things have happened.

Notice that it says the handset announcement comes 1 week prior to official launch meaning that these phones should be available for purchase on August 25th. But where will they be available and on what carriers? Ohhhh the suspense!

Check back on Monday to find out the details!

[Via iGadgetLife]

HTC Touch Pro Unboxed

The HTC Touch Diamond and Touch Pro were… at first… announced to disappointment - everyone was hoping for an Android Phone. But when the dust/disappointment settled, folks realized the phone was nothing short of a Gem… err… Diamond…

The Touch Diamond is now available in the UK for the small price of about 500 pounds. That is, for Americans, almost $1,000. Thats without a 2 year contract but still… are you kidding? Take a look at the unboxing below:

The phone looks quite wonderful, but with all the MUCH more affordable alternatives out there and with a ridiculous amount of sick phones on the way you’ve got to be wondering how many people will actually snap up this phone at such an outrageous price.

Let us know if you get it! If there is enough interest (read: enough lunatics buy it) we’ll start up forums dedicated to it on our Phone Forums - let us know!

[Via TracyAndMatt, Engadget]

Several Sprint-Nextel Phones Leaked

The Boy Genius got the scoop on Sprint’s upcoming device road map and it seems to be driving towards middle of the road handsets… at least as far as the leaked devices are concerned. Among those outed are the BlackBerry 8350i, Motorola v950, Motorola i576, Motorola i776, Motorola Monolith, Motorola Immersion and Sanyo Pro 410.

Here’s a peak at the leaked roadmap image from which this information derived:

We thought about writing up a little summary of each phone but realized that we didn’t care enough. But if you do, we’ve included a couple pictures below and you should visit the BGR post for the full scoop.

White Samsung Omnia… The oPhone

The Samsung Omnia is, at the moment, only available in Singapore. A few MobileRoar forum members have been discussing the potential of the phone coming to the United States and trust us… you should start praying it does.

Not only does it feature set and specs blow mostly everything else completely out of the water… but its got the looks to boot. And, with the release of the White Samsung Omnia it looks a lot like another device we know:



It looks so much like the iPhone that it should be called the oPhone. And no, not oPhone has in OmniaPhone copying the iPhone. We mean oPhone as in when you see it you’ll make your O face (*cough* Office Space *cough*). If it weren’t for the iPhone App Store it wouldn’t even be a question of preference.

The problem is that because of the specs on this bad boy, AT&T would make the most sense. AT&T has the iPhone locked up in the states through 2009. So will they release a phone that cannabolizes iPhone sales? We hope so. Unless they have some sort of allegiance and/or contract to/with Apple.

So let me get this straight: you can’t chew bubble gum in Sinagpore but its the only place in the world where you can easily purchase/use a Samsung Omnia? Hmmm…

UPDATE: TheUnwired is now reporting that the Samsung Omnia i900 is now getting its first ROM updates which, we unhappily don’t need because we can’t buy the Omnia in the first place! Those that can, and have it, we would appreciate your input!

BlackBerry Thunder 9530 Launches October 13th

The title says it all: we’ve learned the BlackBerry Thunder’s model number is 9530 and launch date is October 13th. Mark your calendars for the 2nd Monday in October… thank God it isn’t a Friday because if this thing somehow gets jinxed we’ll be supremely disappointed (knock on wood, fingers crossed).

So the countdown begins for one of the most hyped phones in history. Here is the internal Verizon sheet linked to the rumor:

Lets keep in mind that even if this internal sheet is official that doesn’t mean its accurate. Release dates change all the time. But one thing is for sure… the time is drawing near!

Stay tuned and if you’re really obsessed… hit up our BlackBerry Thunder Forums

[Via BGR]

Motorola Atila Leaked (Alexander’s Brother)

Apparently Motorola’s last stand is a family affair. The Motorola Alexander, dubbed as Motorola’s last effort to resurrect their struggling handset division, will have a QWERTY-less brother launched named the Motorola Atila.

We’ve caught on to the codename scheme… Alexander the Great, Atila the Hun, Napolean the… Dynamite? Are these guys foreshadowing their own death? I mean, we know what has happened to every great empire in the history of human civilization - they’ve collapsed. And so will be the fate of Motorola if the Alexander and Atila don’t clean up in the sales department.

The Motorola Atila Specs you’ve been waiting for:

This thing looks like a freakin beast if we may say so ourselves. It doesn’t look super hot… but this is a story thats still developing. We’ll wait to make that judgment until we see one in the hands of a lucky boy or girl.

Here is the pic that got things rolling:

It’ll be interesting to follow this story…

[Via BGR]

BlackBerry Pearl 8220 Kicks KickStart To The Curb

BlackBerry’s first ever calmshell device caused many sour faces among BB Faithful. But the aptly named “KickStart” wasn’t meant for the core BlackBerry customer - it is geared towards the mass consumer as a way to introduce them to the BlackBerry brand - a quite brilliant extension to teens and soccer moms around the world.

Perhaps the name KickStart made great logical sense but it has been killed off completely and the clamshell phone will now be known as the BlackBerry Pearl 8220. And when you think about it… it makes perfect sense. How many little kids want to be reminded that they are still using training wheels while the big kids ride regular bikes? While mobile enthusiasts might think the name fits, it could be considered almost demeaning to the potential purchaser.

Here is a (supposed) internal document from Canadian carrier Rogers which refers to the device as the BlackBerry Pearl:

Hey You! Yeah, you… the idiot not smart enough to use a regular BlackBerry. Since you’re so dumb, we’ve created a moron proof phone just for you. Walk around with it proudly and when someone asks you what phone that is just tell them: The BlackBerry FisherPrice

We don’t agree with the above. In fact, we think the BlackBerry Pearl is going to be a kick butt device. Afterall, there are PLENTY of people who prefer clamshells and like simplicity… yet still want the capabilities of a BlackBerry. This device is going to get a lot more mileage than a lot of people think - and rightfully so. Research In Motion simply doesn’t want to draw attention to the fact that its more of a BlackBerry for beginners. At least thats our take and if it’s on point it’s probably a smart move.

That being said, chances are that many of the BlackBerry Pearl owners WILL be first time BlackBerry users. So, we’ve set up the BlackBerry Pearl Forum for folks to talk about the phone… everything from pre-sale purchase questions to how to get the most out of it once its in your hands! To visit… Click Here

Here is a pretty in depth video overview of the phone (when it was still called the KickStart):

Rumor has it that AT&T will get the BlackBerry Pearl 8210 while the T-Mobile version will be the BlackBerry Pearl 8220. We’ll keep you posted as details emerge.

By the way, we still have a couple ounces of skepticism in our body seeing as how the BlackBerry Pearl already exist and looks NOTHING like the previously named KickStart. You probably already picked up on this oddity, but we felt obligated to point it out.

[Via BlackBerry Cool, IntoMobile]

Sprint Abolishes EMail, Nokia Adds It

Don’t worry Sprint customers… your mobile phones still have EMail capabilities. However, Sprint is discontinuing their @SprintPCS email addresses effective December 31st 2008. Folks are encouraged to switch to GMail, Yahoo Mail, Windows Live Mail or AOL Mail before its too late and your emails are lost in the gap of the space-time continuum.

Meanwhile, Nokia issued a Press Release that their Nokia Email Service is now available in Beta. With the Nokia App you’ll just enter your login/password and have instant access to your inbox along with forwarding, deleting, uploading and downloading attachments and all that good stuff.

By the way Sprint customers, if you’re wondering how you can access email from your cell phone it is pretty simple. First you’ll want to either TXT the word “email” to 777468 or visit the Sprint Digital Lounge for more. By the way, your phone needs to me Sprint Mobile Email enabled. Here is a list of those that are:

HTC™
Touch
LG®
LX160
LX260
LX400
Fusic™
Muziq™

LG Dare Pitbull Commercial Put To Sleep By PITA

An LG Dare commercial featuring junkyard pitbulls has been protested by PITA and Verizon has now decided to pull the commercials across all markets. The pitbulls are chained up and sleeping when a young man spots an LG Dare on a table between them. The pitbulls wake up and the man and dogs sprint towards eachother - fortunately for the guy, the metal chains keep them just out of reach of the Dare.

That’s a long explanation when I could have just said,”watch this”:

Personally, I don’t think its that bad. But all you have to do is bring the name Michael Vick into the conversation and it all of a sudden seems ugly. However, there is no evidence that these dogs are mistreated - is there?

PITA is known for “stretching” their moral position at times and the LG Dare is meant to be just that… daring. While it may be “daring” I don’t think it even comes close to pushing the boundaries of reasonable. I think Verizon should have stood their ground… and maybe released a sequel to the commercial, available only on the internet, where the man makes friends with the dogs by allowing them to pet the Dare or show them a picture of a bone or something. Maybe then he falls asleep next to the dogs, now unchained.

What do you think?

Motorola Alexander Picture Leaked

Remember that Motorola phone that we were hoping might be an Android Phone? It’s not… its running Windows Mobile, has a 5-8 megapixel camera, 3D graphics chip, aGPS enabled and will come out in the 4th quarter of this year.

Here’s a real, live picture of the phone:

The buttons look a wee-bit spread out, which some of commented make it look like a kid/toy phone. Others have commented that it looks similar to the Verizon Blitz. Is this the type of thing which Motorola should be banking their entire handset division?

We think not. What do you think?

[Via BGR]

Verizon, Sprint To Get HTC Diamond

The HTC Touch Diamond, one of the sickest and best customized Windows Mobile Based Phones devices to date, will be coming to Verizon and Sprint in September/October. We’re going to have a lot of happy CDMA-ers with the details.

We already know that there is touch screen only version of the Diamond and also a full QWERTY slide version that had been dubbed the Touch Pro. Verizon and Sprint will both get each of these… but their naming of the models is much, much different.

Verizon is calling their base model simply “HTC Diamond” and the Touch Pro version is the “HTC Raphael”. Sounds pretty decent. Sprint, however, is naming their base model the HTC Victor and the Touch Pro version will be called the “HTC Herman”. Are you kidding me? Take a completly new, cutting edge product that you claim is ground breaking and slap on a name that sounds more fit for a character on the Adam’s Family.

These could just be internal codenames and even as codenames the word/source isn’t official. BUT if the documents below really are internal Sprint documents then there is little question that above information is spot on:

For a lot of people, the launch date can’t come soon enough. We tend to agree.

[Via PhoneArena, the::unwired]

iPhone News, Rumors, Updates & Cracks

We’ve noticed numerous other mobile/tech sites around the web stick to iPhone news like white on rice, providing article after article, day after day for Apple Fanboys around the world. That’s not really “our thing” - so we’ve grouped together a “roundup” of the latest iPhone news for those who choose not to be innundated. Afterall, there are plenty of sites dedicated JUST to the iPhone if you’re that obsessed.

iPhone Crack-Up
While there are tons of millions of iPhone lovers out there, plenty of haters are out there too. And those haters are likely cracking up over the latest iPhone 3G news: the casing on the new iPhone, much lighter and less sturdy than the original model, is being reported as “easily cracked” from iPhone owners around the world. Apparently its even happening to iPhowners who treat their phone like a newborn baby. FYI - its seems to be more of a problem with the white iPhones.

iPhone Apps Get UnApped
Earlier this week, an iPhone application called NetShare allowed iPhone owners to use their iPhone as a modem. Essentially, it would create its own WiFi “hotspot” allowing you to connect any computer to the device wirelessly and using the 3G network to surf the web.

It was called “the best iPhone app ever” but was quickly pulled by Apple… for somewhat obvious reasons. Or not… it re-instated the application 24 hours later but not explanation has been given. Weird things have been happening to other applications as well:

BoxOffice, an iPhone App that innocently (we think) displays local movie times and such, was added to and then removed from the App Store. Why? Nobody knows… not even the developer.

Rumor: iPhone Nano By Christmas
Bucket of salt warning - some analysts and purported experts are claiming that Apple will launch an “iPhone Nano” buy Christmas That will also be available via a pay as you go contract. It would make sense as the iPod was tremendously successful with this model and Apple wants to market the iPhone in the same manner and with the same success as its musical counterpart. Nonetheless, its just a rumor for now.

iPhone Stuck on AT&T Until 2010
It appears as if AT&T has worked out a deal with Apple to continue its exclusive deal as the only Carrier to…uhhh… carry the iPhone in the United States through 2009. This news is great for Apple and terrible for consumers… most notably non-AT&T customers who want the iPhone.

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