Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

While we have already seen the BlackBerry Bold announced as a soon-to-be AT&T and Rogers handset, up till now we just knew that the Bold would be available “beginning this summer.” It seems the answer to the release date as well as some other interesting tidbits have just been leaked.

While the Rogers release date is still unclear, we can tell you that AT&T will make it available in July for $300. However, in a little more interesting news it seems that the Bold is also headed for T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint just a few months later. They are all set to offer up the Bold beginning in September. Verizon and Sprint customers will have to shell out the same $300 as AT&T customers, however T-Mobile seems to be a slight bit higher coming in at $350.

Of course, these have not been confirmed by any of the carriers, so these dates and prices are still subject to change. Lets at least hope that the T-Mobile price drops just a little, otherwise that seems quite unfair.

Read [InfoSync] Via [EngadgetMobile]

Typepad bloggers who use the BlackBerry Curve or the Pearl will have no more reason not to update their blogs a little more often, as Six Apart is bringing its native mobile blogging application to both BlackBerry handsets. This means that these bloggers can now upload photos, manage comments, as well as draft, edit and post to their Typepad blogs directly from their phone.

Whereas before, BlackBerry users were able to use post to their blogs using their phones’ mobile web browser or the email-to-blog feature, now with Typepad’s native application, they can just do the same task without opening their phones browser. The post-to-blog feature is now embedded as one of menus of the their BlackBerry Curve or Pearl. 

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For those who are caught between choosing an iPhone because of its musical features particularly its tie up with the iTunes music store and the BlackBerry Bold’s productivity features which are not supported by the iPhone, a new application might actually make them forget about the iPhone and get a BlackBerry Bold instead.

RIM is said to be developing a new application called the BlackBerry Media Sync that would allow synchronization of purchased music from iTunes to the BlackBerry Bold. This means that Bold users would have the luxury of listening to their iTunes purchased music via the BlackBerry’s excellent internal stereo speakers. You don’t usually get this kind of experience with the iPhone’s speakers.

Of course one must also take into consideration the upcoming 3G iPhone which just around the corner, when considering whether to get the BlackBerry Bold which is about to have the same iTunes synch features, or to wait up for the 3G iPhone or even contend with the current iPhone models for both their mobile application and mobile entertainment needs.

Read [CNET]

We have seen lots of leaked images for Sony Ericsson’s P5 Paris, ranging from some that were nothing more than a screenshot from a video and some that were true live pics, however this latest group is a nice and clear set of a prototype handset.

As for the specs, we can now confirm that the P5 will feature a 2.6-inch display, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 5-megapixel camera, a-GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a 960mAH battery and comes pre-installed with Google Maps as well as a newer UIQ version.

Keep reading to check out a few more images below…

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We first laid our eyes on the F400 back at MWC this year amidst the F490 and Soul. Now, this music-oriented phone is all set to invade France later this month.

The Samsung F400 has all the makings of a good music phone including a very significant inclusion, a 3.5mm headphone jack. All the major manufacturers tend to ignore this vital feature on their “musicphones,” although there are a few exceptions. Along with the jack, the phone appears packed pretty good for the music lovers with Bang & Olufsen amplifier technology and DNSe 2.0 to enhance listening experience, which should be good either on a pair of headphones or its dual speakers. 

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Just surfaced is what appears to be a live image of the upcoming Palm Treo 800w, which is nice because up to now we have had plenty of blurry and junky images of the Palm’s new Treo. Of course this image, while nice and clear is simply of the prototype and not an official model to be released, it still has the generic “carrier” name instead of an actual carrier.

What we have seen is that the Treo 800w will be CDMA and have a microUSB plug. The previous rumors also placed the handset with a 320 x 320 touchscreen, having EVDO Rev.0 support, Wi-Fi and is going to be running Windows Mobile 6.1. The rumored release date is currently looking at July 22, of course that is still subject to delay.

Via [Phone Mag]

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has sealed separate agreements with Verizon and AT&T for a combined contract price of $970.5 million.

Under the Department’s agreement with Verizon, Internet protocol (IP), security services and emergency communications services will be provided by Verizon to the Department of Homeland Security. This would greatly help the Department’s response time in a disaster situation. The deal would enable Verizon to assist the 22 agencies of the Department to combine their IP network.

This deal would add up to the previously won 10-year, $20 billion contract won by Verizon which would provide a full range of telecommunications and related network services to the whole organization of the U.S. government.

Meanwhile, the deal with AT&T calls for the company serving as the secondary network service provider in the Eastern and Western region of the U.S. Their deal will cost the Department of Homeland Security around $292 million.

Read [Reuters]

AT&T is currently working on a plan that will make their 3G wireless customers very happy. The recent announcement was a little but of a teaser, but one that should be worth the wait, as they are promising increased speed on their 3G network, offering up to 20Mbps by 2009.

Assuming the goal comes to light, this would mean the speeds would be about five times faster than what users are experiencing today. The plan would involve AT&T making the move to HSPA release 7 and according to statements from AT&T mobility chief Ralph de la Vega, this would require little hardware modifications and should make a smooth transition. Here’s hoping it all works out as planned, with potential 20Mbps speeds, mobile TV and over-the-air downloads may actually become enjoyable.

Via [Treo Central]

Forget the cash, forget the credit cards, you can even forget the family pictures – mobile phones are now more important to people than their wallets. A recent survey found that more than 38% of workers would choose their mobile phones over other essentials – including their wallets, keys, laptops or digital music players if they had to leave the house for 24 hours and could take only one item.

The survey was sponsored by Nortel Networks Corp, market research firm IDC conducted the survey and found that more than 38% people chose their mobile phones first, while less than 30% picked their wallets as their essential of choice.

Nortel, who is North America’s biggest telephone gear maker was trying to determine how many workers can be defined as “hyperconnected,” or people who use at least seven devices for work and personal access, and at least nine applications like e-mail, chat or social networking sites. The answer was 16%, and that number, at least according to the survey, can be expected to rise up to 40% in the next five years.

Read [Reuters]

LG Korea has officially announced the LG KF600 aka “Bikini” phone with touchscreen features. This new phone will come in either the HSDPA model (LG-SH640/KH6400) or the Revision A model (LH6400). Now, before we get really excited as to what this new phone has got in its arsenal, you may notice its resemblance to the previously released LG Venus, that’s because this new phone is just an upgraded version.

Basically, the LG KF600 pretty much carries the same features as the Venus. It has the InteractPad which replaces the physical navigation keys with context-specific virtual keys. Plus a 3-megapixel camera with video recording, MP3 player, FM radio and Bluetooth.

Currently there is no information on whether the LG KF600 will be released internationally, and possibly to replace the current LG Venus. The Bikini retails between $478-$574 in the Korean market.

Via [Aving USA]