It has been a long time since HP released an interesting iPAQ device.  Now, with the release of Windows Mobile 6.5, it looks like the iPAQ is back once again with the Glisten.  The HP iPAQ Glisten is a smartphone heading to AT&T targeted at business users over everyone else.

The iPAQ Glisten looks to be a good alternative to those who like the BlackBerry-esque form factor, but either require or prefer Windows Mobile 6.5.  It has a 2.5” AMOLED touchscreen, along with a QWERTY keyboard and five-way directional pad.  In terms of specs it holds 256 SDRAM/512 MB Flash memory, GPS, 3.1 MP camera, 3G and Wi-Fi (complete with a dedicated on/off switch, which could prove very handy).  It runs stock Windows Mobile 6.5, along with Flash support in the browser, and built in apps for Facebook and HP’s Snapfish.

The iPAQ Glisten may not be the most exciting Windows Mobile 6.5 phone compared to others recent releases, but it does seem like a decent choice.  The combination of a candybar smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard, and a touchscreen makes it fairly interesting, and could put it above popular BlackBerries.  There is also a great brand in iPAQ, with it being one of the better PDAs back when those were still around.  The only thing holding it back is the $180 price tag after the $50 mail-in rebate.  Unless users really need Windows Mobile or a physical keyboard, there’s no reason to pick this up over the 16GB iPhone 3GS.  Unless, of course, you hate Apple’s policies for the iPhone and can’t switch the Verizon for a Droid.

Read [AT&T] Read [HP]

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Plenty of people nowadays are looking to an iPhone, BlackBerry or something sporting Android for their smartphone needs, but that should not rule Windows Mobile based handsets out.

That said, Verizon Wireless and Samsung have recently announced the upcoming availability of the Omnia II. And in a nice twist on numbers, the Omnia II will be available as of December 2 for $200. Well, more specifically it will set you back $199.99, but that price does come AFTER a $100 mail-in-rebate and along with a two-year commitment.

Feature wise, the Samsung Omnia II is running Windows Mobile 6.5 with Opera 9.5 for browsing and has a 3.7-inch “ultra-briliant” touchscreen display, a virtual QWERTY keyboard and a 5.0-megapixel camera with flash, auto-focus and video recording. Additionally, the Omnia II also offers Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, EV-DO Rev. A, Bluetooth, 8GB of internal storage and has a microSD card slot for additional storage.

Read [Verizon Wireless]

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In an early Thanksgiving present, Google has rolled out Google Navigation to Android 1.6 users.  Phones such as the T-Mobile G1 and myTouch can all access the free turn-by-turn navigation Google announced with the Motorola Droid.  Be jealous no more, or at least, less jealous.

Also included in the release is layers for these phones.  Now, users can overlay their maps with transit maps (oh so handy!) as well as info from my maps, Wikipedia and more.  Sales of phones still running Android 1.6, like the HTC phones with the Sense UI, will be helped by this addition.  Nice move Google.

Users can download the latest version of Google Maps from the Android Market and begin navigating all over the US (the only place it will work) today.  The service is in beta and is free.

Note: some Android 2.0 functions will not work on Android 1.6.  For example, the “navigate to” voice command will not work on the older Android release.

Read: [Official Google Mobile Blog]

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It’s a bold move on the 23rd of the month to say we are shipping soon, by the end of the month as it doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room.  The Dell Mini 3i must be locked and loaded, ready to explode onto the scene in China where the phone will debut.  China Mobile let loose some interesting specs about the phone.

The Dell Mini 3i runs China Mobile’s OPhone open source OS and comes loaded with localized 139Mail e-mail, Fetion chat and digital maps.  The phone does not feature a 3G radio.  The Mini 3i will come in fashionable Passion Red or Oiled Bronze, hot right?

Specs (from the press release):

Dell Mini 3i OPhone Specifications:   * Form Factor: Tablet/PDA   * Dimensions: 58.35 x 122 x 11.7   * Display: 3.5” nHD, 640x360   * Bands/Modes: Quadband GSM/EDGE   * Weight: <105g (grams) * Bluetooth * GPS * Micro SD (up to 32GB) * Connector: Mini USB

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Yet another BlackBerry is now available with AT&T, this time its the BlackBerry Bold 9700 and it is carrying a $199.99 price tag. Unfortunately that price does come after a $100 mail-in-rebate, which means those interested in the Bold 9700 will need to shell out $299.99. That and, as standard practice you will also need to sign a two-year commitment.

Feature wise, the Bold 9700 offers a 2.44-inch display (480 x 360), 3.2-megapixel camera, 3G, Bluetooth, 256MB of internal storage and a microSD card slot for additional storage.

Additionally the 9700 is sporting the new optical trackpad as opposed to the trackball that many have become familiar with.

Product [AT&T] Via [Engadget]

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Sprint has announced it will kick off the holiday shopping season with the launch of the Sanyo Incognito. The latest offering from Kyocera is a sleek messaging phone with a full QWERTY keyboard. Its selling point however is the glossy Titanium Black mirrored external surface that boasts a glow through keypad and OLED display. The glow through keypad is further set apart by the vibrating feedback it gives as each button is pressed. Inside, along with the full keyboard is a 2.6’ QVGA display. 

The handset is designed for Sprint’s EVDO network and also offers video and music players, a 2.0 MP camera, a MicroSD slot, and provides easy access to Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, GPS Navigation, email, and other popular apps.

“I’m sure Incognito will be topping many holiday gift lists this season,” said Atsushi (Andy) Kodera, vice president and deputy general manager at Kyocera Communications Inc. “It’s such a clean, sophisticated looking phone but there are so many features at your fingertips when you turn on the glow-through display and open the QWERTY flip. With its amazing combination of style and functionality for less than $50, it’s about as foolproof a gift idea as you’ll see this year.”

The Incognito will be on sale starting Cyber Monday (11/30) and will sell for $49.99 after a $50 MIR and with a 2 year contract. There’s no word yet if Sprint will require one of their Simply Everything plans as well.

Read [BusinessWire]

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Can any phone hold onto its price longer than one month?  We’ve seen several phones as of late launch at one price only to be blown out of the water by another retailer just weeks or even days.  The price chopper strikes again, this time with the Motorola Droid which is now $119, down from $199.

The Motorola Droid is Verizon’s hottest smartphone of the moment.  Running Google Android 2.0, the phone features several new features not the least of which is Google Navigation providing turn by turn directions for free.  The phone’s slide out keyboard and extreme customization are among its chief stand-out features.

Dell offers the Droid through Simplexity, an authorized reseller and carriers the same restrictions to new customer and 2-year contract.  The price includes the device as well as FedEx shipping.

Interested?  Just drop the Android in the Dell shopping cart, enter in your zip code and the price is shown at $119.  Sweet.

Product page: [Dell] via [IntoMobile]

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Just recently a nice collection of images along with a hands on video of the upcoming BlackBerry Pearl 9100 were made available online. The Pearl 9100 is the successor to the current Pearl 8100, but more importantly it is the first in the Pearl lineup to have 3G support.

Also, in addition to the 3G, the 9100 is also sporting the optical trackpad that we saw on the Curve 8530. Unfortunately we do not yet have a full set of specs to give out, but given the images and video are online I am sure those will not be that far away.

In the meantime check out the video below and then hit the read links below for some more images.

Via [CrackBerry] and [CrackBerry]

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As we expected, and right on schedule, the BlackBerry Curve 8530 is now available with Verizon Wireless. Those interested will can expect to pay $99.99, but that price does come with a two-year agreement and after a $100 online discount. That said, we do have to compliment Verizon for making that 100 bucks as an instant discount as opposed to by mail.

And for those that make the purchase, you will receive a 2.5-inch display, Wi-Fi, GPS, 2-megapixel camera, optical trackpad, Stereo Bluetooth and a 3.5mm headphone jack all in a package that is running OS 5.0 and sporting 256MB of internal flash memory. Additionally, the Curve 8530 also has a microSD card slot for additional storage.

Product [Verizon Wireless]

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If you are like me, you can’t remember what wines you love and what you just end up pouring down the sink.  94 Wines looks to solve that problem by offering 94 different, purportedly high quality wines and an ultra-geeky way to find out which you might like.

94 Wines uses a quick 6-question survey that pits flavors and textures against one another.  Questions like sorbet or ice cream? Tapas or full meal?  Butter or olive oil?  The questions end result is three wines that would suit your tastes.  But the fun doesn’t end there.

A QR code (fancy bar code) is on each bottle.  With their mobile phones, users can snap an image of the code with their phone and decode it with available apps, even for the iPhone.  Each bottle can be labeled with a custom QR code for your order.  Users can leave messages for one another, private messages sent to your user profile, images, you name it.  Making wine more social is the name of the game.

The bottles are simple, attractive and if there is good wine in them, the more the better.  Each bottle costs about $12 which certainly isn’t expensive.

The concept is great.  Unfortunately, 94 wines is currently only available in the Netherlands.  You’ve been thinking about moving anyway right?

Company site: [94Wines]

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This has got to stop. Holidays have got to stop creeping further and further toward summer.  The nutjobs that scheme, “well, if we get our sale out first we’ll be the richest in the tri-state area” are morons.  Seriously, the ABC Family channel is doing a countdown to the 25 days of Christmas.  A frickin’ countdown to a countdown?  Could it get more ridiculous?  Here are 4 entries that attempt it:

Ah crap, the rumors been delayed.
Prepare for Black Friday
FLO TV for straight to TV movies and straight to sale bin hardware
Palm eats its young

An unannounced product gets an set back from an unannounced launch window.

This is just getting crazy.  I blame everyone in media for this: from the big hitters like CNN Money to countless magazines who are reporting on Apple’s coming tablet.  Apple hasn’t announced anything yet we are chomping at the bit to talk about.  Even if launched yesterday, there is no way this tablet could ever live up to the hype.  Not that we as consumer are even sure we want such a thing.  I propose a month moratorium on not mentioning Apple’s iTablet.  Who is with me? 

Yeah, I didn’t think it would work.

Black Friday sales in the toilet

Anyone want to bet on something with me?  The economic data that will come from Black Friday will be dark and gloomy.  They’ll report consumer spending will skip this Christmas much like Kris Kringle wanted to do in the old TV movie.  It is an all but sure bet.  Why?

The monkeys are messing with the date.  These Pre-Black Friday sales are very tempting and are going to lower how much we spend on that one day we use as an indicator.  By stretching the buying season out, we’ll be so frickin fed up with the holidays we’ll throw in the towel before the season even starts.  My inbox won’t stop the deluge of sale announcements, each one, killing a little bit of Santa.

FLO TV for the masses

Qualcomm’s little TV player sure is cute.  The device plays TV, costs $250 and has a $9 monthly fee with 3-year commitment. That’s a total cost of $574 to watch, you know, free TV.  The device is roughly the size of a cell phone, a cell phone that you can probably play some TV on for a fee.  The cell phone in your pocket is free (at this point) and you know, in your pocket.  So watch TV on that.

Even our ever positive editor, Robert Nelson can’t hold back, ” but thinking positive, 9 bucks a month could be worth it for the simple reason that this little device could serve as a nice entertainment device for the child in your back seat. As long as you do not mind handing them a $250 gadget to play with.”  Nice try Robert.

This brings me right back the awesome gadget that just delivers RSS feeds.  I love gadgets as much as the next idiot but come on, quit repeating stuff that is already out there in a better form factor.  Now get to work on flying cars.

Palm eats its young

How are customers supposed to respect a phone that tumbles in price more than $70 its first 5 days on the market???  The 2nd entry in the webOS world from Palm, the Pixi, is so cute and cuddly, we thought it a smash at $79.  But then anarchy reigned and Wal-Mart upset the apple cart at $29.99, then Amazon one-upped even Wal-Mart with $24.99. 

Why devalue the phone so quickly?  Too much Pre inventory seems to be the root cause. The Pre’s price has fallen down like a drunk senior citizen in the early morning.  The Pre began at a reasonable $149 but now lives at the $79 price on Amazon.  The welcome the sibling Pixi got is move over in the sale bin.  Odd reception, even for a sibling.

At the very least, Palm commercials for the Pixi didn’t give anyone the willies as did the Pre versions.  Bonus points to Palm.

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That $24.95 Palm Pixi suddenly does not seem like such a great offer now that we learn Amazon has temporarily lowered the pricing for the Palm Pre.

The new price for the Pre is now $79.99, which just to begin with is much nicer than $149.99 (after a $100 mail-in-rebate) that Sprint currently has it priced at.

But additionally, by purchasing your Palm Pre by way of Amazon you will also get free activation (a $36 saving) and not have to deal with any mail-in-rebates. Its just a flat $79.99. Of course, you do still need to sign a two-year commitment with Sprint.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that this offer is only valid until November 23.

Product [Amazon] Via [9to5Mac]

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Sony Ericsson announced their first Google Android based phone yesterday, the XPERIA X10.  The phone sticks with the Xperia slide out qwerty form factor but offers up a new user experience laid on top of Android.  Sony Ericsson showed off a non-retail prototype with an expected release date in Q1 of 2010.

Sony Ericsson needs a hit.  They’ve only two supporting carriers in the US, AT&T and T-Mobile, while they’ve done much better in Europe.  Despite a strong following there, Sony Ericsson continues to lose market share.  Sales were off by 45 percent at the last quarter check-in, year-over-year.  Is this new phone just what the doctor ordered?

Maybe.  The prototypes were running Android 1.6, the penultimate version of Android.  It lacks all the flash and excitement around the newly launched 2.0, but perhaps an update is coming.  The new UI or UX as Sony Ericsson likes to refer to as users experience looks impressive.  Dubbed Nexus, the UI does what all new UIs are attempting to do today: combine social integration into everyday simplicity.  Contacts from Facebook, Twitter, email, and other social interactions are combined and presented in unobtrusive ways to keep you connected to people that matter most.  That is the idea, anyhow.

The phone features Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon processor and should scream, yet there seemed to be some lag in the prototypes.  Many press and analysts found the UI to be impressive, but less so than competing Android overlays from companies such as HTC (Sense UI) and Motorola (Blur).  The phone didn’t scream unique.  While way too early to judge, using the press and analysts at their announcement yesterday as a sounding board may not have been the best route.  We’ll reserve judgment until we see the full retail product.

At the moment, we’ve no launch date or carrier information to speak of.  The off-contract price is expected to be astronomical, $879, according to the Wall Street Journal, a subsidized price from a carrier should be much less.

Read: [BoyGeniusReports] and [ title="AndroidandMe">AndroidandMe]

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So much for having to head in to Walmart to score a low priced Palm Pixi because Amazon now has an offer of their own. For a limited time, well actually until November 23 customers can get a Palm Pixi for just $24.99. Which means you can save yourself five bucks, but better still, you can do so from the comfort of your own home.

Of course, there are a few catches with that price, but honestly would you expect otherwise. First, like I mentioned that offer is for a limited time only. But more importantly, you will have to agree to and sign a two year commitment with Sprint.

With price drops like this, it seems like it is just a matter of time before the Pixi becomes free on contract. Still $24.99 is not all that bad.

Product [Amazon]

Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

TechCrunch is stacking up a bunch of rumors and is purporting that Google really does have a phone of its own brewing that they will bring to market on their own.  This pinnacle of Android phone will be all Google power, optimized for every Google service (surely including Google Voice, now with VOIP???) and will be a thing of beauty and amazement for all to drool over.  Forgive my sarcasm and hesitation on this one, I’ve been down this road before.

Way back, in 2007, Google said cell phone should be free, supported by advertising.  That got me to thinking, they could actually pull that off.  After all, Google is an advertising company.  Could they finally be prepping a way to make that happen?

Free phones is nothing new but free service, well that would get some attention.  After all, those of us with smartphones know the high price we pay to walk around with the internet in our pockets.  Could Google be moving to provide free service in exchange for access to our eyeballs?

How could they monetize it?  Ads tacked onto emails sent from the phone, ala hotmail?  Ads texted to you periodically?  I’d put up with that to save the $70+ I spend monthly for service.  With pre-screening surveys, Google could make it extremely targeted and a high value ad buy and we’d all agree to it.  OK, not all.

Telecoms would have to push the privacy issue to compete.  They’d need to raise the fear in handing over all your data and preferences to Google.  Their bread and butter are service charges.  Google would provide a major disruption here.

What do you think?  Is the Google Phone real this time?

Read: [TechCrunch]

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While phone freaks are all up in arms about Dell’s decision to launch the Mini 3 touchscreen smartphone in China and Brazil before even mentioning when it will come home to the US, an Android-powered tablet, called Streak, looks to be headed to AT&T next year according to the Commercial Times.

Geek.com says not only will one tablet hit the US carrier next year but the company is hard at work on multiple screen sizes as well.  This news comes on the back of CNN Money discussing the rumored Apple tablet as if it were coming and we should hold back some cash for when it does come.

Unfortunately, Commercial Times doesn’t hold a good track record.  Earlier this year, the paper predicted an Apple tablet would be shown off in Q3.  That, of course, didn’t happen.

The Dell shown here raises some big questions.  Would an internet tablet of similar size to the iPod touch sell with an always-on connection?  If so, wouldn’t AT&T tap Apple to get the iPod on the network?  A knee-jerk response would say no, AT&T doesn’t want to detract from iPhone sales, right?  Well, if that is case, going with #2 Android tablet would circumvent cannibalized iPhone sales but then they are stuck pedaling products the compete with the market leader.

$30 a month for data sounds like a lot for the iPod touch crowd.  Especially if they are already paying for a cell phone and broadband at home.  What do you think?  Let us know in the comments.

Read:[Geek.com] and [DigiTimes]

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It looks like the price of the Palm Pre has just been lowered for those north of the border in Canada. Wireless reseller WirelessWave has recently lowered the Pre to just $49.95. Of course, that does come with the standard three-year commitment with Bell. But it is hard to argue with a $50 Pre, not to mention that price almost makes that $30 Walmart Pixi seem like a rip-off. Anyway, for those in Canada willing to sign a three-year commitment with Bell—head on over to WirelessWave and pick up your nicely priced Pre.

[via mobilesyrup]

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For those of us who are not following the Sidekick as intently anymore, the fact that they have been unavailable may not have been anything to even think twice about. But that said, there are some pretty loyal Sidekick users and this news should be welcomed news for them—T-Mobile has resumed sales of the Sidekick. And to put a little icing on that cake, the return has also come with lower prices.

Effective immediately, those willing to take the plunge with the Sidekick can pick up the Sidekick or the Sidekick LX for $49.99 or $149.99 respectively.

All things considered though, I would imaging that the data is pretty safe at this point. But the data and that past issue aside, there are so many other great options now available for $149.99 and under that almost make the Sidekick seem a poor choice. But hey, like I already mentioned, Sidekick users are a loyal bunch.

Read [T-Mobile] and [T-Mobile]

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As of this morning, the BlackBerry Bold 9700 is now available with T-Mobile. Price wise, the Bold 9700 will set you back $199.99 on a two-year agreement. Of course, T-Mobile also has the new Even More Plus plans which let you go contract free, but that means you will be paying retail for the handset, which in this case means $449.99.

For the price, you will get the first 3G-capable BlackBerry on the T-Mobile network. But you will also have a device that offers Wi-Fi connectivity, GPS, a 3.2-megapixel camera and an optical trackpad.

Interestingly enough, this release has come in ahead of the AT&T release.

Read [T-Mobile]

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Palm let loose their latest release of webOS, their mobile phone operating system.  The release improves a series of features but seems to have left iTunes syncing and an expected speed boost behind.  The Pixi, Palm’s webOS replacement, goes on sale tomorrow.

This update will be performed OTA or over the air by either Pre phones today and Pixi phones tomorrow.  According to Palm’s website:

With this update, your Yahoo! information (such as contacts and calendar events, and messaging) is now integrated with Palm Synergy, along with info from your Outlook EAS, Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn accounts. If you use Yahoo! to manage your contacts and calendar events, it will be integrated into your Contacts and Calendar applications on your Palm Pre. On Sprint, you can also now use Yahoo! IM in the webOS Messaging app.

According to the Palm website for Sprint users, will see other small upgrades here are the highlights:
back up will now save cookies, so passwords and user names on websites now get saved.
correct Google calendar sync
Better formatting in email
forwarding MMS messages
Unique ringtones for message alerts

All in all a good update but seems much more like bug fixing than ground breaking as many owners were hoping for.  That speed boost continues to be out there.  Rats.

Read: [Palm]

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Walmart’s Black Friday deals on BlackBerry smartphones have been leaked.  The big box retailer plans to offer the AT&T Curve 8310 for free and the Bold 9000 for $78.88. Sprint’s Curve 8330 will also be offered for free while T-Mobile’s Curve 8520 and its Pearl 8120 Black Emerald have a price tag of $28.88.

Walmart’s Verizon offerings include the Blackberry Storm for $48.88 and the Blackberry Tour for $148.88.  The latter isn’t much of a savings considering Verizon offers it for $149.99 with a BOGO promo.

While some of these deals offer substantial savings, be sure to read the fine print.  A two year agreement is required on all phones and Walmart may charge an activation fee.  Also be aware that in some cases, if you need repair service you may need to go through Walmart rather than your carrier.

Other retailers like Amazon have already matched some of these deals, but Walmart plans to start offering them beginning next Saturday.

Read [PhonesReview]

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Anyone thinking about picking up the soon-to-be-released Palm Pixi may want to head on over to the land of interesting things people, otherwise know as Walmart. Thanks to a recent addition on the Walmart Wireless website we now know that the Pixi will be just $29.99 for new customers.

And the nice part here is that price comes after a $170 instant discount. In other words, nothing to fill out and nothing to send in and then wait 8-10 weeks to get back.

Of course, that $29.99 price tag does require you to sign up with Sprint, and that means a two year agreement. But hey, its a $30 smartphone, I guess you cannot really complain.

Now I am going to go out on a ledge here, but maybe the Pixi or future similar models will end up being the savior of Palm. Maybe Palm is going to take up the role of the low priced smartphone company. And if that is that case, I guess being available for a bargain price through Walmart makes sense.

Product [Walmart]

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Innovation is not dead as is oft reported in tech.  Fujitsu is working on a this break-apart phone that allows the screen to detach from the base revealing a keyboard and making way for add-ons.  The idea is clever but trouble for those of us with a knack for losing things.

The Fujitsu F-04B is no longer just the prototype that was shown at last years CEATECH.  The device was announced by Fujitsu during a press conference.  Clearly the device is super thin and has a slide down numberpad, but it has more surprises than just that.

The device can be used in conjunction with a projector (6 lumens) to show movies, pictures or games.  Users can create their own impromptu theater or even, as suggested by the site, watch movies on the ceiling in bed.  We presume that is all the rage in Japan right now.

We expect this phone to be one of those interesting phones for Japan only.  Sorry US readers.

Read: [Akihabara] via [Engadget Mobile]

Image credit: Akihabara

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With the release of the Palm Pixi getting closer and closer we are now beginning to see it surface in the real world. Just yesterday the Pixi was spotted in both Walmart as well as a newly released television commercial. Of course, that release day is not until Sunday, which means that despite seeing the handset around it cannot yet be purchased.

As far as Walmart, the Pixi was spotted by one eagle-eyed PreCentral reader who was kind enough to not only snap a picture, but also dig a little deeper—he actually spoke to the employees. Shocking, but that aside, it seems that Walmart is listing the Palm Pixi at $400 but do not fully have it in the system. In other words, despite it being out in the open and looking available, it cannot yet be purchased. But with that your mileage could vary, so hit up your local Walmart if you are in desperate need of being one of the first to purchase and own a Pixi. Just remember sometimes being nice will help when dealing with big-box employees.

In addition to the Walmart sighting, the Pixi also made its commercial debut, which you can check out in YouTube format below. The commercial is interesting to say the least, and on a nice note it is entirely less creepy as compared to the Pre commercials.

Read [PreCentral] and [PreCentral]

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Fed up with trying to convince other manufactures to use their compression software, Saygus went about building their own phone to show it off.  Last night, Saygus opened up on their plans and showed off their VPhone, an Android powered ODI phone that, fingers crossed, will get approved by Verizon soon.

2-way video is the key feature here (though according to Saygus, “the phone does everything better than everything else out there”) and Sayguys says it flies on even lowly Edge network, so 3G shouldn’t be a problem or worry to Verizon.  Popular everywhere else, 2-way video has yet to make a big impression here in the US.  Saygus is out to change that and the Vphone take 24 to 30 FPS.

Working with Verizon, Saygus has put together a hardware project in just six months.  The phone showed off last night was a little bulky but the features were impressive.  All the standard stuff: GPS, touchscreen, Bluetooth, WiFi, 5MP camera, MicroSD slot (to 16GB), and 624MHz processor.  One more stand out feature was the ability to turn the phone into a WiFi hub for up to 8 devices.

Despite lots of phone on the table and a PR team assembled to show us phone, I sensed there was more to the story.  When pressed, a non-subsidized price of $450 was mentioned; should Verizon approve the device, a subsidy will surely bring down the price to a reasonable level.  I asked Saygus if we’d see a VPhone 2 or is the endgame for Verizon to put the software to work on its other phones and the response was Saygus is a software company.

Company site: [Saygus]

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Anyone looking to pick up a BlackBerry in the next week or so may want to listen up for a minute. It seems that Walmart is going to be offering a $100 gift card to anyone who purchases a BlackBerry between November 14 and November 21.

Of course, just like most of the other special offers involving cellphones, this one also requires you to sign a two-year agreement. But at this point that should almost go without saying.

Anyway, other than the agreement, customers will need to purchase either the Curve 8310 or Bold 9000 with AT&T, the Curve 8330 with Sprint, the 8520 or Pearl 8120 with T-Mobile or the Storm or Storm II with Verizon Wireless.

Also, this offer will be available both in store and online, however those who brave the in store purchase will get their $100 gift card on the spot. As opposed to waiting a few weeks by mail.

Via [Gizmodo]

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If you don’t trust Google, you are not alone.  Why else would Samsung develop an open source operating system for mobile phones on their own instead of using the free Android?  Samsung’s new OS dubbed, Bada should be found on its first phone come mid-2010.

Bada, which according to Electronista, means “ocean” in Korean, but is more commonly seen with it’s back end “bing”, in Jersey at least.  The Bada OS is said to be open, so open in fact that developers will have access to core functions to manipulate and create new ways of accessing data and performing operations.  The OS will compete directly with Google’s Android and LiMo.

It is commonly said in the mobile phone industry that consumers don’t care what OS is on their phone, it is all about usability.  Samsung here is looking to insure it’s phones are not party to Google’s mobile advertising schemes in the future.  It is expected that Samsung will maintain it’s own app store as well for third party applications.

Very vague

Another report on the announcement says Samsung is keeping things very vague.  From Electricpig: “Samsung says that whole ‘ocean’ thing “alludes to [its] commitment to a variety of open platforms in the mobile industry.” While it’s keeping everything nicely vague at this early stage, it could mean a new UI which offers Samsung specific apps on top of Android Market, as well as a whole bada OS on other Samsung phones.”

So, Bada could be both a skin on top of Android as we’ve seen from HTC in Sense UI and from Motorola in Blur.  Or it could be it’s own OS on non-Android phones.  It works with everything is a bit confusing.

Bada will be on phones shipped to over 30 countries and include major markets in Europe.  There is no word on if the US will see such phones.  With so many sketchy details, only one thing is certain: you’ll find Bada only on Samsung phones.

Read: [Electronista]

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An interesting new bit of info popped up courtesy of a listing filed by a Senior Compliance Engineer for Palm on the Bluetooth SIG site.  The listing identifies a “Ring-P” device coming this January.  Could this be a new device or a new carrier?

The Pixi is set to launch November 15 at $100, roughly the same price as the Palm Pre at this point, so we can rule out this is for the Pixi.  The Pixi is a smaller, thinner candy-bar styled webOS phone.  The phones matches up to a smarter Centro replacement; the Centro was a hit for Palm (big unit seller). That leaves either a new device or a new carrier.

My money is on new carrier.  January marks the expiration of six months from the date of Pre’s launch on Sprint.  Many of us believe the exclusive agreement with Sprint was 6 months.  Verizon has said time and time again that the Pre will be on it’s network and after the positive attention of the Motorola Droid launching on the Verizon network, this would continue the intro of some decent smartphones.  Finally.

A new device seems a bit wishful to me.  Certainly the Palm team is working on something, but it is a relatively small group and brewing an OS coupled with two phone launches has probably sucked up most available resources at this point.  I just don’t see it.

Read: [PalmwebOS]

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Integrating your phone into your car isn’t clean.  For most of us, power cords, FM transmitters and dashboard holders are all involved to get the job done, only to have to futz with the FM station during lengthy drives.  Thankfully, a new stereo is on the market that is smart enough for us to take notice: the Parrot RKi8400.

This Parrot stereo looks brilliant and a smart match to the iPhone.  Packed with smart features like, upon first-time connection, the stereo copies your contacts to memory allowing users to add a feature that Apple left off the 3G iPhone: voice dialing.  Simply by speaking to the included microphone, users can dial from their iPhone contacts without fumbling.  The unit will store up to 8,000 contacts and pair with up to 10 phones.

Created for specific integration with the iPhone, the stereo displays cover art accessed through the phone for a nice touch.  Controls look to be a simple tuner and one handed operation looks to be a design hallmark.

The Parrot connects to the iPhone’s dock allowing the phone to be charged or the phone can connect via Bluetooth for A2DP streaming.  The faceplate of the stereo removes to reveal a storage spot for your phone or player.  The stereo also accepts SD cards, USB flash drives or other MP3 players.

The unit is available now and sells for $399 on the company’s site.

Product page: [Parrot] via [Slashphone]

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While we here at Gadgetell have been wondering just how well the Palm Pre is actually doing, it seems like we are still getting mixed signals overall. And in this particular case, the mixed signal is actually a price drop. And a price drop that has quickly followed another price drop.

In this case that means that our friends who are north of the border, well those who are either on or willing to switch to Bell will be able to score a Palm Pre for just $99.95 (CAD).

Now normally I would consider a price drop a nice thing, and and just rejoice in the fact that any would be customers can save a little money, but in this instance I am left wondering if the drop has anything to do with poor sales.

You see, I only say that because the Palm Pre was given a $50 price drop back towards the end of last month which brought the price down to $149.99. And now another $50 price drop has brought it down to $99.99.

Either way, good for Bell customers, maybe bad for Palm and Bell. Maybe now we can see a little bit of that lower Pre pricing come down here to the US and Sprint. Of course, with all the recent press Sprint has been getting for their Android offerings lately, a price drop on the Pre may be a helpful thing.

Read [Bell]

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It looks like AT&T users may soon have one more BlackBerry to choose from, that is assuming we can believe the latest rumor. Sadly, though aside from the above image there are little to no details as to when this is expected to be available. Price wise, it would be safe to think that it would drop at the same price as the existing Curve 8900 in black, which is currently $149.99.

That said, I am not sure I really like this model. Which is a change because I am typically a fan of white phones, but this one sort of looks a little toy like. Maybe it is just because of the image.

Of course, a white BlackBerry Curve 8900 would fit the pattern. After all the black Curve 8900 has been out for a little while now, and it has also been reasonable successful.

Via [BGR]

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This latest release by Slacker seems to be following in the path of their recent decision to phase out of the hardware business—the good news is that there is now a Slacker app available in the Android Market.

The Android app, similar to the one for the iPhone and BlackBerry will allow you to enjoy Slacker as well as your customized music experience on the go. I will say that I downloaded, installed and began using the Slacker app yesterday and at least on my HTC Hero, it seems to run much nicer than Pandora. Of course, that was just in my unscientific testing.

Anyway, like I said the app runs well and is very nice. In fact the only drawback that I see is that it does not allow you to cache music for offline use. Which is something that you can do with the BlackBerry app. Possibly that is coming in a future version.

Additionally, Slacker will allow you to listen for free. Of course, there is a paid version available. The free version however is pretty nice, as long as you do not mind the occasional advertisement and being limited to skipping only 6 songs per hour. Those interested will be able to find the Slacker app in the Android Market.

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FCC listings are always a nice way to get an advance look at what we can expect to see product wise, and this latest listing is not any different. The listing is for the Mini 3iX smartphone, which is the upcoming Android based handset from Dell.

Of course, even though these FCC listings tend to give us an advance look, they often do not give us all of the details. And this is certainly a case of that. What we can tell you though is good news and that comes in the form of 3G support on AT&T bands as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

That said, we have already seen this same handset get released in China, and based on those specs it would seem likely that the US version will also have the a 3.5-inch touchscreen display and 3-megapixel camera.

In terms of a release, while nothing has been made official, the Mini 3iX is expected to hit AT&T sometime in early 2010. Which should make it the first Android based handset to become available with AT&T.

Via [Unwired View]

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Perhaps in an effort to not be outdone by Verizon, at least in terms of the BlackBerry, Sprint has also announced the upcoming availability of the Curve 8530. Though the Sprint unveiling was a little light on the details.

Instead of announcing the handset with a release date and price, Sprint choose to simply offer up an “introducing” style page that simply lists the details of the phone and notes it as “coming soon.”

Otherwise, we can tell you that the Sprint branded Curve 8530 will be 3G and Wi-Fi equipped and available in either black or royal purple.

One nice perk about the 8530 is the optical trackpad which comes in lieu of the trackball. Of course, I suppose that would just come down to a matter of personal preference.

Anyway, like I mentioned, nothing in terms of a release date or price. But if Sprint were smart they would release it very close to, if not on November 20 for $99.99, because after seeing the Verizon announcement that is what customers are now going to expect.

Product [Sprint]

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While there are plenty of people that are getting excited about the upcoming handsets becoming available with Verizon Wireless, we now have one more to add to that list—it is the BlackBerry Curve 8530.

Of course, unlike the Motorola Droid and the HTC Droid Eris, the Curve 8530 is not going to be available just yet. Instead interested customers will have to wait until November 20 to satisfy their BlackBerry needs. Once available, the newly announced Curve will be selling for $99.99, which comes after a $100 mail in rebate.

Feature wise, the Curve 8530 will offer users an optical trackpad and the full QWERTY keyboard that BlackBerry users have come to both expect and love. Additionally, the Curve will also offer users 3G support, WiFi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.1, a built-in GPS, a 2-megapixel camera with zoom and video recording and 256MB of internal storage.

And just one last bit, the Curve 8530 will be available in both black or smoky violet.

Read [Verizon Wireless]

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If you are salivating over the thought of getting your hands on a Motorola Droid as soon as humanly possible, check the hours of your local Verizon Wireless Store.  Over two thousand locations are opening their doors as early as 7 or 8 am tomorrow morning in anticipation of Droid’s release.

Not only are stores opening early, but many locations are holding all day long in store Droid events.  During these events, Verizon Wireless employees will be on hand to demonstrate all of the features of the first phone running the Android 2.0 operating system.  The Droid is really the first phone to call out the iPhone and has been running “iDon’t” ads targeted at Apple’s mobile.

Verizon subscribers that enter into a new contract can get the Droid for $199 after the $100 mail in rebate.  You will receive the rebate by mail in the form of a debit card. Current subscribers can speak to a Verizon Wireless rep regarding costs for upgrading their phone.

Site: [Droid]

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The lesser known droid, the HTC Eris, is finally shown in an unboxing event.  This Droid, unlike the Motorola Droid, has not hardware keyboard.  The Eris is a touchscreen beauty running Android 1.6 with Sense UI skin for an HTC feel.

Boy Genius notes that their source says the phone feels lighter and thinner than the HTC Hero.  Another tidbit is this phone supposed is the next best Android phone to date, after the Motorola Droid with 2.0 software.

Our Shawn Ingram had this to say about the Eris:
“The Droid Eris appears to be a repurposed model of the HTC Hero.  It features the same Sense UI as well well as the exact same specs as the Hero.  The only real difference comes in the phone’s body, carrier and price.  While the Hero sells on Sprint for $180 (after rebates), the HTC Droid Eris will be sold by Verizon for $99 after a $100 mail-in rebate.  Given the price point it’s obvious that Verizon views it more as the lesser model to the Motorola Droid.  The phone does have a less powerful processor, a lower resolution screen, no hardware keyboard and runs on Android 1.5 as compared to 2.0 on the Droid so that viewpoint does make sense.”

Read: [Boy Genius Reports]

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Yesterday, two tech greats chimed in on reviews of the Droid.  Both Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal and David Pogue of the New York Times reviewed the phone and both came away with an overall positive overview.  Neither reviewer could stay away from constant iPhone comparisons.

Mossberg’s review

Mossberg reviewed the Droid and only managed to say, “iPhone” nine times.  He thought the phone would be a success on the Verizon network, perfect for loyal Verizon users who lust after a decent smartphone without jumping carriers.  “I regard it as a success overall. It’s the best super-smart phone Verizon offers, the best Motorola (MOT) phone I’ve tested and the best hardware so far to run Android.”

That is not to say Mossberg didn’t find problems, it is no secret Mossberg is a huge iPhone fan.  Things like, “Unfortunately for lovers of physical keyboards, I found the one on the Droid to be pretty awful,” and “Another downside: The Droid’s screen has only three panels for displaying apps, versus 11 on the iPhone, and some large apps, called widgets, hog much of the space on these panels.”

Pogue’s review

Pogue, gets right to the heart of the matter: “So is it true? Is the Droid an iPhone killer?  No, but it’s certainly a killer phone.”  Pogue mentions the iPhone 18 times in his review but is able to sum up the phone’s successes:

Since Verizon seems to want a Droid-iPhone faceoff, here it is: the Droid wins on phone network, customizability, GPS navigation, speaker, physical keyboard, removable battery and openness (free operating system, mostly uncensored app store). The iPhone wins on simplicity, refinement, thinness, design, Web browsing, music/video synching with your computer, accessory ecosystem and quality/quantity of the app store.

Pogue laments not having multitouch when surfing.  He must use that a lot more than I, as double tapping seems to be my predominate way to focus.  Pogue also points out that the Droid won’t work out of the USA, out of CDMA anyway which is a point to consider.  Other phones like the BlackBerry Storm can do both CDMA and GSM networks so it can make the trip, too bad that wasn’t included in the Droid.

Summary

Both writers liked the phone and would recommend it.  The tone of both reviews wasn’t one of giddy excitement as they had when reviewing the iPhone.  Both suggest the iPhone is still the king though the little droid is getting close.

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If there’s one thing we can all agree we hate about cell phone contracts, it would have the be the Early Termination Fee.  The ETF has long been the bane of anyone who cannot stick to a single phone or carrier for any extended period of time.  Up until now they’ve ranged anywhere from about $175 to $200, but for some Verizon Wireless customers that’s about to change.

Starting November 15th, Verizon Wireless will be raising the ETF for devices like smartphones and netbooks to $350.  That number will decrease by $10 for every month or service, so even if you want out of the contract at month 23 you’ll have to pay $120.  The reason for the change makes sense for Verizon, smartphones and netbooks cost much more than feature phones do.  Verizon subsidizes the phones, and makes it’s money back through the monthly payments.  A smartphone that costs the buyer $99, like the BlackBerry Bold or upcoming Droid Eris, is paying much less than what Verizon paid for the phone, so this is really just Verizon trying to make that money back.

No matter how much business sense it makes, the change won’t make consumers any happier.  The ETF is already frustrating enough, and there are those who don’t want to be stuck with the same smartphone on the same network for two years.  Especially not Verizon’s network which until the Droid has had fairly poor choices of smartphones.  Of course there are those who don’t mind having the same phone on the same carrier for two years who won’t be affected.  It’s likely this give customers even more reason to stick with their plans until they run out, or just not use Verizon.

Read [USA Today]

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When the CEO of Packet Focus decided to test the security of the top three smartphones, he was shocked to discover they all failed miserably.  Joshua Perrymon sent a spoofed phishing email made to look like it was a LinkedIn invitation from Bill Gates to users of the iPhone, the BlackBerry and the Palm Pre and found his message got through 100% of the time.  Perrymon says smartphones simply have no protection against phishing attacks.

“What I found on the Palm and BlackBerry is [that there is] no protection to any type of phishing attacks. The Palm runs on Linux, so I SSH’ed into it and looked around. The email client is built in JavaScript and made to download emails from a server - POP, IMAP or Exchange. So if the hosted server doesn’t pick up on the email, then the phone gets the attack delivered.”

Perrymon sent the results of his experiment to RIM, Palm and Apple but none of them responded.  He said he hopes that they will eventually address the issue and hopefully issue a fix of some sort. Just last month RIM fixed a flaw in their browser that would have allowed a hacker to send a malicious link via text message.  The flaw prevented the browser from properly warning the user that the URL and the site certificate didn’t match.  This would have allowed the user to easily fall for a phishing attack.

To help combat this, a company called Deepnet Security has introduced a new app called MobileID that will allow banks, retailers and online service providers to offer authentication protection.  This will insure that customers data is protected and phishing attempts are blocked.  It’s available for Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Symbian and the iPhone.  Norton offers a security suite for smartphones that can also provide protection.  Norton Smartphone Security helps keep your phone free of spam and malware and can protect against phishing attempts by allowing to to block texts from unknown senders. It’s available for $29.99.

Read [SCMagazine]

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