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Alltel has joined the ranks of Sprint and AT&T and have added the HTC Touch Pro to its smartphone lineup.  The Touch Pro will set you back $379.99, however there is a $100 mail-in-rebate available, which assuming you get that back, will bring your final cost down to $279.99.  In addition, in order to get that pricing you will also need to sign a 2-year agreement.

As for the specs, the Touch Pro is running Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional with a customized version of the TouchFLO 3D user interface.  Otherwise, the handset has a 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen display, GPS, Wi-Fi, a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, stereo Bluetooth and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

The HTC Touch Pro can be purchased directly from the Alltel website, as well as in-store.

Product [Alltel]

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It looks like AT&T will soon be getting the S60-powered Nokia E71, of course there will be a slight re-branding—it has been dubbed the Nokia E71x.  Based on the decent reputation that the E71 already has, we can only hope that any changes, and AT&T bloatware will be kept to a minimum.  Currently, as an official announcement has not yet been made, this is still in the rumor stage. That said, these images (above and below) appear to be pretty accurate.  So far the release date is still unknown.  As for the pricing, rumor has it that the E71x will be priced around $150 on a 2-year agreement.

Keep reading to check out another shot of the AT&T branded Nokia E71x…

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Being a CEO of a major brand on the net isn’t easy.  Getting the job is even harder, that is where Gadgetell comes in.  By entering our contest, you’ll earn our public recommendation to Yahoo!‘s board for the open CEO position.  Warm up those golf clubs, here is what we think Yahoo! needs:

To be the next CEO at Yahoo!, we believe the company needs a big personality.  Google has the rollerblading wonder twins, MS now has almost larger-than-life Ballmer and Apple’s got a guy with a closet full of black mock turtlenecks.  While we don’t believe having rollerblades, being nutty or sticking to one outfit is a prerequisite, here is what we do think is. . .

Follow to find out more and to apply to Gadgetell’s Be the next Jerry Yang contest.

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Check out this one: LG’s Incite.  The 3G world phone has some impressive features as well as an interesting price tag: $199.  The lineup of $199 touchscreen phones in the AT&T stable is getting crowded.  So how is this one different?

The Incite features Windows Mobile 6.1, so it plays well with the MS Office docs, Outlook and the like.  It’s camera is a 3mp jobber and the 3” display has 240x480 QVGA going for it.  A bonus stylus tells you fingers may or may not be the best input device.  As a note, the Samsung Epix also offered a stylus and I found most tasks (save for clicking the close box in the upper left) were easily done with fat fingers.

Interestingly the screen is haptic (a buzzing is made so you can feel when pressing keys) and the onscreen keyboard comes in two varieties: a basic QWERTY keyboard in landscape or a 20 key keyboard in portait.  The switching between the two is automatic based on the devices orientation.

Other bonus features include aGPS, WiFi and Bluetooth; staples for any business user.  Also in there is AT&T’s video share, “the first-ever service in the U.S. that allows users to share live video over wireless devices while participating in a voice call.“  The unit has an SD memory slot that is 16GB card compatible according to the press release but the AT&T site disagrees, saying it can handle 32GB. 

Product page [AT&T]

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While it may not be as fun as getting your hands on the real thing, if anyone was itching to give the new BlackBerry Curve 8900 a test run, I have just found a nice simulator that will allow you to do just that.  The simulator may just end up being a little more of a tease, but at least you will get to check out the latest 4.6.1 software.  Of course, these online simulators usually just leave me wanting to make a purchase, but maybe that is the point.  You can begin playing by clicking the “Read” link below and then selecting “BlackBerry Device Simulators v4.6.1′ for the 8900.“

Read [BlackBerry Simulator]  Via [BlackBerryNews]

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Yesterday, we learned that T-Mobile Germany customers would soon be getting the BlackBerry Curve 8900 for that nice low price of just 4.95 euros.  Now in some good news for those based here in the US, that same Curve 8900 has just made its FCC appearance.  While I would not expect such low pricing here, we can still hold out some hope.

As of now, this is nothing more than an FCC listing, which means RIM is simply playing the approval game.  We are still awaiting information regarding a release date as well as carrier information.  Although it is not expected to make a debut until sometime in Q1 of 2009, we have heard a rumor that it could be available with T-Mobile as early as Black Friday.  Of course, that is not to leave those with AT&T handing, because it is expected to be available there as well.  The Blackberry 8900 Curve will feature quad-band GSM/EDGE, a 3.2-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g , Bluetooth and GPS.

While initially I am a little disappointed by the lack of 3G support, perhaps it is important to point out that 3G may not be as necessary for everyone.  I have plenty of friends that are using a non-3G BlackBerry and are very happy with the speed, mainly because they use it for calendar and email and rarely go online.  Of course, I suppose if you are looking for that extra surfing speed, then the Bold would be the way to go, either way it looks like the Curve 8900 is going to make a welcomed addition.

Read [FCC]  Via [cellphonesignal]

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RIM, along with T-Mobile Germany have just announced the availability of the BlackBerry Curve 8900.  The new Curve 8900 features a 480 x 360 resolution display, a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus, Wi-Fi, integrated GPS and a microSD card slot with support up to 16GB.

As for pricing, this is where the news becomes even better, the 8900 can be purchased for just EUR 4.95 (around $6.30 US) with a two-year agreement and EUR 359.90 (around $459 US) contract free.  As for a release, it is expected to begin shipping in mid-November.

The Curve 8900 offers a similar look as the BlackBerry Bold, but unlike the Bold it does not have any 3G support.  As of now, nothing has been stated as to when or if the Curve 8900 will be heading to the US market.  Of course, if it does get announced, the question becomes whether it will be available with T-Mobile or AT&T.  Personally I am hoping for AT&T, but either way it should make a welcomed addition, of course I am not sure we will see that low pricing from either carrier here in the US.

Read [MarketWire]

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Most will agree that choosing to use someone as hard to understand as Ozzy Osbourne to promote a cell phone may not be the best idea.  When promoting a messaging-friendly handset it suddenly seems to make quite a bit more sense. 

Enter the latest promotional campaign for the messaging-friendly Samsung Propel.  A newly released and yet simple commercial showing off Ozzy trying to get around and not being understood, but thanks to his Propel he is able to send nice (and surprisingly fast) text messages to get his message across. 

More, including video of the commercial, after the break.

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AT&T has added another of its “quick messaging phone” with the Quickfire.  This phone’s got 3G, a QWERTY keyboard, touch screen, and a 1.3 megapixel camera in a slider form factor. 

This new phone comes in colors: silver, lime, and orange.  With these kind of colors, AT&T doesn’t look like it’s aiming for business people.  The Quickfire is just a hair under $100 ($99.99).  Of course, that price requires a two-year agreement and actually sending in a mail-in rebate. 

The AT&T site has the Quickfire as “coming soon” and the actual product page is not filled out as of right now, but you can order one today on the AT&T site.

Read: [AT&T Press Release]
Product Page: [A&T Quickfire]

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Gizmodo has Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer yelling “6.5!  6.5!.“  We had Moto’s chief spill the beans not too long ago.  And here I am talking about it again.  What could a “point” upgrade be worth?  Certainly not all this, right?

Well, my time with the Samsung Epix on AT&T service has gone pretty well and I’ve hopes 6.5 will bring WinMo out of the dark ages.  While the OS has nowhere near the spit shine Apple products do, tons more usability was baked into this release.  Things like threading text messages, one touch for speaker phone, using the touchscreen for simple things like unlocking the phone.  Now, I am not saying all these things are comperable to other phones, merely just it is possible.  All of it was extremely welcome on phones that us corporate drones must use.

Ballmer confirmed a 2009 delivery time for Windows Mobile 6.5 saying, “With releases we’ll make this year - releases we’ll make with 6.5 next year, Windows Mobile 7, I think we have a pretty interesting roadmap.“  Sure you do, Steve, sure you do.

Yes, Windows Mobile is still ugly, is just as slow and falls down a lot; just like Bigfoot (but maybe I don’t understand him the way you do).  I look to 6.5 to begin the beautification process.  Surely Redmond can take a page from HTC right?

Read [pocketnow]

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