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As if we have not yet seen enough of all these new touchscreen phones that have been jumping out of the woodwork lately, here comes yet another, featuring the same old touchscreen, and almost the same specifications as well. Although this time, it could have one thing that separates it from the myriad of other touchscreen phones out there - herculean battery life. That’s because this new touchscreen phone falls under the Philips Xenium brand, which, in case you don’t know, has a reputation for churning out gadgets with incredibly long-lasting batteries. And knowing that this same company completed its very own touchscreen phone (Philips Xenium 9@9v) a couple of months back, this new rumor becomes quite believable. But until the day that we see it get official, that’s all that it is: a faceless rumor.

Via [Unwired View]

An honest and innocent letter sent out as an invitation for application developers has turned out to be the main source of our primary info on two possibly upcoming Palm devices - the Palm Zeppelin and the Skywriter. Nothing about the specs, availability, and pricing of these new phones have been made clear so far, other than the fact that Palm is currently looking for software developers for it. The invitation letter was sent to smartphone blog TamsPPC, who later did a rendering of the Skywriter, which they say could be a Palm 500-style device running on Windows Mobile 6.1. It is also suggested that these new phones might be released by Q3 2008. I know it seems pretty far-fetched but go ahead read a copy of the e-mail for yourself.

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While most of Microsoft’s Zune media events have usually been ho-hum press gatherings lately, the most recent one has sparked speculations that Microsoft could be planning to roll out a Zune-Sidekick mobile phone combo soon. This is based on an offhand comment made by Chris Stephenson, General Manager of Marketing for Zune. According to Chris, MS is currently finding ways to integrate and work with the 250-man staff of Danger. Danger, if you recall, is a consumer handset OS maker that Microsoft bought recently. And if Microsoft is working closely with them, it could mean one thing above anything else: that they are trying to add a few handset capabilities to the already multi-connectivity ready Zune. To be sure, we’ll be keeping a watchful eye over this issue, and will be here to update you with the latest news when it hits.

Via [Zune Boards]

We here at Gadgetell are all for smartphones, and new models, especially the ones that “gotz tha skillz” are never unwelcome. Now we’re hearing that a certain SMT 5700, which has been showing up in various AT&T rebate sheets for quite a while now, could be seeing a launch some time in the near future. We didn’t have the chance to cover the SMT 5700 story when its spy shots leaked on the nets over a year ago, but we’re here this time to lay the smack down on the potential final specs of the thing.

A 2-megapixel camera will be built-in, first and foremost for good measure in this multimedia and cameraphone crazed world, and storage is complemented via microSD cards. But keep in mind this will be a business phone, and even though the first leaked manuals listed Windows Mobile 5.0 as its OS under the hood, it’s likely that they’ll upgrade the thing to WinMo 6.0 when it finally comes through. We’re not sure when this’ll be available for its rumored $99 price, but we’ll be here to update you once the details become available.

Via [Boy Genius Report]

LG, like Apple, is slowly taking its time in delivering the second iteration of their super-duper touchscreen phone, the LG Prada. Yes, you read that right, there will be a follow-up to the original “iPhone killer,” and I’m sure you will appreciate some of its newfound features. It retains the original soap bar form factor, of course, although this time it’s touted to possess a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Other goodies include a 3-inch touchscreen, HSDPA network support, Wi-Fi, dual cameras (with the main one being 5-megapixel strong), FM radio and support for up to 8GB of expandable memory. Full HTML browsing is provided by an unspecified browser, and you can let it talk to your computer via Bluetooth or USB 2.0. Is LG going to release it this year? The short answer: yes. The long answer: yes, by the last quarter of 2008. Which by then we would have all probably become zombies under the command of Steve Jobs and his unstoppable 3G iPhone minions.

Read [ePrice]

The mother of all 3G iPhone rumors has been smashed, ladies and gentlemen, by none other than an Apple fanboy who happened to pass by a mobile phone accessories store in Hong Kong.

While the rest of us here have been speculating (some even giggling) about the possibilities of a glossy black 3G iPhone coming in June, those in Hong Kong may already be aware that the photo of the alleged 3G iPhone on the Internet right now is absolutely and positively not a photo of the real thing. Because what the thing in the photo really was, according to the source of the image above, is none other than a glossy black custom iPhone back case, which you can purchase for yourself right now if you were in Hong Kong.

Oh well, the rumors were fun while it lasted. This means that an image of the 3G iPhone has not been leaked after all, although nothing would stop Apple from churning out something that closely resembles this thing anyway. I say good job to the makers of this plastic case, though.

Read [Winandmac] Via [Gizmodo]

Add this one to the rumor mill: T-Mobile will be getting its first 3G networks up and running by May, and will roll out UMTS network support for other markets shortly thereafter. On top of the list of markets that will be getting 3G network support is New York, while Phoenix barely makes it at 27th. But this is not about the numbers. If this rumor holds true, then a lot of people would be happy - T-Mobile might be able to sell more handsets because it can now offer those that have 3G network support. And customers will have more choices now; if they can afford to upgrade to 3G then why not? You think this has anything to do with the other rumors concerning a June release of a 3G capable internet device, though? It could be.

All in all, we can expect to see T-Mobile’s 3G network to roll out in 27 markets. The list:

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You may have heard that Motorola is quietly readying a few new handsets for a comeback in the mobile handset making game, like the 5-megapixel packing Motorola ZN5 Zine and the Motoming A1600 smartphone. While both of these handsets aren’t exactly packing high-end tech behind their casings, we were still hoping that Motorola would roll out a few more handsets including one that would be worthy of being called its flagship. Well, our wait ends today as detailed specs and information are revealed about Moto’s upcoming phones for 2008. And they’re not all bad, but considering the things that other handset makers have been releasing quite recently, it seems that Moto is really lagging behind the rest of the group, only readying a few, so-so mobile handsets and their flagship model has turned out to be that 5-MP Linux-based smartphone after all. Something that Nokia, SE, Samsung, and even Apple have been able to equal and even surpass in terms of functionality last year, if not a couple of years ago.

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I knew it! I knew it was too good to be true! Plus, the presence of that little dual-LED flash alongside the rumored Xenon flash should’ve been my biggest clue. But it is only now that I realize that I’ve actually been staring at the photo of a… fake. This is not a ”leaked photo of the Nokia N96 with Xenon flash.” Indeed, it’s just a regular modified photo.

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The Nokia N96 seems to be the epitome of an all-in-one. It has a nice, large 2.8-inch QVGA screen that displays up to 16.7 million colors. Stereo speakers are built-in for audiophiles, as well as a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack. It will let you connect to all the right places using a Mini-USB port, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, WiFi, HSDPA, and DVB-H TV Tuner. It’s got a whopping 16GB of internal memory and that can be supplemented with up to 16GB MicroSD cards via the previously mentioned Mini-USB port. And it’s got a 5-megapixel camera like most other top-notch camera phones currently available. Now although these are all a bunch of really great features, I have to say something’s missing. And that, my digital camera loving friends, is the Xenon flash. Don’t you agree?

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