Dell Developing Smartphones

Dell may be about to enter the smartphone market as early as next month, according to the Wall Street Journal. A skunk-works team within Dell has been working on prototypes for over a year. One possible design has a sliding keyboard, while another has a simple slab design. Both Windows Mobile and Android operating systems are being considered. The first device(s) could be announced at next month's MWC trade show, although no final decisions have been made, and the effort could still be abandoned altogether before launch

Nokia Adds Three to Its 'Classic' Series

Today Nokia announced three new phones bearing the "classic" moniker. All three are bar-style phones that run Series 40, have FM radios and are slated for second quarter releases.

6700: This phone has quad-band GSM/EDGE and 900/1900/2100 tri-band HSPA/WCDMA radios, as well as Bluetooth 2.1+EDR. It has a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and video capture. It supports microSD cards up to 8GB, and has an accelerometer for Nokia's tap commands. Its 2.2-inch display has QVGA resolution. It will cost approximately $307.
6303: The 6303 loses 3G capabilities and also dials back to tri-band GSM/EDGE, but has stereo Bluetooth. It has a 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and video capture. It supports microSD cards up to 4GB. Its 2.2-inch display has QVGA resolution. It will cost about $176.
2700: This entry-level handset has quad-band GSM/EDGE radios, a 2 megapixel camera, and supports microSD cards up to 2GB. It will cost about $65.

Days to 1 million: The smartphone wars

In a fit of editorial sobriety, reader Noel just sent us this handy "1 million devices sold" graphic above. The image demonstrates the speed (in terms of days) at which each competing handset achieved the magic milestone. What it leaves out is the footprint at launch which of course, affects the total population able to purchase the device. For example, the iPhone 3G launched in 21 countries simultaneously whereas the G1 launched in the US only. It's also worth noting that the precision reflects that of the announcements made. For example, VZW announced that the Storm hit 1M "through January" which could be interpreted as January 31st or January 27th, the day of the announcement -- and that's just US sales. Still, the table is a valuable tool for the fanboy braggarts and budding marketeers amongst you. Data after the break.

T-Mobile dude promises more "G series" phone this year

In an interview with FierceWireless, T-Mobile USA's senior VP of engineering and operations (and newly-minted chairman of 3G Americas' board) Neville Ray has slipped a couple juicy morsels in the process of talking up his carrier's ongoing 3G rollout. Besides mentioning that T-Mobile wants to double its 3G footprint in 2009, Ray says that "we will be launching more G series phones and other products... in the coming weeks and months." If we had to guess, this probably (hopefully) has something to do with that HTC Sapphire we've seen floating around lately. What's more, you'll see T-Mobile start to ramp up peripheral support this year -- gotta monetize that multi-billion-dollar network somehow -- with a modem launch. All told, these guys still have a long way to catch up in the 3G race with Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint -- but if you want bleeding-edge Android stuff, looks like they'll continue to be your best bet for a while.

Nokia 7510 and HTC Shadow on Sale Today at T-Mobile

Today T-Mobile made the Nokia 7510 and the HTC Shadow available for sale. The 7510 will cost $50 after rebates with new agreement, and the Shadow will cost $150 after rebates with new agreement including a qualifying data plan. Both phones are available at select retail stores as well as through T-Mobile's web site.

Boost Mobile Confirms CDMA Phase Out

With the newly launched unlimited iDEN plans, Boost Mobile aims to push all subscribers to its iDEN network-based services over time. Boost Mobile spokesperson Tatum Hawkins said, "Boost Mobile will still operate, support and service its CDMA-related products, but it will no longer promote them." If customers wish to sign up for CDMA-based services, they may still do so. However, Boost will no longer create new CDMA products and/or services, nor will it add new CDMA phones to its roster of devices. Hawkins said Boost's new focus is on building up the strength of its iDEN-based services and devices.

Verizon Wireless Announces the Hub Home Phone

Today Verizon Wireless announced a new product for the home that is meant to replace landline telephones and act as an accessory to wireless service. The Verizon Hub uses a broadband connection to connect to the Internet and provide VoIP-based telephony services. It has a seven-inch touchscreen display that offers a wide range of features such as access to calendars, maps, directions, traffic, weather and movie times. The Hub will synchronize calendar appointments with any Verizon Wireless handsets that are added to the Hub. The Hub can also receive text messages, Chaperone service pings, and can send driving directions to handsets. The Hub will be available through all of Verizon Wireless's retail stores and can use any broadband connection. Users will have to live in an E911-capable area, and will be able to port existing home phone numbers to the new service. The Hub will cost $200 after a $50 mail-in rebate, and will require a $35 per month subscription. That monthly fee gets unlimited national anytime minutes and unlimited messaging to/from the device.

HTC Unveils the Touch Cruise with Footprints

Today HTC announced a new Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional smartphone, the Touch Cruise. The Cruise has the TouchFLO user interface and a host of other features, including quad-band GSM/EDGE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, GPS/a-GPS, and a 3.2 megapixel camera with fixed focus. The display spans 2.8 inches, rating QVGA resolution, and the Cruise has a slot for microSD cards. The Cruise also has a new software feature, called Footprints. Footprints provides the ability to take notes and an audio clip associated with images captured by the phone, while identifying its specific geographical location. In addition to geo-tagging images, Footprints also auto-names them with the general location or area where the picture was taken. An unlocked 850/1900 MHz HSDPA 7.2Mbps variant will be made available in North America for $500 to $600 in the second quarter.

Sprint Accidentally Reveals Its CDMA Treo Pro

A CDMA version of Palm's Treo Pro briefly appeared for sale on Sprint's web site today. The phone appears mostly identical to the GSM version already announced, including support for WiFi, GPS, and a memory card. It supports most Sprint services, including Sprint TV, Music Store, Mobile Sync, and picture messaging. Other features include a QWERTY keyboard, 320x320-pixel display, Windows Mobile Pro 6.1, speaker-independent voice dialing, and 2-megapixel camera with video capture. Sprint has since pulled the Web page with details regarding the Treo Pro. Sprint will sell the Treo Pro at some undetermined date in the future for $249 after rebate and instant savings, with 2-year contract, or $549 full price.

RIM Bringing Email Support Back to S60

Several months ago, Nokia stopped including the software necessary for S60-based phones to exchange information with Research In Miotion's BES email servers. In response, RIM is working to provide the service for Nokia's S60 devices. Speaking in an interview with Reuters, Tom Furlong, head of Nokia's messaging services, said, "We are in the interim period of time when we have dropped support ourselves, and Blackberry is readying support for their service on Nokia devices." Nokia has launched its own branded, consumer-focused mobile email service, called Mail on Ovi. Nokia has also partnered with Microsoft and IBM to provide mobile email for enterprise customers. Nokia's Furlong was not able to say how soon RIM would have its S60 support ready.

LG Surpasses Motorola to Become Third-Largest Handset Maker

According to the DigiTimes, the top five handset makers are now Nokia, Samsung, LG, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson, in that order. In 2008, Nokia sold 470 million handsets, Samsung sold 200 million, LG sold 100 million, Motorola sold 99.9 million, and Sony Ericsson sold 96.6 million.

Boost to Offer Unlimited iDEN Plan

Sprint subsidiary Boost Mobile announced that it is offering a new $50 per month calling plan. The new plan, called Monthly Unlimited, will give customers unlimited voice minutes, SMS, wireless Web and PTT services for $50 per month. This new plan is specifically for the Boost's iDEN network. The new plan will be available beginning January 22, and Boost plans to launch new handsets that will be compatible with the service, including at least one new bar-style phone. Boost hopes this new plan will better compete with MetroPCS and Leap.

T-Mobile preparing for early Blackberry 8900 Curve launch for business customers

If the answer to the question posed in the headline is “yes” (which it certainly seems to be), the following question should be: “T-Mobile actually has business customers?” Oh, okay. According to an internal document released onto the interwebs, it looks like the big Pink is planning on freeing up a limited number of Curve 8900 devices on January 19th, a few solid weeks prior to its official February 11th drop date. The sad catch is that in order to get your grubby hands on one of the T-Mobz branded handsets, you’ll have to be an employee of a company that has a business account with the carrier. Still, early for some is better than late for all, but we’d obviously love to see a more even-handed distribution process, enabling the masses to show off their very own “smallest, slimmest, and lightest full-QWERTY blackberry available”. Anyone that’s game for setting up a shell corporation and going in on a group buy should form a line to the left.

Sony posted $1.1- 2 Billion lost for 2008

Things aren’t looking too hot for Sony CEO Howard Stringer. Back in October his company predicted that it would end its current fiscal year with an operating profit of $2.2-billion but a Japanese newspaper is reporting Sony is well on track for a loss of at least $1.1 billion. So what happened to Sony? For starters the Japanese economy, the second largest in the world, was one of hardest hit victims of the credit crunch. Japan’s largest stock market index, the Nikkei 225, ended 2008 down 50% from where it was back in June. Add to this the ongoing fear of deflation due to the rapidly strengthening Yen, soaring national debt, low consumer confidence and very bleak picture is painted of an economy that just doesn’t have the cash to be buying high-end consumer electronics. And of course it doesn’t help that every single nation in the Western world is having severe economic troubles of its own. The only positive thing going for Sony (if you can even call if that) is that its Q4 ends in March, meaning it has a couple more months to drastically cut costs. If Sony don’t make some fairly major moves, its losses on the year could rise to as much as $2-billion. Guess that means the $399 price tag on the PS3 isn’t going to come down any time soon.

HTC full 2009 lineup revealed

Anxiously awaiting the hot new handsets from HTC? The wait might not be over but the mystery of what handsets HTC has in store for us in 2009 has certainly been solved - compliments of Arlen at PPC Geeks, the entire 2009 lineup for HTC has been leaked. The new HTC handsets include the Touch HD Pro which will make its appearance on Verizon and Sprint, the HTC Iolite and Iolite II, HTC’s Android offering, the HTC hero, the Tungsten for T-Mobile and the HTC Jasper for Sprint. AT&T will apparently be getting the Topaz and the Barium. There are 25 handsets in all and include the following:

Whitestone W
Magnet (Iolite II)
Jasper C (for Sprint)
Firestone
Beryl (Jade 2)
Twin (CDMA + GSM)
Willow W
Thoth (Athena 2)
Sapphire (VF)
Saphire 2.0 (TMO)
Sapphire 1.5 (DCM)
Memphis
Hero (Android Hero)
Tungsten W (Sprint)
Rhodium
Rhodium W (VZW)
Topaz
Topaz (AT&T)
Topaz C
Tungsten (TMO, TMUS)
Barium (AT&T)
Cedar W
Iolite
Maple (3G Excalibure)
Citrine
Some of the handsets appear to be new offerings while some are updated versions of current HTC handsets like Touch Diamond and the Touch HD. Hit the jump for a snapshot of each phone and make sure you lean back a bit to avoid getting drool on your keyboard.

Telsta touts Pre-Killer coming in Q2

We literally can’t tell you how exciting this is for us. For about a year and a half now, we have dreamed of a day when a new touchscreen handset could find its way to market without being called a possible “iPhone killer”. Seriously, does the inclusion of the word “iPhone” really help SEO that much? Well today is the dawn of a new era people, and this exciting movement of change is being spearheaded by a saucy Telstra executive. In a report from earlier this morning, said Telstra boss supposedly examined Palm’s upcoming Pre handset at CES and compared it to an Android-powered device from HTC that will be making its way to Telstra in Q2:

Woo! Sure, he still mentioned the iPhone in that statement but could the Pre be the next must-kill handset? Could this be the start of an iPhone killer-free blogosphere? Yeah, it’s probably just wishful thinking but you can’t fault us for being hopeful. Whatever the case may be, we’re definitely looking forward to learning more about this upcoming HTC handset complete with an HTC-tweaked Android OS — a TouchFLO port perhaps?

Verizon completes ALLTEL aquisition

Verizon Wireless announced on Friday that it has completed its acquisition of Alltel. Verizon paid $5.9 billion for the equity of Alltel and assumed all of Alltel’s approximately $22.2 billion in debt. Verizon will gain an additional 12.9 million customers, making Verizon the largest wireless carrier in the US with 83.7 million total customers. Verizon will maintain the Alltel brand and customers of Alltel will retain their current handsets and calling plans during the transition. Verizon will notify customers about changes that will impact future service so we assume at some point Alltel customers will have to forfeit their Alltel plan and select one of Verizon’s calling and/or data plans. Most customers will be able to keep their current handsets after the transition since both networks support the same CDMA technology. Verizon will also maintain Alltel’s existing GSM networks. Re-branding will begin in Q2 2009 and will continue through Q3 2009. No imminent layoffs were announced but the press release states:

When a company starts throwing around buzz words like “assess staffing needs” and “achieve synergies”, you can assume that layoffs will be announced at some point before the merger and re-branding is complete. As part of the conditions of the merger, Verizon Wireless will also divest overlapping properties in 105 markets that span 24 states and will affect nearly 2.1 million customers. When all is said and done, some of you will be leaving Verizon and a whole bunch of you will be joining Verizon. if you’re among those who will be affected, let us know in the comments if you are pleased, disappointed or ambivalent about the impending changes to your cellular service

T-Mobile Rolls Out Winter Line-Up

Today T-Mobile announced a slew of new handsets that will become available over the coming weeks.

HTC Shadow: This update to the original Shadow adds support for T-Mobile's HotSpot @Home service to the long list of features that were included on the original. Other specs include quad-band GSM/EDGE radios, with stereo Bluetooth and Windows Mobile Standard 6.1. It also has a 2 megapixel camera with video capture, support for microSD cards up to 8GB, and a slide-out SureType keyboard for messaging. It will be available at select T-Mobile retails stores and online in weeks.
Nokia 7510: The Nokia 7510 is a flip phone with a push-to-open design It also has quad-band GSM/EDGE, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and FM radios, and a 2 megapixel camera with LED flash and video capture. It will support microSD cards up to 8GB in size. The front has a hidden display. It will be available in the coming weeks at select T-Mobile retail stores.
Motorola W233 Renew: The W233 has a carbon neutral footprint for those who are interested in keeping their carbon consumption to a minimum. The bar-style phone has dual-band 850/1900 GSM/EDGE radios, is rated at nine hours of talk time, and uses CrystalTalk for good call quality. It can support microSD cards up to 2GB and has basic messaging features.
Samsung T119: This entry-level bar-style phone has a short feature set. It has dual-band GSM/EDGE radios, speakerphone, basic messaging and supports T-Mobile's web2go data service. It will work with T-Mobile's post- and flex-paid accounts.

Sony Ericsson Offers Massive Update to C905

Sony Ericsson announced an update for the C905 Cyber-shot that brings with it a host of new features. The new capabilities include Shutter Smile, YouTube, Wayfinder 8, Snapfish by HP and threaded SMS/MMS. The new applications will be available starting in the middle of February from the Sony Ericsson Web site.

Sony Ericsson Shows Off Cyber-Shot and Walkman Phones

Today Sony Ericsson introduced two new phones that share a number of features. Both have quad-band GSM/EDGE as well as 850/1900/2100 tri-band HSDPA radios. They both offer 3.2 megapixel cameras with flash and video capture, stereo Bluetooth, the NetFront browser and Microsoft's ActiveSync.

C510 Cyber-shot: This bar-style phone has an autofocus camera and is the first to offer Smile Shutter, which detects a person's smile and immediately takes the photo. The C510 also has FM radio with RDS and picture-editing software. It will be available in the first quarter of 2009.
W508 Walkman: This flip phone has exchangeable covers and offers Sony Ericsson's music features, such as SensMe and Shake Control. It will be available in select markets during the second quarter.

Samsung Announces Pico Projector

Today Samsung introduced a pico projector accessory for mobile phones. The MBP200 is powered by a miniaturized version of the same imaging technology found in DLP HDTVs It connects to mobile phones and laptops via Texas Instruments' DLP pico chip. It can project images in sizes ranges from an 8 ½ x 11 standard sheet of paper to a 50-inch screen. The MBP200 has a simple shape and design with touchpad controls on the right side of the device for navigation and a 2.2-inch QVGA LCD screen. It has a 3.5mm stereo headset jack and internal speaker, supports microSD cards up 16GB, and supports a wide range of video codecs. It can also be used to view PDFs and Microsoft Office documents. It will be available later this year. No pricing was announced.

SDXC: New Memory Card Format Introduced

Today a new memory card format was introduced. SDXC, or SD eXtended Capacity, will be capable of fitting up to 2 terabytes of data onto a single card. The new technology also accelerates SD interface read/write speeds to 104 Mbps in 2009, with a road map to 300 Mbps set for the coming year. The SDXC specification uses Microsoft's exFAT file system to support its large capacity. A 2 terabyte SDXC memory card can store 100 HD movies, 60 hours of HD recording or 17,000 fine-grade photos. The first cards will be available later this year. Pricing for the cards was not revealed, nor have any handset manufacturers said they will support the new format.

LG Bringing Noise Cancellation Tech to Handsets

Today LG announced new technology that it will use in its cell phones that helps eliminate background noise. By using a second microphone and special software, the technology will help filter out background noise to make hearing phone calls much easier. LG said it will build this technology into cell phones beginning in the latter half of 2009.

Nokia Intros the Here and Now

Today Nokia updated the Nokia.mobi Web site with a new section called 'Here and Now.' The new section, tabbed on most new Nokia devices, offers users easy access to world news, music, celebrity buzz, as well as information on Nokia services and products. The site also offers downloadable content.

Apple Enables iTunes Music Downloads Over 3G

Apple today announced that iPhone users can now buy music from the iTunes Store app and download the songs directly over 3G networks. Downloading previously required a Wi-Fi connection. The company also announced that all music will be now available in a DRM-free AAC format. A wider range of pricing was also announced, with songs available at 69 cents, 99 cents, or $1.29 starting in April.

SlingPlayer Coming to iPhone

Sling Media today announced SlingPlayer for iPhone, allowing SlingBox users to access their home TV and DVR from anywhere. The software is being demo'd this week, and will be submitted to Apple for approval this quarter.

Nokia pulls plug on N810 WiMax Edition

In a startlingly abrupt move just one day after the launch of WiMAX service in Portland, OR, Nokia is reportedly discontinuing production of its N810 WiMAX Edition internet tablet and will stop all sales effective immediately. Nokia has yet to announce the move publicly, but a reliable source within Nokia claims the WiMAX-enabled N810 has been pulled from inventory systems and distributor locations with current stock have been instructed to return all units to Nokia. While the source could not attest to Nokia’s motive behind this recall, he speculated that WiMAX switch issues combined with the slow roll out were major factors in the decision. It is currently unclear whether or not Nokia plans to re-release the N810 WiMAX Edition at a later point in time, or if the company has any additional WiMAX-enabled devices in development. Currently, the N810 WiMAX Edition is still available for sale on the Nokia USA site. We have contacted Nokia regarding this matter and will update this post with any official comment from the company.

While’s the future of WiMax may still be a bit up in the air, Clearwire has gone ahead with its plans to launch the service in Portland, OR. Effective yesterday customers can purchase a variety of different usage plans to fit their needs provided, of course, that he/she happens to own a compatible WiMax device. If you’re one of the lucky few that owns a WiMax machine and lives in Oregon’s biggest city, you can experience the joy of 4G wireless broadband at one of the following price points:

$10 for a 24-hour pass
$30 a month for 200MB of data
$40 a month for 2GB
$50 a month for unlimited data
That’s not at all bad, considering comparable 3G offerings from the major wireless carriers, though the general dirth of devices doesn’t make it terribly appealing for anyone outside of a select few. That said, if these prices hold and the service proliferates a bit faster we might see manufacturers pick up the pace of WiMax integration into new devices.

t-mobile and rim make the blackberry 8900 Curve official

All of you skeptics out there who doubted the February release of the BlackBerry Curve 8900 on T-Mobile can now rest easy as T-Mobile and RIM have made the official announcement. Very eagerly anticipated, perhaps more so than the G1 albeit a lot more quietly, the 8900 features OS 4.6.1, a 512 MHz processor, 480×360 display, GPS, and WiFi with HotSpot support. The new Curve is sure to help ease the pain of the lack of Bold love. If only this device had 3G in the 1700 MHz flavor. No definitive date or price has been set, but T-Mobile hopes to sell you all an 8900 sometime in February.

Motorola announces 3 new handset, one you might care about

Motorola took the wraps off three of its latest handsets early this morning, though as is often the case for the struggling handset maker - the wraps were hardly on. The first handset, Renew W233, was first leaked some time ago and fully uncovered last week. We know it’s coming to T-Mobile early next month and judging from the response the handset has received thus far, few will be waiting for its arrival. The second handset, Tundra VA76r, was revealed on its way to AT&T back in December and also sparked little interest. Those with a unique need for a rugged handset may find it interesting but it’ll hardly be jumping off AT&T’s shelves to start the new year. Finally, we have the SURF A3100, which you might recognize by its codename “Atila”. Yep, we pretty much scooped it like a sundae back in August and while it hardly received the reception of it’s soon-to-be-announced QWERTY brother Alexander, it is a sexy little handset provided you can see your way past the stylus. The SURF is no slouch, boasting tri-band 3G, a 3 megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, aGPS and more, but it’s hard to get excited about it when we’ve already moved on to anticipate the flurry of handsets we scooped last month. Hit the jump for press shots of the Tundra and Renew.

Lenova announces all-in-one Idea Centre A600

As part of the CES onslaught from Lenovo this week, the company took the wraps off of its brand new all-in-one desktop PC dubbed IdeaCentre A600. First, let us state the obvious: gorgeous. As far as the design is concerned, Lenovo did a remarkable job putting this all-in-one together. Lenovo claims that the A600 will be the thinnest all-in-one on the market once it is released and while that may be true it’s of little consequence considering it sits on a desk. The wireless remote is also a huge highlight, boasting functionality such as an air mouse, VoIP handset capabilities and accelerometer-driven gaming control a la Wiimote. The A600’s form and execution are what draw us in and thankfully the guts don’t disappoint, provided you’re willing to shell out some cash however. The base price of $999 is more than attractive but if you’re looking to get all you can out of this sexy box, additions like 4GB of RAM, 1 TB of storage and a Blu-ray drive are going to push the price point up considerably. Lowlights include a comparably tiny 21.5-inch display, lack of an HDMI port and the fact that just about everything is an option. An all-in-one focused on media should at least include a TV tuner in the base price but no such luck here. Regardless, we’ll be looking forward to seeing this puppy on display at CES, and to finding out what a fully loaded box will go for.

Steves Jobs announcing he will be ailing Apple and remains CEO

In an unusual and curiously-timed press release that leaves us scratching our heads, Steve Jobs has informed the Apple community that he is suffering from a hormone imbalance that caused his drastic weight loss. He is currently under treatment for the condition and will remain in place as Apple CEO without interruption. He also provides his reason for skipping Macworld this year. He wanted to spend more time with family instead of feverishly prepping for a Macworld keynote. Hit the jump for the entire press release and we wish Steve all the best for a speedy recovery.

HTC Brings S740 to US

HTC today announced the S743, a version of the S740 with support for US 3G networks. The phone is a non-touch Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard device with a bar form factor and numeric keypad, plus a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The phone features a 2.4-inch QVGA display, 3-megapixel camera, memory card slot, WiFi, GPS, and 528 MHz processor. Network support includes HSDPA 7.2 in the 850/1900 bands - suitable for AT&T's 3G network - plus quad-band GSM. The S743 will be available through independent retailers such as dell.com and cdw.com later this quarter

Google Wants Your Ideas for Mobile Products

Google has set up a new site that allows users of Google's mobile products to submit ideas for new mobile products, as well as rate them. Ideas posted to the site will be visible to everyone, and users can rate each idea. Google will use the site as a resource for gauging what users are interested in, and may take users' ideas and develop them into products.

Android Market to Offer Paid Applications

Google has informed developers for the Android Market -- the storefront for Android-based applications -- that they will be able to create applications that require payment. Up until now, all the applications available in the Android Market have been free. This has prevented some developers from creating applications for the Android platform. With the arrival of paid applications, slated for some time in the first quarter, more developers may be motivated to create applications for Google's mobile platform.