China Unicom announces it's iPhone deal

It’s finally official — China Unicom will be carrying not one but two models of the iPhone sometime in Q4, having inked a three-year deal with Apple. Unceremoniously announced during a fiscal report, China Unicom hasn’t yet specified which iPhone models it will be offering or at what price points. The smart money is likely on a custom Wi-Fi-free version of the 3GS and the tried and true 3G. China Unicom will begin hawking iPhones sometime in Q4 and odds are pretty good that it’ll sell like hotcakes. Interestingly, it is being reported that the China Unicom deal is not exclusive, meaning this plot could get a whole lot thicker in the near future.

Facebook 3.0 storms the app store

At this point even our Great Grandmothers are updating their Facebook statuses from 3.0, but just in case you haven’t yet heard… Facebook 3.0 for the iPhone went live in the App Store yesterday afternoon. While the number of tips emails we’ve received suggests everyone is already pretty well aware of this fact, we’re playing it safe. Changes:

■See your upcoming Events and RSVP
■See your friends’ birthdays
■See Pages and post updates and photos to Pages you administer
■Write Notes and read your friends’ Notes
■Upload videos from an iPhone 3GS
■Upload photos to any album
■Complete photo management (create albums, delete albums, delete photos, delete photo tags)
■Change your Profile Picture
■Zoom into photos
■Like posts and photos
■See the same News Feed as the Facebook website
■Visit links in a built-in web browser
■See all of your friends’ friends and Pages
■See mutual friends
■Easily search for people and Pages
■Make friend requests
■Become a fan of Pages
■Quickly call or text your friends
■Create shortcuts to your favorite friends and Pages
■Friends sorted by first or last name according to your settings
■Chat friends sorted alphabetically
Quite a list indeed, though there are still a few items notably missing such as the ever-desired push notification support that is forthcoming in version 3.1. While we’re not the biggest Facebook fans in the world, we actually do like the new build of the app. One thing in particular — the way the app mimics the iPhone’s app layout with its friends/pages shortcuts is pretty cool. Bottom line: it’s easier than ever to communicate with, follow and/or stalk your friends, so you need to go snag it.

Apple building 13 inch and 15 inch tablet in addition to a 10 inch model

We all certainly remember what happens when sites doubt Gizmodo’s “reliable sources” — Steve Jobs’ health, anyone? As such, a particularly interesting rumor emerged this morning that Apple tablet hopefuls might want to take note of. Citing “a source that has always been 100% reliable”, Giz claims to have been informed that Apple is currently working on 13-inch and 15-inch tablet models in addition to the 10-inch model that is all but confirmed by now. The source states that two prototypes reminiscent of big aluminum iPhones currently sit in a factory in Shenzuen, China. He or she also claims that at least one is confirmed to be running OS X. The source could not confirm whether these units were prototypes of what will ultimately be production models, or simply demo units of some kind. While it’s known that next month’s Apple event will have absolutely nothing to do with tablets, it might be a pretty safe bet that some kind of tablet announcement might not be far behind.

QUALCOMM preparing portable FLO TV device

File this one under “huh?” According to a report from gdgt this morning, Qualcomm is readying a portable tablet-like dedicated FLO TV device that will provide users with TV on the go. Dubbed a Portable Television, or PTV, Qualcomm’s upcoming device is said to resemble the sketch above and is thought to be about the size of an iPhone. Reported specs include a capacitive touchscreen, 4GB of memory, stereo speakers and battery life to the tune of 300 hours of standby, 5 hours of TV and 15 hours of music. We’re not sure exactly who the device will be marketed toward or what hole it fills that is big enough to warrant a dedicated device, but all will be revealed soon — or at least by early next near at CES. Is anyone into the idea of a dedicated PTV or is convergence still the name of the game?

Augmented traffic views for android could be the coolest AR app we've seen yet

Augmented Reality is quickly becoming a hot ticket item in the mobile world and we’ve seen various nifty applications of the technology previewed recently. The key of course, is finding useful and valuable ways to apply AR concepts to mobile devices. Today, a preview of another infinitely useful AR app is making the rounds and we’re digging it big time. While the app name isn’t overly creative — Augmented Traffic Views — the application itself is fantastic. Built for the Android platform, Augmented Traffic Views combines a layer of AR above the device’s camera view with live traffic camera images and traffic data. Simply hold the Android handset up and the AR layer displays all available traffic camera points in the direction you’re looking. Tap one to see the most current available image taken by the cam. The app also packs some added features, such as an automated predictive tracking mode that will pop up traffic cam images ahead while you’re driving. Brilliant. Potentially dangerous, but brilliant. For the time being, Toronto is the only city covered by the app and there’s no word on when it might be available to the public. Hit the jump for the video and keep your fingers crossed that the developer decides to bring his work stateside to hit some major US metro areas as well.

Nokia N900 marketing shot leaks

If there is still doubt in anyone’s mind that Nokia plans to officially unveil its next-generation Maemo 5 handset at the modestly named Nokia World show next week, behold: The first official press render of the N900 has leaked. Call it the Rover, call it the RX-51 or call it whatever else you want — the bottom line is that it represents Nokia’s first step in moving away from an old busted UI and toward a somewhat modern interface. Somewhat. Last week we all enjoyed a ridiculously thorough preview of the N900 and, upon first viewing of the many screenshots included in the post, it’s clear that the Maemo 5 UI is a giant step forward compared to S60. On the other hand however — in terms of looks — it doesn’t appear to be all that different compared to the previous version of Maemo. It’s more flushed out of course, since the N900 packs a lot more out of the box than previous Maemo devices, but we’re not really seeing anything revolutionary here — just evolutionary. Again, we’re talking looks and not function; we still haven’t played with the handset ourselves and we’re not jumping to any conclusions. Getting excited yet, T-Mobile fans? We know we are.

5530 Xpress music pre-orders being taken by Nokia USA

Let’s face it. Things aren’t going too well for Nokia as of late when it comes to smartphones in the US. The N97 could very well have been released in ‘97, the full-touchscreen 5800 XpressMusic is something we’d much rather not touch again and the E72 doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell at pulling the suits away from their ‘Berrys. Most of the blame can be directed toward an unimaginative OS and an utter lack of effective marketing but the easiest way to sum it up is that Nokia simply isn’t serving out what people here in the US are ordering up. Case in point, the 5530 XpressMusic. Sibling to the 5800 XpressMusic, the 5530 XM is pretty much a carbon copy of the 5800 XM save for the lack of 3G and an overall smaller footprint. On pre-order now from Nokia USA, it’ll run you $289.99 (which includes a free mini speaker) — a whole $10 less than the 5800 XM from Amazon. It doesn’t make any sense to us and is likely going to do nothing but turn more Americans away from Nokia, but come on now. It’s new, people. New! We’ll revisit it again once the early adopter tax is shed and we’re looking at an unlocked full touchscreen smartphone in the mid-$200 range, but we highly doubt it would sell well here in the US even at sub-$200 levels. Plain and simple; it was old news before it was even news.

Orange UK LG GD910 watch phone to cost $828 USD on August 27th

We love useless gadgets as much as the next person, but this whole Dick Tracy-like obsession with the LG GD910 touchscreen watch phone is completely lost on us. Sure it can compose text messages and place video calls, but is it really worth running that the risk that your unkempt nose hair might offend a key business client? If so and you happen to live in the UK, then pack a blanket and a snack and get ready to camp outside the Orange’s Bond Station Stop on the night of the 26th/27th — as soon as the store opensin the morning, the GD910 can be all yours for £500 ($828 USD). Orange won’t have many units on hand so in the event you can’t get the time off work/have a prior commitment, more will be made available online in mid-September. As for that 899€ the French are being asked to pay for the GD910, well, that’s what you get for being French. Heyo!

AT&T and T-Mobile victims of 22 million handset scams

Funny, usually it’s the carriers doing the robbing. According to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal, eight men were indicted yesterday for allegedly using customer data to swindle AT&T and T-Mobile USA out of roughly $22 million worth of cell phones. Two former cell phone shop owners from Brooklyn, NY and six others have been formally charged with conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft surrounding the scam. The men reportedly used dealer access to the carriers’ systems in order to obtain customer data, and then used the identities of said customers to obtain handsets without paying for them. If convicted, the perpetrators face up to 20 years in prison on the conspiracy charge alone. Key takeaway: if the recession has hit your cell phone shop hard, it’s probably a good idea to seek out a new line of work rather than exploiting your customers and scamming your suppliers. Just saying.

T-Mobile launches the Gravity 2 as the Shack launches T-Mobile sales today.

We scooped RadioShack’s The Shack’s initial T-Mobile launch portfolio earlier this month and as the reborn retailer kicks off its T-Mobile offering, the one missing piece of the puzzle has just fallen into place. We knew Tmo’s new budget messaging machine was due some time this month and we knew The Shack would stock it from day one (today), so since it wasn’t available yesterday… One plus one apparently does equal two. Coming in an an ultra-affordable $29.99 after mail-in rebate on a 2-year contract, the Samsung Gravity 2 features a side-sliding QWERTY along with a 2 megapixel camera, MP3 player, Bluetooth and microSDHC support. In other words, it’s the perfect handset for a light user looking for a text-friendly cheapo or a tween looking for a phone that comes in “metallic pumpkin”.

layar augmented realty browser now on android: coming soon to iPhone

Ok, seriously… Layar kicks ass. Big time. Sure you look ridiculous swinging your phone around to see which new icons jump onto the screen, but it’s totally worth it. For those who haven’t yet heard of Layar, here’s how it works: Using the camera on your Android handset, Layar displays the world around you with an added layer of location-based content on top. So if you search Google or Yelp for a restaurant, the Layar browser will plot results in a 3D layer above the live video displayed on your screen from your camera. But it gets better. Layar is actually a platform more than anything else, so a number of third-party developers have jumped on board to provide their own layers (or Layars). Currently available content includes Flickr, Wikipedia, Yelp, Google local search, Qype, Britekite, Twitter and more. With Layar’s recent announcement, the augmented reality browser is now available globally on the Android OS — it even ships pre-installed on the Samsung Galaxy in the Netherlands. What’s more, the company is already eying the iPhone 3GS and plans to have its browser ready for the handset some time next year. In the meantime, Android users need to hit the Android Market ASAP to snag Layar. Hit the jump for a pair of demo videos.

Sony PS3 slim gets official

Sony just took the wraps off its new PS3 Slim at Gamescom in Cologne and apart from the fact that it looks more like a Seagate external hard drive than a cutting edge gaming console, we have to say that we’re really digging the looks of the PS3 Slim. Other than a 120GB drive and new frame which takes up 32% less space, the other advantage the PS3 Slim has is that it sucks down 34% less power. Of course, the price is pretty much all anyone who is eyeing a PlayStation cares about and it’s going to run you $299.99. Come the first week of September, it will be possible for most Americans to buy the latest PlayStation without taking out a second (or third or fourth) mortgage.

Blackberry App World hits the Web

The good news: BlackBerry fans can finally get their App World fix on their computers. The bittersweet news: App World’s desktop experience is way better than its on-device experience. RIM has just launched a new Web-based version of its App World offering, allowing users to browse the catalog in its entirety from any desktop browser (or even a decent mobile browser). The new interface is awesome but it’s not all ponies and lollipops, unfortunately. There are plenty of things we’d like to see improved in Web-based App World going forward; most importantly, it needs to be better integrated with the on-device portal. Currently, when you find an app you like all you can do is email a link to your Berry. Lame. We want deeper integration — mark apps of interest on the website and they should automatically jump to a flagged page the next time you open App World on your device. There are a few other things we would like to see implemented soon but since the site is fresh out of the oven, we’ll give RIM some time to flush things out a bit. In the meantime, hit the read link to browse App World on the Web and let us know what you think.

Dell Mini 3i now official in China

Damn are our ninjas good. Dell’s Android-based China Mobile-bound Mini 3i, a smartphone that we first caught a glimpse of in mid-June, is now official. Unveiled today in Beijing, the Mini 3i (also apparently MINI3i) is an Android-based smartphone that runs on the Open Mobile System. Spec wise, the Mini 3i is not particularly impressive especially considering that it is EDGE-only and lacks Wi-Fi. Regardless, the handset is definitely a contender in the Chinese market where not even the carrier-pwner that is Apple can manage to release a Wi-Fi-enabled handset. Here’s the low-down on the specs:

■Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE class 12
■Size: 68.6cc
■103g grams weight
■Dimensions: 58 x 122 x 11.7mm
■Display: 3.5″ nHD 640×360 LCD, 18-bit, 262K colors
■OTA capable
■Microsoft Exchange support
■Google, AIM, Yahoo and MSN IM support
■3 megapixel auto-focus, flash, 8x digital zoom camera with 30fps video shooting mode, built in photo editor
■USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
■A-GPS
■On-screen QWERTY keyboard, hardwriting recognition, multi touch UI
■MicroSD slot
Hit the jump for a few more shots.

Sense UI definitely coming to the Magic, My Touch 3G users S.O.I.

Good news: HTC’s Sense UI will indeed be made available to owners of the HTC Magic come October. Bad news: Owners of the T-Mobile myTouch 3G and any other “with Google” variants of the Magic are going to be left high and dry, as most have presumed. The reason for the lack of love is legal as the Android licensing agreement that T-Mobile and others signed forbids them from getting all cozy with Android’s hot new look. Lame, yes, but at least a few people are going to come out on top with this. For those who feel burnt, please take our advice: hit up the xda-developers forum.

Facebook 3.0 submitted to App Store

It’s time to whip out your rosary/tallit/tasbih/whatever and start praying like you’ve never prayed before. That’s right folks, Facebook 3.0 has just been submitted to the App Store. We’re not insinuating that we believe one of Apple’s App Store approval monkeys will roll his or her icosahedral die and have it settle on “deny the app without cause just for the hell of it” (actually, we are), but we just can’t stand waiting another day for the fifteen new features Facebook 3.0 has in tow. Hit the jump for the complete change log.

Samsung slated for August launch of the Omnia II: US not included

This morning, Samsung announced the list of countries that are slated to get the Omnia II in August. Missing from the list is the United States and other major markets including the UK, France and Germany. Pretty odd, considering we know Best Buy is (or was) slated to score it later this month. We’re guessing: 1) Something was delayed. 2) BBYM will get shipments on the 23rd but the handset won’t be available for sale until early September. 3) Samsung just can’t mention the US yet as there has been no official announcement with AT&T. The lucky 14 that will officially see the Omnia sequel hit the shelves this month are the Philippines, Thailand, Netherlands, Turkey, UAE, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Nigeria, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Chile, Colombia and Australia. These countries will join Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, which have already seen the launch of Samsung’s latest Windows Mobile offering. Those folks still limping along with their original Ominas will just have to wait for the next round of launch locations to be released to see if their countries will be among those mentioned.

All 12 megapixel Sony Ericsson Saito get proded by FCC

Mmmmmmm, Satio. If Symbian is your thing, it pretty much doesn’t get any better than this forthcoming beast from Sony Ericsson. Hell, even if Symbian isn’t your thing, you still have to respect this monster of a handset. While the ever-mysterious Xperia X3 (aka Rachael) still sits at the top of our list of Sony Ericsson kit we need ASAP, the Satio comes in at a close second. Why? If you weren’t paying attention back in May when SE announced it, allow us to refresh your memory: S60 5th Edition OS, 3.5-inch 640 x 360 pixel 16:9 touchscreen display, 12.1 megapixel camera with auto-focus, xenon flash and 12x digital zoom, 128 MB internal memory, microSDHC support, FM radio with RDS, aGPS with turn-by-turn navigation, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and plenty more. Yeah, that’s why. The first iteration of the Satio just cleared the FCC’s initial round of testing so we’re crossing our fingers extra tight with the hope that it materializes soon. Hit the jump for some gratuitous phone pr0n.

HTC hawks over 1 million Magic phones

Chinese tech journal DigiTimes recently sat down for a chat with HTC CEO Peter Chou and managed to glean a couple of tasty morsels in its extremely brief yet interesting interview. First and foremost, Chou revealed that HTC has sold over 1 million HTC Magic handsets to date. The Magic, released initially this past April, took less than four months to hit the million mark — certainly a respectable feat though it falls well short of recent numbers reported for more popular handsets such as the iPhone and the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. Beyond that, Chou stated that HTC will focus on mid-range smartphones during the latter half of 2009. 50 to 60 percent of HTC’s handset shipments will fall into the mid-range category, with target prices around $300. As is always the case, forthcoming HTC handsets have been leaking left and right lately so it looks like we can expect a solid portion of them to be nice and affordable once they drop. Go HTC, go.

Sony Ericsson introduces the Jalou; Dolce & Gabbana edition

What comes in Sparkling Rose, 24k gold plate and is “shorter than your favorite lipstick”? The Sony Ericsson Jalou by Dolce&Gabbana, hello. Introduced today as a limited edition piece, the designer-branded clamshell offers a “host of features to keep you entertained and looking fabulous” such as a 3.2 megapixel camera with video recording, aGPS, monoband UMTS/HSPA (2100MHz), a monochrome exterior display that doubles as a mirror for the vain and a bunch of exclusive pictures and videos from the Dolce&Gabbana women’s Autumn/Winter 2010 runway show. Just in case special edition phones aren’t your thing but you still want to make a fashion-y statement, you can always pick up the Jalou in Deep Amethyst, Aquamarine Blue or Onyx Black sans Dolce branding sometime in Q4.

LG officially unviels it's new Chocolate, the BL40

LG officially unveiled the latest addition to its Black Label series, the BL40 Chocolate. A bit of deja vu as this handset has already starred in its own photo shoot and made its unofficial YouTube debut. The red-trimmed handset has a 4-inch wide screen 800×345 pixel display with a unique 21:9 aspect ratio, 5 megapixel camera with Schneider-Kreuznach lens, 7.2Mbps UMTS/HSDPA connectivity, Wi-Fi, and aGPS. As far as release details, unfortunately all we know about this sleek and sexy handset is that it will debut in Q3 2009 in 54 countries worldwide. All else aside, we can’t wait to see how typing on this bad boy works out considering how long and thin it is. Hit the jump for a few more press photos.

Nokia N97 mini surfaces.....looks smaller

A little over a month ago, a fearless (or stupid) Vodafone forum moderator got excited and blabbed about two unannounced handsets that would eventually be making their way to Voda — the BlackBerry Storm 2 and the Nokia N97 Mini. The former has been seen grazing in the wild many times already but the latter has managed to elude the digirazzi… Until now, that is. Behold, the Nokia N97 Mini. Maybe. While the authenticity of these first live N97 Mini shots has yet to be confirmed, they do depict what we would imagine the handset to be — a smaller N97. Of note, the phone pictured has a cluster of four arrow keys at the right end of the keypad in place of the d-pad found on the left of the N97. Also, for those who enjoy dropping a space between words with their left thumb from time to time, the space bar is still off to the right of the pad (though slightly closer to the center this time) and it’s still tiny. Whether or not this turns out to be the actual device, we can only hope the N97 Mini hits the US with a slightly more realistic price tag since the odds of a carrier snagging it aren’t great. Hit the jump for a shot of the back.