RIM launches TiVo for Blackberry

How long does it take to pump out an TiVo app for BlackBerry? One year, evidently, as RIM and TiVo have just announced the availability of TiVo for BlackBerry. Allowing BlackBerry users with a TiVo set-top box to view their program guide and remotely schedule the recording of their favorite shows, BlackBerry for TiVo sounds pretty great expect for one huge thing: you can’t watch what you’ve recorded. Yeah, yeah, it’s not a big deal to a lot of people, but the fact of the matter is that we’re living in something called the 21st Century, and in this day and age, your app damn well better learn to stream. We’re not saying that we’re abandoning all hope of streaming becoming a possibility in the future, but for now we guess we’re just going to have watch live TV through the Slingbox app. Joy. Hit the jump for BG’s thoughts on the app and some screenshots…

T-Mobile makes Motorola CLIQ preorder and pricing official, $199.99 with contract

The wait is finally over: T-Mobile has just announced the Motorola CLIQ pre-order details as well as pricing. So, exactly when can you get your hands on Motorola’s come-back device? Presale orders start for existing customers on October 19 and goes through to November 1. The device will be hitting stores and be made available online the day after presales end — November 2. Unfortunately, those “free” rumors turned out to be, well, rumors as T-Mobile and Motorola are expecting $199 with a new contract and a data plan that starts at $24.99 per month (don’t forget data plans for smartphones are mandatory for T-Mobile, as if you’d buy this phone without one). With a 5MP camera, a nice UI and support for up to 32GB of memory expansion, it’s definitely a nice handset. We’re just not sure the pricing is correct… What do you guys (and girls) think?

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Orange UK announces it will be carrying the iPhone this year

It looks like some of the oft talked about and much maligned iPhone exclusivity deals are finally starting to fizzle out — Orange UK has announced that it will be offering both the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS to its customers “later this year.” As it currently stands, O2 has the sole rights to sell the iPhone in the UK. As many of you might recall however, T-Mobile was recently caught selling unlocked iPhones to its highest paying and most disgruntled customers, so perhaps it too will get in on the action in the near future. But back to Orange. The carrier has not yet released much in the way of specifics, having simply stated that “pricing, tariffs and availability dates will be released in due course.” Ordinarily we’d start to think what sort of implications this has for the American marketplace, but alas only one carrier has the appropriate bands and network technology to run the iPhone. *sigh*

Apple App Store download pass 2 billion mark

It’s official: the App Store is growing like a weed. This past July, Apple issued an App Store status report of sorts — stating that its on-device software distribution platform had amassed over 65,000 apps that had been collectively downloaded over 1.5 billion times. Astonishing, especially considering the App Store was only a year old at that point in time. Now, roughly two and a half months later, Apple just announced it has passed the two billion mark where downloads are concerned and its catalog contains over 85,000 apps. To recap, that’s 500 million downloads and 20,000 new apps in less than three months. We wonder how many of them are to do lists.

Confirmed: Verizon Wireless will sell the Palm PRE

We’ve just confirmed this with one of our ninjas: the rumor of Verizon Wireless passing on adding the Palm Pre to its line-up is totally and 100% bogus. We don’t have any other information to share at this time but hopefully those analysts stay where they belong — regurgitating the information we exclusively break.

Vodafone UK announces the 360 H1 and 360 M1

Remember that mysterious LiMo-powered smartphone we exclusively showed you a week back? Well today it was made official alongside another handset as well as a new internet service, Vodafone 360. The two devices, manufactured by Samsung, have been dubbed the 360 H1 (the device we showed you) and 360 M1. The 360 H1 looks to be an all around solid device with a 3.5-inch OLED touchscreen display, 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus and flash, 16GB of internal memory, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and HSDPA. The 360 M1, on the other hand, leaves a little bit to be desired but still packs a bit of a punch with a 3.2-inch touchscreen display, 1GB of internal memory (expandable by microSD), GPS, Bluetooth 2.0 and HSDPA. As for Vodafone 360 platform, what we previously told you was correct in that it incorporates more or less the same sort of social media approach as webOS and MOTOBLUR, but with a slightly stronger emphasis placed upon games, apps and music. Nothing too crazy, but it’s something we think every smartphone should have as we draw nearer to a new decade. Of note, Voda’s 360 services will also work on dozens of Nokia and Sony Ericsson handsets so if this new dynamic duo isn’t your thing, rest easy. Oh, and just one more thing… The H1 and the M1? H1 and M1? H1M1? A bit too close for comfort.

Image of Microsoft mass market Turtle & Pure leaked out

Microsoft must be shitting bricks by now, because Gizmodo clearly has befriended someone very high up within the company. Yesterday they brought us information about the Courier tablet and now they’ve (temporarily) moved on to two handsets that represent the fruits of labor of Microsoft’s project Pink. If the Turtle and Pure don’t scream high end to you, good job; you’re amongst the most observant people on this planet. You see, Pink is all about assisting Microsoft establish a strangle hold on the very same market that Danger (a recent Microsoft acquisition) is going after with its Sidekick. And by that we mean pretty much everyone who wants a phone that can do more than make calls, has quite a lot of social media integration but doesn’t carry the costs or “un-hip” stigma that many smartphones possess. Having said that, it really isn’t clear what Microsoft is going to put into Pink handsets, but all rumors seem to point to them snuggling up fairly close to the Zune family of products. Hit the jump for a few more pics.

Sony Ericsson announces the motion-activated MH907 headphones

September 15th: Sony Ericsson claims, “the way you listen to music changes forever” on September 21st. September 21st: Sony Ericsson announces the MH907 motion-controlled headphones and 99.999999999999% of the world will continue listening to music the same old way. Don’t get us wrong — the new “SensMe” technology SE introduced today is kind of nifty. Basically, it allows you to control music playback and call handling by removing and replacing one of your ear buds. Ok that’s cool we suppose, but it begs the question: Is removing and replacing an ear bud to control your headset more or less convenient than simply tapping a button? We’re going to go with less. The novelty factor is certainly there though, so if you have a Sony Ericsson phone — yes, this headset will only work with SE phones — at least you have something interesting to look forward to. No pricing or release information has been made available.

T-Mobile rollouts 21 Mphs HSPA+ in Hawaii

T-Mobile just kicked it up a notch and became the first carrier in the US to deploy HSPA+ on its 3G network. As we already knew, the nation’s number four carrier plans to offer HSPA+ as an interim upgrade while it begins the slow transition over to LTE. Currently, folks in the City of gathering are the fortunate few who can enjoy the 21 Mbps speeds that HSPA+ theoretically delivers. Only time will tell what kind of speeds we actually see on T-Mo’s HSPA+ network but one thing is practically guaranteed: it should be a hell of a lot faster than the carrier’s current 3G network. If you are not within the range of the twenty active HSPA+ cell towers now rocking in Oahu, Hawaii, be patient as T-Mobile plans to expand the service to additional markets throughout 2010.

Blackberry 9700 and Motorola CLIQ release date revealed

If you’re a T-Mobile subscriber itching to get your hands on the latest and greatest, it looks like November 11th might be a date you want to jot down in your planner. Why, you ask? According to one of our ninjas, a T-Mobile higher-up has pegged November 11th as the tentative launch date for both the BlackBerry 9700 and the Motorola CLIQ. Wow. Have two more highly anticipated handsets ever launched with the same carrier on the same day? Now, to be crystal clear, this date is relayed to us as tentative so nothing is set in stone just yet. Where the CLIQ is concerned, the 11th definitely lines up well with the late-October pre-sale and the 9700 has been rumored to launch in November as well. On a related note, we’re hearing AT&T will launch the 9700 around the same time as T-mo, while Rogers will once again beat the US to the punch with a mid to late-October launch.

Nokia 5130 gets official from T-mobile: $29.99 after mail-in rebate

T-Mobile subscribers have a pretty solid new option today in the form of an affordable music-centric handset from Nokia. The latest addition to our Finnish friends’ XpressMusic line, the 5130 XM is an S40 feature phone with tween written all over it. Spec highlights include a music player with dedicated external controls, FM radio, a 2 megapixel camera with video capture, stereo Bluetooth and microSD expansion. No, it won’t be knocking any socks off but as far as budget feature phones go, this little guy is a scrapper. Nokia’s 5130 XpressMusic is available immediately in two color combinations — black/red and pear white/aqua. On a 2-year contract, it’ll run you $29.99 after a $20 mail-in rebate in stores and online.

Nokia N900 to hit US distribution centers on September 27th

Get those credit cards ready, Nokia fans. According to a notice reportedly sent out to several US distributors, Nokia’s first Maemo phone is scheduled to hit Nokia distribution centers on September 27th — just under two weeks from today. Assuming the communique is real and Nokia can manage to stay on target, we could see the N900 begin to ship to customers via distributors within the first few days of October. Though it’s not a surprise, the lofty $650 MSRP is sure to leave a sour taste in some mouths but if you want to be among the first to own a T-Mobile 3G-ready Maemo 5 handset, the early adopter tax is unavoidable. Hit the jump for the alleged notice to distributors.

LG announces the android infused LG GW620

While LG has never appeared to be particularly interested in offering Android smartphones, today the Korean company officially took the wraps off of its first Android device in the LG-GW620. A slider with a full-QWERTY keypad, LG made the strange decision to withhold most of the GW620’s specs in its press release despite having shown it off at a trade show just one week ago. But because of this recent appearance, we know that the GW620 also known as the “Etna” has 3-inch HVGA touchscreen display, 5 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3.6 Mbps UMTS/HSDPA connectivity. You can expect to see the LG-GW620 in Europe sometime in the next quarter, although disappointingly there was no mention of a North American release. Hit the jump for some high-res press shot goodness.

Nokia Erdos spotted on Promo video

Nokia can produce a luxury phone like none other and its latest rumored endeavor, the Erdos, is no exception. Featuring a slick polished aluminum casing, matching mirrored 2.4-inch QVGA OLED display and a keyboard that rises when the slider is drawn, the Erdos is seemingly shaping up to be the epitome of class. Under the hood, the Erdos is no slouch with a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera, Carl Zeiss optics, dual LED flash, microSD expansion (up to 8GB), Wi-Fi, aGPS, Bluetooth (A2DP), activity LEDs, noise reduction microphone, tap sensitive commands and HSPA connectivity. It’s also said to run S60, though Nokia typically opts for S40 in its 88xx series handsets. After watching this seductive video, one can’t help but want to slide this beauty into his or her pocket. Since this little guy would undoubtedly be the most well-spec’d handset to ever hit Nokia’s 88xx line, expect an astronomical price tag should it ever see the light of day. Hit the jump for the video, scotch and cigar optional.

T-Mobile sees the light, withdraws paper billing fee

Early last month we reported on a policy change at T-Mobile that we weren’t exactly happy with. In a nutshell, T-Mobile decided it would force its subscribers to enroll in paperless billing lest they wish to pay an additional fee for hard copies each month. While the move was somewhat admirable on an environmental level, we were far more concerned with the ramifications this new policy would have on those without the aptitude, or financial means or equipment necessary to make use of online billing (yes, there are many people who do not own a computer). We were pretty firm with our stance and it looks like we weren’t the only ones — T-Mobile announced today that it is reversing its decision on the matter:

Kudos, T-Mobile. As we said in our last post; if you want to encourage customers to go paperless, offer them an incentive to do so. There are a variety of reasons why a customer might choose to stick with paper billing and many of them are extremely valid. To penalize these customers with a fee is just plain wrong.

Motorola announces CLIQ for T-Mobile

You might have recently heard Motorola had some sort of announcement to make… well, it’s all over now and we’re left with the Motorola CLIQ. It’s the much-awaited and much-needed refresh to the company’s mobile device portfolio and it’s rather interesting. Like we reported, much of the customizations to the Android OS fall under the UI name of MOTOBLUR and that’s going to give you more social networking integration, widgets, and other connectivity options than you can handle. It will also allow each user to “customize his/her mobile device experience.” As far as raw specs go, we’re pleasantly surprised to report a 5 megapixel camera with video recording, UMTS/HSDPA, Wi-Fi, QWERTY slide-out keyboard, 3.5mm headset jack and a bunch more. Stones left unturned? Is the screen capacitive (our hearts hope so and we’d assume so, just odd how it’s not mentioned) and is there multi-touch support. All in all, we can’t wait to get our hands on it.

T-Mobile Blackberry BOLD 9700 press info leaked

we got this image of T-Mobile’s BlackBerry Bold 9700. Sporting AT&T-style white numbering on the keypad, optical trackbad, bevelled display and a ridiculous amount of sex appeal, the Bold 9700 looks as if it’s all but going to cannibalize sales of the other full-QWERTY ‘Berrys in Magenta’s line-up. And that’s just fine by us because really, who doesn’t like the sound of a T-Mo BlackBerry with AWS 3G, Wi-Fi and GPS? As for when we can expect to see T-Mobile offer the Bold 9700, the literature didn’t say, but considering it was to be held under embargo until early November we think it’s safe to say that what we previously said about a relatively coordinated world-wide launch at that time still holds true. Maybe even an earlier release from across the pond

T-Mobile UK and Orange to form massive joint venture

Our pals across the pond are going to be facing some changes in the coming months as Deutsch Telekom and France Telecom are planning a massive merger in the UK. The companies are reportedly preparing to combine T-Mobile UK and Orange to form what will become the largest telco on the island, assuming the joint venture is approved by antitrust regulators. The deal is expected to be inked toward the end of October, giving the parties involved plenty of time to iron out details in the interim. The bright side for consumers, we suppose, is expanded network coverage — the downside of course being the fact that the two carriers will no longer be competing for business. So, what do our UK friends think?

Sony Ericsson Saito and Aino reportedly launching next month in UK

While neither handset is quite as lust-worthy as the eventual XPERIA X3, the Sony Ericsson Aino and Satio are both expected to launch next month across the pond. Sony Ericsson has reportedly issued a save the date invite for a press event to be held in the UK. According to reports, the event will take place on October 7th and will “celebrate the retail launch of Sony Ericsson’s hotly anticipated Satio and Aino handsets.” As such, it stands to reason that both handsets can be expected on or shortly after that date. As you’ll recall, the Aino is a portrait slider featuring quad-band GSM/EDGE and tri-band WCDMA, a 0-9 keypad, 3-inch 240×432 pixel touchscreen, 8.1 megapixel camera with an LED flash and 16x digital zoom, aGPS, Bluetooth, social networking integration, microSDHC and PS3 integration. The slightly more desirable Satio is a full touchscreen handset with a 3.5-inch 640 x 360 display (16:9 aspect ratio), 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 the Symbian S60 5th edition OS. Hopefully once the UK launch is out of the way, Sony Ericsson can start thinking about making these puppies a reality here in the US, or maybe even getting a move on with the XPERIA X3.

Nokia X6 comes with music and more

Nokia’s first touchscreen offering to sport a capacitive display has received a mixed welcome from tech enthusiasts. On the one hand, it has a capacitive touchscreen. Yay. On the other hand, it’s a bit thick around the mid-section and, well, some consider it to be ugly as sin. We find ourselves somewhere in the middle — yes, it’s a bit thick and a bit ugly but it’s also a step forward in some respects and it could be a sweet little phone at the right price. The rub: the price is wrong. While Nokia’s pricing always varies from region to region, the X6 32GB was announced at €450 ($640ish USD). In the UK, it’s currently listed for pre-order by Expansys at a whopping £529.99 ($867ish USD) bundled with Comes With Music. Yes, that price is absolutely insane. The good news however, is that Expansys also has a second version of the X6 listed with 16GB of internal storage and no CWM for £344.99 ($565ish USD) — launching in February. That price is still a bit lofty but Nokia handsets are always priced better outside of the UK. In short, there’s hope for those of you interested in the X6 but uninterested in the bloat added by Comes With Music.

Samsung Armani makes an appearance in Korea

Samsung’s partnership with fashion designer Armani continues with the appearance of the rumored Armani W820/8200. The gold-trimmed slider features a 3.1-inch WVGA AMOLED touchscreen display, HSDPA, T-DMB, Bluetooth, 5 megapixel primary camera and a secondary front facing camera for video calling. The phone will reportedly launch in Korea some time in the near future, though timing and pricing are both unknown for the time being. We’re sure pricing will be nice and elevated but truth be told, this could be a sweet little phone. Let’s hope Samsung issues a version without the gold trim — you know, for those of us with self respect.

HTC Touch HD2 to run android and bump up CPU speed

In a world overflowing with full touchscreen handsets, HTC’s design and build quality is among the best. Recent handsets supporting that statement include the myTouch 3G, the Hero, the Hero and of course the Touch HD seen above. HTC fans may have new cause for celebration today as a rumor suggests the sequel to the the device that started the “HD” naming trend among handsets may be on the horizon. Register Hardware reports that conversations with HTC have drummed up some info on the upcoming Touch HD 2 (or more likely touch “HD2″ to maintain the Pro, Pro2 format). The blog reports that HTC’s upcoming HD sequel will run Android as opposed to Windows Mobile as found in its predecessor; a move we wouldn’t mind at all. Other rumored tidbits include a faster 628 MHz processor, up from 528 MHz in the original HD, and a 3.8-inch touchscreen display just like the HD. The presence of Android could lead to a capacitive screen however, though that’s just speculation on our part. Hopefully we’ll get official word from HTC soon, or at least a good old fashioned leak with some evidence to support it. Who knows, maybe we’ll even get some HD love in the US this time around.

LG Chocolate BL40 launching mid September in Europe

Perhaps it’s the ultra-wide 21:9 touchscreen display or maybe it’s the revised LG UI, but something about the Chocolate BL40 intrigues us. The simple fact that this handset is decidedly different from anything else on the market could be what’s drawing us in. Whatever the case, LG has just officially announced that its new oddball Chocolate phone will launch sometime toward the middle of this month in Europe. According to the release, the rest of the world will get the handset in October, though specific markets remain unnamed. To refresh your memory and whet your appetite, this Black Label phone features a 4-inch 800×345 pixel touchscreen display, LG’s S Class UI, a 5 megapixel camera with Schneider-Kreuznach lens, 7.2Mbps UMTS/HSDPA connectivity, Wi-Fi, and aGPS. The specs are there, the unique factor is there — the question is whether or not the market is there for a barely-pocketable feature phone with what will undoubtedly be a lofty price tag.

T-Mobile UK announces the android powered pulse

To all of the companies with intentions to pump out cheap and readily available devices: It’s time to get a move on because Huawei has just schooled you. Announced today is the T-Mobile Pulse, a prepaid-capable Android smartphone that utilizes a UI overlay known as Canvas. In terms of specs, the Pulse is quite capable with a 3.5-inch HVGA display, 3.2 megapixel camera, 2GB internal memory, 528MHz along with HSDPA, Wi-Fi and GPS radios. There are two features notably absent however; a flash for the camera and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Both T-Mobile and Huawei insist that their exclusion was necessary to keep the Pulse’s dimensions slim and trim at 160mm x 62.5mm x 13.5mm. Like it or not, the 3.5mm-less and flash-less Pulse will be as cheap as chips when it goes on sale this October: £179.99 ($293 USD) — or as low as 4.95€ in Germany with a 2-year agreement.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 gets official

Will it ever stop today? Sony Ericsson has apparently decided to join in the fun — and by that we mean attempt to steal Nokia’s thunder. Everyone’s favorite stumbling handset maker has just made the somewhat anticipated XPERIA X2 official. We would much rather see the XPERIA X3 become a reality but as they say, you can’t win ‘em all. As far as specs go, leaks have already encompassed just about everything worth mentioning: Windows Mobile 6.5, 8.1 megapixel camera with auto focus, touch focus and 16x digital zoom, 3.5-inch WVGA OLED display, aGPS, DLNA, 512MB RAM, 3.5 mm headphone jack and an accelerometer. No pricing has been announced but it will launch in select markets some time in Q4 and there will be a version with WCDMA 850/1900/2100 MHz. Hit the jump for a pair of videos along with the complete spec list.

HTC Touch 2 launch alongside "windows phone" movement on Oct. 6

Get a load of the cojones on HTC. Not content to let Nokia have all of the fun today over in Stuttgart, HTC has announced the Touch2. This little sucker will run Windows Mobile 6.5 with HTC’s very own TouchFLO overlay, and it will be one of the first smartphones to take advantage of all of those new fangled features that constitute a Windows Phone. For the time being, HTC is keeping mum with specs but we’ll be sure to let you know just as soon as they land in our inbox — even though we think we know full well what we’re dealing with. The HTC Mega, err, Touch2 will launch in unspecified markets on October 6th.

Nokia N97 Mini, X3 and X6 annonced at Nokia world 2009

News flash: Nokia managed to keep a pair of handsets a secret leading up to official announcements at Nokia World! Alongside the oft-talked about N97 Mini, two previously unknown music-centric devices, the X3 and X6, became official — but we’ll get to them in a moment. The N97 Mini, as we’re sure most of you know by now, can be summed up pretty quickly: Slightly smaller than the N97, tilting 3.2-inch resistive touchscreen display, sliding QWERTY keypad, 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and dual-LED flash, Wi-Fi, aGPS, 8GB of internal memory with microSDHC and UMTS/HSPA connectivity. Not great, not bad, but we’re also not too sure exactly who would take it over the N97, which is already free on contract in many countries.

As we said before, the X6’s announcement came as a total surprise — one that is actually quite nice. It’s a full-touchscreen (capacitive) candy bar that can pump out tunes from its 32GB of internal memory for up to 35 hours. It runs S60 5th of course; shame it isn’t Maemo-powered. Beyond that you’re looking at a 5 megapixel camera with a Zeiss lens and a dual-LED flash and as far as connectivity goes, the X6 has that lovable trifecta of HSPA, Wi-Fi and aGPS. The X3 is the alphanumeric slidin’ baby cousin of X6 that runs on S40 and has a 2.2-inch QVGA display, 3.2 megapixel camera, 46MB of internal memory, FM tuner and quad-band EDGE. Both the X3 and X6 will ship in Q4 for 115€ ($163 USD) and 450€ ($640 USD). As for the N97 Mini, it will be released next month for 450€ ($640 USD). Hit the jump for videos of each of these three handsets and let us know what you think.