BlackBerry Storm 2 To Be Released Early; Will Have WiFi

We could see the BlackBerry Storm 2 as early as September of this year. Apparently, the BlackBerry Storm 2 will also have WiFi and 3G. It will be released on Verizon Wireless, the same carrier that, apparently, pulled WiFi from the device so that consumers would have to rely on Verizon's own network. There are said to be a number of improvements and I'm going to take a stab in the dark that fixing the touchscreen has been addressed.

[Electronista]

Samsung SyncMaster 70-Series Going Green

Samsung is really putting their foot forward and going green. The Samsung SyncMaster 70 series has just been announced and will be available in you choice of either 20 or 23-inches. The monitor will have a 50,000:1 contrast ratio, a 2ms response time, will consume 33% less energy, and looks (to me) like it has a 16:9 aspect ratio - but don't quote me on that. So far there has been no word on its resolution, price or availability, but it does look really sexy to me. What do you think?

[Engadget]

Firefox 3.6 Focusing On What Matters

While Mozilla is not going to release Firefox 3.5 until June, they are already looking ahead. Here we're talking about Firefox 3.6. Maybe Mozilla is rushing things a little bit, but it's good to know that they're headed in the right direction. They are planning to focus on speed, no-restart extension installation, and having desktop web applications. Google Chrome, on the other hand, has 2 of those down-pat, but they're still lacking in the extensions category. I'm wondering if Firefox 3.5 will beat out their previous world record for most downloads in 24 hours. 8 million is a huge mark to try to beat.

[Lifehacker]

Rumour: Huawei's Android-Based Phone To Be Released On T-Mobile

This isn't exactly new news, since I talked a bit about it last week. The latest rumour says that it will be released on T-Mobile and will be dubbed as the G3. Now that is interesting. It's not confirmed, but Tech Radar has been kind enough to contact T-Mobile to confirm whether or not this is, in fact, true. So, this Huawei handset will be the third Android phone to embrace T-Mobile. As a reminder, the phone will have a 5MP camera, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, WiFi, and HSDPA connectivity. I'm curious to know the screen size of this device because it looks fairly large.

[Tech Radar]

Google Android In Tablets; T-Mobile G2 To Have 5MP Camera

It's no surprise that Google's Android OS will be hitting tablet PCs and possibly even netbooks in the near future. This is the Google OS that I have long been waiting for. Now I'm just waiting for it to become mainstream. Apparently, the Android OS can on a measly little 200MHz ARM processor, which is sweet. Look out for Android-based tablets (and home phones?) in early 2010. On to the T-Mobile G2. Yes, it has been confirmed that the HTC Magic will be named the T-Mobile G2 when it hits the US of A. It will be hitting the US "soon," meaning by the end of this month. This means that the US could see the Magic aka G2 before Vodafone starts to release it. That's always good news. According to Electronista, the T-Mobile G2 will have 3G, GPS, WiFi and... wait for it... an upgraded 5MP camera. That beats out the T-Mobile G1's 3.2MP camera, but it looks like it will still be flashless. The G2 will also [still] sport the infamous "chin."

[Electronista]

Nokia E75 Now Available

The Nokia E75 that was first seen at MWC [officially] earlier this year is now shipping its way over here (North America). The E75 has a 2.4-inch QVGA screen with a 320 x 240 resolution, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 3.15MP camera with autofocus and VGA video recording, "worldwide HSDPA coverage," WiFi, GPS, and a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. The "Nokia E75 best selling point is messaging. The handset is the first to ship with the updated Nokia Messaging push email service, which recently added Hotmail to the already extensive email support including Mail for Exchange and IBM Lotus Notes Traveler." The E75 is not entirely just for your email though, it also has N-Gage gaming support, Nokia Maps and Ovi Files (service for storing files online). The Nokia E75 is going for a retail price of €385 ($520 USD) and I think that's a reasonable price. I just wish the screen could be a bit bigger, but I guess they had to make room for all of those buttons, right? If you want to see more photos, click on the link below.

[GSM Arena]

Samsung SCH-U960 Spec Sheet, But No Picture

Although there is no picture yet, at least you have the spec sheet to let your mind soar. This is my type of phone, the camera is just lacking a bit for me. With the Samsung SCH-U960, you'll get: a full touchscreen (size unknown), a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth, GPS, a 3MP camera with geotagging, 3G (no WiFi), and a microSD card slot. As of right now, Phone Arena says that the phone will be released through Verizon Wireless, but mentions no price or release date. I'll get that for you, along with a picture, soon.

Updated on June 6: The Samsung U960 has passed the FCC and is rumoured to be the Glyde 2.

Updated on July 6: A picture of the Samsung SCH-U960 / Glyde 2 has been spotted in the wild. Check it out here!

Update on July 18: The Samsung Glyde 2 has gotten its official name changed to the Samsung Rogue U960 and is rumoured to be available as early as next month - on Verizon. Check it out here.

Update on July 19: According to the latest rumour, this handset is expected to be available next month (August) on Verizon. For more information, check out this link.

Update on July 30: It looks like Verizon will launch this phone on August 15th.

[Phone Arena]

LG VX11000 Voyager 2 Spec Sheet Semi-Unveiled

I talked about the recent leaked photo a couple of days ago, and now the spec sheet is here! The Voyager 2 has: a 3MP camera with an LED flash, Bluetooth, 3G (no WiFi), and a microSD card slot. In addition to these features, it has two displays (above photo). Both displays have an 800 x 480 resolution; the front display is a touchscreen, but the inner one is not. The phone flips out to reveal a QWERTY keyboard, which is similar to the Env3. Expect this phone to be released by Verizon later this year. No exact price or availability has been mentioned yet.

[Phone Arena]

LG W53 SMART LCD Monitors Are Sexy And Smart

Yes, they are. The beautiful monitor you see before you is LG's latest LCD monitor, the W53 SMART. It has these so-called "smart" features like ambient light detection, Cinema Mode (to black out everything else when you're watching a video), a timer that tells you when you should take a break, and a proximity sensor "to activate the monitor controls when your hand approaches the display, and hide them when you're not tweaking anything." These sexed-up monitors have a 2ms response time, a 50,000:1 contrast ratio and will come in various sizes ranging from 18.5 to 27-inches. If you decide to get this monitor, I'd advise you to choose something upwards of 21.5-inches because they will have a 1,920 x 1,080 1080p Full HD resolution at a 16:9 aspect ratio. These monitors should be available worldwide by the end of this month, so it's not that long of a wait. Unfortunately, no prices have been mentioned yet.

[Engadget]

Nokia N97's FCC Shots

"The FCC has published full submitted details of one of the non-North American varieties of Nokia's halo device for the year, putting GSM / EDGE 850 / 1900 and WCDMA band II (1900MHz, if you're curious) through their paces along with the FM transmitter, Bluetooth, and WiFi." As you can see in the picture, it doesn't really look like the black or white model of the N97. Maybe it's just bad lighting or a new color model us North Americans we'll ever see. Man, I hope I get my hands on this phone. I need a job, quick!

[Engadget]