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Sony Ericsson Files Patent For Swiveling Camera Handset

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This could be one of those awkward patents that never come true, but it looks like this patent from Sony Ericsson is quite interesting. What you see here is that the bottom of the handset will swivel to show a camera. If the phone was thick enough, the lens could be larger and would, in fact, take better pictures because megapixels aren't everything.

[Cell Passion]



Verizon Could Release Apple Tablet By the End of the Year; Apple Hints That it Will Cost At Least $500

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It's been rumoured time and time again, but it looks like Verizon "could -- and apparently will -- launch another Apple product, namely a tablet computer, sometime before the year's end." The Apple tablet could look like a giant iPod Touch (around 9 to 10-inches) and it could be sporting a keyboard. Unfortunately, like all other Apple products, it doesn't look like it will be a cheap product - even after it is subsidized. Today, Apple hinted at a price point for their rumoured tablet and mentioned that anything with a $399 and $499 price tag is a "junky product."

[Unwired View, Tech Crunch]

HTC Files 3 More Trademarks, The HTC Vigor, Interlude, and Imagio -- Tattoo and Dawn Too

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Just when you thought HTC was only going to leak out four of their upcoming smartphones, today spawns more future HTC handsets. Recently, HTC filed for three trademarks, the HTC Vigor, HTC Interlude, and Imagio. We don't have a clue what these 3 handsets will be, but it could be HTC's first smartphone offerings of 2010.

Update on July 27th: According to Phone Arena, HTC has also trademarked the names Tattoo and Dawn as well. At this point we still don't know anything about all of these phones, so we'll have to wait patiently. The HTC Dawn could be launching sooner rather than later though, since we spotted it last week.

[Cell Passion]

Four Android-Based Motorola Handsets Expected By the End of the Year

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According to a credible source, "Motorola is planning to announce four Android phones as early as September." Although everyone is excited about Android handsets, I don't know how excited I am about Motorola making Android phones. The cheapest Android phone is said to be hitting India for Rs. 11,000 ($228 USD) However earlier this morning, the Motorola Morrison was shown running Android, so it's possible that it is one of the four Android-based handsets that will be announced.

[Cell Passion]

Samsung Protector i8320 Gets WiFi Alliance Certificate

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Cell Passion has discovered yet another handset, the Samsung Protector aka the GT i8320. It recently got a WiFi Alliance Certificate, so this handset will, of course, have WiFi. There's nothing else known about this handset, but let's hope more information about it leaks in the near future.

[Cell Passion]

BlackBerry 9550 Storm 2 Caught on Video, SurePress-Equipped

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Below is actual footage of a BlackBerry 9550 Storm 2 in action. Apparently, this Storm 2 is in "very early stage" so it's possible that it will be improved in the future. What's interesting about the video is that SurePress is clearly present in the Storm 2. Engadget talked to CrackBerry, "who confirms that the whole display does in fact move in and out just a bit, although much less than its predecessor, and that sound you hear is a physical click -- guess SurePress really is here to stay, after all." You can take a look at the video below for more information and hands-on footage.



[Engadget Mobile]

Samsung Jet Viral Video, Kind of Awkward

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The Samsung S8000 Jet has been available for a while, but Samsung has just posted its latest video about the handset. You can take a look at it below and tell me what you think about it. Although it was awkward, it was actually kind of clever at the same time.



[Mobile Roar]

Nokia 6760 Slide / AT&T Surge Hitting Europe in Q3

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AT&T has just launched this handset, the Nokia 6760 Slide as the AT&T Nokia Surge and it looks like its headed to Europe. All the specs of the Surge are going to stay the same, except the camera will get a slight bump to 3.2MP - up from 2MP. You can check out the complete spec sheet here. Europe should expect this handset to hit their shores for around €199 ($283) "before subsidies and taxes" in Q3 of this year.

[Slash Gear]

Mobii ION 230 Netbook Powered By Nvidia Ion

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What you see here is Point of View's Mobii ION 230 netbook, which has: a 10.2-inch display with a 1,024 x 600 resolution, an Atom N230 CPU, the Nvidia Ion chipset, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD, and an HDMI output. The Ion chipset is set to be capable of 1080p playback, DirectX 10, and Shader Model 4.0 support. It's expected to hit Europe in a couple of weeks with a €349 ($495 USD) price tag.

[Engadget]

Samsung Releasing WiMAX-Capable Mondi MID On August 1st

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Samsung's WiMAX-capable WinMo Mondi MID is going to be available starting on August 1st. This MID will be compatible with "Clearwire's CLEAR WiMAX service rolling out in Las Vegas." You can check out the Mondi's specs here, it has a 4.3-inch touchscreen display. On August 1st, this MID will be available at "Clearwire retail outlets and select Best Buy stores in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Portland, OR." The price hasn't been mentioned yet, but the launch is only 11 days away.

[Slash Gear]

Blizzcon 2009 Starting in Exactly One Month; StarCraft II Gaming Mousepads to be Released This Month

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WoW Insider points out that Blizzcon 2009 starts "exactly one month from today." At Blizzcon 2009 this year, we should expect to see some: more Starcraft II news, more Diablo III news, World of Warcraft news, news about their unannounced MMO, and Blizzard could announce what "Cataclysm" is. If you haven't got a ticket yet, check out the link below for more information.

In related news, you should already be hyped for the release of Starcraft II which should be available by the end of the year. If you're hardcore enough, you can scoop up SteelSeries' new Starcraft II gaming mousepads. These mousepads are said to be available by the end of this month for $14.99 USD. If I had the money, I would totally go out and get one.

[WoW Insider]

LG Korea Releasing Levi's Special Edition XNote Mini X120 Netbooks on July 24

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What you see above is what LG Korea is calling the Levi's special edition of their Xnote Mini X120 netbook. The specs are no different, so you'll find: an Intel Atom 1.6GHz N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD, WiFi b/g, Bluetooth 2.0, a 6-cell battery, "Smart On" technology, and it runs Windows XP. The special edition will have a design on the top of the lid and will also come with a Levi's denim laptop sleeve.

This special edition will be available starting on July 24th and will stop selling after 28 days. Unfortunately, there will only be 2,500 of these special edition netbooks available, so it could sell out before the 28-day mark. The price has not been mentioned yet and it's also "unlikely" for these netbooks to be available outside of Korea.

[Slash Gear]

HTC Click Possibly Running Android, Looks to be a Low-End Offering

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The HTC Click is one of the 4 upcoming HTC smartphones I talked about two days ago. It's pictured above and could actually be a low-end Android handset. There's nothing known about this handset, but it does have an awkward array of buttons on the front. Not to mention, there's a giant circle on it, which could be an optical trackpad of some sort. Anyways, look out for it in the next couple of days / weeks, we'll have more information on this handset soon.

[Engadget Mobile]

Dell Slashes Adamo Price Tag to $1,500, Now Matches MacBook Air

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The Adamo is Dell's answer to Apple's MacBook Air and it had a questionable launch due to its underwhelming spec sheet and its overwhelming price tag. Today, Dell has cut the price of their low-end Adamo, which sports: a 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD, to match the entry-level 1.86GHz MacBook Air. The Dell Adamo is now going for $1,499 USD on Dell's official website. The higher-end model has also dropped to $2,299 USD, but it still costs a chunk more than the high-end MacBook Air model which goes for $1,799 USD. The high-end Adamo model is equipped with a 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, a 128GB SSD, 4 GB of RAM, and 3G support.

[Electronista]

Full Spec Sheet of the Samsung C5510 Mid-End Slider Revealed

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Late last month, I briefly talked about this low to mid-end slider handset from Samsung. Today, the full spec sheet has been revealed. The Samsung C5510 has: a 2.2-inch display with a 240 x 320 resolution, quad-band GSM / dual-band UMTS, a 2MP AF camera, a microSD card slot, FM radio with RDS, Bluetooth 2.1, and 3G support. Unfortunately, this handset does not have WiFi and the price and release date still hasn't been mentioned yet. It's expected to be available in Q3 of this year though.

[Phone Arena]

Bell Employees Starting Their Palm Pre Training

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Finally, it looks like all of Bell's employees will go into their Palm Pre training. Canada has been waiting for the Palm Pre to hit our shores for a while now. The training started yesterday in Calgary and continues: today in Vancouver, Thursday (July 23rd) in Toronto, July 27th in Montreal, and July 29th in Moncton. The Palm Pre could hit Bell by the end of this month, if we're lucky enough or we could just see an early August release date. The expected price free of contract is $650 CAD ($590 USD).

[Mobile Syrup]

T-Mobile UK Planning to Sell Unlocked iPhone 3GS

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According to the latest rumour, T-Mobile UK is looking to trump its rival, O2, by selling unlocked models of the iPhone 3GS. "However, the radical plan could lead to anger from Apple which tightly controls the sale of the iPhone 3GS." T-Mobile UK could be selling these unlocked iPhone 3GS's in the near future, but we'll just have to see how this all works out.

[Stuff.tv]

Samsung India Releases New 21.5 and 23-Inch Lavender Series LCD Monitors

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What you see here is the latest Samsung Lavender Series LCD monitors which come in 21.5 and 23-inches. This monitor has: the ToC (Touch of Color) design, a 16:9 aspect ratio, a 50,000:1 contrast ratio, a 2ms response time, 170 / 160-degree viewing angles, and a Power Off Mode which is designed to use only 1W of power. This monitor is 100% recyclable and is environmentally friendly. The 21.5 and 23-inch models are now available in India for Rs. 12,500 ($258 USD) and Rs. 13,500 ($279 USD), respectively.

[Tech Tree]

Samsung S5600 Blade Now Available For Free on Vodafone

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Orange released this handset way back in June, but now it's Vodafone's turn. Vodafone has just released the mid-end Samsung S5600 Blade. It's available now for free for as low as £15 ($24.69 USD) a month on a 2-year contract, which is a little bit lower than Orange's offering of £20 ($32.92 USD) a month on a 2-year contract. You can check out the Samsung S5600 Blade's specs right here.

[Pocket-Lint]

Bell Releasing Low-End Pink LG Wine On August 14th

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It looks like Bell will be releasing another low-end phone on August 14th. This time it will be a pink LG Wine. It's a flip phone that has: a 2.2-inch display, a 1.3MP camera, GPS, and Blueooth. It will be available for $39.95 CAD on a 3-year contract, $89.95 CAD on a 2-year contract, $229.95 CAD on a 1-year contract, and $279.95 CAD free of contract. Talk about overpriced - even on a 3-year plan.

[Mobile Syrup]

Motorola Morrison in Black Caught Running Android

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Before today, we've only seen white models of the Motorola Morrison, so here's the black model for you. What's even more interesting is that it's clearly running Android, which is something that hasn't been confirmed until now. This is supposed to hit T-Mobile sometime in the future and will be Motorola's first Android handset. Judging from its bright colours and tininess, this could be T-Mobile's [and the world's] first low-end Android-based handset. I favour the HTC Hero greatly over this.

[Gizmodo]

Toshiba TG01 Passes FCC With CDMA Love, Could Hit Sprint / Verizon

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The Toshiba TG01 is the first handset to sport the 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU and it also has the largest display on a mobile phone (4.1-inches). Well, if you're in the US and you're waiting for this WinMo phone then you are in luck. It has just passed the FCC with CDMA, so it could hit Sprint and/or Verizon in the future. The release could be in the near future, since the handset is listed as "production" and not "prototype". Coincidentally, this news has popped up right after I just finished talking about Sprint on the verge of announcing something on August 6th at 8AM ET. Could this be what Sprint is going to announce?

Unfortunately, since it's running WinMo 6.1 (upgradeable to WinMo 6.5) right now, the reviews for this handset are mediocre at best. It also doesn't help that the display is a resisitve touchscreen.

[Engadget]

HTC Hero Launching on Orange UK Tomorrow

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It looks like the HTC Hero won't be released on July 24th because it will be available on Orange UK tomorrow (July 22) instead. Looks like it'll hit Orange first in the UK, since T-Mobile still has this handset listed as coming soon, which supposedly means "later this month." Don't forget that it'll be hitting Amazon on August 15th. The HTC Hero's price plans on Orange UK have not been mentioned yet, but I'll have that for you tomorrow.

[Pocket-Lint]

Google Wave to Hit 100,000 Users on September 30

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The title says it all. Google plans to release [probably a beta version of] Google Wave on September 30th. Unfortunately, only 100,000 invites will be available at its launch date. However, Stuff.tv mentions that, "it's likely that Google Wave will launch with a limited invitation system similar to the one Gmail started out with way back when." I can't wait for this to get released, I hope I get invited!

[Stuff.TV]

Sprint Announcing Something on August 6th

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No one knows what it is, but Sprint is going to make an announcement at 8AM ET on August 6. So, mark that on your calendars and wake up early to see / hear what it is. It could be an HTC Touch Pro 2 announcement, which has already passed the FCC. It could also be an HTC Hero / WiMAX-Capable Samsung handset announcement, which we heard about back in late June. Whatever it is, we'll find out on August 6th.

Update: It could also be the announcement of the Toshiba TG01. It has just been cleared by the FCC with CDMA support.

[Mobile Crunch]

HTC Touch Pro 2 Hitting T-Mobile on August 12, Hitting Verizon as the XV6875

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Right now, all the buzz is centred around what the HTC XV6975 is - either the HTC Touch Diamond 2 or the HTC Whitestone. Well, the more exciting headset is arguably the HTC XV6875 aka the Touch Pro 2, which is also hitting Verizon Wireless. Unfortunately, the pricing and release date for the XV6875 on Verizon still hasn't been mentioned. Fortunately, it looks like the release of the HTC Touch Pro 2 on T-Mobile has just been mentioned. The price hasn't been mentioned yet, but it looks like the Touch Pro 2 will be hitting T-Mobile on August 12th. This date lines up with what we heard earlier this month.

In related news, it doesn't look like Telus has launched the HTC Touch Pro 2 today. If you remember, July 21st was the day the Touch Pro 2 was supposed to be released. On a side note, Telus still hasn't launched the HTC Snap.

[Phone Arena]

Intel Atom N450 Equipped Netbooks Pushed to 2010?

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Just last week, I talked about how we would see Intel Atom N450 CPU equipped netbooks shown-off at IDF this September. While that may be true, the actual release of these netbooks could actually be pushed back to the first half of next year (2010). Apparently, this is to let the "existing netbook market to settle." Check out this excerpt I pulled from Slash Gear below.

Pine Trail integrates the graphics core into the processor, together with the memory controller, and introduces a new Tiger Point chipset with I/O including SATA, USB 2.0, PCI Express and Intel HD Audio.  It also promises reduced power requirements, which will either mean longer runtimes with the same performance as existing Atom systems, or more performance with no loss in runtimes.

[Slash Gear]

iPod Touch to Get Microphone and Camera / Video Recording

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We've heard this rumour many, many times already so this should come as a surprise to no one. According to a "well connected" insider, China is already making the new iPod Touch and it should be available in two to three months. This launch would cause Microsoft's ZuneHD to fail. The refreshed iPod Touches are said to have a camera and a microphone which would be a great addition and would be perfect for Skype calls over WiFi. The camera is also said to be able to record video, which wouldn't be all that surprising either. If the next iPod Touch has a camera and a built-in microphone, you can sign me up for one.

[Electronista]

HTC Leo Equipped With WinMo 6.5, a 4.3-Inch Display and a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU

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Two days ago, I briefly talked about four HTC upcoming smartphones. Well today it looks like we got the scoop and specs on the HTC Leo. The picture above says it all, the HTC Leo has: a gigantic 4.3-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen display, a Qualcomm MSM8250 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, quad-band GSM/EDGE / dual-band 900/2100MHz HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, aGPS, a 5MP AF camera with a dual-LED flash, 320MB of RAM, a 3.5mm headphone jack, 512MB of internal memory, and a microSD card slot. This handset is only codenamed "Leo" so keep that in mind. It's also running WinMo 6.5, so it looks like it'll get a release later this year.

Our first reports about the HTC Leo mentioned that it would have two displays, but it doesn't look like it'll have 2 displays anymore. Either that or it hasn't been outlined yet. But, this looks like a full-spec sheet to me.

Update on July 22nd: According to Gizmodo, the HTC Leo could actually be the HTC Firestone. I've actually been hearing a ton of rumours about it, so I figured that I might as well post about it. The specs remain accurate.

[Slash Gear]

XPERIA Day: Sony Ericsson XPERIA "Rachael" X3 Confirmed; More Pictures of the XPERIA X2

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So much for Sony Ericsson skipping the XPERIA X3 "due to negative connotations." The Sony Ericsson "Rachael" aka XPERIA X3 has just been confirmed by the online retailer Expansys! The XPERIA X3 has: a 4-inch display with a 400 x 800 resolution, an 8MP camera, dual-band 900/2100MHz HSDPA / HSUPA, Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi b/g, aGPS, a microSDHC card slot, miniUSB connectivity, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The camera has 8x digital zoom, LED flash, image stabilization, smile shutter, face detection, and it can also record VGA 30fps videos. The display is guessed to be capacitive, since all of the Android handsets so far have been capacitive. Don't forget that this is running Android. This is definitely the best phone that Sony Ericsson has announced thus far, let's hope they continue this trend. Surprisingly enough, you can now pre-order your XPERIA X3 today, however there's no price listed on the Expansys site.

What you see above is another picture of the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2, which we've known about for quite some time. Don't forget that this is another one of Sony Ericsson's better handsets - like the XPERIA X3. The X2 has: a 3.5-inch OLED WVGA touchscreen display, an 8.1MP AF camera capable of shooting VGA video at 30fps, 512MB of RAM, GPS, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. This handset will run on a customized WinMo 6.5 and will be upgradeable to WinMo 7. The price and availability have not been mentioned yet. Click on the Boy Genius link below for a couple more pictures.

[Slash Gear (XPERIA X3), Boy Genius (XPERIA X2)]

Windows Mobile 6.5 on Video

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Two days ago, I reported that WinMo 6.5 looks like it will be finger-friendly. Well today, a video of the latest WinMo 6.5 build - running on my first love, the HTC Touch HD - has just found its way online. I've posted the video below for you to enjoy, courtesy of WMPowerUser. Check it out!



[WMPowerUser]

PS3 Slim Hitting Shelves This August, Bundled With Madden NFL 10

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According to the latest rumour, the Slim PS3 could hit the shelves sometime this August. The rumour also states that it will be bundled with Madden NFL 10 - at launch - which is also scheduled to hit shelves this August, August 14th to be exact. "Adding fuel to the speculation, Sony has already confirmed a massive press conference on August 18 for GamesCom" which is definitely interesting. I'm excited for this and I can't wait for August. The PS3 Slim could be on the way folks!!

[PS3 QJ.net]

Motorola A45 "Murano" in the Works

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This handset looks kind of like the Motorola QA1 Karma, doesn't it? Well, this is actually the Motorola A45 "Murano." As of right now, it looks like it'll be a low-end handset with a 2MP camera and a QWERTY keypad, clearly. Engadget Mobile points out that it could get released in South America before in launches in North America, but does anyone really care?

[Engadget Mobile]

Motorola Ivory E18 Was Going to Be a Luxury Handset

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You may or may not know about Motorola's luxury phone, the Motorola Aura, but there's the link. Well back in the day, this Motorola Ivory E18 handset was set to be one of Motorola's luxury phones - thankfully it got cancelled. Like the Aura, it has an unusual design - "slide a bit and function keys appear, slide a bit more and you have a full T9 keypad."

This handset was going to cost around €2,000 ($2,844 USD) for a stainless steel model. There was also scheduled to be a Gold and Platinum model of this handset as well that would cost over €10,000 ($14,219 USD). The specs of this handset are similar to what you will find on the Motorola Aura, but I actually think the Aura looks better than this - it's also cheaper.

[Unwired View]

HP ProBook 4310s Notebook Now Available For $779

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Last month, we heard about the HP ProBook 4310s notebook and now it's on sale. If you go on HP's official website, you can customize your HP ProBook 4310s to your standards. The ProBook 4310s notebook has: a 13.3-inch LED-backlit HD display (matte / glossy), your choice of Core 2 Duo CPUs, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, up to a 500GB HDD, an optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics card, three USB 2.0 slots, HDMI / VGA outputs, an ExpressCard slot, and an optional Blu-ray drive. The ProBook 4310s is now available on HP's official website at a base price of $779 USD.

[Engadget]

LG GW825 Unsurprisingly Runs Windows Mobile

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Cell Passion really loves digging deep into the user agent profiles in order to find future handsets and today is no different. They have just found that the LG GW825 is another handset that LG will launch in the future. As of right now, it looks like it will run on Windows Mobile and it will have a 480 x 800 resolution display. The resolution of the display may signal that this is a touchscreen-based handset because that's a whole lot of pixels. It's still not clear which version of WinMo this handset will be launching with, but we should know more about this handset soon.

[Cell Passion]

HTC XV6975 Touch Diamond 2 Hitting Verizon, Could be the HTC Whitestone

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It looks like the HTC XV6975 has just been approved to hit the market, according to the GCF. The HTC XV6975 is Verizon's model number for the HTC Touch Diamond 2, so it looks like it will make its debut on there. Look out for another announcement regarding the price and exact availability of this handset in the, hopefully, near future.

Update: According to Unwired View, the HTC XV6975 could either be the Touch Diamond 2 or the HTC Whitestone (below). A recent Engadget Mobile post, has also mentioned that it will be the HTC Whitestone as well, so it looks like they're unsure too.

[Engadget Mobile]

Samsung Readying the Release of the S9110 Watch Phone and i920 Handset

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It looks like Samsung is definitely ready to climb their way to get to Nokia's top spot on the global mobile phone market. The Samsung GT-S9110 handset has just surpassed the Bluetooth SIG and it reportedly has Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR / A2DP and WiFi. The other phone that has also passed the Bluetooth SIG and the FCC is the Samsung SCH-i920. The SCH-i920, I believe, is scheduled to be the Samsung I8000 Omnia II - the successor to the Samsung Omnia (SCH-i900). Check out the Omnia II's full spec sheet here.

Update on July 22nd: According to Engdaget, the GT-S9110 is actually Samsung's first watch phone. What's interesting here is that it will be the first watch phone to hit the market, since it will hit France this month! It will also cost much cheaper than LG's watch phone, it will hit France with only a €450 ($639 USD) price tag. Take that LG.

[Unwired View, WMPowerUser]

HTC Mega Gets WiFi Alliance Certificate; Releasing Low-End Smartphone This September

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There's not really much to report here, but it looks like one of the 4 smartphones we heard about two days ago will have WiFi. The HTC Mega has just got a WiFi Alliance certificate and is rumoured to run Windows Mobile 6.5. This smartphone could have a similar form factor to the HTC Touch 3G.

It looks like HTC "will launch a device running its own proprietary OS with many features of TouchFlo3D and HTC Sense as early as September this year." This handset will have a similar factor to the HTC Touch Viva. It looks like it will be a low-end phone and could actually be the HTC Mega that I talked about in the first paragraph - since the HTC Touch Viva and HTC Touch 3G look similar. We'll see what happens in the coming months.

[Cell Passion (HTC Mega), WMPowerUser (HTC)]