Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Locked in a footrace with AT&T’s Fuze to become the first US national carrier to launch a variant of the HTC Touch Pro, Sprint has announced that folks can start ordering the QWERTY smartphone this week from “select national retailers,” making good on a promise made at CTIA last month. That’s not quite as cool as a full-scale launch, but at least we’ll start to get ‘em in the wild in the next few days — meanwhile, a more full-scale, fanfare-filled launch is planned for November 2 when the Touch Pro is made available online, via phone, and in all Sprint stores. Any Touch Diamond buyers feeling lingering regrets right about now?

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

It’s already been floating around for a day or two, but Samsung and AT&T have decided to go ahead and follow up their latest WinMo smartphone’s release to stores with… oh, you know, some actual press material. The i907 Epix rundown goes something like this: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, 3.6Mbps HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth, 2-megapixel cam, AGPS with AT&T Navigator, Video Share support, 320 x 320 2.5-inch touchscreen display, and one of those crazy “optical mice” for on-screen navigation when using the touchscreen itself is just too much trouble. Get it now (or yesterday, if you were really on the ball) for $99.99 on a two-year contract.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Given that both the iPAQ Data Messenger and Voice Messenger were spotted on HP’s website last night, we didn’t exactly need a press release to affirm their ascent into officialdom, but hey, we’ll take it. The two WinMo 6.1-powered handsets will soon be loosed on Vodafone in Europe, and starting next month, prospective consumers can buy in for £399 ($677) / £333 ($565) off-contract; as for the subsidized rates, you’ll have to hold your horses for those. If you’re just interested in the hands-on video, however, you can mosey on beyond the break and mash play.

Continue reading HP’s iPAQ Data Messenger / Voice Messenger get official on Vodafone, hands-on treatment

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Filed under: Cellphones

Looks like that rumor was mostly spot on, as two new consumer-minded iPAQ handhelds have emerged on HP’s website. Without much fanfare, the Windows Mobile 6.1-powered iPAQ Data Messenger and Voice Messenger have been granted dedicated sites, complete with imagery, specifications and recommended accessories. Starting with the touchscreen-heavy Data Messenger (seen above), you’ll find a 2.81-inch LED-backlit display (320 x 240), a full QWERTY slide-out keyboard, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR / WiFi, HSDPA, quad-band GSM support, aGPS, a 3.1-megapixel camera and a microSD card slot. As for the Voice Messenger (pictured after the break), it’s packing a 2.4-inch 320 x 240 LED-backlit screen, a 20-key “keyboard” and most everything else already mentioned on its big bro. There’s nary a clue on pricing or a release date, but we imagine both of those snippets will reveal themselves shortly.

[Via WMPowerUser]

Read - HP iPAQ Voice Messenger
Read - HP iPAQ Data Messenger

Continue reading HP iPAQ Data Messenger / Voice Messenger handhelds emerge

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

We’ve gotten a number of reports today that the Samsung i907 Epix is turning up in sundry AT&T stores across the lands, and those claims are certainly backed up by a fresh retail unboxing of Sammy’s WinMo 6.1 Professional monster for AT&T that’s turned up over on Boy Genius Report. “Monster” is the right word here, too, in light of Mr. Genius’ claims that the Epix seems to be just about the thickest device offered by the carrier outside the beastly Tilt — not the news we wanted to hear about a QWERTY handset that looks from a distance to be no more imposing than a BlackJack. The optical mouse is cool, don’t get us wrong, but is it cool enough to justify a conspicuous bulge in our pocket?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Pharos’ line of GPS-equipped Windows Mobile handsets has sort of lost its place in our hearts now that seemingly every phone under the sun — smartphone or otherwise — comes equipped with wicked advanced AGPS out of the box, but the company’s latest pair actually looks competitive for reasons that have nothing to do with GPS whatsoever. Sure, GPS is nice, but the Traveller 117 and 127 really rock on account of tri-band 7.2Mbps downstream HSPA, and in the case of the 117, a VGA display. They’ve also got 2-megapixel primary and VGA front-facing cames, Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, and covert semi-official launches courtesy of Dell’s online store. What more could you ask for?

[Thanks, rock99rock]

Read - Traveller 117
Read - Traveller 127

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Filed under: Cellphones

Oh yeah, you’ve seen Sony Ericsson’s succulent XPERIA X1 unboxed in still image form, but there’s just nothing like a little unpacking on video to really whet your appetite, right? Oh, and there’s also some comparison action thrown in with the HTC Touch Pro, and of course, we get to see the OS in action. Hop on past the break to have a look, but we’re warning you, those who covet easily will want to restrain themselves.

[Thanks, Oscar]

Continue reading Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 unboxed, played with on video

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

We’d been encouraged in previous spy shots that AT&T was intending to keep a clean, brand-free look on the front of the Fuze, but what were we thinking? That’d never sit well with the suits up on the 49th floor of AT&T’s headquarters (we just made that up, by the way — we have no idea how many floors AT&T’s headquarters has), and sure enough, the latest batch of shots is showing a big ol’ logo slapped on the upper right of the face. The poster says release is currently planned for early November, but we’d say that target is about as solid as one of those Jello rings you make in a bundt mold. We’ll believe it when it’s on the shelf, as they say.

[Via wmpoweruser]

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Filed under: Handhelds

Like your smartphones with a little heft to them? Check out Motorola’s new VC6096, an oversized Windows Mobile 6.1 device for those with inventory (and employees) to track. The 4.85 pound behemoth is intended for dashboards, not Dockers, and features a wealth of connectivity to ensure your workers are never offline, like HSDPA, 802.11a/b/g, and Bluetooth too. It also offers SAE J1708 and J1939 ports for communicating directly with the systems of whatever vehicle you mount it in, and a SiRFstarIII GSC3ef/LP GPS chipset for pinpointing exactly where your last shipment of widgets was delivered. The front sports a 6.5-inch VGA touchscreen and a backlit 65-key keyboard, while inside hides 128MB of RAM plus 256MB of flash for storage and a 624 MHz XScale PXA270 processor, a faster version of the same chip we’ve seen before in other shop-minded portables. Price isn’t set, but this could be the must-have gadget for your fleet in ‘09.

[Via NaviGadget]

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Filed under: Cellphones

Not that Motorola’s Q11 comes as any big surprise, but it’s nice to see the Windows Mobile 6.1-packin’ smartphone get all official on us. Now boasting its very own dedicated page on Moto’s website, the Q11 comes to us with quad-band GPRS / EDGE (no 3G, for whatever reason), a 3-megapixel camera with LED flash, 64MB of RAM, microSD card slot, Bluetooth 2.1, a 320 x 240 resolution display, integrated GPS and a multimedia player with support for all sorts of file formats. You can also expect up to 450 minutes of talk time and up to 195 hours in standby, but you won’t be able to wrap your paws around it until December. As for carriers and pricing? Patience, friends, patience.

[Via UnwiredView]

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Not even a fortnight after HTC’s Touch HD went official in Germany, out pops a review from Deutschland calling it the best thing since sliced bread. Okay, so maybe our translation skills are a bit off, but one thing’s for sure — it was hailed as the first “iPhone killer to deserve that name.” Right off the bat, reviewers praised the TouchFLO 3D interface for masking Windows Mobile, and of course, the expansive display was drooled upon numerous times. Additionally, critics praised the Opera browser while scolding Internet Explorer, and while it’s hard to say for certain whether the battery life was remarkable, it definitely seemed to get their vote of approval. Of note, the 3.5-millimeter headphone jack was also loved, making us weep while thinking of what could have been with the T-Mobile G1. At any rate, it seems pretty clear that the Touch HD is going to rock some socks off, but we’re trying to push it out of our minds until it becomes available on this side of the drink. Too bad that approach isn’t working at all.

[Via WMPowerUser]

Read - Early Touch HD review
Read - Video showing off Stocks tab

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Now that Sony Ericsson’s mighty X1 has earned the FCC’s love and affection, you won’t be an outlaw for using one in the States — but unfortunately, you won’t be a speed demon everywhere, either. The version that just nabbed approval here is the X1i, and anyone familiar with Sony Ericsson’s naming scheme can tell you that an “i” means a phone’s not really meant for North American consumption; in this case, we’re lucky to squeak by with UMTS Band II support, which means we’ll theoretically be able to pick up some of AT&T’s 1900MHz signal. On 850, though, you’ll be stuck with EDGE. Of course, a true global launch has been in the cards for the X1 from day one, and we’re not worried that we won’t see a more 3G-rife model getting torn down by the feds — this just ain’t it.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Let’s do a quick recap, shall we? So we pretty much know everything there is to know about Verizon’s forthcoming BlackBerry Storm save for the price and release date, and so far as we can tell, Verizon’s version of the Touch Diamond is still expected to be totally underpowered compared to Sprint’s iteration. Now that we’ve rounded the tables, let’s have a look at this image above. This here is Verizon’s internal training schedule, and given that employees have to complete their Storm courses before November 2nd and their Touch Diamond courses before December 3rd, we’d say you now have a pretty good idea of when these two will be landing. Hey VZW — think you could make that “Blocking Features Assessment” available to the public? We’re guessing it’d be a real hit.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

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You’ve seen HTC’s Touch Diamond, Touch Pro and Touch HD handled in separate instances, but CNET Asia took the opportunity to get all three of the handsets together for a little get-together. Atypical for most sibling relationships, these three seemed to get along fairly well, though we did overhear the Touch Diamond calling the Touch Pro “a fatso.” Hit the read link for a few more looks.

[Via SlashPhone]

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Filed under: Cellphones

It’s no shock to see a US 3G-enabled Touch Diamond showing up at Best Buy (unlike the hamstrung sibling over at CompUSA) — though we can’t say we were expecting the big box retailer to start shipping this soon. If its website is to be believed (read: don’t book it just yet), the unlocked Touch Diamond 3G you’re about to order for $699.99 will leave Best Buy’s warehouse within one business day. If that’s not cool with you, you can also pick it up “at most stores.” Shame there’s no white option listed…

[Via MobileTechReview]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Okay, so this “review” of HTC’s beastly new Touch HD isn’t much of a review, but it offers up a few important snippets of insight — and perhaps more importantly for the visual stimulation-starved among us, a plethora of photography. The reviewer notes that the 800 x 480 display is positively gorgeous, the cam is decent (though autofocus is a tad on the slow side), the latest iteration of TouchFLO 3D running here chugs along with virtually no slowdown, and despite the display and the heavy-duty spec sheet, the darned thing is essentially the same size as an iPhone 3G. Oh, and there’s also a true 3.5mm headphone jack lurking on here, too, which we dare you to find on that HTC in your pocket right now. Makes it all that much harder to hear that it’s launching in the fourth quarter without global HSDPA, doesn’t it?

[Thanks, Steph]

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We’ve known for what feels like ages that Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X1 would be based on Windows Mobile, but we wouldn’t count on the X2, X3 or X99 to just follow suit. At the launch of its digital marketing campaign for said handset, the firm made clear that future SE Xperia phones may not be based on Microsoft’s OS, with Magnus Andersson, product manager for the X1, noting that “the brand is not tied into any specific technical platform.” Unfortunately, he didn’t elaborate nor give any indication what other systems we could eventually see, but at least we know that there will be life after the X1 in one form or another, right?

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Billed as an “affordable touch phone with the benefits of HTC’s TouchFLO,” the Touch Viva picks up where the original Touch left off and move things just a little bit downmarket for the benefit of smartphone lovers in emerging markets. To that end, the screen stays low-end with QVGA resolution, the radio tops out at EDGE speeds, and the camera’s a mere 2-megapixel piece — but by the same token, the Viva hangs onto WiFi, 256MB of ROM, and GPS. It also gets blessed with a tweaked version of TouchFLO that doesn’t rely on 3D acceleration found in HTC’s higher-end units. It’ll be available starting next month for what we can only imagine will be a pretty reasonable price; backup smartphone, anyone?

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Filed under: Cellphones

Like they said they would, Sprint just spun the HTC Touch Diamond out for retail. $250 (after $200 instant savings, $100 mail-in rebate, and 2-year contract) takes home this WinMo 6.1 candybar with HTC’s TouchFLO 3D salve layered atop a 2.8-inch touch-screen display, 4GB of memory, WiFi, 3.2 megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, GPS, and EV-DO Rev. A. The tough decision is buy now, wait for Sprint’s Touch Pro launching on Friday, or hold-out for Best Buy to get its act together and put the $700 unlocked 3G Touch Diamond out onto store shelves.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Oh, come on, you know there’s a part of you that wants it. A big part, even. The Touch Diamond is the first new HTC piece to get teed up for Sprint, but the Touch Pro is hot on its heels a few weeks later — and with a QWERTY keyboard, it’s hard to ignore. Question is, is it worth the extra wait? Well, ease your troubled mind for just a second and take a gander at our gallery on Engadget Mobile — we’re not saying it’s going to make your decision any easier, we’re just saying everyone likes pretty pictures.

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