Filed under: Handsets, LG, Telus Mobility, EV-DO, CDMA

We’re hearing that Telus will be ushering in a whole new age of Texter’s Thumb before too long with the launch of the curiously-named “KEYBO,” a rebrand of the enV2 found on Verizon in the Says. EV-DO data, a media player, and a 2 megapixel camera make this a solid choice for SMS maniacs who want something just a tiny sexier and fancier than the Rumour (itself a rebrand of Sprint’s Rumor). We comprehend where the name comes from — sort of — but that doesn’t mean it’s right.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Filed under: Handsets, CDMA

MetroPCS might not have the largest wireless footprint in the States, but they did take a jab at the more massive two CDMA carriers by announcing their intention to take on any Verizon and Sprint customers ready to jump ship — as well as any “compatible” devices they may want to bring along with them. Sprint already supposedly does this (although we’ve still yet to hear of it actually really happening), but the specifics of MetroPCS’s MetroFlash seem equally unclear. It doesn’t sound like they’ll reprogram just any CDMA device that walks through their doors, though, just the ones they’ve had a chance to test on their network. Definitely kills the buzz (and the number of devices that can be ported), but a little open is still kind of better than completely closed, right?

[Via Seattle P-I and Mobility Site]

Popularity: 2% [?]

Filed under: HSDPA, UMTS, HSUPA

As much fuss as we make about 3G, the impact it has on the mobile experience, and the death of old-school GSM as a viable technology, deployed WCDMA networks in their various forms are still just a drop in the bucket when compared to the GSM subscriber pool as a whole — even in 3G-rich Europe. A new report from market research firm Informa Telecoms and Media reveals that European 3G users now number 101.5 million, which works out to about 11.1 percent of the some 910.8 million wireless users in the continent. Norway, Sweden, and Italy all individually broke 25 percent 3G penetration, but even so, that paints a very interesting picture of the overwhelming importance of the legacy infrastructure. With EDGE Evolution on the way, it could continue to play a majority role well into the next decade, too.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Filed under: Handsets, HTC, Windows Mobile, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS, HSUPA

The question on quite literally each WinMo fanatic’s mind as we go into the second half of the year here is, “Touch Pro or X1?” It’s not an simple question to answer, and anyone hoping to sink some cash on either one of these models in a few months is going to want to do so with a crap-ton of research and anecdotal information under their belts lest the buyer’s remorse set in particularly swiftly. MobileBurn scored an early look at the Touch Pro — which won’t be available at retail for a month or three yet — and came away impressed with the all-important keyboard, saying that it was “much more” usable than the QWERTY found on Sony Ericsson’s rival superphone. Shut, it’s stated to be virtually indistinguishable from the Touch Diamond (which we’d say is a good thing) other than being a bit thicker to accomodate they keyboard and picking up a matte-finish rear cover. Unfortunately, HTC refused to show off the Touch Pro’s interface — apparently on account of some new tricks up TouchFLO 3D’s sleeve that haven’t already made their way into the Touch Diamond — but they did share that the new model will handle landscape mode with particular aplomb. So this one might have the X1 beat in the keyboard department, but the X1’s WVGA display takes the crown for sheer pixel count. Decisions!

Popularity: 3% [?]

Filed under: Handsets, Apple

The fact that the iPhone doesn’t securely erase user data when you choose “Erase All Content and Settings” has prompted a lot of hand-wringing (and given rise to a lot of complicated manual workarounds) as people get ready to flip their old phones and upgrade to the iPhone 3G, but it looks like there’s a simpler solution coming: AppleInsider says the iPhone 2.0 software now securely erases user data. The process is apparently similar to Leopard’s Secure Erase Trash feature, and it’ll unlink data and overwrite it with random bits, making your personal info impossible to recover. Of course, that’ll take some extra time — you’re looking at an extra hour of progress bars in your life. That’s not so bad — and if it keeps anyone from checking out our super-embarrassing 80s pop playlists, we’re all for it.

[Thanks, Mark]

Popularity: 3% [?]

Filed under: Peripherals, LTE

We’re still waiting for our tiny ol’ 3G femtocell around these parts; only Sprint has put any serious effort into bringing a unit to market with its Airave from Samsung, but even they’re restricting it to just a couple markets at this point (lame). Be that as it might, the Femto Forum — an industry group promoting the tech — is already pushing ahead into the LTE and WiMAX realms with the hope of being “ready from day one.” To that end, it has teamed up with the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance to make sure everyone’s on the same page about how femtocells can and should be use in 4G networks. That’s all well and good, and we’re definitely glad these guys are on top of things, but can we just pause for one hot second and get a few more 3G cells in customers’ hands, please?

Popularity: 3% [?]

Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, Verizon Wireless, CDMA

There’s nothing quite like leaked information on a phone expected to be given away for free on contract to get the blood pumping, is there? It turns out that the freshly FCC-approved SCH-u430 from Samsung will end up replacing the lowly u410, offering the same VGA camera and 160 x 128 primary display as its predecessor but enjoying a restyled shell that should at least get an occasional glance from passers-by in the Verizon store. Or maybe not — there always seem to be at least a few models available for free after rebates and whatnot, and we’re struggling to see what would attract anyone to this particular model. Brand loyalty or that trick analog clock display, perhaps? No word on official pricing (geez, it better be free) or an availability date yet.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Filed under: Nokia, Symbian

Nokia’s been in bed with Symbian for many, many years through the development of its S60 platform — the world’s most populous smartphone platform, dont’cha know — and they’re taking that relationship to its endgame this day by announcing that they’ll be acquiring the remaining shares of Symbian that they don’t already own. Here’s where it gets interesting, though: rather than taking Symbian’s intellectual private for Nokia’s own benefit, the goods will be turned over to the Symbian Foundation, a nonprofit whose sole goal will be the advancement of the Symbian platform in its many flavors. Motorola and Sony Ericsson have signed up to contribute UIQ assets, while NTT DoCoMo (which uses Symbian-based wares in a number of its phones) will be donating code as well.

Other Symbian Foundation members include Texas Instruments, Vodafone, Samsung, LG, and AT&T (yep, the same AT&T that currently sells precisely one Symbian-based phone), so things could get interesting. The move clearly seems to be a preemptive strike against Google’s Open Handset Alliance, LiMo, and other collaborative efforts forming around the globe with the goal of standardizing smartphone operating systems; the writing was on the wall, and Symbian didn’t want to miss the train. Total cash outlay for the move will run Nokia roughly €264 million — about $410 million in yankee currency.

Update: It’s worth noting that the foundation plans to make the entire platform available as open source in the next two years — “select components” at launch.

- Creation of Symbian Foundation
- Acquisition of Symbian by Nokia

Popularity: 4% [?]

Filed under: Handsets, HTC, LG, Samsung, Sprint, Misc, China Mobile, Android

There’s a lot of hoopla today over a Wall Street Journal piece stating that Google’s first Android device has been pushed back to late 2008 for release — yet the article fails to mention that this is right inline with what Google has been saying for quite a while now. Admittedly, the fresh-faced mobile competitor probably is finding itself somewhat mired in carrier demands, which doesn’t seem unexpected given the broad swath of partners it’s collaborating with and the open source nature of the project, but as phone release schedules go, it hasn’t veered off the path much. The breakdown is something like this: from what we’ve been told, you can anticipate an Android-powered handset before the new year (i.e., HTC’s Dream driven by Google’s OS), followed by a crop of higher profile phones showing up in early 2009 (as previously said by companies like LG and Samsung). So… feel free to switch off the alarms anytime you like.

[Via GigaOM]

Popularity: 5% [?]

Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, Alltel, CDMA

Sure, Alltel’s Samsung SCH-R430 MyShot might not be laden with every bell and whistle that cell manufacturers can bestow on a device, but for $30 bones after rebate, who cares? This looks to be the best Ma and Pa cellular vehicle with 205 mins talk and 215 hours standby time — so it’s always charged when retrieved from the glovebox — a 1.3 megapixel camera, and is even GPS-capable. Color choices include Metallic Red and Basic Black, so a his and hers arrangement isn’t out of the question — we think that’s just about the cutest thing a couple can do. The read link will get you to the product page if you’re itching to know more

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Popularity: 3% [?]