The Boy Genius Report: Motorola W490 on T-Mobile October 1

Field tidbits from Engadget's mobile insider, The Boy Genius.

If you close your eyes and trace your fingers along the midrange W490, you could almost fool yourself into thinking it's a KRZR -- open your eyes, though, and you'll discover that it's a whole lot more colorful for a fraction of the price. The handset launches on October 1 in "licorice" (you may know it better as black) for $49.99 on a two-year contract, but bright green and purple are on the docket in the not-too-distant future, fitting for a phone that T-Mobile is positioning to take over for the discontinued RAZR V3t. Features include a 1.3 megapixel camera, microSD slot, the obligatory myFaves support, and Bluetooth, and the carrier is saying that it's using the handset to take aim at Verizon's u540, Sprint's M500, and Samsung's SYNC. The first two we can see, but isn't the SYNC just a tick higher on the totem pole? At any rate, look for it as an "exclusive" to T-Mobile's retail stores, Target, and Costco on launch day with full availability following on the 8th.