Buried underneath the hoopla surrounding the announcement of ASUS' Lamborghini-branded ZX1 at CeBIT, the more mellow P560 was also announced, featuring pretty much every spec the average WinMo buyer could want these days in a package that speaks far, far less about the car you're driving (or wish you were driving, anyway). HSDPA, WiFi, 3.2 megapixel autofocus cam, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, GPS, microSDHC slot, 256MB of ROM, 128MB of RAM, and Microsoft's freshest build of Windows Mobile Professional -- 6.1, that is -- all have managed to find their way into the P560's unassuming shell. Not bad, though the €500 (about $772) price tag could scare a few folks away when it launches next month.

[Via Navigadget]

We weren't too thrilled with the Touch Diamond's resistive touchscreen when we got a chance to play with HTC's new hotness, but if you're envious of that updated soft keyboard, you're in luck: the Diamond's ROMs have already been pulled apart and the .cab files are just a click away. Installation is said to be slow and you'll have to jump through some hoops to switch the default language from Italian, but things will eventually work out for you -- although we doubt anyone's going to be nearly as impressed as if you had a real Touch Diamond.

[Via MobilitySite]

Not long after spinning off from former corporate parent O2, Windows Mobile purveyor MWg is moving out of its Asian comfort zone to attempt to sell its wares over in Europe with a splashy press conference to kick things off -- and if the aggressive roadmap they're pursuing for the next year or so holds true, they might just have a fighting chance at making a splash up there. First up are the official European intros of the Atom V and Zinc II, HSDPA-equipped handsets that have been kicking around for a while now, but that's not even close to the interesting part. Looking deeper into '08 reveals a handful of HTC Diamond competitors, devices that are sporting a respectable 7.2Mbps down and 5.2Mbps up, and looking still deeper into the fourth quarter suggests that MWg intends to release its first Windows Mobile 7-powered device -- the Flame II -- with GPS, a 3.2 megapixel camera, and "multimedia features" on board. That seems a little far-fetched considering that 7 hasn't been officially shown off and 6.1 isn't even in broad distribution to users yet, but we appreciate MWg's motivation here. We also see a Shift killer in the wings with Vista and a 3G data connection toward the end of the year, so all told, the future's looking bright for these cats if they can actually execute.

Remember when we caught wind that Verizon was prepping a worldband version Samsung's i760 Windows Mobile piece? That rumor's suddenly gained a lot more credence now that we've seen a so-called SCH-i770 pass through the FCC's hallowed halls, especially considering the device outline's uncanny resemblance to that of the aforementioned i760. We'd previously heard that there might be some HSDPA on board, and while we're not seeing any evidence of that from the FCC's test reports, we can confirm that it'll feature EV-DO, WiFi, and Bluetooth in addition to all the GSM you'll need to get by while roaming through mysterious foreign lands. No word on when we might actually see an announcement about this one, but we imagine Verizon doesn't want to wait that much longer -- the i760 design isn't getting any younger, y'know.

[Via Phone Scoop]

While you can argue that Windows Mobile is feature-for-feature and spec-for-spec superior to OS X on the iPhone, Apple's mobile UI is certainly more fun to use. So if you're running WinMo with a hankerin' for rubber band-like scrolling, jiggly icons, screen flicking, SummerBoard themes, and even simulated multi-touch pinching of photos then you're in luck. Flick Software Research is set to release its iSwish interface and iZoom pinch software in beta come "early May." Hey Flick, here's a hint: Dell Axim != sexy demo hardware... or maybe that's the point. See the action after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

No one really knows whether HTC's May 6 gathering will usher in the age of Android (our guess is still "no"), but let's look a little beyond that, shall we? We've just laid eyes on a handful of documents detailing HTC's efforts to ready the Diamond and Raphael models -- already known to be valid HTC codenames -- for Sprint later this year, and things are definitely looking up in the post-Touch world. The Diamond turns out to be the successor to that very device, lacking a physical keyboard and relying almost exclusively on a large, glossy touchscreen for user input; the Raphael meanwhile (pictured) features a full QWERTY deal and is destined to replace the Mogul. The paperwork's pretty blurry, but it appears that both Windows Mobile devices will feature WiFi, 3 megapixel cameras, and -- get this -- VGA displays. Goodness! The Raphael is currently lined up to be the first out of the gate, hitting the streets in September if everything goes well, with the Diamond following on in November. Surprised that these devices are CDMA-based and Sprint bound? Us too, we admit -- but we'd be shocked if there weren't GSM twins of both of these hotties getting cooked in the lab at the same time.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Ready for some honesty? We can think of a good handful of timepieces that we'd buy before we dropped $629.95 on this catastrophe, but for folks with pants too slim and hands too full to carry around a separate cellphone, we suppose it's a so-so alternative. The EGP-WP98 claims to be the first quad-band GSM watch phone to come with Windows CE 5.0 installed, and while it's supposed to tout a SIM card slot, water-resistance, a 266MHz CPU and a 1.45-inch display with handwriting recognition (for real?), that little line informing us that specifications are "subject to change without notice" makes us a touch leery. Nevertheless, you can also expect (though you may not get) a 1.3-megapixel camera, WiFi, a T-Flash expansion slot, multimedia player and built-in Bluetooth. According to one particular e-tailer, it'll be ready to ship on April 25th -- whether or not anyone's fat-fingered enough to push an order through, however, remains to be seen.

[Via UnwiredView]

Though it's been circulating through the user community (and a Sony Ericsson lab or two) for a little while now, Windows Mobile 6.1 had never gotten officially official in its own right -- until now. Microsoft has taken the wraps off the latest rendition of its mobile platform at CTIA today, a small step on the path to Windows Mobile 7 that'll provide Microsoft-based smartphones with a breath of fresh air starting later this year. The changes are expectedly minor as 0.1 releases tend to be, offering a new Getting Started Center to ease the process of setting up a new device, home screen tweaks, and -- finally -- true, native threaded SMS.

Additionally, Microsoft has announced that a phalanx of carriers and manufacturers have thrown their support behind upgrading devices that are already in the marketplace, which is exactly what we were hoping to hear. Everything from the Pantech Duo, to the AT&T Tilt, to the Sprint Mogul is getting 6.1 love beginning this quarter of the year -- though exact dates haven't been announced. Follow the break for the full list of devices on the upgrade list or have a peep at our 6.1 gallery over on Engadget Mobile!

The rumors that Windows Mobile 6.1 is going to make its long-awaited official debut next week are flying fast and furious, but if you can't stand the wait, it looks like Boy Genius has managed to score yet another Moto Q9 running the update and he's posted up some deets and a bunch of screenshots. There's nothing too earth-shattering in this latest rev, but there are some minor tweaks from what we've seen before: AT&T's Video Share is now supported, as is TV out, the camera UI and home screen have been refined, there's a new Albums feature in the media player, and photos and videos can now be uploaded to your Windows Live account. Right, nothing major, but that's fine -- the smaller the changes, the sooner the ship date, right? Hit up the read link for tons more shots.

It's not every day that we hear about a Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard device that lacks any cellular hardware whatsoever, so when we do, it's sort of like winning the lottery except way less exciting and profitable. Enter the first volley of devices to support Motorola's new Total Enterprise Access & Mobility initiative -- TEAM, conveniently -- which represent just the very front end of a whole infrastructure solution for business campuses looking to replace their desk phones with something just a little more mobile and modern. Eventually, TEAM will support true VoIP-cellular handoff, but in its initial form, it'll be WiFi only, making these first handsets very unique indeed. We don't have the complete picture on specs here, but they'll support push-to-talk, text messaging, and as we mentioned, they'll be loaded with the very latest and greatest that Windows Mobile have to offer when they launch later this year.

[Via PC World]

Seeing how long it took the Zune to make it over the northern border and into Canada, it shouldn't be any surprise that it's going to take even longer to get to Europe -- not until late next year, according to the director of Microsoft France. The wait should be worth it, though: that's when the third generation of Zunes will be released, as well as a Europe-friendly version of the Zune Marketplace. There are also some sketchy rumors that Windows Mobile 7 devices will be able to take advantage of Zune content and services, but it doesn't look like Microsoft has anything to say about that yet -- but if that goes down you know a Zune phone is right around the corner.

[Via Anything But iPod]

Microsoft has now won a veritable superfecta of licensing, landing deals with four of the top five phone manufacturers in the world to provide handsets based on Windows Mobile. The latest, announced today at Barcelona's Mobile World Congress, is Sony Ericsson -- a company heavily vested in Symbian by way of its UIQ division, so it's unclear how the licensing deal will ultimately affect UIQ-based offerings. Stay tuned for more on the deal and details on Sony Ericsson's WinMo-based hardware!

Not like Windows Mobile 6.1 is an elaborate mystery or anything -- heck, we even know all about the improvements it's slated to bring -- but there's nothing like a bucketful of screenshots surrounded by machine translated opinions to really revive that enthusiasm. Sure enough, the folks over at PocketPT were able get ahold of the software and show off just how it handled webpage zooming, threaded SMS conversations and Office 2007 documents. Still not convinced? Go on and hit the read link -- you skeptic, you.

[Via phoneArena]

Not all the big news is coming out of CES today: thanks to Nathan Weinberg's InsideMicrosoft blog, we were able to check out a purported internal document detailing the revolutionary new input methods planned for Windows Mobile 7 as well as a ton of supposed screenshots. If this information is, in fact, accurate, it looks like Redmond is planning at least three methods of interacting with the device aside from pressing the usual buttons. First, as you might expect, is multi-touch capability á la the iPhone or Microsoft's own Surface, but it looks like WinMo 7 handsets will also be controllable via shaking and rotating the device, and even at a distance by way of camera-based gesture recognition. Again, no guarantees that any of these features will be included in the final version or that any of this info or images are even legit, but as you can see from the rather large gallery below, the mounting evidence is extremely compelling. Specifically, you'll definitely want to check out:

• New on-screen keyboard
• Gesture control
• Camera gesture recognition
• Touch-based photo editing
• Media player

Announced in August, LG's HSDPA-totin' touchscreen KS20 was just released for retail in Europe -- France and Germany to be specific with more countries coming on the quick. Nothing new to report, same business minded, 12.8-mm thick Windows Mobile 6 handset with 3.6Mbps data, WiFi, Bluetooth, 2 megapixel camera (VGA up front), up to 4-hours talk, and built-in stylus for navigating with precision on that busy, 240 x 320 pixel, 2.8-inch WinMo interface. No prices given but we're sure your carrier will happily oblige.