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Sony Ericsson Aspen caught on video, loving life with WinMo 6.5.3
Chances are we're missing something incredibly awesome being said in this foreign-language video, but we can probably guess what Mobile-review Sergey Kuzmin is saying: "I've got the Sony Ericsson Aspen and you don't. Life is grand." Okay, so maybe we're a little jealous, but at least he was kind enough to give us a brief look at the hardware out in the wild, showing off some of Windows Mobile 6.5.3's menus and sizing it up with some of Apple, Nokia, and RIM's offerings. Let's not waste any more time -- the video you seek is after the break.
Sony Ericsson Xperia X2a appears on US site screaming 'I'm coming!'
Whoa! After two months of delay Sony Ericsson's finally done something with the Xperia X2 -- giving it an extra 'a' (for North America) instead of pushing it out to us mere mortals. Mind you, the number of times we've seen this thing -- even as a KIRF -- may fool you into thinking it's been out forever, but the reality is it's slowly morphing into a unicorn. You know what though? If we wait for another two months, the X2 / X2a might even get a piece of that Windows Mobile 7 action. Or Windows Mobile 8, when SE's eventually done with its siesta.
LG IQ (Monaco) demoed on video, coming to Telus 'this holiday season'
Clocking in at 1:48, this glimpse at LG's IQ (a.k.a. Monaco) is indeed very brief and not much is said. It's got a fingerprint sensor lock, S-class UI (which we knew), and that backing is definitely Windows Mobile 6.5, but for everything else we'll have to refer to the previous specs we've seen leaked. As noted twice by the voice behind the on-screen hand, it's coming "this holiday season" and will be exclusive to Telus, so all the fine print should be revealed soon. Video after the break.
Windows Mobile 6.5, HTC Touch Diamond2, and Flash collide on video
Remember that pretty Windows Mobile 6.5-ish skin for AT&T's Warhawk (a.k.a. HTC Touch Diamond2) we saw last week? Looks like it (or another very similar skin) is ready to make another appearance. The Inquirer managed to get a walkthrough of what's being called the final build of WinMo 6.5, and while there isn't a lot of new functionality shown -- large portions of the video are devoted to My Phone syncing and QR codes -- we do get to seem a few Zune inspired ideas and a brief glimpse of how it handles flash. It's still on track for release by Christmas, and if you want your glimpse now, check out the video after the break.
Windows Mobile 6.5 to officially "launch" on May 11
Well hey -- it looks like Windows Mobile 6.5 will arrive a little earlier than expected. A post on the WinMo team blog says that the update to Redmond's smartphone platform will officially launch on May 11, the first day of the Tech Ed conference. We're figuring that could mean we'll see the gold build demoed for the very first time, seeing how the version showed off at the glamorous MWC launch was described as an "alpha" cut. Of course, after that it's all up to the carriers and handset manufacturers as to when we'll actually see the OS loaded onto devices, but we're sure the hacking community will find a way to satiate the impatient until then -- or until Windows Mobile 7 comes out. [Via Electronista]
Microsoft My Phone now live, in screenshots
We won't see Windows Mobile 6.5 or Windows Marketplace until the end of the year, but Microsoft isn't hoarding all the goodies -- the My Phone sync service went live in beta last night, and users who pre-registered got invites. Go on and sign up and let us know what you think, or just hit the link and check it all out in screenshots. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Live from Microsoft's MWC press conference!
Microsoft's event is located in the Plaza Catalunya across the street from the expo center proper, and the world's WinMo faithful (well, okay, the world's technology press) have started to gather inside in preparation for the 3PM Central European Time extravaganza.
Rogers launching HTC Touch Diamond at $199.99 on contract?
Not that you can't snag an HTC Touch Diamond in Canada right now, but those loyal to Rogers are still waiting. As of this moment, we still can't locate the WinMo 6.1-based handset on the outfit's website, but MobileSyrup has it that the phone will soon be released for as low as $199.99 on a 3-year contract (with a minimum $45 voice / data plan). Oddly enough, we're also told that it'll be available with voice-only plans for $449.99 (3-year), $549.99 (1 to 2-year) and $599.99 (month-to-month), while a data-only plan is available on the $499.99 handset (3-year). Weird, we know -- which makes us all the more anxious to hear this gibberish from the horse's mouth.
HTC Fuze now for sale on AT&T's web site
Well, that didn't take long -- the HTC Fuze just started trickling into AT&T retail stores, and now it's available for sale online as well. Just as we'd heard, pricing is set at $300 after rebate on a two-year contract, which makes the iPhone / BlackBerry Bold / Fuze decision all the more difficult for AT&T customers -- a dilemma we're guessing the suits in Dallas are only too happy to inflict upon the gadget geek masses. So, what's it gonna be?[Thanks, Marco]
Celio REDFLY drops to $400, still not useful
We just don't see the Celio REDFLY Windows Mobile "companion" appealing to a lot of people as full-featured netbooks continue to flood onto the market, and it looks like the ol' invisible hand agrees with us: the REDFLY's price just dropped 20% to $400. That's a solid $100 lower than when it went on sale just a few days ago, but we're not convinced it's enough to sway people from an Eee or Wind -- anyone planning on buying one of these now?
More details surface for Verizon's PN-820
Every now and then, Verizon will play with our emotions by setting a launch date for a device and then pulling it back when that info gets leaked by one of our tipsters. It wasn't too long ago when The Roc showed us pics of the device. Since then, the stores have received the dummy units and the price points have been set, so the actual launch can't be too far off. Thanks to HTC Kid, he was able to smuggle out the pricing which is listed as $349.99 commitment free, $299.99 on a one year, and $249.99 on a life long two year contract. Oh yeah, he reports that it should be in retail for launch on February 16th. Hopefully, it won't get delayed any longer as it may turn out to be last year's news if it does.
Some deets on the future of Windows Mobile laid bare
Brighthand appears to have unearthed a few details on what's up with Windows Mobile 5.0 and beyond, as laid out in a Microsoft "Tech Days" presentation given in Switzerland (which we can only presume they didn't expect to make it into the wild -- oh come now, sillies). There isn't much to work with here, but the document makes mention of "Crossbow," what might otherwise be remarked as WinMo AKU3. We know, we know, you probably still don't have AKU2 yet, but with Crossbow you might be able to look forward to "Great mobile messaging," "Advanced Business and Enterprise propositions," a "Strengthened phone experience," "Faster, easier application development and distribution," and a "Q1/Q2 '07 Marketing Launch." Yeah, that doesn't really tells loads. As for Photon: "New, Flexible Shell," "Modular Containers," "'Yamazaki' CE kernel," and "Q1/Q2 '08 Marketing Launch," meaning it could be mid to late 2008 to see the true successor to WinMo 5.0. Dems the breaks, ladies and gents, we're just letting you know what we find.[Via MGN]Update: Reader Uni points out you can snag the PowerPoint presentation here.
Samsung's SGH-i320 gets the FCC's nod
Samsung locked down the filing, so we couldn't get but a minimal amount of information about their SGH-i320 from the FCC, except that like, um, that it was approved, and has acceptable SAR levels and stuff. We don't yet know for sure if it's US-bound (though we expect it would be) or which carrier would pick it up (but we'll give you one guess as to which US GSM carrier typically gets the hot PDA phones before the other), but with a supposed Q2 release, you can bet your bottom dollar we'll be watching closely for developments on this thing.
Palm Treo 700w Updater for AKU2 / MSFP on the web
We hit you guys up a couple weeks ago with the news that Palm was going to be releasing the AKU2 update for Windows Mobile 5.0 for the Treo 700w in short time. Well, hope you got all your biz backed up, because it's time to get it on! The 35MB Palm Treo 700w Updater 1.10 is up over on their site, but caveat emptor: Palm advises you absolutely do not restore from Sprite Backup backups if you've backed up your registry. We can imagine why, so we suggest you heed their advice if you're the WinMo registry hacking type.[Thanks, Andrew]Update: Looks like Palm pulled the update already! We don't know why, but it'll supposedly "be available at a later date." Anyone want to leave some links to hosts? We'll be happy to put 'em up on here. Thanks, Alexander. Astute reader Curt points out that you can still go through the download rigmarole by following the Google-cached download link. Reader beware, though, we can only imagine what bugs in the update(r) caused Palm to pull it.
T-Mobile's SDA reviewed
We've been spending some quality time with T-Mobile's SDA Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone. The $300 phone boasts some pretty good features for the price, including EDGE data, Bluetooth, a QVGA screen, and a 1.3 megapixel camera. The real kicker is the WiFi connectivity lacking in its 2125 cousin from Cingular, but how does it hold up under rigorous solitaire play and indiscriminate texting of ex-lovers? You'll have to read on to find out.
O2 announces XDA IQ
Though it shares many of the same facial features as the Feeler, the XDA IQ (which is really just the HTC Tornado) will benefit from the Tornado's inclusion of 802.11b and EDGE; the rest of the specs aren't much to phone home about (64MB flash and RAM, 200MHz OMAP, QVGA display, Smartphone 5, etc.), so what we're looking to set this thing apart is price (unannounced) and release time frame (same).
