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Droid 2 Global GSM bands locked, camera bulge added to case
No surprise here, but it looks like Verizon's on-sale-but-never-really-announced Droid 2 Global has its GSM radios locked down, meaning you can't just throw an AT&T SIM in there and expect anything to work. Of course, the enterprising hackers at xda-developers are hot on the case, so there's a chance things will be opened up, but we wouldn't hold our breath. In other news, it looks like there's been a slight case modification to the Droid 2 Global -- the camera module now sports a slight hump as seen in the comparison photo above. We're not sure if this is to accommodate the extra radio or (please please please) perhaps a better sensor, but whoomp, there it is. No big thing in the grand scheme of things, but between the dark blue casing and the camera bulge, you'll totally be able to spot D2G owners out of the crowd. And that... that will make you a super nerd weirdo. But it's okay, because we love you.
Droid 2 Global ads now running on Verizon's 800 number
Whoever said being on hold was a bad thing? Verizon customers who call in and get stuck in limbo right now are being treated to a minor device scoop: an ad for the mythical Droid 2 Global, which has leaked out here and there but hasn't yet been officially announced. The ad doesn't reveal much apart from the existence of the CDMA / GSM slider and the fact that it'll work in 221 countries, but that's all we needed to hear -- listen for yourself after the break. Update: Ha, as commenter Spider-Man points out below, that 221 number is mighty suspect, as there are only between 191-195 countries in the world today, depending on how you count them. Sounds like Verizon needs to take this one back to the studio. Thanks, Spidey! [Thanks, Anonymous]
Motorola and Verizon's crazy portrait Droid Pro unveiled (update: specs!)
Whoa -- we knew Motorola likes to get funky with the form factors, but the new Droid Pro on Verizon might be the strangest (and best) yet: it's a portrait device (the rumored Venus) with a BlackBerry-esque keyboard below the screen. It's not the Droid 2 World Edition we were expecting, but damn -- we're in love. We don't know much specs-wise apart from Android 2.2 with Blur and global roaming support in more than 220 countries, but we're digging for as much as we can, so stay tuned. Update: Motorola's Sanjay Jha just formally announced the Droid Pro on stage, following the typical sizzle reel of the company's business partners praising the company's business leanings. It's going to have a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera, 3.1-inch display, 1GHz processor -- and a dual-mode CDMA/GSM chip for worldwide roaming. It'll be available in the first week of November. Follow the break for the press release.
HP's Obsidian becomes iPAQ Glisten, officially comes to AT&T
Wow, talk about digging deep in the memory bank. The same phone that we spotted way back in July (known then as the iPAQ K3 Obsidian) has finally emerged in official fashion on AT&T. Dubbed the iPAQ Glisten, this all-business smartphone boasts a vanilla coat of Windows Mobile 6.5, a 2.5-inch AMOLED display, 3.1 megapixel camera, 256MB of SDRAM, a microSD expansion slot, A-GPS, 3.5 millimeter headphone jack, a QWERTY keyboard, 802.11b/g WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. 'Course, you'll still be dealing with a resistive screen and a dated OS, but if you're turned on in some weird way, it'll be "available in the coming weeks" for $179.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and 2-year agreement.
Motorola's A4500 world phone caught in the FCC covered in Verizon tattoos
We don't have a formal unveiling for Motorola's Verizon-bound A4500 world phone just yet, but an operation manual and some snapshots of its dress rehearsal from the FCC should suffice in the interim. From what we glean, it supports CDMA for VZW's network and quad-band GSM for SIM-packing Vodafone customers and other overseas roaming needs. No points for design originality (Q9, anyone?), but it does boast a wealth of good features including two megapixel camera, EV-DO, stereo Bluetooth, 2 megapixel camera, Windows Mobile (presumably 6.1), and a biometric fingerprint reader on the back of the phone. Not that we expected you to be eagerly anticipating this one, but we'd venture to say a cameo in the FCC means it's on track for release some time in the near future.[Via Phone Scoop]
Is RIM's BlackBerry 9630 Niagara headed to Verizon as World Edition?
Sure, the pic's getting old at this point, but according to the Boy Genius Report, we may not have too much longer to wait to catch the 9630 Niagara in the wild. The radio department in the 9630 is filled to busting -- or slowly warming your face -- with CDMA, EV-DO Rev.A, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, and UMTS, with the GSM flavors getting the quad-band treatment. The rumored OS at launch is 4.7.1, though if delayed enough, it could pull through with OS 5.0. The last tidbits in the list are a 3.2 megapixel shooter -- and maybe a version without -- and the depressing news of no specific release date. Though, If we were Verizon and were sitting on this, you'd like to think that our timeline to launch would be as soon as frickin' possible.
Telus confirms BlackBerry 8830
Now that everybody is doing it has done it, it seems Telus is about to drop this newest and sweetest BlackBerry flavored device in Canada. Sometime between now and a little later from now, the BlackBerry 8830 will be offered by Telus for the princely sum of $400 on a 3-year contract -- and yeah, that's a pretty savage price. While Telus isn't giving an official date yet, the pic of the 8830 on the site has the date May 25th on it; this of course could be just a random date, but we're positive many eager Telusites will hope not. Check the link for more info and a pretty 360 degree view.
Bell Canada jumps on BlackBerry 8830 bandwagon
Somehow Bell Canada missed the boat yesterday when Sprint and Verizon announced the BlackBerry 8830 (or we missed it) but we have it today, and Bell should have it this summer. Sporting the same features as we mentioned in a small pile of lead up articles, Bell customers will now have the luxury of wandering the world while staying connected to mail from home. Nothing is up on the site yet as far as pricing and plans go, but they will definitely appear between now and release day X.
