Motorola takes environmentally-conscious MOTOCUBO A45 to Brazil

To call the industrial design of Motorola's new MOTOCUBO A45 "polarizing" might be an understatement, but at least we can all agree that cutting back on a phone's environmental impact is a good thing, right? The A45 -- which we'd previously spied as the Murano -- is a pretty run-of-the-mill messaging phone with a 2 megapixel cam, EDGE data, 3.5mm headphone jack, FM radio, a "fresh and modern" (their words, not ours) design and color scheme, and built-in access to Orkut, Facebook, and MySpace, but the big news here has to be the eco angle. Like the Renew before it, the MOTOCUBO is made in part from recycled plastic bottles and is 70 percent recyclable when you've moved on to bigger, better, stronger phones down the road -- but for now, plan on spending R$549 (about $292) unlocked when it hits Brazil next month.

Nokia 3710a, some Motorola (Morrison, perhaps?) get FCC approval for T-Mobile

For T-Mobile USA customers, the FCC slid a couple particularly interesting batches of docs into its vast library in the past week: the Nokia 3710a and a mysterious Motorola. First, the 3710a (pictured) is simply an Americanized version of the 3710 flip introduced a couple months back, offering a 3.2 megapixel cam, Series 40, and a concealed external display in addition to that all-important dose of 3G on T-Mobile's AWS band. The more interesting item, though, might be this Motorola -- as usual Moto has done a terrific job of concealing virtually all useful bits of information about this phone, but we have reason to believe that it could be the Android-powered Morrison since it's got WiFi on board in addition to 3G, Bluetooth, and the usual RF suspects. With Moto's big announcement just around the corner, we wouldn't be surprised.

Motorola W766 'Entice' ramping up for Verizon?

Seems like it was just yesterday that the W755 launched, doesn't it? Actually, no it doesn't -- it was a good fifteen months ago -- so it makes sense that Verizon would have a replacement all queued up and ready to go. The W766 has apparently graduated to the point of coolness where it's worthy of an actual name, getting the "Entice" title and featuring a 2.2-inch primary display, 2 megapixel cam, microSD support up to 8GB, and touch-sensitive music controls (just like the phone it's replacing). If you want it... well, the good news is that retailers are apparently already starting to take stock, but the bad news is that they're under strict orders to hold off on breaking 'em open until they've run out of W755s. So who's going to take one for the team and buy those up, huh?

Overheating iPhone reports 'exploding' all over France, Apple responds

Reports of iPhones exploding, starting fires and killing people in cold blood have been around since the inception of the handset. They've also been relatively sporadic, seemingly short on evidence, and Apple hasn't given complaints much credence or response. So when we heard a story from France the other day about a security guard's iPhone "exploding" and sending a shard of glass into his eye (though apparently not serious enough to warrant a hospital visit), it was a little hard to believe, but with a few other stories of cracking screens due to overheating cropping up in Europe over the past couple weeks, French authorities have taken an interest in the story. Anecdotally, a teen says his phone "imploded" in Belgium and gave him a headache, a woman's phone cracked without warning, and ten or so victims in France have come forward to complain of similar problems, picking up the interest of a French consumer watchdog group. Apple is naturally not new to the concept of overheating in its battery-powered devices -- in fact, it's just entered into its first full-on iPod nano recall in Korea of the 1st-gen players after numerous reports of battery faultiness worldwide -- but with 26 million iPhones out and about, and the iPhone 3GS tending to run a bit hotter than its siblings, a systemic problem with one or all models of the handsets isn't something consumers or Apple would take lightly.

Herve Novelli, France's top trade official, met with Apple France's Michel Coulomb today to discuss the problem, and so far Apple is sticking to its guns: it claims that reported incidents are in the single digits, and that all cases it's investigated fully so far have turned out to be blamed on "external force" to the screen. Herve and Michel seem to have parted on friendly terms, promising to keep in touch over the issue, and the EU's alert system for dangerous consumer products (inexplicably dubbed RAPEX) is staying in the loop as well, asking the 27 member nations to keep tabs on the situation. Novelli says it's "too early to blame anyone," and we'd have to agree, but we hope Apple keeps up the (freshly) open communication about this issue going forward.

Samsung's oddball B3310 officially hitting Europe next month

We're still not convinced that the bizarre numeric column was the right way to approach this, but then again, we guess we can't really complain about Samsung offering a bazillion models in ten thousand different form factors. That's right -- the B3310 QWERTY slider is real according to Samsung France, and it'll be hitting next month as a quadband EDGE-only piece with a QVGA display, 2 megapixel camera, microSD expansion, and not a whole heck of a lot else. The dazzling shade of aquamarine is just as wacky as the pink we saw before, so that's not really helping our opinion of it, but really, our apprehension pivots almost entirely on those number keys. We challenge -- nay, dare anyone to get fast on that without turning it sideways.

Nokia N900 now giving Germany and Italy a way to pre-order

Now that Nokia's Maemo-powered N900 is looking mighty nice and official, the company's Germany and Italian arms have no problem going ahead and taking your hard-earned Euros in exchange for a pre-order. Both sites are actually listing it for €599 (US $860), or €99 more than what we heard yesterday. A pretty huge discrepancy, to be sure, but it's not unlike Nokia to have a flagship phone fluctuate in price. That October release date is a ways off, but if you're absolutely convinced this must be in your pocket by Halloween, you know where to go.

Motorola takes environmentally-conscious MOTOCUBO A45 to Brazil

To call the industrial design of Motorola's new MOTOCUBO A45 "polarizing" might be an understatement, but at least we can all agree that cutting back on a phone's environmental impact is a good thing, right? The A45 -- which we'd previously spied as the Murano -- is a pretty run-of-the-mill messaging phone with a 2 megapixel cam, EDGE data, 3.5mm headphone jack, FM radio, a "fresh and modern" (their words, not ours) design and color scheme, and built-in access to Orkut, Facebook, and MySpace, but the big news here has to be the eco angle. Like the Renew before it, the MOTOCUBO is made in part from recycled plastic bottles and is 70 percent recyclable when you've moved on to bigger, better, stronger phones down the road -- but for now, plan on spending R$549 (about $292) unlocked when it hits Brazil next month.

Motorola Karma QA1

General	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 1900
	Announced	2009, June
	Status	Available. Released 2009, August

Size	Dimensions	88 x 64 x 17.9 mm
	Weight	141 g

Display	Type	TFT, 256K colors
	Size	320 x 240 pixels, 2.5 inches
		- Full QWERTY keyboard - Screensavers and wallpapers

Sound	Alert types	Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic, MP3, AAC ringtones
	Speakerphone	Yes
		- 3.5 mm audio jack

Memory	Phonebook	Yes
	Call records	20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls
	Internal	100 MB
	Card slot	microSD (TransFlash), up to 16GB, buy memory

Data	GPRS	Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
	HSCSD	No
	EDGE	Class 10, 236.8 kbps
	3G	HSDPA
	WLAN	No
	Bluetooth	Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
	Infrared port	No
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0

Camera	Primary	2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, LED flash
	Video	Yes, MPEG4@15fps
	Secondary	No

Features	Messaging	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email
	Browser	WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML
	Radio	No
	Games	Yes
	Colors	Black
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support; AT&T Navigator
	Java	Yes, MIDP 2.0
		- MP3/eAAC+/RealAudio/XMF player - MP4/H.263 player - Organizer - Voice memo/dial - T9

Battery		Standard battery, Li-Ion 1170 mAh
	Stand-by	Up to 347 h (2G) / Up to 312 h (3G)
	Talk time	Up to 5 h 20 min (2G) / Up to 3 h 40 min (3G)

Misc	Price group

Video: Palm Pre jumps the border, now shipping on Bell

Right on schedule, the Palm Pre has started shipping to Bell Mobility customers. The Bell exclusive marks the first international launch of Palm's little savior and to celebrate, we've got commercials -- a pair of knee-slappers featuring real live Canadians. And you thought that the mirror on the back of the Pre was only for the ladies.

Nokia N900 running Maemo 5 officially €500 in October (update: video!)

In backwards order, Nokia has finally launched the N900 after we've already seen a review and countless leaks. Nevertheless, it's good to have the new Maemo 5 Internet Tablet out in the open and official-like. The specs include a 3.5-inch 800x480 pixel (resistive) touchscreen, sliding QWERTY, 32GB of on-board storage expandable to 48GB via microSD, GPS/A-GPS, FM transmitter, TV-out, Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi, 1320mAh battery, and 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and dual-LED flash. Better yet, this monster MID brings the power of the ARM Cortex-A8, up to 1GB of application memory, and OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics acceleration to make quick work of polygons and what Nokia promises will be a "PC-like experience on a handset-sized device." It also brings a Mozilla-based Maemo browser with Adobe Flash 9.4 support. As expected, it'll be on display at Nokia World next week before this quad-band GSM/EDGE, 900/1700/2100MHz UMTS/HSPA handset heads to select markets in October for €500 (pre tax and pre carrier subsidy). And by the looks of that 1700MHz band, this baby's heading to T-Mobile USA.

LG GD910 watchphone unboxed, adored, smudged

If you've been drooling and pining and otherwise adoring LG's GD910 watchphone from afar, wanting to add one to your wrist, hopefully you found your way down to the Orange shop at Bond Street Station in London this morning, as that's where and when they went on sale -- and we wouldn't be surprised if that's where they promptly sold out. The folks at Electricpig managed to scoop one up and took a suite of pictures of the phone, its box, its UI, and even its gigantic (decidedly non-folding) AC adapter. Initial impressions are good, tempered only by a seemingly great amount of shame felt when wearing this in public. We suffer from no such misgivings.

Contest rules reveal LG Rumor 2 coming to Virgin Mobile USA

We guess we can probably start to expect a lot of "synergies" between Sprint's lineup and Virgin's now that the two companies are in the process of uniting in holy matrimony, so here's a little sneak preview of what's to come. The Rumor 2 from LG -- which Sprint has had in the lineup for a few months now -- is coming to Virgin Mobile next, a tidbit revealed only by reading the fine print in its "Twitter Rumors" giveaway. Actually, you really didn't have to read that hard at all; you could've seen the "Twitter Rumor2 Giveaway Description" text at the top or made a simple deduction from the use of the word "rumor" in the contest's name, but anyhow, yeah, it's on the way. No word on price or date, but this particular contest ends on the 29th, so it's conceivable we could see an announcement before the month's out.

Man turns luggable 25-year-old cellphone into OLED-packing HTPC

Do you remember the Mobira Talkman? No? That's okay, you may not have been born yet. In 1984 this was what all the sierra hotel financial traders had glued to their faces -- and clutched to their hips, since the thing was as big as a briefcase. 25 years later skilled modder Jani 'Japala' Pönkkö came across a free (and fully-functional) example and set upon completing his dream of turning it into an HTPC, which he has called the Dataman. Inside he managed to pack an Intel T5500 Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of DDR2 memory, a 32GB SSD, and a wireless network card. The 40-hour mod is laboriously detailed in photos at the read link, while the fruits of all that labor are shown in videos after the break, the first showing the pre-mod phone still working perfectly -- but complaining about the lack of network (like the Russian Empire's rule of Finland, the NMT network is long gone) -- and the second showing that green LCD replaced by a rather more colorful OLED one.

Jitterbug comes to Verizon's network, 'Can you hear me now' guy replaced by Wilford Brimley

We don't see much of Jitterbug in these parts, though we do love the premise: a simple handset with a nostalgic name designed expressly to not excite Grandma so much. Sure, we were disappointed when the company ditched the three-button controls for a traditional keypad, but apparently even seniors would like to call someone besides "Home," "Operator," or "911" from time to time. And now, Verizon has announced that it will be taking over as Jitterbug's wireless carrier, a move which should result in better coverage and cheaper plans -- doesn't the "greatest generation" deserve at least that much? Full PR after the break.

Samsung Instinct HD spotted in the wild, powered on

We've already seen one exceedingly blurry image of Samsung's Sprint-bound Instinct HD, and one seemingly official image courtesy of Best Buy, but Phone Arena has now gotten its hands on what looks to be the most complete set of pics to date. That includes a peek at the phone's mostly familiar-looking interface, a quick comparison with some of its predecessors, and a look at some curiously repositioned Sprint and Samsung logos, which now match the Instinct S30 (whatever that may signify). Hit up the link below to check out the whole set for yourself.

Spotify for iPhone gets thumbs up from Apple, subscription music with offline playlists is a go

Streaming and subscription music services are a dime a dozen on iPhone, and they seem to get past Apple's app store approval hurdles with relative ease. But Spotify was one whose fate wasn't so clear cut, given its offline playlist function -- which as the name suggests downloads songs ahead of time for you to listen to when there's no WiFi or phone service to stream from -- could very easily fall into the category of "duplication of core iPhone functionality" and get deep-sixed at the drop of a hat. Turns out that's not the case here, as an Apple spokesperson has told paidContent UK that the app's been given the metaphorical stamp of approval and would be hitting the store "very soon." A premium subscription will run about £9.99 ($16.20) per month, with an option to pay annually coming at a later date. Of course, there's a catch, as Spotify's service is only available in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the UK, France and Spain for now. The company expects to invade America sometime later this year, but that means another round of app store approvals -- and with Apple's track record on consistency, there's no telling how that'll turn out.

Rumor has AT&T's Heron and Sawgrass from Moto canceled, but something's amiss

Industry analyst Tero Kuittinen of MKM Partners is reporting that that AT&T has nixed plans to bring on Motorola's Sawgrass and Heron later this year as part of its first volley of Android devices because the pair looked "dated." Judging from the shots we have of the Heron, we can't say we necessarily agree -- and that's not the only hole in the story. We broke the news on these two devices earlier this year; the beefier of the two, the Heron, was pictured running Windows Mobile but it was indicated in the slide deck we had that it'd be ported to Android prior to release. Kuittinen indicates that the phones were prototyped with WinMo but would be moved to Android, so everything checks out so far. Here's the problem, though: the Sawgrass ended up becoming the Karma, a phone that is very much released and available on AT&T today -- so there goes the "dated" argument. What's more, it doesn't run Windows Mobile and it never has, even back when it was being pitched in an internal meeting the better part of a year ago. It's possible the dude just has his codenames mixed up here and Moto really had proposed two Android-powered sets to AT&T all along -- and any way you slice it, the Morrison and the Sholes for T-Mobile and Verizon respectively are still the odds-on favorites to be the first Moto Android sets out of the door anyhow. As for AT&T's current Android strategy, well, that remains to be seen.

XM Sirius announces SkyDock for iPhone and iPod touch

As Sirius XM fanboys are well aware, the company is expected to debut its XM SkyDock satellite radio controller for iPhone / iPod touch at a press event this week. Now, along with spy shots dug up by the satellite radio hounds at Orbitcast, we have some press photos (below) and some PR for you (after the break) with the official details. Compatible with the first and second gen iPod touch as well as iPhone / iPhone 3G / iPhone 3GS with OS 3.0, this guy is hitting the shelves this fall for an MSRP of $119.99.

Nokia N97 Mini press photo outed, existence still not official

We've already gotten quite an eyeful of Nokia's N97 Mini -- so much so that it's hard to believe this thing still isn't official. So be it, though, here's the first official press shot we've seen, from the same site that revealed the N900 pic earlier. Feeling any more excited about it now than you were yesterday? Us neither.

LG and Nortel complete first LTE-CDMA handoff, Verizon swoons

This'll probably end up being important for Bell and Telus up in Canada (even though they're taking an intermediate step from CDMA to HSPA), but Verizon must absolutely love the fact that the infrastructure guys have now figured out how to hand off data packets between CDMA and LTE networks in a standards-compliant way. LG and Nortel -- what's left of it, anyway -- have collaborated to complete the handoff in Nortel's Ottawa research labs on 700MHz spectrum between EV-DO and the Canadian firm's LTE hardware, using LG's so-called M13 prototype modem that roughly resembles consumer-grade equipment that LG wants to release next year. This is great news for customers who not only won't need to choose between a fast modem with crappy coverage and a slow modem with awesome coverage -- they'll be able to have both in a single device -- but they'll also be able to continue to torrent last night's True Blood as they move between technologies. Cheers to that.

Motorola A3300c coming to China Telecom with WinMo, 3G?

It's apparently still not 1,000 percent official, but that A3300 we spied not long ago from Motorola is looking a lot more real now that we've got pictures that look like they've been taken with something remotely resembling pro photography gear. sina.com.cn is reporting that the full-touch WinMo phone has sprouted a "c" on the end of its name, a shout-out to the CDMA radio it's packing as it prepares for a launch on China Telecom's EV-DO-based 3G network. Other goodies on board include a 5 megapixel cam, WiFi, AGPS, and a WQVGA display -- and no, unless you're in China, you probably can't have it since Moto's all about Android now.

Cricket, MetroPCS launch Samsung Messager II

Seemingly unconvinced that enough people had said "hey, you spelled 'messenger' wrong" after the first model, archrival regionals Cricket and MetroPCS have both launched Samsung's Messager II with a 2 megapixel camera, EV-DO, and a pair of keypads: one slide-out QWERTY, one numeric permanently affixed up front. Admittedly, the name is no stranger than the "Vice" brand adopted by the phone's twin sister up in Canada, but isn't it kind of ironic that a phone with a full QWERTY keyboard be given a name that nearly everyone thinks is a typo? Find this sucker now on MetroPCS for $149 and Cricket for a hair under $200.

Nokia comes to the table with 30.019 firmware for N85

Ovi Contacts features are making the rounds on newish Nokia firmwares as of late, and the N85's latest is no exception. Version 30.019 is starting to circulate around the world, bringing with it realtime contact location and status updates -- the big news here, obviously -- along with vaguely-stated "improvements in USB charging." If only it'd pull another 3 megapixels out of thin air, we could forgo the outlay for the N86 then, eh?

Samsung's B3310 dares to put the number keys exactly where you don't want them

If we close our eyes and go back a few years, memories of bizarre Nokias with completely unusable keypads (remember the nightmarish 7600?) come flooding back to us. We thought we'd put those lean years behind us, so imagine our surprise to see Samsung bring it all back in one fell swoop like it was a long-lost fashion statement overdue for a triumphant comeback. The low-end B3310 has been outed by way of mobiles.co.uk, apparently featuring a 2 megapixel camera, 220 x 176 display, FM radio, Bluetooth, and 2G-only data, but clearly the big news has to be the solitary column of digits along the left edge accompanied by a full landscape QWERTY slide. If we had to choose between that "column of broken dreams" (that's the nickname we just came up for it, by the way) and popping open the slider to dial, we're pretty sure we'd take the time to do it the QWERTY way, believe it or not -- and that's saying something. With the lowly spec sheet, un-usability should come cheap, but it looks like we won't know just how cheap (or where it'll be selling) until it gets a projected mid-September launch.

Black smoke coming from underneath your MINI's hood? There's an app for that

Car companies have been trying tap into the iPhone's mojo seemingly since day one, and BMW subsidiary MINI is the latest to take a crack at it -- but this time, it's actually useful. The company's new roadside assistance app was created in partnership with Allstate and provides the usual array of services you'd expect from an OnStar-like system, including service appointment scheduling, troubleshooting guides and tow requests for when you find yourself in a genuine pickle. The phone will automatically submit your location and your car's VIN when you connect, so you spend a minimum amount of time sobbing into the phone. The app's available now for the BlackBerry Curve, Bold, and... yes, of course, the iPhone. Follow the break for video.

Nokia N900 puts on makeup, does hair for leaked press shot

Normally, we'd take a look at something like this and say, "yeah, could be real, could be fake." Goodness knows there are enough mega-talented graphic designers in the world with the free time to craft this. Here's the thing, though: this phone / MID hybrid -- the latest in Nokia's Internet Tablet series -- has already been outed enough times so that we know this has to be a genuine press shot. If we had to guess, Espoo fashioned it in preparation for its Nokia World event in Germany early next month where the N900 will presumably be announced into officialdom; there's no sign on when or how the T-Mobile USA version will be unveiled, but we're getting pretty amped for it.

Editorial: Apple, the FCC, and the sideloading solution

As Engadget's resident former attorney, my first instinct when I sat down to re-read Apple, AT&T's and Google's FCC filings regarding Google Voice was to put on my lawyer hat and try to find inconsistencies that might shed some additional light on what had actually happened -- if Apple's account differed from AT&T's, for example, perhaps those subtle differences would reveal the actual truth. This proved to be much more difficult than I had imagined, however: not only had Google redacted the most interesting part of its statement, I came to a profound realization after just a few moments of work.

Nokia N97 Mini previewed: not so mini, not so great

As sure as the sun, Mobile-review's Eldar Murtazin managed to nab a very early look at the still yet-to-be-announced Nokia N97 Mini, and as if we needed another reminder, the FCC filing wasn't kidding with that 1:1 scale. Turns out it only takes "around a centimeter" difference to earn the "mini" nomenclature in Finland, and in addition to that peculiarity, the company's apparently managed to make the keyboard actually worse than its predecessor -- no small feat, if you ask us. Of course, we haven't had a chance to try it ourselves yet, but the prognosis so far isn't so good. Perhaps more interesting is good ole' Eldar's teasing about a number of other touchscreen Nokia devices, some without keyboards, that'd target the same segment as the N97 Mini, including one he'll be revealing and previewing tomorrow -- and no matter what it is, we can all but guarantee with supreme confidence that it'll have a more compelling raison d'être than this thing.

Madden 2010 confirmed for iPhone, probably requires more thumbs than you have

Yes, we know Madden's nothing new on phones, but we had to highlight Madden 2010 for iPhone -- which EA just confirmed today will be ready in time for the start of the NFL season -- because it looks really damn good. Console quality, even. That's great and all, but Madden's the kind of franchise that really needs quick reflexes and a whole lot of buttons positioned conveniently around the entirety of a console-ready controller to control with any precision, and buttons are something the iPhone distinctly lacks. So yes, we get it, the iPhone's capable of some stellar graphics -- but the real question is whether you'll be able to play through four quarters without punting it into the opposition's territory.

Apple reconsiders rejected iPhone apps, C64 emulator on the way?

We're always a little hesitant to get too optimistic about changes to the App Store approval process, but it looks like there's been a few hopeful changes to the way things are done in the past few days, which could well lead to some previously rejected apps becoming available. Perhaps the most encouraging sign is that Apple seems to actually be going back through rejected apps and contacting develops to resubmit their app (without any changes, mind you) for an "expedited review." One such app is the Start Mobile Wallpaper Gallery, which was rejected for using Shepard Fairey's famous "HOPE" image of Barack Obama on the grounds that it "ridicules public figures." In other App Store news, the developer of the officially-licensed C64 emulator also says that it was contacted by a senior director at Apple, who reportedly said that there was "BIG news coming," but didn't elaborate any further. But, really, is there any news bigger than a C64 emulator?

TomTom's iPhone car kit promo video is enticing, but still no mention of price or release date

Not to knock cellophane tape as a method for in-car iPhone navigation, but if you want to use the new TomTom app in a more proper setting, you'll want the official TomTom car kit. In addition to enhancing the GPS signal and charging your iPhone, it's also got hands-free dialing and a speaker that's (presumably) better than the phone solo for giving directions. At a rumored price of just under $200 with software, it's not a bad deal if you were planning to shell out $100 for the US maps, anyway. We're still on the fence, but the hypnotic soundtrack of the promotion video is admittedly alluring. See for yourself after the break.

Samsung Instinct HD pops up on Best Buy's website with 5 megapixel camera, TV out

As it turns out, Instinct HD really was the final name that Samsung decided for its Sprint-bound S50 / m850 Dash, at least as far as Best Buy is concerned. The "Weekly Ad Specials" listing confirms that the smartphone really does handle HD video, both recording and playback, with a 5 megapixel camera and a TV out connection for sharing. It's also got visual voicemail, WiFi, and corporate calendar (likely Exchange and Lotus Domino) support. No price listed, but whatever it is will be effective from today through September 26th, so using our great powers of logic and deduction, we're gonna predict it'll hit stores sometime within the next month -- bold assumption, we know. Don't let us down, Sammy.

HTC Mega materializes again, brings along spec list

HTC's Mega certainly isn't the most exciting of the company's upcoming products to leak lately, but it's looking likely that it'll have one of the nicer price tags on it for a Window Mobile 6.5 device. Another screenshot has surfaced that matches up with one we saw earlier and shows off more of the sides and back. Along with it comes a new list of specs -- not too shabby, but nothing too exciting, either. According to ai.rs blog, it has WCDMA/HSPA and quad-band GSM support, a 3.2 megapixel camera, microSD slot, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.0, AGPS, and still the 2.8-inch QVGA screen and 528MHz Qualcomm processor we heard about previously. If you're already playing with the Mega's TouchFLO 2D-infused ROM, consider this supplementary material for getting a more thorough idea of what the actual phone will look like when it does come out -- whenever that is.

AT&T's visual voicemail for BlackBerry Bold official this week?

Hey, Bold users: you know how your friends with iPhones keep taunting with you with their world-class cornucopia of fart apps and built-in visual voicemail until you're about two seconds away from slapping the smile right off their faces? Of course, there's nothing that's been stopping you from using Google Voice or some other third-party service to accomplish the same thing, but for the sake of argument, let's just say you'd rather have something more integrated with a first-party feel. Well, you might just be in luck -- word on the street is that AT&T's visual voicemail service for the Bold should finally hit this Tuesday. Why wait, though? Boy Genius Report is saying that folks are having luck activating it right now by calling into customer service, so if you're dying to get this ball rolling, it might just be worth a shot. This particular service has been in the pressure cooker for a good, long while now -- and now that the Bold's getting up around middle age, we certainly hope that AT&T's efforts here are going to spread to other models, present and future.

Nokia 5530 XpressMusic up for $290 preorder on US site

We'd figured the 5530 was destined for markets around the globe where 2G still dominates, so imagine our pleasant surprise to see that good ol' Nokia USA is as amped as anyone to start selling the company's new low-cost S60 5th Edition device. This leaves potential buyers in a doozy of a dilemma, though: most retailers are now selling the 5530's big brother, the 5800, for under $300, which makes the $290 sticker for a 3G-less version pretty hard to swallow. On the flipside, the 5530's unquestionably the more attractive phone and the updated home screen is going to leave 5800 owners insanely envious. It's a tough call, and it's not a call we'd want to have to make -- one of each, perhaps? There's no shipping date listed on the preorder, but for your patience Nokia's awarding you with an MD-8 stereo Bluetooth speaker if you order online -- just pony up your $289.99, pick the white or black version of the phone, twiddle your thumbs, and don't be shocked when the New York and Chicago flagships get stock before you do.

Video: HTC Click gets a 6-finger 'Donut' salute

Looks like Vietnam is the new place to be for early device leaks. A place where gadget-nerds are rapidly evolving extra digits to master their surplus of hi-tech gear -- lucky bastages. As followup to its GSM-flavored Palm Pre scoop, site Tinh Te is once again showing off the HTC Click only this time, it's a full-on video. The device sports some interesting graphics (likely customized by the owner) on the back, a microSD slot, 1100mAh battery, standard 3.5-mm headphone jack up top, camera (no flash), and of course, Android, "Donut" build 1.50.999.0 according to the device's about page. Clearly, it lacks that swank SenseUI and the LCD is much smaller than the HTC Magic -- indicators that the Click is very much HTC's cheapo Android phone as previously rumored. See it in action just past the break.

HTC beats Microsoft to the punch, rolls out a different kind of 'project pink' to the Hero

In its brief three-model run so far, HTC's already built a storied history of odd color options for its Android phones: brown on the G1, "merlot" on the myTouch 3G, and now, a sublime pink for the Hero that we're finally seeing in the wild. Love it or hate it, Android fans, be real with yourselves: if it was somehow the only Hero you had access to, you'd take it in a heartbeat.

Nokia's 5800 Navigation Edition announced, finding its way to stores soon

The Garmin-Asus nuvifone is finally inbound to domestic retailers, but it's taken so many wrong turns on the way that it's given the competition plenty of time to catch up and prepare their own nav-enabled mobile offerings. TomTom's iPhone kit is due any minute, and now Nokia is getting into the game, announcing the 5800 Navigation Edition. Instead of coming with music it comes with a pre-loaded copy of Ovi Maps and lifetime licenses for voice-guided driving and walking directions. It also includes a car charger and a handy-dandy auto mounting kit, all swingingly demonstrated in a video below, and is set to ship sometime in the third quarter of this year (i.e. soon) at an expected retail of €285 (about $410).

Huawei starting its Android march with T-Mobile 'Pulse' in Europe?

Huawei's been talking up its impending play for a share of the Android pie for most of this year, but where's the beef? There's nothing in the market just yet, but that might be about to change with details on a so-called "Pulse" for some of T-Mobile's European networks in the coming months. The Chinese manufacturer specializes in the value segment -- a side effect of its brand not really commanding any premium outside Asia -- and the Pulse could be a big winner there thanks to an unlocked price said to be around €250 ($356). That's an impressively low figure in light of the supposed 3.5-inch display, full HSPA, GPS (of course), WiFi, and an HVGA display like all proper Android sets of the moment. Dutch site tweakers.net says this is all confirmed by way of a retailer that pegs the device for T-Mobile Netherlands in early October, which means the Heros and Galaxys of the world have precious little time to capitalize before these guys swoop in and undercut 'em all by a few bucks.

Duracell announces myGrid wireless charger, WildCharge feels a little KIRFed

No, someone didn't just Photoshop the Duracell logo on a WildCharge pad -- this actually is the newest product from the ubiquitous battery maker. Available this October, myGrid kits (including charger and one power sleeve) will be available for Nokia, Motorola, and Blackberry handsets, as well as the many flavors of Apple's iPhone and iPod touch. No price yet, but you'll know as soon as we do.

Update: Of course, this is probably the product of some sort of licensing deal -- but you'd think someone at WildCharge or Duracell would have mentioned it, right?

V CAST Video comes to Verizon's BlackBerry Storm

If you want to watch live hockey games played by NHL teams not owned by RIM's Jim Balsillie -- that would be all of them, by the way -- you need look no further than the warm glow of your Storm's display now that Verizon has brought its V CAST Video service to the device. Starting today, users will be able to download a dedicated VCAST Video application to their Storms, bringing a host of feature-length and live programming that makes us thank our lucky stars for high-limit data plans. Sure, it'll set you back $10 a month and kill productivity -- but isn't wasting money and time what life is really all about?

Lenovo's O1e takes the O1 down a notch or three

The O1 isn't even out yet, but a new filing with China's regulatory folks suggests that Lenovo's already hard at work at a lower-cost version that would swap out metal bits for plastic ones and kick the camera down from 5 megapixels to 3. On the plus side, buyers still make out with 8GB of internal storage and quite possibly China Mobile's homegrown Android skin, so it can't be all bad, right? Then again, this remix could be for a different carrier altogether, in which case we might be spared Open Mobile System's uncomfortably iPhone-esque home screen -- and really, that'd be just fine with us.

Apple reconsiders rejected iPhone apps, C64 emulator on the way?

We're always a little hesitant to get too optimistic about changes to the App Store approval process, but it looks like there's been a few hopeful changes to the way things are done in the past few days, which could well lead to some previously rejected apps becoming available. Perhaps the most encouraging sign is that Apple seems to actually be going back through rejected apps and contacting develops to resubmit their app (without any changes, mind you) for an "expedited review." One such app is the Start Mobile Wallpaper Gallery, which was rejected for using Shepard Fairey's famous "HOPE" image of Barack Obama on the grounds that it "ridicules public figures." In other App Store news, the developer of the officially-licensed C64 emulator also says that it was contacted by a senior director at Apple, who reportedly said that there was "BIG news coming," but didn't elaborate any further. But, really, is there any news bigger than a C64 emulator?

Qik for iPhone 3GS update removes 'WiFi only' restriction, 3G streaming is a go

Well, that was fast. Just one week after hitting the scene, Qik for iPhone 3GS has been updated to move that nasty "WiFi only" restriction, meaning you can now stream your videos to the internet over a 3G network. We just tried it ourselves and, sure enough, it works like a charm. After you've read through all that FCC literature, hit up the read link and download the (thankfully still free) app -- just be careful how much fun you have with it this weekend. Let's see how AT&T's network handles this one. [Warning: iTunes app link.]

TomTom's iPhone car kit promo video is enticing, but still no mention of price or release date

Not to knock cellophane tape as a method for in-car iPhone navigation, but if you want to use the new TomTom app in a more proper setting, you'll want the official TomTom car kit. In addition to enhancing the GPS signal and charging your iPhone, it's also got hands-free dialing and a speaker that's (presumably) better than the phone solo for giving directions. At a rumored price of just under $200 with software, it's not a bad deal if you were planning to shell out $100 for the US maps, anyway. We're still on the fence, but the hypnotic soundtrack of the promotion video is admittedly alluring. See for yourself after the break.

Microsoft tells WinMo devs they're beautiful, worth more than 99 cents

For many (if not most) iPhone developers, the App Store's overheated competition and bloated inventory have led to scorched-earth pricing that makes it virtually impossible to parlay mobile development into a valid for-profit business model without turning to subscriptions or in-app advertising. RIM's tried to nip that behavior in the bud by capping the minimum sale price at $2.99, and it sounds like Microsoft feels the same way in light of the flowery, motivational language being thrown the way of developers at learning sessions ahead of the Marketplace's launch. "I know, 99 cents is interesting -- yes, consumers like to pay 99 cents for applications," admits Microsoft's Loke Uei, "but 99 cents, come on, I think your app is worth more than that." You heard it straight from the horse's mouth, people -- your app is worth more than that. Ultimately, Uei says the goal is to set the bench higher by keeping low-quality apps out of the Marketplace, but to start out and beef up, they might consider taking all the crap they can get and worrying about stroking devs' egos after the fact. If the store's client app makes it easy enough to browse, search, and get to best-of-breed content, this point should be moot anyhow.

Both flavors of Garmin-Asus nuvifone coming to AT&T?

After years of wrong turns, it looks like Garmin-Asus's nuvifone has finally found its way to a US provider, with two separate sources claiming the nav-enabled handset will be coming to AT&T, and soon. This falls in line with earlier indications that it would be making a slight left turn onto American streets in Q4, and will mark the end of a tortuous journey to retail. Both the G60 with its homemade OS and the Windows Mobile M20 are said to be inbound, meaning you'll still have a choice to make even if you choose one of these. No confirmation from AT&T just yet, naturally, but we'll keep you posted.

LG GD910 gets UK pricing, arrives August 27

Orange, the exclusive UK carrier for the eagerly anticipated GD910 watch / wrist / just plain cool phone, has this morning announced the date, cost and location of availability. After plenty of talk of meteoric prices, it turns out the GD910 will be even cheaper than we thought, coming in at £500 ($825) on Orange's Pay As You Go service, meaning no contract tie-ins to worry about. Limited time availability and only one device per customer don't suggest an overwhelming amount of stock -- or that the price will hold -- so if you must jump on the cool train, the place to be is the Orange shop at Bond Street Station, London, 9am sharp. If you really can't make it, there will be another limited batch of handsets to be had via the Orange online shop at some point in September -- and we've snagged a video for you as well, just past the break.

T-Mobile Sidekick LX 2009 down to $175

Would-be Sidekick LX 2009 owners have one less reason to keep dragging their feet this week with the dropping of the model's price (in both Carbon and Orchid variants, of course) down to $175 on contract after discounts from the original retail price of $250. We're not sure what's ultimately responsible for the price cut beyond the usual ultra-rapid retail shelf aging process and the gnat-like attention span of consumers like ourselves, but either way, the move helps put the high-end featurephone back in line with some of its contemporaries (we're sorry, but running more than a BlackBerry Tour or an iPhone 3GS on subsidy makes about as much sense as mail-order beef). So, does this tip the scale for anyone out there? Who's taking the plunge?