Garmin nuvifone G60 officially coming to AT&T: October 4th for $299

Can you believe it? No, seriously -- can you believe it? Nearly two full years after its surprise introduction to the world, the nüvifone G60 is finally coming to US shores. In an official press release outed today, the Garmin nüvifone G60 has been blessed with an October 4th launch date on AT&T. Oddly enough, nary a mention of "ASUS" or "Garmin-Asus" is found, but regardless of semantics, you can bet that it'll be looking for buyers this Sunday. The internal GPS chip and 3 megapixel, auto-focusing camera will enable users to geotag photos and emails and navigate using the same heralded user interface that folks rely on today with the company's standalone PNDs. You've already pounded the specifications into your head by now, but the last figures you'll need to know are these: it'll run $299 on a two-year agreement after a $100 mail-in rebate, and if you're hoping to access Premium Connected Services -- which includes traffic updates, white pages, weather, movie, local events and fuel price content -- you'll be forking out $5.99 per month after the 30-day trial expires. So, after all of this, who's in?

Nokia, Samsung, Toshiba and Sony align on Mobile High-Definition Link

Say it with us now: "Yippee!" Why such joviality? We'll tell you why. Nokia, Samsung, Toshiba, Sony and Silicon Image have all teamed up to create yet another new connector, with this one hoping to forever harmonize the strained relationship between mobile phones / PMPs and high-def displays. The so-called Mobile High-Definition Interface Working Group is seeking to create a new "industry standard" for connecting handsets and other portable consumer electronics to HDTVs and displays, though we're still wondering why exactly we need a replacement for HDMI, DisplayLink and the forthcoming Light Peak so soon. As with most of these things, details about the actual product(s) are slim, but trust us, they're working on it. And they're working hard.

Android 1.6 update for Dev Phone 1 now available

We're expecting the official release of Android 1.6 phones any day now, but those of you hardcore enough to rock the badass unlocked Dream known as the Android Dev Phone 1 can get a bite of that Donut immediately: HTC's posted up an official 1.6 image file for you. Sadly it doesn't seem like regular G1 or Dream owners can use this code, but at least someone's having a good time.

HTC Imagio with WinMo 6.5 out October 6 on Verizon?

As you know, Verizon is one of the carriers participating in the worldwide WinMo 6.5 rollout extravaganza bonanza on October 6, and that Microsoft has said they'll be ramping up to thirty smartphones for the OS by year's end, so the chance is pretty good that the HTC Imagio XV6975 is one of the new handsets we'll be seeing early next month. As reported by PhoneArena, this one is by all accounts Leo's little brother -- a CDMA / GSM device that sports a 3.6-inch WVGA display, 528MHz processor, Wi-Fi, Opera browser, 5 megapixel autofocus camera, microSD slot, and all the TouchFLO 3D lovin' you can handle. In addition, it will also be the first Verizon Smartphone to sport VCast MobileTV -- you know, if that's what you're into. No word on pricing or release date, but you'll know as soon as we do.

T-Mobile's Motorola CLIQ presale countdown page is up and running

In a little over 19 days from now, you'll be able to get your CLIQ... ah wait, no you won't, but at least you'll be able to express your interest in getting a CLIQ, which is a good first step, we suppose. T-Mobile has just thrown up its official CLIQ preorder countdown page, which we're thinking the most die-hard Android types out there are probably going to leave running in the background of their machines for the next three weeks until the moment of truth finally comes. In the meantime, you can register for official updates, which -- sorry, T-Mobile, much love -- probably won't come as quickly as we can provide them. Just sayin'.

Motorola CLIQ coming to T-Mobile next month for $200 on contract

Counting down the moments with your besties until T-Mobile USA opens up the pre-order page for Motorola's first-ever Android device? Might as well do something more productive in the meanwhile, particularly since the aforesaid carrier has just announced plans to charge $199.99 for the CLIQ on a two-year agreement. Without a doubt, that's quite a bit more than the $0.00 we gently expected (okay, not really) it to run, but it's pretty much par for the course these days. Existing T-Mobile customers that are interested in getting ahold of this thing (in Titanium or Winter White) early can pre-order one from October 19th through November 1st, while newcomers and procrastinators can get theirs in-store starting on November 2nd. So -- you in, or what?

Vertu Constellation Ayxta luxo-flip slums it at the FCC

You might think you're hot stuff for carrying around a new Vertu Constellation Ayxta, but this is America, bub -- and your blinged-up Nokia has to kick it at the FCC just like everyone else. Of course, without that fancy always-on-call Concierge service and Vertu Select, all you're really looking at here is a pretty anonymous featurephone wrapped up in high-end garb, but you're not spending your $10,500 on features here -- you're spending it because you're too lazy and rich to buy something good.

Sprint readying big price drop on Touch Pro2?

We'd hypothesized that neither Sprint nor T-Mobile wouldn't be able to hold out long at the positively ridiculous $349.99 on-contract price point they'd both set for the HTC Touch Pro2 out of the gate, and it looks like at least one of the two might finally be getting the hint. Sprint's now rumored to be bringing the beastly smartphone down to $199 after mail-in rebate, which would match Verizon's current pricing -- a move Sprint simply had to make, especially considering that the carrier typically positions itself as a value brand. Hopefully this rumor pans out, in which case T-Mobile will be looking pretty silly if they hold out at $350; if they capitulate, that'll put all of the currently-released US Touch Pro2s under the magic $200 mark and put a ton of pressure on AT&T to stay in line by the time it drops the green flag.

Verizon's Razzle gives them the old razzle-dazzle

Verizon's on a bizarre form factor kick lately, having just released the Nokia Twist -- and now we've got this strange little sucker, supposedly coming to market as the "Razzle." Astute observers will note that the Razzle is basically Verizon's branded version of the PCD TXT8030 first seen back at CTIA in April of this year, offering a 1.3 megapixel camera, VZ Navigator compatibility, and -- here's the big one -- a lower half that swivels 180 degrees to choose between a full QWERTY keyboard and stereo speakers. Interestingly, an older leaked roadmap misidentified this as an HTC product -- but the "Blitz 2" branding definitely makes sense considering both the Razzle and the Blitz are clearly geared toward a younger, funkier audience. PhoneArena says we can expect this one next month for "under $60," so this is one CDMA oddity that hopefully won't break the bank.

Keepin' it real fake, part CCXXXV: TigerG3 looks like a Hero, doesn't act like one

If we weren't too terribly impressed when the HTC Hero made the leap from Europe to the States, at least our funny bones are tickled by the device's inauguration into full-blown KIRFhood. Reports differ on the OS of the thing, but the features are 100% iPhone knock-off, including: dual SIM support, 1.3 megapixel camera, analog TV, FM radio, WiFi, and support for a host of audio and video formats. It's too bad this thing is only supports overseas (900MHz / 1800MHz) GSM -- for $140 we might be tempted to play. If you're in Oceania and looking for a new phone, it the read link to see for yourself.

LG's BL20 Chocolate gets official with €269 price tag

LG's BL20 Chocolate -- the younger sibling of the insane BL40 Chocolate Touch -- has recently been making a real splash around these parts. Ever since we got our hands on it, we've been wondering when we'd hear some official pricing and launch information, and the wait seems to be coming to an end. It looks like the slider is going to run in the neighborhood of about €269, according to LG's own website, which has also thrown up a few never-before-seen shots of the handset. That's about all the news for now, but hit the read link to check out a few more snaps of this beauty, and be sure to have a gander at our own hands-on gallery below.

Palm Pre confirmed for Verizon? Probably.

We were already pretty sure that reports that Verizon was passing on the Palm Pre were unwarranted, but the rumors just keep coming. Now BGR is reporting that it's confirmed -- albeit through an unnamed source -- that the carrier will in fact land the device. It's all starting to seem like a non-starter of a story at this point, considering we sort of already knew Palm's device was probably going to Verizon, but at least now we're less unsure that it's not not on its way, right? Right.

Rumor: Garmin-ASUS nuvifone G60 to run $300?

While several shipping dates have come and gone, we're still hopeful of seeing Garmin's nuvifone in the flesh and on the street at some point in the future. If you've forgotten (and nobody would really blame you), the HSDPA, quad-band handset will boast GPS (of course), WiFi, Bluetooth, plus a full browser. The G60's been available in Asia for some time now, and while a confirmed US launch has been much anticipated, no pricing has ever been announced. Rumors now abound that the device will carry a $300 price tag on contract, running about $550 without. Of course, it is just a rumor -- and one that we hope is off base, too.

Website rates best and worst cellphones by radiation output levels -- how does yours stack up?

You're surely aware that your cellphone bleeds radiation into your face the whole time you're on the phone with your mom, best friend or lover, right? Yes, it's a fact we try not to think about most of the time, but now there's a tool out there on the internets for the more reality-facing folks among us. The Environmental Working Group's launched a website dedicated to rating cellphones on their radiation output alone. Ranking highly (meaning they put out the lowest levels of radiation) are the Motorola RAZR V8, and AT&T's Samsung Impression. In fact, it seems that Samsung is cranking out the healthiest phones these days! Phones with poor showings includes T-Mobile's myTouch 3G and the Blackberry Curve 8830. So hit the read link and tell us, how does your phone rate?

Acer A1 Android phone listed for pre-order with 768MHz processor

We'd been hearing that Acer's Android-based A1 smartphone would be hitting this month, and while we still haven't heard anything official, it's just gone up for pre-order at Expansys. The spec sheet is rather intriguing, since it lists Android 2.0 Donut and a 768MHz Qualcomm 8250 processor, which is a 240MHz bump over every other Android set on the market right now. Pre-orders aren't insane at €389 ($571), but we'll see what official pricing and carrier support look like before we reach for our wallets.

Samsung Trill and Caliber coming to US Cellular

US Cellular's just big enough of a carrier to command a few exclusive handsets of its own -- especially from a company like Samsung that somehow manages to announce about fifteen new models a day, 365 days a year (not really, but it'd be easy to think that they did if you didn't pay attention). Take these two puppies, for example; first up is the music-oriented r520 Trill slider (pictured left), which counts Bang & Olufsen's ICEpower signal processing and 1GB of onboard memory expandable to a total of 33GB as its headline features. To the right we've got the r850 Caliber, a full-touch piece with a 3.2-inch WQVGA display, TouchWiz, a 3 megapixel camera with video capture, and full HTML browsing -- not shabby, assuming the price is right. We don't have pricing or availability on either of these bad boys just yet, but we'll keep you in the loop.

NTT DOCOMO's Touch Wood mockups make naughty puns easy

We're still not entirely sold on the intersection of gadgets and wood. Nevertheless, companies keep pumping out the concepts in response to our greener times. Here's NTT DOCOMO's effort using surplus wood leftover from Pacific culling operations. The Touch Wood prototype was developed in tandem with Sharp and Olympus and is based on the SH-04A slider. A Touch Wood mockup (pictured above) resembling a more feminine bean was also announced. In either case, the Touch Wood body is made of cypress without adding any artificial coloring or paint. And by using Olympus' 3D compression molding technique, they've manage to maintain the kind of durability, and resistance to water, insects, and mildew that you'd expect from, well, a tree. The handsets will be on exhibit in October at the ITU Telecom World and CEATEC Japan shows... touch wood. SH-04A prototype pictured after the break.

[Thanks, Stop Spamming]

Vodafone debuts 360 online platform, H1 and M1 LiMo-based handsets

This time last year, you might have thought that LiMo was waning in the shadow of Android's eminence, but we're witnessing the vanguard of a new resurgence in the form of the Vodafone 360 H1 and M1 handsets by Samsung. Being the first LiMo Release 2 devices, they'll come with a bagful of fancy 3D UI visualizations to splash atop 3.5- and 3.2-inch touchscreen displays, with the bigger H1 (pictured) getting the AMOLED treatment, WiFi, HSDPA and 16GB of internal memory, and the M1 receiving HSDPA and 1GB of expandable memory, but no WiFi. They are making their debut alongside Vodafone's new 360 online platform, which takes over from the former Live service. You can expect it to bring Facebook, Twitter, Windows Live Messenger and Google Talk integration, as well as an app store to compete with the other heavy hitters. The M1's three color options are pictured after the break.

Read - Vodafone 360 press release
Read - Vodafone 360 H1 product page
Read - Vodafone 360 H1 hands-on
Read - Vodafone 360 M1 product page

HTC HD2 (aka, Leo) launching on O2 UK October 12th?

A trusted tipster with a proven past just gave us the launch day scoop on the hotly anticipated HTC Leo. A Windows Mobile 6.5 handset we recently spied with HD2 branding and a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen display with 800x480 resolution -- a pixel density that should give plenty of room for finger-friendly TouchFlo 3D navigation. According to said source, the O2 intranet site lists the "HTC HD2" on its future products list with an October 12th launch date. O2 peeps will immediately recognize the lack of XDA branding which makes the claim a bit suspicious. Then again, HTC has been trying to break the shackles of pointless carrier rebranding for years. Truth be told in the days ahead.

New study says Palm Pre second only to iPhone 3GS in mindshare

Market research firm Interpret recently made some discoveries about public perception of smartphones that should shock, surprise, and amaze you. The just released report, dubbed "Signature Smartphones: Gaining Mindshare in Order to Gain Market Share," reveals that despite being massively disadvantaged in the marketplace, Palm managed to nab a huge chunk of mindshare with the Pre -- in fact, the report suggests that the Pre is number two only to the iPhone 3GS in the metric. The study looks at the driving factors behind purchaser's decisions to buy a smartphone, narrowing down the list to three major components: belief that the phone is "smart," belief that the phone is "hip / cool," and belief that the phone will make them more productive. Rating a swath of phones (BlackBerry Curve and Storm, G1, iPhone), the report found that only the iPhone and Pre balanced the three factors in a way in which consumers felt the higher price tags were warranted. More to the point, only the Pre and the iPhone 3GS managed to strike that balance at all; offerings such as the two BlackBerrys were lopsided. There's not much more meat to the study, though it does shed some interesting light on just how Palm managed to squeeze its way back into the limelight (of course, it doesn't hurt to have a product that's actually kind of cool). Check out the whole PDF for yourself over at that read link.

Sprint temporarily loses its mind, wants $250 for Samsung Instinct HD

And you thought T-Mobile and Sprint were sniffing the good stuff when they demanded $350 for the HTC Touch Pro2. Shortly after Instinct HD boxes began showing up at select Sprint stores, the flagging carrier has finally come forward with an official ship date (9/27) and price. Try as we may, we still can't figure out why exactly "HD" is tacked on the end of this thing; the 480 x 320 display is decidedly average, it can't play back high-def content on the device itself, and the "HD" video output is a feature that approximately 3.8 Earthlings will ever use (on a phone like this, anyway). Compounding the problem is the remarkable lack of detail in the specifications -- Sprint simply swears that its 5 megapixel camera and video record mode are HD, but it fails to provide any elaboration whatsoever. Other specs include WiFi, EV-DO Rev A support, Opera Mobile 9.7, an ambient light sensor, haptic feedback and an accelerometer, but even those can't help justify the $249.99 (after a $100 mail-in rebate and a two-year agreement) asking price. Hey Sprint -- we thought you guys were actually looking to gain subscribers. Right?

Philips' Xenium K700 doesn't look much like a phone

We can't put our finger on it, but for some reason, this Xenium K700 from Philips -- rumored last month and pictured here in clean press shots for the first time -- doesn't really scream "phone" to us. PMP we could see, possibly a low-end point and shoot camera, but not so much "I'm planning on holding this to my face and talking." Maybe it's the recessed lip below the screen? Anyhow, this should be an interesting one for anybody looking to eke a month of standby out of a full touchscreen phone, and the WQVGA resolution, 3.2 megapixel cam, and dedicated GPU are all pretty nice, too. What's amazing is that the incredible power management (a Xenium hallmark) comes from a mere 1,000mAh battery, but part of the explanation comes from the weaksauce triband EDGE radio. When are you gonna do up some global HSPA phones, guys?

Is this AT&T's HTC Pure, clad in shimmering magenta?

Last month, a leaked and decidedly non-confirmed listing of random phones mentioned something called the HTC Pure. We've not heard anything since, but now HTCpedia has what it believes to be two photos of the thing, each one enshrouded in an unattractive case; one silicon, one garish plastic. What's inside those enclosures is of course largely unknown, but it certainly doesn't appear to have a slide-out keyboard, does appear to have four buttons on the face, and that's said to be a 5 megapixel camera on the back. The site goes so far to say that this is destined for AT&T and will be the Touch Diamond2 (nee Warhawk), but if that's the case HTC has obviously made some tweaks to the design the last time we saw it. We're not quite ready to say these are anything other than blurry pictures of some random HTC handset, but once we have something -- anything -- a little more conclusive we'll be sure to pass it along.

Update: As a few commenters have pointed out, this is the MDA Compact V, currently available in the UK under T-Mobile, which could explain the magenta case. Is this what AT&T is referring to as the Pure? We wouldn't be surprised.

Samsung's B900 comes to South Korea with T-DMB, funny d-pad

The Jet ushered in a new era of highly stylized directional pads for Samsung, and its latest midrange full-touch handset for its domestic market is no exception. The B900 features a sort of shield design down below the screen that looks like it might not be so fun to use, but the specs aren't bad for a stylish midrange unit: EV-DO, 3-inch WQVGA display, a 3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and T-DMB mobile TV tuning (which you'll find on virtually all phones destined for South Korea). If you're feeling it, you'll have to be on (or willing to switch to) SKT -- otherwise, the odds of getting your hands on this one are very, very low indeed.

Vodafone to launch HTC Tattoo in October

This next item is sure to please HTC fanboys and Anglophiles alike: according to some well-crafted PR, Vodafone has confirmed that it will be launching the HTC Tattoo sometime next month. Indeed, if Android, resistive touchscreen, and FM Radio aren't enough to blow your mind, wait'll you hear this next bit of news: this one is available in black -- a UK exclusive! Maybe not worth moving overseas for, but possibly worth pre-registering for? If you think so, hit the read link and get started. PR after the break.

Motorola Entice comes to Verizon, available today

When we say "Motorola" and "Verizon" in close proximity to one another, you hope that it's got something to do with the Sholes (and we can't blame you), but alas, the next Moto to hit Big Red won't be running Android. The W766 Entice clamshell is a solidly midrange featurephone with a 2 megapixel cam, EV-DO, microSD support up to 8GB, touch-sensitive external controls, Bluetooth with A2DP, and USB 2.0 connectivity -- and at $39.99 on contract after rebate, it'll keep your wallet relatively well-padded. It's available online today and hits stores later this month.

Motorola CLIQ promotional material surfaces, confirms October 19th pre-order start

Can you feel it? Can you feel Motorola rushing back to relevance? If you're still in need of a bit more encouragement, have a gander at this. What you're looking at is official T-Mobile USA promotional material for the upcoming CLIQ, and interestingly enough, the whole brochure is in the shape of the phone it's advertising. You won't learn much from flipping through the pages (though the screengrabs are appreciated), but you will notice that pre-orders are set officially begin on October 19th -- just like we knew they would. You know, when it shows up as free on contract.

Meizu M8 Second Edition rights all of the M8's wrongs, or not

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HTC Tattoo earns FCC's love and respect

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 22nd 2009 at 11:23PM

HTC's fourth Android phone (the Dream, Magic, and Hero all came before it, lest we forget) just got hooked up with some sweet RF emission approvals, meaning anyone carrying a Tattoo this side of the pond is now welcome -- nay, encouraged -- to fire off a few shots of Bluetooth, WiFi, and a little EDGE here and there. The documentation indicates a model name of "CLIC100," verifying the commonly-held belief that the phone was known as the "Click" internally prior to its introduction (not to be confused with CLIQ, of course), and the "100" code indicates that it's the first variant with quadband GSM / EDGE with HSDPA 900 / 2100. Whether there'll be another variant produced later with 850 / 1900 3G for North America remains to be seen -- but for now, at least you're welcome to plod along with 2.5G without fear of FCC reprisal.

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Apple, Palm hear privately from USB-IF on iTunes spat, involvement unlikely (update: the Forum's not pleased)

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 22nd 2009 at 9:46PM

The very public fight between Palm and Apple to allow the Pre to sync directly to iTunes (without just... you know, doing it the same way as everyone else) is showing no signs of slowing down, with Palm continuing to pursue every angle it can to rile up Cupertino -- most recently taking the battle up to the USB Implementers' Forum in an effort to stop Apple from restricting iTunes usage by the hardware's Vendor ID. Hard to say what ended up going down behind closed doors, but on an official level, the USB-IF is issuing a terse statement that it "communicated its position on the matter to both companies" and won't be speaking further on the issue "at this time." We'll see if anything ends up changing on the software side from the conversation, but separately, the Forum has mentioned to us that it considers this a member-to-member concern -- so in all likelihood, they're taking a hands-off approach.

Update: Digital Daily has come away with a very, very different story from the actual leaked communication, and it turns out that the USB-IF has actually sided against Palm on two different fronts. First, the Forum has told Palm that it doesn't see how blocking Palm's Vendor ID from accessing iTunes violates its policies; and second -- this might be the big one -- Palm's actually riled up the Forum by saying that it'll be using Apple's Vendor ID on the Pre going forward. It wants a clarification of Palm's "intent" within a week, saying such a move would be contrary to the rules and regs set out for the proper use of USB. At this point the question becomes, how many companies and industry bodies is Palm willing to piss off to keep iTunes working exactly the way it wants?

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BlackBerry 9700 reviewed extra early

by Darren Murph posted Sep 22nd 2009 at 7:04PM

What is it with BlackBerries and seemingly premature reviews? After the Onyx got manhandled ahead of schedule, it's the turn of its close relative, the trackpad-equipped 9700, which has been annointed as successor to the Bold. Boy Genius Report spared few superlatives in their examination of the hardware, which praises the 9700 as "the most gorgeous BlackBerry on the planet" and involves a size and feel comparison against the Tour. Their conclusion was that the new handset draws all the positives from RIM's recent portfolio of phones and ties them together into a very compelling little package. We couldn't spot any downsides, so either this is the best phone ever or somebody got a little carried away -- read up and decide for yourself.

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Meizu M8 Second Edition rights all of the M8's wrongs, or not

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 22nd 2009 at 5:30PM

You could fault the infamous M8 for being eons late; you could fault it for shipping without a quadband EDGE / WiFi / 3G version; you could fault it for dancing in and out of the straight-up iPhone ripoff arena from its very inception; you could fault it for being really hard to find and buy outside of China. Most of that bellyaching can't be solved with a few tweaks here and there, but that's not stopping Meizu from whipping up a facelifted M8 SE with a few carefully-planned changes here and there. As far as we can tell this isn't the 3G remake we've all been waiting for, rather just a handful of minor touch-ups to keep the original model fresh for a while longer: better signal strength, an easier-to-use SIM slot, new firmware, and new packaging, just to name a few. Sounds like it'll be shipping for 1,999 yuan (about $293) in China, which would actually make this a nearly-perfect midrange unlocked Android set.

BlackBerry 9700 reviewed extra early

What is it with BlackBerries and seemingly premature reviews? After the Onyx got manhandled ahead of schedule, it's the turn of its close relative, the trackpad-equipped 9700, which has been annointed as successor to the Bold. Boy Genius Report spared few superlatives in their examination of the hardware, which praises the 9700 as "the most gorgeous BlackBerry on the planet" and involves a size and feel comparison against the Tour. Their conclusion was that the new handset draws all the positives from RIM's recent portfolio of phones and ties them together into a very compelling little package. We couldn't spot any downsides, so either this is the best phone ever or somebody got a little carried away -- read up and decide for yourself.

Apple, Palm hear privately from USB-IF on iTunes spat, involvement unlikely (update: the Forum's not pleased)

The very public fight between Palm and Apple to allow the Pre to sync directly to iTunes (without just... you know, doing it the same way as everyone else) is showing no signs of slowing down, with Palm continuing to pursue every angle it can to rile up Cupertino -- most recently taking the battle up to the USB Implementers' Forum in an effort to stop Apple from restricting iTunes usage by the hardware's Vendor ID. Hard to say what ended up going down behind closed doors, but on an official level, the USB-IF is issuing a terse statement that it "communicated its position on the matter to both companies" and won't be speaking further on the issue "at this time." We'll see if anything ends up changing on the software side from the conversation, but separately, the Forum has mentioned to us that it considers this a member-to-member concern -- so in all likelihood, they're taking a hands-off approach.

Update: Digital Daily has come away with a very, very different story from the actual leaked communication, and it turns out that the USB-IF has actually sided against Palm on two different fronts. First, the Forum has told Palm that it doesn't see how blocking Palm's Vendor ID from accessing iTunes violates its policies; and second -- this might be the big one -- Palm's actually riled up the Forum by saying that it'll be using Apple's Vendor ID on the Pre going forward. It wants a clarification of Palm's "intent" within a week, saying such a move would be contrary to the rules and regs set out for the proper use of USB. At this point the question becomes, how many companies and industry bodies is Palm willing to piss off to keep iTunes working exactly the way it wants?

HTC Tattoo earns FCC's love and respect

HTC's fourth Android phone (the Dream, Magic, and Hero all came before it, lest we forget) just got hooked up with some sweet RF emission approvals, meaning anyone carrying a Tattoo this side of the pond is now welcome -- nay, encouraged -- to fire off a few shots of Bluetooth, WiFi, and a little EDGE here and there. The documentation indicates a model name of "CLIC100," verifying the commonly-held belief that the phone was known as the "Click" internally prior to its introduction (not to be confused with CLIQ, of course), and the "100" code indicates that it's the first variant with quadband GSM / EDGE with HSDPA 900 / 2100. Whether there'll be another variant produced later with 850 / 1900 3G for North America remains to be seen -- but for now, at least you're welcome to plod along with 2.5G without fear of FCC reprisal.

Verizon VX8575 Chocolate Touch confirmed to be uglier than that other Chocolate Touch

If you've been loving the pictures and videos we've been bringing you of the lusciously slim BL40 Chocolate Touch, but holding your breath since a certain blurry photo a few weeks ago showed a rather different Chocolate Touch, we have some bad news. According to Phone Arena News, a Verizon "focus group" (with a questionable sense of aesthetics) decided that the BL40 was crap, and so the somewhat unfortunate looking and decidedly asymmetrical VX8575 has been blessed for domestic release as "Chocolate Touch." It looks to be standard fare featurephone stuff, with a 3.2MP camera, WVGA TFT display, and a browser that will support some subset of HTML. No word on if or when the BL40 will also be making an appearance at Verizon stores, but if we'd been pushed to the curb for something this busted we certainly wouldn't come back -- at least not without a very big bouquet accompanied by a sincere apology.

Access and China Telecom in talks to launch CPhone custom Android platform

Man, the Android action in China just keeps heating up: hot on the heels of China Mobile's OPhone platform debut, we're hearing China Telecom and Access are in talks to launch a rival called "CPhone." Just like OPhone, CPhone looks to be a specialized build of Android 1.5 with a custom UI, but instead of OPhone's KIRF iPhone look, Access seems to have filtered any number of haphazard Samsung UIs through a case or two of Tsingtao and called it a day. The big question right now is whether this one 3.5-inch device is the CPhone or whether Access and China Telecom are looking to launch a range of CPhone devices, but we're sure to find out more soon.

Larva Labs proposes 'intelligent' Android home screen

HTC and Motorola may have done their best to whip Android's interface into shape, but it looks like the folks at Larva Labs still weren't satisfied with the options available, so they've naturally gone ahead and designed their own UI (with a little help from Ideas on Purpose). While it's unfortunately still just a concept, the firm's so-called "Intelligent Home Screen" does bring plenty of interesting ideas to the table, which Larva Labs says should help it "appeal to Blackberry owners and people struggling with information overload." The centerpiece of the concept is a home screen divided by a (slightly familiar looking) slider bar, which puts personal items like emails up top and general interest stuff on the bottom, with relevant apps accessed by the icon on the right-hand side of the screen, and everything else relegated to a separate menu. Hit up the read link below to check it out in action.

Microsoft's Project Pink finally bearing fruit in 2010 with two self-branded phones?

The concept of a self-branded Microsoft phone (or two) actually making it to market is more believable than ever. A deterrent frequently cited in years past was Microsoft's vested interest in keeping its Windows Mobile hardware partners happy -- but as even their staunchest supporters (think HTC and LG) have turned to Android to shore up their smartphone lineups, it'd be far less of a backstabbing move on Redmond's part to get into the business next year than it would've been in, say, 2006 or even 2008. Add in the fact that the Zune HD shares 99 percent of its DNA with what could be a top-notch Windows Mobile-beating smartphone, and... well, it'd actually be a little ridiculous at this point if they didn't move in that direction, wouldn't it?

This discussion takes us back once again to Project Pink, the oft-rumored secret package of hardware, software, and services (or some combination thereof) allegedly being developed deep within Microsoft's skunkworks. Last we'd heard it'd be based on Windows Mobile 7 Chassis 1 with a heavy dose of 2009-spec components capable of chewing through processor-intensive apps and games, and now 9to5Mac says it's received information that Microsoft will be releasing two Pink devices next year, likely at CES. We've heard for a long time that Pink is one of the fruits (perhaps the only fruit?) of the company's Danger acquisition, and to that end, the Pink devices will apparently be sourced from Sharp -- Danger's primary Hiptop ODM, up to and including the Sidekick LX 2009 -- and will feature "Microsoft+Sharp" co-branding, not unlike Garmin Asus. The handsets are said to be codenamed "Turtle" and "Pure," both sliders of some sort with Pure possibly destined for Verizon. As you might expect from a product developed with Danger, it'll feature tight app store support with carrier integration, but otherwise, there's nothing else to this latest noise. Considering Danger's utter lack of experience with Windows Mobile, that could account for the amount of time it's taking for Microsoft to show its Pink cards -- assuming it's all WinMo- or WinCE-based to begin with. That would also imply that the company would have to start revealing details on its primary next-gen mobile platform in January, which gives 6.5 extraordinarily little breathing room at the top of the food chain.

Of course, 9to5Mac isn't exactly a bastion of reliable Microsoft banter -- we turn to the likes of Mary Jo Foley for that, who's been providing much of the guidance on Pink so far -- but it's an interesting rumor that we think holds far more water than The Inquirer's bunk piece from a little under a year ago. Let's not forget that Danger has a history of procuring its own hardware, and that precedent has transferred to Microsoft by virtue of the purchase. If we see Microsoft+Sharp gear with GSM radios bow in a little over three months, you won't find our jaws on the floor.