Acer posts S200 user manual, looks like an F1 to us

Just because you can't buy Acer's mighty F1 yet doesn't mean you can't do a whole lot of learning about it now that the company has officially posted the beastly handset's user manual online. Actually, if you want to get technical about it, they've posted a manual for an "S200" -- but browsing it quickly reveals that they're talking about the F1 judging by the diagrams and specs, which leads us to wonder whether S200 is the official go-to-market name, a regional variant, or something even more sinister. No bother -- at any rate, the manual is a good opportunity to learn about Windows Mobile 6.5, which the F1 will be shipping with; you're also reminded of that totally bangin' Qualcomm 8250 (that's Snapdragon to the lay folk) running at 1GHz, the 3.8-inch WVGA display, the full HSPA, and the 5 megapixel autofocus camera. Americans will be bummed to see the lack of HSPA 850, though they should be able to cling to 1900MHz in many markets -- and it's not like North America has gotten a lot of mobile love from Acer in the past, so it certainly comes as no surprise. [Warning: PDF link]

Verizon announces Escapade global flip, available tomorrow

Typically, dual-mode global handsets on carriers like Sprint and Verizon have a distinctly high-end (or at least a midrange) flair to them, but the Escapade is rolling up on this scene to ask "why is that?" Verizon's new Pantech-sourced clamshell -- which will be sold under the Verizon name alone -- lacks EV-DO, UMTS, and even EDGE data, concentrating instead on offering voice and text services in "220 destinations worldwide." It's got a 2 megapixel camera, support for voice commands, Bluetooth, and VZ Navigator, but the most compelling feature might be the price: $29.99 on contract after rebate. Look for it to launch online and in stores tomorrow.

Nokia N97 mini pops in the FCC, not so much mini-er than the N97

It's still hard to believe that Nokia's already upstaging the N97 with the N97 mini just two months after the big guy shipped, but here we are, staring at the FCC documentation. There's not much to go on here besides this label-location drawing, which is marked with a 1:1 scale -- allowing us to set our regular N97 down next to it and show you just how little Nokia achieved with all that development money. Check it after the break, along with another pic of the mini the inimitable Eldar Murtazin just posted to his blog.

Alltel picks up BlackBerry Tour, Samsung Glint

That shot of an Alltel-branded Tour in the wild turned out to be stone-cold legit seeing how the regional carrier (what's left of it following the Verizon acquisition, anyhow) is now offering the phone for $200 -- the same price you'll find on Sprint or Verizon. That's cool and all, but we know the real reason you're reading this is that they've also launched the Samsung Glint, a low-cost flip with a VGA cam, stereo Bluetooth, and availability in both pink and blue. Both devices are available now, though we've yet to see 'em show up on the carrier's site so you might want to make some phone calls before running down to the store.

iPhone 3GS totally capable of 1080p video playback

We always suspected the iPhone 3GS was capable of 1080p HD video playback, and now we've got proof. Although Apple lists the iPhone 3Gs's max video playback res at just 640x480, iLounge linked to Chinese forum post claiming that the 3GS could do 30Mbps 1080p playback earlier today -- and when we saw that the only thing we needed to do to test it out was download the free FileAid app, well, you know how we've just spent the last 20 minutes. We tested out a bunch of HD trailers from Apple's QuickTime trailer site, some videos we shot with a Lumix DMC-GH1 and some other random videos with general success, but there were some major hiccups: high bitrate 720p video off the GH1 stuttered during playback, and loading the Avatar trailer consistently crashed the phone's audio driver until we restarted. We tried the same thing on an iPhone 3G and just got error messages at almost every resolution, so it seems like it's a combination of the 3GS's extra horsepower and different built-in software at work here -- software that's clearly not ready for prime-time, as evidenced by the bugs. We're hoping Apple is polishing that up and getting ready to unlock this functionality, since it'd be sweet to just plug into an HDTV and play video -- anyone listening out there in Cupertino? Video after the break.

SlingPlayer Mobile 1.1 for iPhone picks up App Store approval

That sweet little update to SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone that Sling submitted for Apple's perusal about a week and a half ago is now approved and available -- version 1.1, as it were -- bringing native DISH Network navigation, improved widescreen support, and improved response times throughout the app. Separately, Sling has updated us on the 3G-compatible flavor of the app that they've submitted for consideration outside of the US, but so far, no dice -- the company hasn't heard back from Apple, which means it's all WiFi-only for the moment. Wouldn't want to saturate those pricey little 3G cells, now, would we?

Bell's Palm Pre commercial couldn't be more Apple if it had an Orba Squara soundtrack

Far from being creepy this time around, the latest Palm Pre ad -- this one specifically for Bell's Canadian customer base -- is familiar. Very familiar. Plain white backdrop? Check. Peppy male narrator? Check. Hip, upbeat music? Check. Mysterious hands showing off mobile apps and other smartphone capabilities? Check. Side-by-side comparison videos after the break. Hey, at least this one isn't gonna creep you out.

Samsung Gravity 2 now available on T-Mobile, $30 on contract

We knew the Gravity 2 was coming, but when it was announced, T-Mobile stayed coy about pricing and availability beyond saying "August." Turns out that "August" means today, because a quick visit to the carrier's website now lets you get in on the text-heavy landscape slider for a mere $29.99 on contract after rebate in your choice of "Metallic Pumpkin" or the arguably more sophisticated "Berry Mauve." Don't expect the world -- the camera's just 2 megapixels and the screen is going to cause frustration, eyestrain, injury, and / or death if you try to browse actual websites -- but at least you've got GPS, AWS 3G, and some of the more spacious texting you'll find at this price point. Just don't drop it, because you'll learn how it gets its name real quick.

Nokia's Maemo 5 tablet shows up again, ready to play

We're calling it: this N900 / Rover / whatever it's called is the best looking device yet in Nokia's Internet Tablet line, which is an encouraging thing to be able to say considering we haven't seen any ultra-polished PR shots yet. Granted, we might be influenced a little by the rumored HSPA support with voice, T-Mobile USA availability, and Maemo 5, but really, what's wrong with that?

Samsung InstinctQ for Sprint pictured: imagine a G1, but better

Going off mere clues, hypotheses and shreds of evidence, we've been trying to wrap our brains around the InstinctQ for a while now -- and finally we've got a picture that firms everything up: it's definitely an Android-powered landscape QWERTY slider for Sprint. We know the Hero's in the pipeline, too, so between these two, Sprint could be poised to catch up to T-Mobile in a big, big way (as far as Android goes, anyhow) this fall. We think we're digging the touch-sensitive Home, Menu, and Back buttons, and the expansive keyboard looks plenty usable. The screen isn't looking quite as vibrant as its autobahn-driving European cousin, the Galaxy -- but we'll wait on passing final judgment until it's in our hands, of course. Any chance that's happening soon?

BlackBerry browser to get full Flash and Silverlight support?

Sounds like RIM's trying to do more than just bring the woeful BlackBerry browser up to par with the competition -- Boy Genius Report says Waterloo's trying to leap way out in front by building in full Flash and Silverlight support. BGR says it'll be full Flash, not Flash Lite or the Open Screen Project's mobile Flash 10 implementation, but don't get too excited: it'll be next summer before RIM ships devices fast enough to handle it, and even then things may be delayed since they'll need HSPA or LTE data speeds to pull it off. Hey, maybe in the meantime all those engineers could maybe work on things like properly rendering a text page? Just an idea.

Nokia's Maemo 5 RX-51 / N900 tablet gets exhaustively previewed

Eldar Murtazin at mobile-review teased us with that shot of Nokia's RX-51 / N900 Maemo 5 tablet earlier today, and now he's back in force with a detailed preview. We're talking tons of hardware pictures and screenshots of what stands to be the standard-bearer for all Nokia devices going forward, and while we'd love to tell you all about how impressed we are with what we're seeing of Maemo 5 and how disappointed we are in the Rover's resistive touchscreen, we won't hold you back -- hit the read link and dive right in.