Not long after spinning off from former corporate parent O2, Windows Mobile purveyor MWg is moving out of its Asian comfort zone to attempt to sell its wares over in Europe with a splashy press conference to kick things off -- and if the aggressive roadmap they're pursuing for the next year or so holds true, they might just have a fighting chance at making a splash up there. First up are the official European intros of the Atom V and Zinc II, HSDPA-equipped handsets that have been kicking around for a while now, but that's not even close to the interesting part. Looking deeper into '08 reveals a handful of HTC Diamond competitors, devices that are sporting a respectable 7.2Mbps down and 5.2Mbps up, and looking still deeper into the fourth quarter suggests that MWg intends to release its first Windows Mobile 7-powered device -- the Flame II -- with GPS, a 3.2 megapixel camera, and "multimedia features" on board. That seems a little far-fetched considering that 7 hasn't been officially shown off and 6.1 isn't even in broad distribution to users yet, but we appreciate MWg's motivation here. We also see a Shift killer in the wings with Vista and a 3G data connection toward the end of the year, so all told, the future's looking bright for these cats if they can actually execute.

Now that the BlackBerry 9000's been outed and reviewed, we guess there's little left for RIM to do but just get official with the darned thing. Looks like that might actually happen as soon as next week, with Boy Genius Report claiming that it'll actually happen on Monday, May 12, the first day of the Wireless Enterprise Symposium, going down in sunny Orlando. 'Course, there's a pretty significant difference between announcing a product and actually getting it into would-be buyers' hands, so we're going to keep our party favors and noisemakers firmly stowed until some carriers start to step up to the plate.

A Vertu it's not, but that's not stopping Motorola from borrowing Maranello's most prized symbol of speed and excess yet again. Last time around, Moto was trying its hand at reworking the Z8 into a phone befitting some of the world's most exotic cars -- an effort that we believe failed spectacularly, for the record -- and this time around it looks like the RAZR 2 V9 will be the unwitting target. Technologically, the phone's a dead ringer for its less-flashy cousin, but in terms of appearance... well, that's a whole different story, thanks to a checkered pattern on the phone's metal surface, red trim, and if we had to guess, a full range of Ferrari-themed pictures and sounds. Oh, and they've also managed to throw in a lambskin case embossed with the hallowed badge. No word on pricing, but it seems that it'll only be available in Asia and Latin America -- for a very small fraction of the price of the real thing, may we add.

While we twiddle our thumbs and wait for some sort of official confirmation that this thing even exists, Boy Genius Report has heard some rumblings that AT&T is putting the Nokia E71 through its paces with the intention of launching it -- in your choice of black or white, no less. Multiple Eseries colors certainly aren't without precedent, so we can buy that much -- and AT&T has previously launched the E62, so we can totally picture this going down. What's more, we've now heard from an independent source that the AT&T-branded E71 does in fact exist and is currently being crafted in Nokia's San Diego facilities (production models won't be born in the same place, we presume). Just a warning, guys: if this ends up happening as an EDGE-only device, we're going to lose it.

Nice to see FIDO isn't completely left in the mud when it comes to reasonable handsets in Canada -- as a reminder, Rogers, FIDO's parent company, usually enjoys all the glory -- with the launch of the Sony Ericsson Z750i. Nothing new to report here in comparison with AT&T's offering, that is, if you choose to ignore video calling. The Z750i hit FIDO stores near you on Tuesday, prices range from $100 -- with data plan, $200 without -- on a 3 year stretch, $325 on two years, and $400 off contract. Woof Woof.

We're not exactly sure what was going on with that whole on-again / off-again love affair with iPhones having gratis access to AT&T WiFi hotspots, but we're content with letting bygones be bygones. On the slightly tweaked iPhone "Plans" page, the carrier now lists "Access to AT&T WiFi hotspots" as an included feature along with call forwarding, 3-way calling and Caller ID. Sure, it's not a bona fide press release, but same difference, right?

[Via MacRumors]

Update: Oh, ha, it's gone again. We have a feeling it'll be back soon enough though.

Look familiar? Even from Nokia's sole subminiature shot -- never mind the model number -- you can pretty clearly make out that the 6122c is a dead ringer for the 6124 classic introduced a couple months back. Sure enough, the fresh S60 candybar is destined for China Mobile packing pretty much the same features as its doppelganger: 2 megapixel camera, 2-inch QVGA display, microSD expansion, and an integrated FM radio. One feature that we're pretty sure won't make the cut, of course, will be UMTS / HSDPA -- both as a cost-cutting measure and the simple fact that... well, China doesn't really do those technologies. No TD-SCDMA gear yet, Nokia?

One device conspicuously missing from Nokia's MWC and CTIA lineups this year has been the E71, the rumored successor to the E61i -- and for QWERTY S60 nerds, the next great hope. No worries, though; if the current rumor pans out, we won't have to wait for another major trade show for this thing to break cover. Dutch site Mobile Phone Helpdesk is claiming that "all arrows point" to an official launch on May 8 -- as in frickin' tomorrow. The site points out that alleged official specs have started appearing on retail sites, suggesting that Nokia's really starting to let its guard down as the ship date draws near. What are those specs, exactly? We can expect HSDPA, naturally, in addition to WiFi, a 3 megapixel cam, and an FM radio all bundled into a package that's supposedly just 10mm thick. Businessmen, businesswomen, we suggest you get your credit cards at the ready just in case this thing's suddenly available in a few hours.

[Via Unwired View]

Breaking with the longstanding tradition of granting exclusivity to the carrier in each country that can withstand Apple's vice-like iPhone profit sharing pressure, Italy's Telecom Italia has issued a super-brief statement simply letting the world know that "it has signed a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Italy later this year." No details, no launch date, no word on whether it'll be 3G (our money says yes) -- but either way, this means Italian customers will have the option of not one, but two carriers from which to get their Apple fix since Vodafone will be hauling in the device as well. A little competition never hurt anyone, right?

Just a day after we heard that Vodafone was taking the iPhone on a world tour, in comes word that Apple's darling will be headed to Latin America via America Movil. We aren't told if the deal is one of exclusive nature, nor were we given a specific launch date, but residents of 16 countries in Latin America will have their shot at latching onto an iPhone sometime "this year." Huzzah!

[Thanks, Jesus]

Nokia fans, S60 fans, Symbian fans of all types, your attention, please! Allow us to set your hearts a-flutter with a few pictures of Nokia's latest two all-business smartphones, the rumored E66 and E71. Both models are pictured here out and about, doing what they do best -- a promising indication that we might be due for an official announcement in the not-too-distant future. We're told that both have 3.2 megapixel cameras (as expected), 128MB of memory, and as we've suspected from the few photos we've seen before, they're "sleek and sexy" in the flesh. Nokia's manufacturing processes appear to be continuing to improve, too, because we're told that the E66 feels "rugged and solid" despite the slide mechanism -- a sore spot with many an N95 owner. Whenever you want to get official with these, Nokia, that would be just fine with us, thanks!

For most of us, the Porsche Design P'9521 is hard enough to find as it is -- but throw a limited edition into the mix, and, well, you have a very special phone indeed. The P'9521 is being re-clad in a rather striking white as part of the design firm's Pearl White Collection being launched in Taiwan this month, and the privilege of adding this one to your stable will run a mere 62,800 Taiwan dollars -- about $2,063. Pricey, yes, but at least Porsche has the common decency to throw in a 2GB microSD card and the reassurance that the odds of running into another P'9521 Pearl White user are nearly zero.

[Via Slashphone]

derStandard, the same publication that announced that the iPhone would be sailing into Austria via T-Mobile is now reporting that the same carrier will be testing the 3G iPhone in the aforesaid country. During a press conference in Vienna, T-Mo Austria reportedly affirmed that a UMTS version of Apple's handset would "soon be available," and that Austria would be the "testing ground" for the new mobile -- not to mention "among the first countries in the world with the UMTS iPhone." Furthermore, bigwigs stated that "more flexible" offers would be made available, but details beyond that were scant.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

We had a little thumb-print orgy with the new HTC Touch Diamond immediately following its launch. Light and small, the Touch Diamond comes off as a unit with promise. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait a while to get our hands on this via a US carrier, but Orange users in the UK will no doubt be pretty happy with this new handset, the first of its kind to use Windows Mobile 6.1.

Check out the gallery below, complete with comments and interface walk-through. A couple vids after the break, too!

Yo, Americans: if you want to learn more about a sweet-looking phone that Motorola doesn't think you should have, we've got just the place for you. Take a stroll on over to the FCC's documentation site, where you'll find a wealth of information on Moto's rumored A1600 MING 2. The Linux-based smartphone carries over the important parts of the original MING's trademark industrial design but upgrades to a respectable 3.2 megapixel camera, quadband EDGE, and allegedly WiFi -- though we couldn't find any mention of it in the manual. Sadly, as we mentioned, there doesn't appear to be any plan to bring the A1600 to the States with a user's manual emblazoned with "Asia/EMEA" on page 1, but with that worldband radio, at least it'll be pretty painless to import and use it if you're so inclined.