It's no world-beating Alexander or anything (not even close, really), but the W530 clamshell will still make and take calls with the best of 'em. Reportedly, Moto is preparing the simplistic handset you see above for the Chinese market, and with it will come a 220 x 176 resolution internal display, 1.3-megapixel camera, an FM radio module, 20MB of inbuilt memory, microSD expansion slot, quad-band GSM support and that lightning quick EDGE data. No telling when exactly this will drop (nor for how much), but we'd surmise "soon."

The problem with mobile television services -- besides the fact that no one seems to use them, that is -- is that unless you happen to be in Japan or South Korea, very, very few handsets have the hardware necessary to take advantage. Chinese company Permian seems to have it all figured out, though, crafting a nifty dongle that does the heavy lifting of pulling in and tuning a TV signal, streaming the entertainment to a variety of WinMo-based phones over Bluetooth. We don't know what standards the so-called "MOBview" supports, when it'll be available, or how much it'll run, but if AT&T could somehow sell it for $39.99 in stores and recommend it for use with the Fuze, they might just monetize that MediaFLO stuff yet. Follow the break for the video demo of MOBview in action!

[Via pocketnow.com]

In modern business, brand names frequently have very little -- nay, shockingly little -- to do with the company that's actually behind the product, and Lenovo's totally cool playing that game. Well, not Lenovo proper -- but Lenovo Mobile, which was sold off earlier in the year but continues to use the parent company's name to hawk goods. That's where the P80 comes into play, a new flip that features a 1-inch external OLED combined with a 2.8-inch primary display, microSD expansion to 4GB, 2-megapixel cam, and FM radio. Missing are dual SIM slots (surprisingly common in China) and GPS, but hey, at least it's available in seven tasty colors.

For now, Android's got about as much enterprise support as a Sidekick (well okay, a little more, but not much) -- so that's got to be keeping G1s out of the hands of throngs who are too tied-down to Exchange, Notes, or some equally stuffy piece of server-side software to be able to make the switch. China's QiGi feels your pain, which is where the company's surprisingly okay-looking i6 comes into play: the handset supports both Android and Windows Mobile, although you can't dual-boot -- you've got to choose one and run with it until you decide to install the other. It packs a 624MHz processor, 256MB of ROM, 128MB of RAM, a trackball, and -- in lieu of a QWERTY slide -- an on-screen Chinese keyboard with stylus support that we haven't seen before. Android, we love ya and all, but until you go through puberty, this multi-platform support is just about the best thing we've ever heard.

[Thanks, zsx]

What would you get if you combined an iPhone, a unibody Macbook, a strobe light out of a smoky, drugged-out disco, and a shelter from pesky copyright infringement? We guess you'd get something like this, the creatively-named "iPhone V126" that you'll find floating around the streets of Shenzen these days. The QVGA display shows off a reasonably faithful reproduction of the iPhone's UI (for a non-touch device, anyway), but the similarities end there considering that you're going all the way down to a useless VGA cam paired with an Apple logo on the front cover that emanates entrancing pulses of searing white light every time you get a call. We'll take two in gold, please.

[Via PHONE Magazine]

Over the years, Nokia handsets have fallen victim to the infamous KIRFing process time, and time, and time again. Evidently the suits up in Espoo have had enough, as evidenced by a new marketing campaign urging bargain hunters in India to avoid unbranded / duplicate handsets. The ad, which was spotted in the Mumbai Mirror, is comical in a number of ways. For starters, the notion that "originals last forever" is obviously misleading untrue, and secondly, the whole "instilling fear" tactic is severely unnecessary. Nokia asserts that all KIRF handsets lack an IMEI number, and thus owning one "could be a threat to your safety and national security." Or is that longhand for "a threat to Nokia's bottom line?"

By all accounts, China will eventually end up with LTE along with the rest of the world -- thank goodness -- but in the meantime, there's a hodgepodge of 3G techs brewing in the Far East including a healthy dose of the country's homegrown TD-SCDMA "standard." Not to worry though, denizens of the world's most populous country; turns out you won't be stuck with domestic handsets and the occasional Samsung or Motorola to get your high-speed fill. Nokia has mentioned at Macau's Mobile Asia Congress this week that it has a strong commitment to TD-SCDMA (and with a market that big, it's pretty hard to ignore) -- but what's more, they're hard at work on an S60-based smartphone for TD-SCDMA that will see launch by the end of 2009. With that kind of talk, the Sprints, Verizons, Bells, and Teluses of the world have to be screaming bloody murder that they can't bother to do the same for good, old-fashioned, well-established CDMA -- but then again, the North American market is still a little bit of a mystery to Nokia, isn't it?

The G1's taken some flak for being just a little less fashion-forward than the hottest handsets on the market, but as retail Android handsets go, it's the most beautiful thing going -- and we think that illustrious title's safe for the time being. Meet the "Dream G2" (groan) from China's Sciphone, a brick of an Android-powered handset promised for a November 28 release featuring EDGE data, WiFi, 4-megapixel cam with autofocus, 50MB of internal memory, microSD expansion to 16GB, FM radio, a QVGA display, and "the most advanced software ever engineered." Without a physical keyboard (as far as we can see, anyhow) and no software support in Android promised for a few months at minimum, it's unclear how you'll input text, but hey, the release is still a good ten days away -- maybe these guys are good at thinking on their feet.

[Via ModMyGphone, thanks neerhaj]

Huawei's a member of both Google's Open Handset Alliance and the Symbian Foundation, so it stands to reason that the Chinese manufacturer might have more than a passing interest in pumping out handsets powered by the platforms. Sure enough, the marketing directory of Huawei's handset division now says that it'll bust into the Android and Symbian markets next year, offering carrier-branded devices to go along with its Windows Mobile-powered fare. Despite its failure to attract outside investment, the company says that it'll be able to get its new smartphones out the door by lengthening the shelf life of its lower-end devices -- the devices it's classically known for -- which will lead to higher profit margins and, presumably, enough organic revenue to fund its own R&D.

[Via Unwired View]

Unless our eyes are doing some remarkable deceiving (and trust us, they've been known to work unwanted miracles before), this here ROKR EM35 is a colored version of the VE66 we spotted late last month. Very, very little details are given -- just that it's rockin' a 320 x 240 resolution display, a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack, a built-in multimedia player / music shortcut keys and the FastScroll navigation keys. Hit the read link for a few more looks.

[Thanks, Antony P.]

While the iPhone has an on-again off-again relationship with the Chinese market, seemingly unable to commit to that most populous of nations, unlocked HTC G1s are said to be selling like gangbusters there, a tidbit that surely didn't escape HTC's notice. By the sound of it the company is ready to make its feelings official, pledging its undying love (and Android handsets) to arrive in Asia-Pac markets in the first half of 2009. Additionally, the Touch 3G should be on sale in Taiwan as of now, with the Touch HD hitting there before the end of the year. While China isn't specifically mentioned in the report, it's certainly the major market in that region. If HTC could beat Apple to the streets of Shanghai that would be a coup of epic proportions, setting the stage for a global battle of smartphone dominance. Place your bets, folks.

It seems as if Huawei would rather hold tight to its mobile devices unit than sell it for less than it's worth, as evidenced by the sudden postponement of its auction last week. The Chinese telecom giant had cranked up the auction back in May in an attempt to generate cash and guidance for "navigating the North American market," but given the current economic situation, it reckons it's better off waiting for more prosperous times given that it's not in dire need of additional cash flow at the moment. We suspect Kenny Rogers said it best, and apparently, Huawei really does know when to hold 'em.

[Via mocoNews]

We were sorta hoping HTC was going to get straight to work on its next batch of Android handsets post haste after getting the G1 out of the door -- you know, just to close the fashion gap with its WinMo line, if nothing else -- but the word on the street is that it'd like to spread the first-gen love just a little further and wider by hooking up its Dopod subsidiary in China. According to an unnamed Dopod source, the current plan has the G1 going to the Far East "possibly" in the first quarter of '09, featuring radios better suited for China's airwaves -- possibly TD-SCDMA, possibly just EDGE. For what it's worth, Dopod's corporate logo will up the G1's rugged good looks by a factor of ten -- seriously, isn't it awesome? [Warning: Subscription required]

[Via Talk Android]

Manufacturer TechFaith flexes some serious ODM muscle in its native China, slapping together phones for a variety of name brands -- including Open Handset Alliance member Motorola. It's a curious coincidence, then, that TechFaith is running its mouth right now about crafting an Android-powered device that it expects to be ready for end users sometime in early '09. For the moment, the company's official line is that it's "still in talks with several interested customers" and expects to make an announcement about which company will be lucky enough to silkscreen its logo onto TechFaith's hard work at the end of November. With Android being a bit of a hot commodity right now, we can totally see any number of companies engaged in a bidding war here -- but unless Moto has something ready to go, like, yesterday, it sure seems like working with TechFaith now to get something out of the door on the double could be the right move. [Warning: Subscription required]

[Via Talk Android, thanks Chris]