There appears to be some speculation floating around that Dell is about to cannonball itself into the mobile pool, big time. According to whispered rumors from dark hallways (AKA Forbes), the company is putting together a smartphone / multimedia device which might be rearing its head sometime early in 2008. The device -- being developed with the help of Taiwanese company Quanta -- will sport video and audio playback, as well as internet functionality. The rumors are strengthened by the company's addition of former Motorola cell phone executive vice president Ron Garriques, and with the dropping of its PDA and DAP products, there's certainly a gaping void left open for a new device. Of course, it also doesn't hurt that Dell's recent acquisition of Zing and trademarking of the "Zingspot" moniker suggests the company is getting into content distribution -- perfect for a shiny new convergence device. Only time will tell if the PC powerhouse can get into the very-crowded smartphone game, too.

[Via InformationWeek]

With rude passengers and terrorist thoughts in the mind of airline officials and passengers, British parliament members (MPs) are holding steady against any airline policy that would allow in-flight mobile phone use. The real reason they are scared, from what we can glean, is related to the remote detonation of bombs on planes by terrorists. Outside of the Executive Decision movie scenario being painted here, the MPs referenced the 2004 Madrid bombings being set off by cellphones in explaining their support for the ban. As such, we don't see any mobile use coming on Britain-originated flights soon. Better catch a Qantas flight instead, heh.

[via textually.org, image via arinc.com]

D-Link's got a so-called new line-up of dual-mode WiFi VoIP / GSM V-Click phones for ya. The big selling point of course, is the ability to quickly toggle between your tri-band 900/1800/1900MHz GSM/GPRS network or unspecified 802.11 WiFi to make low cost VoIP calls. The magic here is in that "v-click" button along the side which flips the WiFi radio. Once enabled, users can make SIP-based VoIP calls or hit the web over the bundled Opera Mobile browser and 176x220 pixel display. Hmmm, those specs sure smack of that Taiwanese GW1 peeped at CES from Winstron NeWeb Corp and unfurled as the Neuf Twin dual-mode handset already on sale in France. Let's see, same screen, same dimensions, same radios... yup, we're calling it a rebadge. So are you really going to give D-Link $600 for their logo when it drops in Q1 or pick-up an unlocked, €200/$250 Twin sans contract from your friendly electronics importer? Yeah, thought so.

Ahh, so that's what happened to the Q3 launch of Samsung's i607, eh Cingular? With FCC approval now out of the way let's hope the long wait is nearly over for this quad-band GSM and dual-band UMTS/HSDPA Smartphone. As you might recall, the i607 Blackjack runs Windows Mobile Smartphone up on that QVGA display and features a 1.3 megapixel camera around back, Bluetooth, microSD slot for expansion, and a slim, albeit rather unappealing 1/2-inch thick shell. So what's keeping ya Cingular, go ahead and launch already... pretty please, with sugar.

[Via PhoneArena]

BlackBerry, PocketPC, and Power Vision lovers unite 'cause Sprint just unleashed three phones meant to distribute the love to all. First from the gate is the IP-830W from Samsung (pictured center) we peeped on Sprint last month. For $600 with a 2-year plan ($750 without!), it's yours to take global with quad-band GSM / GPRS and CDMA / EV-DO pumpin' Windows Mobile 5 plus AKU2 on a 520MHz Intel PXA272 proc. Out next is another Sprint Sanyo clam in the form of the dual-band Power Vision SCP-8400 (pictured right) with Bluetooth, 1.3 megapixel cam, and of course Live TV, Music downloads, and multiplayer game action. Yours for $100 after rebates, instant savings and your signature on a 2-year plan. Out last is the GPS-enabled BlackBerry 8703e which brings EV-DO speeds, Bluetooth and speakerphone for $350 after discounts and 2-year signup. Thing is, it's already available on Verizon only without GPS navigation for $100 less. What to do, what to do.

[Thanks, Jim]

Read -- BlackBerry 8703e
Read -- SCP-8400
Read -- IP-830W

Ok, this slim thing is just outta control. As if you needed proof, Samsung went and launched the 8.4-mm thin SCH-B510 calling it the "world's slimmest DMB phone" just days after LG launched its contender, and a mere three weeks after Sammy loosed their previous title holder, the SCH-B590. Sharing that top-end bulge with the true thin-champ, the X820, the B510 packs in an MP3 player, MicroSD expansion, and 2 megapixel camera into a package weighing only 72-grams. Thing is, this is a freakin' DMB phone for watching mobile TV, yet the screen has been shrunk to an impossibly small, unspecified dimension in order to reduce the bulk. At least they won't be seen outside of Korea's KTF network any time soon. Hey Sammy, how 'bout trying to coax LG into using one of their fancy new slim displays and bring this madness to an end? K, thanks.

Although the experience of browsing the web on a mobile phone has improved greatly over the last couple of days five years or so, there are still sites out there that refuse to load or function as smoothly as they would on a personal computer. A possible solution to this problem comes in the form of yesterday's launch of dotMobi: or if you prefer it cold and impersonal, the new .mobi top level domain name. Yeah, so you're thinking "how's another domain name gonna improve things?" Well, unlike other domain names, dotMobi has a relatively stringent style guide for anyone wishing to register a .mobi domain: mandatory rules for registrants include the requirement that the site can be loaded without typing "www." (a pain on a numerical keypad), and a complete ban on cellphone-browser busting frames. Time will tell whether or not the bar of entry has been set high enough, as all of the tips in the "Highly Recommended" section of the style guide are optional: for example, registrants don't even have to test their website on a mobile device. A giant leap for cellular mankind this is not, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

If the hoard of N-series Nokias raining down from Espoo yesterday was a bit too much on say, the fuddy-duddy side of the generational slope, then check these new XpressMusic cellphones kiddies. Well "new" only if you missed the 5300 and 5200 peeped before. Still official is official so let's run 'er down again. The 5300 slider is the biggest news here, going tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900MHz with GPRS/EDGE support and 262k color TFT LCD, QVGA (240x320) resolution. It features up to 2GB of microSD storage, dedicated music keys, an adapter for 3.5-mm headphones, built-in IM software, FM radio (with Visual Radio), 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and an expected retail of €250 pre-tax, or $317. The 5200 shares the looks of the 5300 but features an even lower rez camera and display for a pre-tax price of €200 or $254. Meanwhile, the original XpressMusic 3250 twister sports a new look with added support for 2GB microSD cards. Expect the 3250 to pull a pre-tax €400 or $507. All phones, according to Nokia today in New York, will "begin shipments in select markets within weeks." MobileBurn however claims that a US variant of the mix will hit Q1, so who knows. Click-on for a snap of the updated 3250.

[Via MobileBurn]

Ok, you know the drill by now. HowardForums has a purported shot (on left) of the thinner, sexier successor to the VX9800 communicator, the LG VX9900 we first trolled from the FCC (pic on the right) back in May. We're still hoping for this QWERTY clam to roll on Verizon sometime this month as reported by our own Boy Genius or sometime between September 29th and October 13th according to the rumor jockeys ridin' the HoFo. Hell, let's just say any day now and leave it at that mkay?

[Thanks, Scott and Sunny]

Get ready Guinness 'cause Samsung just launched an entire series of "World's slimmest" handsets. Sure, we've seen the D830 clam, X820 candybar, and FCC approved D900 slider before, only now they've been turned-out onto that mean global scene official, spec'd, and rebadged with their ultra-slim, millimeter measurements right in the name: the Ultra Edition 9.9 (D830), 12.9 (D900), and 6.9 (X820) pictured left-to-right. The UE 9.9 brings tri-band (900/1800/1900MHz) GPRS/EDGE, a 2 megapixel cam with auto-focus and flash, a 2.3-inch 240x320 262k TFT main display (0.8-inch 92x16 grayscale external), Bluetooth, 80MB embedded memory with MicroSD expansion, MP3/AAC media player, and even an MPEG4 recorder with TV-out jack slammed into this world's slimmest flip. The UE 6.9 brings pretty much the same network coverage, cam, Bluetooth, media capabilities, and on-board memory as the 9.9 but had to forgo the microSD card and flash while dropping down to a 1.9-inch 176x220 262k TFT display in order to slip into that world's slimmest, 6.9-mm, 2.33-ounce dress. The relatively plump UE 12.9 takes advantage of all that, uh, roominess to squeeze in quad-band GPRS/EDGE, a 3.13 megapixel shooter, 2.1-inch 240x320 262k TFT, that good media lovin' we've already seen, Bluetooth with A2DP stereo audio support, and 80MB with microsSD expansion. Yeah, that makes it the world's slimmest slider, er, with 3 megapixel camera -- kind of a stretch, but that's how Sammy likes to roll. They didn't bother with drop dates, countries, or prices but the fact that the press release hit their English site gives us hope for this Samsung triptych to drop in the US sometime this year.

[Via AVING]

Nokia has been gaining a bit of a reputation for being on the chubby side of the thin phone wars. So the 14-mm slim, 6126 flip which the FCC just approved, still passes for thin these days in the Nokia camp of plumpsters. Other than the 32MB flash and 16MB RAM we now know this thing packs, the filing doesn't tell us more than we already knew: quad-band GSM/EDGE, a 2.2-inch, 320 x 240 internal display, 1.3 megapixel cam, and microSD slot for storage expansion. Worth the wait we guess, if you're a Series 40 fan.

Good times can be had over at our sister site, Engadget Chinese, which has managed some alone time with two recent releases, the LG KG800 Chocolate and Dopod S300 HTC Star Trek. Both phones are plenty sexy in their own way, with the KG800's obvious aesthetics leading the charge, but the S300's ability to pack in all that Windows Mobile goodness in such a small package earning it plenty of kudos as well. Decisions, decisions.

Read: LG KG800
Read: Dopod S300