Yeah, there's a cooked Windows Mobile 6 ROM floating around for the now-ancient Apache, but it ain't official -- and let's be honest, there's a good contingent of folks out there that like their updates officially blessed by the powers that be. That very group should be delighted to hear that UTStarcom appears to have an official Windows Mobile 5 AKU3.3 update (you know, the one that was hacked for the handset many moons ago) available, which we would imagine means Verizon should be offering it directly before too long. Windows Mobile 6 it's not, but the patch appears to offer some key goodies like A2DP, tethering via USB, and Microsoft's Daylight Savings Time fix from frickin' ages ago. Oh, and the best part? You don't have to wait for Verizon to roll it out -- just follow the read link and look for the XV6700-related files on UTStarcom's site (user beware, of course, since this hasn't been announced). Rock on! Follow the break for a rundown of what's new in the package.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Although frankly the benefits they'll see are marginal -- especially if they've already upgraded their handsets to AKU 3 -- many Sprint PPC-6700 / Verizon XV6700 devotees will nevertheless be delighted to learn that xda-developers forum member helmi_c is promising an Apache-compatible build of Windows Mobile 6 to be released this Friday, and he's got the screenshots that claim to prove it. As tipster Joey put it, "many of us [6700] owners have been kinda left out in the cold with no WM6 love for the 6700," but where manufacturers and carriers fail to act, you can usually count on the tireless community over at xda-developers to provide a solution -- and from the looks of things, helmi_c's build even trumps the standard upgrade by cooking the HTC Touch interface right in. Good stuff if it does indeed pan out, so we'll keep you posted.

Update: Helmi_c wrote in to let us know that he is actually based out of the ppcgeeks community, and the links in this post were quickly adjusted accordingly. Because seriously, would you want to step in between factions of highly motivated geeks and developers? No thanks.

[Thanks, Joey S.]

Thanks in large part to the work by the gents at the Dev Wiki, a working toolchain -- including a compiler, assembler, and linker -- and the dedicated efforts of many inspired types, the iPhone apps are arriving en masse. So far the list includes tools like a working Apache web server, python, shell -- and a pile of associated binaries like ls, rm, echo, csh, and tsh -- and while these might not be terribly thrilling for Joe everyday user, they are a pretty kicking start. We could start to see all manner of fun stuff arriving in the coming weeks, unless, of course, Apple pulls the plug via an update. Again, we won't link to the goods, but a wee bit of searching should get you on your way.

[Thanks, Paul]

As the Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU2 / MSFP updates get slowly pushed through the woodworks, we must not forget those users especially inclined toward mobile email -- those with Apaches and Wizards, say we. And now that Cingular and Sprint have updates for their respective HTC devices, isn't it about time Verizon did the same? Well, they didn't, but the good news is UTStarcom went over their heads (something you don't often hear about with the V) and released the Message Security and Feature Pack for the XV6700 on their own site. Somehow we doubt this will unlock the phone's crippled WiFi, but stranger still about this scenario is that, UTStarcom's webmaster is apparently very into comics: their metadata holds superman as the site description, batman as the keyword, and batman begins as the subject. Well aight then, we get it, UT Starcom marches to the beat of a different drummer indeed.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

It's been a crazy few years for the once unknown Taiwanese OEM known as High Tech Computer. Although still not a household name like Sony or Samsung, HTC has leveraged its strong ties with Microsoft to offer tantalizing products that have made us early-adopters stand up and take notice, and now the company feels that it's in a strong enough market position to ditch the Qtek brand and begin selling phones under its own name. The Qtek phase-out was announced as part of HTC's official unveiling of the 3G Hermes Windows Mobile Pocket PC phone -- now known as the TyTN -- as well as the compact, UMTS-capable Breeze smartphone -- which is now called the MTeoR (yeah, we're noticing a MOTO-like naming trend too; see the rebadged STRTrk for further proof). In announcing July's European launch of these self-branded handsets, HTC reemphasized its dedication to the many carriers selling its products under their own names, but this development certainly bodes well for the company's overall name-recognition; imagine, instead of lying and telling people we have a Treo because Sprint-branded-UTStarcomm-PPC-6700-based-on-the-HTC-Apache sounds so nerdy, we may one day be able to proudly proclaim "Oh, it's an HTC." [Warning: PDF link]

[Via Geekzone, thanks to everyone who sent this in]