Be still, our beating hearts! HTC has just pressed the "Go" button for European and Asian shipping of its latest object of desire, and it's served notice to American phone lovers that the HD2 is coming to them soon as well. Slated for a "major US carrier" some time "early 2010," it'll land squarely in the same time bracket as the XPERIA X10, which should lead to some really quite interesting decisions to be made, presumably by March 2010. The WinMo 6.5 device might be shipping now, but you'll have to wait at least until the 9th of November before you can spill your Euros for it, and we expect to see a flurry of pricing and contract information filling that short waiting time. Full PR after the break.

[Via MobileTechWorld]

It's been a long, long time since Emblaze Mobile and ACCESS engaged in holy cellphone matrimony, and the fruit of that relationship is finally coming to bear. It's called ELSE INTUITION, a Linux-based mobile platform that comes with such a hyperbolic press release that we can't help but think every other mobile manufacturer should just pack up and go home. It's said to match the functionality of "top ranked MP3 players, best-in-class GPS devices, and more, while maintaining an exceptional ease and simplicity of use." Golly. At this point we only have a few images to go by, and though they do look plenty nice, we wouldn't consider our minds blown just yet -- particularly those of us with a left-handed bias. Remember, ACCESS is the company that turned Palm OS into Garnet OS and then failed to win anyone over with its Access Linux Platform, so what could go wrong here? What's it going to be, readers: WebOS or ELSE?

Update: Another right-handed pic (ironically taken on an iPhone) added after the break.

[Via AV Watch]

Well, hello there! Those Dell MID rumors we've been hearing have finally received vindication in the form of a nice, picture-heavy leak courtesy of some industrious folks in Vietnam. What we know as of now is that there's an 800 x 480 capacitive touchscreen display (with multitouch zooming), WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G WWAN connectivity, all riding atop an Android 2.0 (aka, Donut Eclair) install. A dual-LED flash 5 megapixel camera adorns the back, and there's a 1,300mAh battery to power all that goodness. See pics below and a video awaits after the break, where an old friend of ours plays with the jumbo smartphone.

[Via SlashGear; Thanks, Nicky N.]

Well now this is a pleasingly rapid transition from announcement to review samples to market availability. Motorola's Android-loving CLIQ (already on sale under the moniker DEXT in the UK), its QWERTY keyboard and all the apps you could desire are now ready to be had, should you already have an account with T-Mobile, the device's exclusive US carrier. It was expected that only pre-orders would be taken today, but it appears for all the world that T-Mobile is ready to start shipping the CLIQ to its loyal customers ahead of the November 2nd full release date. Prices start from the previously reported $199.99 on a two-year agreement -- a move that will give you plenty of time to wonder if you shouldn't have waited for more details about the Droid mashup from Verizon, Motorola, and Google.

Steve Ballmer must have busted out his secret stash of magic dust, as Microsoft has just come out with the announcement that it has recovered "most, if not all, customer data" that was lost during the recent Sidekick debacle. Following the wildly embarassing fiasco attributed to a "system failure that created data loss in the core database and the back-up," T-Mobile and Redmond have "rebuilt the system component by component" and now promise to restore data to affected users in the most expedient fashion possible. Guess that means you won't be getting $100 from T-Mobile for losing your Tetris high scores after all.

[Thanks, Abe G.]

We knew it was coming, and here it is -- the glorious first showing of the Palm Pre in its GSM garb. From today, our Deutsch comrades can grab a Pre and do whatever they want to do to it, courtesy of O2, its exclusive German supplier. The device will set you back €481 without contract, with the O2 My Handy option letting you finance it via 24 monthly payments of €20. Check out the online store link below for full details and available calling plans. Pre Thinking have also noted the arrival of two new free apps in the Pre catalog -- ran and VZ-Netzwerke, both in German -- and the likely prospect of even more coming along as the Pre starts its long-awaited rollout across Europe over the next few days.

[Via Engadget German]

Read - O2 Germany Palm Pre launch announcement
Read - O2 Germany online store
Read - Pre Thinking

We've seen blurry pics and reports from inventory systems, and now the official confirmation. This morning's joint press conference between Verizon and Google has resulted in a holy matrimony of sorts; a melding of the minds; a promise of new hardware to come. Yes, it's just a promise for now as neither company took the chance to confirm the Sholes or any of the other devices that have been popping up. But, Verizon did at least say that the agreement "will come to fruition within the next few weeks as Verizon Wireless introduces Android-based handsets." So, it won't be long now.

A tiny little beta leak earlier this month let BlackBerry-toting Mac fans knew that something good was coming in the near future, and now we know it's very near indeed (though a bit later than expected). On October 2 RIM will release BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac, specifically at 1:00pm EST. That means instead of wrapping up your busy work-week being productive you can instead spend the afternoon fighting long download queues and playing around getting this app configured -- for purely work-related purposes of course, like syncing with iCal, Address Book, and automatically backing up contacts. Just don't tell your boss you'll also be able to sync your iTunes collection to your handset, including album art, something that should make Pre-owning Bob down the hall a little jealous. Again, the fun starts Friday afternoon at 1:00 EST. Clear your calendars accordingly.

Read - RIM Launches BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac Users
Read - Download here come Friday

Well well, turns out rumors sometimes do come true. The widely speculated end to O2's exclusivity of the iPhone is now upon us and Orange is the first competitor to throw its hat into the ring. The company has not yet released tariff pricing, but there's a tantalizingly small release window, as availability is promised "later this year." At least there's finally some competition when it comes to the iPhone in the UK, and we can also probably look forward to T-Mobile joining in on the fun. Let the price war begin!

[Via iPhone Bang; Thanks, Gears]

It might be about four months late, but the UK is finally getting its slice of the tasty new Palm pie. There'll be no shortage of outlets to buy this from, with the Carphone Warehouse, Phones4U and O2's online shop all stocked up, but the carrier options are limited to just one. You'll find tables of UK and Ireland pricing after the break, and you'll be happy to know that the Pre can be had for free on two-year contracts charging £34.26 per month, which come with "unlimited" mobile data and free access to the BT OpenZone WiFi service.

[Thanks, Andrew]

Update: Good news for our Teutonic brethren, as O2 Germany has also let slip news of the Pre hitting Deutschland on October 13, with the device priced at €481 without contract or cheaper with.

Xperia Pureness -- the phone formerly known as Kiki -- reared its head today, mostly in the form of press shots of stylish people who demand stylish handsets. Don't have any tech details yet, but we do know that it's a fine example of Sony Ericsson's new "brand direction," which -- as we heard yesterday -- can be summed up succinctly (and a bit nauseously) as "make.believe." Right. What we do know, however, is that it will be officially launched in November 2009 "through selected retail distribution channels in key cities around the world," that the company wants us to approach this as "a work of art rather than technology," and that the company hoped to "sculpt an object of design that reflected the purity of water and a sense of calmness when not in use." Just what we needed! We're sure Frank Lloyd Wright would approve -- you know, if only he hadn't died fifty years ago. See for yourself in the video after the break.



[Via Mobile Bulgaria, thanks Reggie]

Semi-official no longer, Sprint has now officially announced the HTC Hero for its network. Here's the skinny: it's coming October 11th and will be $179.99 after assorted rebates. Also noteworthy? It's the chinless model we just spied just days ago, but otherwise it looks like the same internals, Exchange Active Sync, and Sense UI we've been toying with for months now, plus Sprint TV. Pre-registration (note: not pre-order) is now available for those eager to already claim stake. We can't help but notice there's no mention of exclusivity here, but regardless, well played, Sprint, between this and the Pre, you're amassing quite a nice collection, there.

Update: We spoke to Sprint, and the Hero is in fact an exclusive for the company.

Read - Press release
Read - Hero pre-registration

Yeah, we're pretty much all peeved by Apple suddenly ejecting all traces of Google Voice from the app store, but now it looks to have drawn the ire of the Federal Communications Commission, as well. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the agency has sent out three letters, one each to Apple, AT&T, and Google. To the latter company, it asked for a description of the Google Voice app and whether previous Google apps have been approved for the store (it has, but that's another interesting story). To Cupertino, it's asking the phone manufacturer to explain itself over the sudden exorcism and what involvement, if any, AT&T had in this decision. The report doesn't make a direct indication of what the letter to the carrier said, but we can imagine it's similar to what Apple got, plus some doodles at the end of a stick figure letting out an exasperated sigh. In a statement today, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said it "has a mission to foster a competitive wireless marketplace, protect and empower consumers, and promote innovation and investment." Hey Julius, while you're at it, can you see about Skype and Slingbox for us, too? Thanks.

Update: TechCrunch has published the three letters sent out, all very interesting reads. The FCC asks Apple specifically if any approved VoIP apps are allowed to be used over AT&T's 3G network, and more generally what are the "standards for considering and approving iPhone applications" and more details into the approval process. It also asks for the contact information of all developers of rejected Google Voice apps, presumably for further investigation. In the Google letter, it seems to be asking if Voice will be able to be utilized in any capacity over the web, without inclusion in the iTunes store. Unsurprisingly, a number of questions to Apple and AT&T concern the carrier's involvement in which apps or types of apps get rejected. All companies have until August 21st to respond and can request confidentiality on all or portions of their response.

Perhaps the big G spoke too soon when it said its new Google Voice service was coming to iPhone. First, GV Mobile developer Sean Kovacs relays a phone call he had with Apple where he was notified of his app being removed from the iTunes store for duplicating built-in iPhone features -- an app that was originally and purportedly approved by Phil Schiller himself. Next out the door was GVdialer, and if you thought that was all bad, now comes word that Google's official Voice app was flat-out rejected by Cupertino. Now it's hard to say with certainty who's to blame for these app rejections, but a good many fingers are pointing to the cellular carriers -- and given AT&T's previous statements about the SlingPlayer app, it's hard to argue with that. For its part, the company hinted at finding a workaround via web apps, much like they did when Apple gave Latitude a cold shoulder -- but doesn't that feel just a little 2007?

[Via Apple Insider]

Read - Official Google Voice App Blocked from App Store
Read - GV Mobile is getting pulled from App Store
Read - Sean Kovac's Twitter status on Schiller