In the wireless biz, simple economics ensure that the little guys have a harder time of everything, including the all-important matter of getting decent handset selections from manufacturers. That's just the tip of the iceberg, though -- beyond the lack of hot hardware, rural carriers are struggling to find a way to pay for network upgrades that'll get them in line with what the rest of the world's up to. Some 28 companies so far have banded together as NextGen Mobile, a consortium designed to share the cost of network upgrades and give smaller operators a unified voice for approaching manufacturers and demanding what it calls the "next 'it' handset." Though members haven't yet been idenitifed, everyone involved in NextGen is GSM-based and either has or intends to deploy UMTS -- and down the road, LTE. We're probably not looking at a team that's going to be challenging Verizon or AT&T for market dominance here, but if it means more people are going to have access to high-speed data faster, we're down.

[Via Phone Scoop]

German carriers who've complained that the country hasn't doled out enough 3G spectrum to meet their data-heavy needs are going to get their collective wishes granted next year with another auction, this time in the 1.8GHz and 2.6GHz ranges. Thing is, they'll need to bid like they mean it, because the government is allowing new players outside the current four -- T-Mobile, E-Plus, O2, and Vodafone -- to enter the race. If there's one thing the world doesn't need, it's two entirely new UMTS bands -- but if it means a whole lot more 3G in Bavaria, we guess we're going to have to deal.

[Via mocoNews]

If you've invested in one of those Sony Ericsson TM506s being offered by T-Mobile, it certainly helps if you've got some place to take advantage of its carrier-first HSDPA support -- and while it's going to be a while (a good, long while) before you find it blanketing every square inch of T-Mobile's coverage, you'll at least have a few more cities in which to play by the time that all-important G1 launches next month. Thirteen cities have officially launched so far, with another 8 coming online in the coming weeks, another 7 beyond that by the end of the year, and "meaningful expansion to additional customers and markets through 2009." In case you'd like 'em to be showing a little more hustle here (and who wouldn't?), it looks like the government is still holding things up; T-Mobile specifically mentions in its press release that it's continuing to "work closely and effectively together" with the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and Defense to speed things along and free up AWS spectrum as quickly as possible. In the meantime, follow the break for the full list of cities that'll be 3G-ready by the end of 2008.

How convenient, T-mobile. That $199, Android-flaunting, 3G HTC G1, to be officially unveiled next week, is supposed to start selling on October 17th, just when the carrier plans to flip the HSDPA switch on eight new markets: Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Orlando, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Francisco and Seattle. T-Mobile plans to follow those up with Birmingham, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Memphis and Tampa by the end of the year, covering about two-thirds of its customers with 3G before 2009 rolls around. It's been a rough few years for the T-Mobile faithful, but it looks an end is in sight -- at least for the urban among us.

On Friday, ASUS announced its latest entry into the highly competitive and exciting world of tweaked Windows Mobile phones, with the introduction of the P552w. The full-touchscreen device boasts a speedy 624MHz CPU, a 240 x 320 QVGA display, HSDPA / UMTS radios, 802.11b/g WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth 2.0 (with A2DP), 256MB of flash memory, 128MB of DDR, plus support for microSD / SDHC cards. What's really of note, however, is the inclusion of a skinned UI utilizing a technology called "Gester," which is controlled via slides of the finger, pinching, and flicks (think HTC's TouchFlo). The company is tacking on a few pieces of proprietary software as well, such as "EziPhoto" and "EziMusic," and claims that the device has "seamless Google integration." Clearly ASUS has backed away from that 3D interface we saw at Mobile World Congress this year, though we suspect the new UI -- dubbed "Glide" -- bears more than a passing resemblance to it. No word yet on release dates or prices, but you'll know when we do.

[Via Electronista]

Now that literally everyone on the planet except Bell and Telus themselves has accepted that the Canadian carriers are moving away from CDMA, the rumors are really starting to heat up -- and there's a twist this time around. Rather than wait for LTE, the Financial Post is reporting that Canada's two CDMA giants will proceed directly to HSPA posthaste, dropping $1 billion in the process to try to get a network up and running in just one year's time. Furthermore, they won't be trying to outbuild one another; instead, FP's sources report that Bell and Telus will be partnering in an effort to take the Rogers juggernaut head-on. It's starting to look more and more like CDMA is becoming a burden and a competitive disadvantage for the carriers that are still on it -- and if this all goes down, Rogers had better be looking over its shoulder.

[Thanks, Justin S.]

We're not going to re-hash the details of Nokia's N79 and N85 yet again. After all, we just went through it less than 24-hours ago. We will tell you that both the N79 (tri-band GSM, 900/2100 UMTS/HSDPA) and N85 (quad-band GSM/EDGE with either 900/1900/2100 or 850/1900/2100 UMTS/HSDPA) will hit Europe in October for €350 and €450, respectively, pre-tax and pre-carrier subsidies. The N85 could also be Stateside sometime soon given those frequencies and prior FCC approval. Oh, and pictures, lots of pretty pictures.

Read -- N79
Read -- N85

Yippee, it's T700 day at Sony. First they launched the DSC-T700 digicam, now the T700 cellphone. The T700 candybar is mostly phone though with a smattering of camera just for kicks. We're talking quad-band GSM and UMTS/HSDPA 2100 with 4.5-hours of 3G talk and a 3.2 megapixel camera with cell-id geotagging and photo light. It measures just 10-mm thin with Bluetooth A2DP, stereo speakers, 2-inch TFT LCD, and 512MB of Memory Stick Micro (M2) storage tossed in the box. Available in "select markets" in Q4 for what's expected to be a middling price tag.

That's right, kids, T-Mobile launched 3G data in Vegas this morning. The 1700MHz AWS 3G network went live for phones that can hit the UMTS 3G data stream, and if your phone is one of those, you may want to look for the pretty little icon and start doing some Intertron browsing. T-Mobile still expects to hit another 20 markets this year (along with some new handsets), so if you're not in Sin City, be patient -- 3G is coming.

For those invited to private launch parties in New York and Chicago last Thursday, you've probably been playing with your shiny new US E71 all weekend. For everyone else, today's the day. The Americas version of the handset -- which includes GSM 850/900/1800/1900 and HSDPA 850/1900 support -- is finally on sale to the general public through a variety of retailers. Now, the only problems are sneaking out of the office early, finding a store with stock and coming up with approximately $500.

Remember those days when you'd beg your mom to hop online and watch GamePro.com load for 15 minutes in order to read the latest reviews, only to be shut down by pops who refused to pay $.50 per minute to be on the world wide web? Thankfully, Sunrise's latest mobile broadband plans aren't that bad, but each precious hour of surfing over HSPA will set you back 3 Swiss francs (or $2.97). On the upside, there's no commitment attached to the USB modem, and there aren't any data usage caps either, so who knows, maybe this deal will float your boat after all.

[Thanks, Jay]

Not quite a year since the original Skypephone made a minor splash across the pond comes word that the second iteration is nearly ready to be removed from the oven. Slated to launch on 3 (of course), this candybar-styled handset will reportedly boast HSDPA connectivity, a 2.2-inch QVGA display, a respectable 3.2-megapixel camera, integrated Skype and "built–in modem drivers so you can use it as a dongle for your PC or Mac." We're particularly fond of that last part -- are any of you other carriers listening here? Check it out sometime in the mysterious future for a currently undisclosed price.

[Thanks, Linsey]

You've piddled around in our unboxing shots and replayed that hands-on video countless times. Now, the time has finally come to bust open the piggy bank and secure your very own Nokia N78. Dramatics aside, the HSDPA-packin' handset that also musters a 3.2-megapixel camera and A-GPS can now be purchased at Nokia flagship stores in Chicago and New York, numerous online retailers and the occasional mom 'n pop shop for around $560. So, who's getting one?

Nokia's finally fessing up to its latest E series QWERTY phone, but took this one in a seriously surprising direction... for Nokia, anyway: thin. The E71 is one of the thinnest phones we've ever seen exit the doors of the Finnish giant, at 10mm thick, but there's still plenty of room for everything you'd expect out of an E series phone like WiFi, HSDPA, A-GPS and even a 3.2 megapixel camera and a front facing camera for video chat -- the main place the E71 differs on specs from its new E66 sibling is the 2.36-inch QVGA screen, just a fraction of an inch smaller. The E71 even manages to squeeze in extra battery, with 20 days of standby, 10.5 hours of GSM talk or 4.5 hours of 3G talk. There's 110MB of built-in storage and a microSD slot if you grow out of that, and the same business / personal switcher of the E66. Folks accustomed to previous Nokia QWERTY phones in the form factor like the E62 will find the screen noticeably smaller, but with the same number of pixels and an incredibly pocketable form factor there's plenty to love about this new entry. Unfortunately, the $500-ish pricetag isn't quite alluring, and like the E66, Nokia doesn't have any carrier subsidies lined up just yet. The E71 should arrive in the States -- and yes, with full 3G US bands -- sometime Q3 of this year, and will be available in grey steel and white steel.

Nokia's bringing some new, unsurprising, E series hotness to the States in the form of the new E66 slider. Featuring GSM, EDGE, WCDMA and HSDPA bands galore, the phone is slated for a Q3 release this year. Features include a 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera, along with a front-facing cam for video calls, WiFi, A-GPS, 3.6mbps web browsing and a 2.4-inch QVGA screen. What really sets it apart from its E series forebears is the 13.6mm thickness, and some rather sexy new styling. Nokia's also worked in a sort of business / pleasure switch to change profile from your work email and documents to your personal accounts and such -- you can also swap to landscape mode by turning the device. Battery life is certainly no slouch, with 14 days of standby, and 7.5 hours of talk on GSM, or 3.5 hours of talk on 3G. There's only 110MB of internal memory, but you can supplement that with an 8GB microSD card. The phone comes in "grey steel" or "white steel" (what, no blue steel?), but brace yourself for the pricepoint: Nokia's quoting this at "under $500," and probably won't have any carriers Stateside subsidizing it in the short term. Quite a hefty price for a QVGA phone with little built-in storage, but some Nokia fanboy is certainly going to get a kick out of it.