And to think, we actually believed that Nike and Apple were this close to delivering the long-awaited running application for the iPhone. While it was widely reported that these shots were indeed the real deal, AppleInsider is pointing out a chink in the armor: Cupertino doesn't offer iPhone developers a programming interface for accessing one's music, yet this mysterious program clearly showed someone listening to Chris Martin and friends (an unreleased song, evidently) while attempting to make it to 0.02km. The take away? It's still pretty likely that the two outfits are working to create a fitness program for the App Store, but those screenshots ain't it.

[Thanks, Michael]

It has taken its sweet, sweet time in arriving, but it seems the iPhone Nike+ running application is just... about... here. A slew of new screenshots of the application have emerged, and while there are no juicy tidbits to accompany 'em (release date, cost, etc.), we all know how many lines of text a single snapshot is worth. Hang tight runners, the app you've been waiting (and waiting) for can't be far from the finish line now.

[Via MacRumors]

If you get a pair of blindingly bright clown shoes in the mail a few days after a late night of drunken revelry that you don't particularly recall... well, we think we know what happened. A new service from Nike in some European countries called "PhotoiD" allows cameraphone owners to snap a picture of pretty much anything their little hearts desire, send it to a short code via MMS, and get a rendered shoe in reply that uses the picture's two most dominant colors as its highlights. If you're feeling the kicks -- 1985 Dunk hightops, if you must know -- you can even buy them, which we figure is where things really start to get interesting. Creative on Nike's part, yes, but also a danger to the good sense of shoe-wearing shutterbugs everywhere.

[Via guardian.co.uk]

Remember that press event HTC's got coming up early next week? There are plenty of rumored HTC devices that could be announced -- and a few in particular we know readers are pulling for -- but it looks like we've got at least one here that's a lock to see the spotlight. Known to many by the codename "Nike," the HTC Touch Slide takes the original Touch's small, finger-friendly package and makes good on two of its indiscretions by adding a slide-out keyboard (similar in layout to RIM's SureType) and a 3G radio. Other features should include WiFi, 128MB of RAM, 256MB of Flash, and from what we can tell, a diminutive case that holds true to its forebear despite the fresh slide mechanism. Oh, and you NTT DoCoMo users over there, stop gloating that you've had this thing for a few weeks, would ya?

[Via MoDaCo, thanks ZSX]

While Apple chose London to inform the world of the iPhone's international agenda, HTC is reportedly looking to make a few announcements of its own on that side of the pond. According to TheUnwired, HTC will hold two press events on the first two days in October, the first of which will be in the UK and the second in Germany. Best guesses suggest that we'll be learning a bit more about the firm's forthcoming Windows Mobile-based lineup, and we can only hope that the Kii, Omni and / or Polaris are part of the show -- but considering the location and all, we wouldn't bet the farm on hearing too much about the likely US-bound Juno. Hold tight kids, the events get going in under a week.

There it is, the HTC HT1100, aka Nike, aka the Touch II WinMo 6 Professional slider we've been anticipating. This FOMA handset packs HSDPA (naturally, for DoCoMo) and GSM for international roaming while representing HTC's second handset to feature the TouchFLO interface. The QVGA display has been trimmed back to 2.6-inches while the sliding keypad chunks it up a bit to 112 x 51 x 16.9-mm / 130-grams. 802.11a/b/g WiFi, SIP support, Bluetooth, 2 megapixel camera (with a 1 megapixeler up front), FM tuner (?), and microSD round out the specs. So it's official, now we just need a release a bit say, closer to home.

Although the most recent hunch about a handset release did indeed prove true, we're not so sure about these HTC claims. DigiTimes has it that High Tech Computer is "expected to launch its second touchscreen-controlled smartphone supporting a 3.5G standard perhaps as soon as September," and while it didn't confirm, the site did insinuate that the mobile in question is the P5500 "Nike." Additionally, the rumors suggested that the phone will be "built using a CPU from Samsung and chipsets from Qualcomm," while also supporting W-CDMA. Of note, these same "sources" claimed that a device codenamed Vogue would be hitting North, Central, and South American shores, and we certainly can't find any room to argue with that.

[Via TheUnwired]

HTC's model naming convention has always been just a little tricky to commit to memory, and with this latest batch, it certainly ain't getting any easier. A couple of these we've heard about before -- namely the Nike, Kaiser, and Shangri-La -- but the rest are brand new to us and very exciting. First up, the S640 "Iris" is a CDMA rendition of the Excalibur and Cavalier, tossing in EV-DO rev. A and WiFi atop Windows Mobile 6 Standard. The "Vogue" is essentially a Touch (TouchFLO UI and all) with the same EV-DO rev. A guts as the Iris -- good news for Verizon and Sprint customers, we'd imagine. GSM users have reason to celebrate here too, though, in the form of the "Volans" and "Polaris." These two are upgrades to the Vox and Artemis, respectively, adding in much-needed 3G radios and faster processors. Finally, the P6550 "Sedna" appears to be some sort of industrial device with support for a credit card reader -- though with a 3 megapixel cam and 3G data, we wouldn't mind having one ourselves. Release dates are up in the air on most of these, but our money is on late '07.

[Via The Boy Genius Report]

Update: Crikey, the Shangri-La's slide reveals that the device -- HTC's entry into the UMPC fray -- runs both Vista and Windows Mobile 6. Sound vaguely familiar? [Thanks, Kevin]

We don't generally associate the terms "HTC" and "slider" -- at least in the traditional, numeric keypad sense -- but it seems the Taiwanese patron saint of all things Windows Mobile would like us to have a change of heart in that regard. The rumored HTC "Nike" (these code names of theirs keep getting weirder and weirder, we swear) should bow as the P5500 when it becomes available this fall in HTC-branded trim, rolling deep with a 400MHz Samsung core, 128MB ROM / 64MB RAM with microSD expansion, integrated FM tuner, Bluetooth 2.0, a 3 megapixel cam, and a 2.6-inch QVGA touchscreen. Best of all, it'll pack GPS and industrial-strength data via both 802.11b/g and HSDPA (no word on bands, though) -- and yes, that is Windows Mobile 6 Professional you see there, hence the touchscreen.

[Via Navigadget]