Vertu isn't the only game in town when you're looking to blow thousands on a handmade designer handset, and believe it or not, it's not the only game in town when you're looking for a Series 40 luxury phone, either. Mobiado crafts lovely shells of premium materials (you know, like steel) around the same guts that power Nokia's latest standard-issue dumbphones, producing devices that are more exclusive than they are powerful -- but let's be honest, power isn't necessarily what Mobiado's clientele is going for. The company's new Professional 105 ZAF takes its lengthy name in part from the fact that this is the "thinnest luxury phone in the world" at just 10.5 millimeters and features a 2 megapixel camera, 3G radio on the 2100MHz band, microUSB connector, and -- get this -- a battery cover "made entirely from one piece of sapphire crystal." If that's not form before function, we really don't know what is. Though it's not available in the US, the Professional 105 ZAF should be showing up shortly in boutiques around the world in a choice of six conspicuous shades.

[Via Mobile Phone Helpdesk]

Buried underneath the hoopla surrounding the announcement of ASUS' Lamborghini-branded ZX1 at CeBIT, the more mellow P560 was also announced, featuring pretty much every spec the average WinMo buyer could want these days in a package that speaks far, far less about the car you're driving (or wish you were driving, anyway). HSDPA, WiFi, 3.2 megapixel autofocus cam, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, GPS, microSDHC slot, 256MB of ROM, 128MB of RAM, and Microsoft's freshest build of Windows Mobile Professional -- 6.1, that is -- all have managed to find their way into the P560's unassuming shell. Not bad, though the €500 (about $772) price tag could scare a few folks away when it launches next month.

[Via Navigadget]

Remember that M810 that E-TEN announced for its glofiish line of Windows Mobile-powered goodies at MWC? Yep, well, they've announced it again -- along with its underachieving little brother, the M750 -- along with full details and a promise of availability in just two to three weeks. The QWERTY-clad monsters both support WiFi, feature 2 megapixel cameras, GPS, Bluetooth, and 256MB of onboard storage; the lesser M750 makes do with EDGE for wide-area data while the M810 steps it up to HSDPA. If they were coming out of the gate with Windows Mobile 6.1 we'd be whooping and hollering, but they're merely 6 -- to start, anyway -- so nothing to get too excited about. Unless you're into 3.5G data, GPS, and keyboards that glow blue, that is.

[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]

Bluebird's one of those manufacturers we don't hear a heck of a lot from, but it warms our heart to hear that they're alive, well, and equipped with fresh wares that were demoed at CeBIT last week. The latest device in its Pidion series is the BM-350, looking a heck of a lot cleaner than the BM-500 we saw at last year's show and reasonably equipped with HSDPA, 1.3 megapixel primary and VGA secondary cams, Bluetooth, WiFi, microSD expansion, the all-too-typical QVGA touchscreen, integrated GPS and FM radio, and a healthy dose of Windows Mobile 6. Unfortunately, the rumored asking price of €500 (about $769) seems way too high for the spec sheet, so it looks Bluebird might just be doomed to anonymity for another year.

[Via PHONE Magazine and NaviGadget]

It's not nearly as interesting as the mighty M930, but ASUS is prepping another Windows Mobile model that'll appeal to a decidedly different segment of the market. The device, codenamed "Galaxy Mini" and clearly intended to do battle with the HTC Touch, looks to be just about as diminutive as you can realistically expect a WinMo 6.1 Professional device to be -- though the tradeoff is that 3G data doesn't make the cut (you'll have to rely on WiFi for that) and the TI OMAP core mopes along at a molasses-like 200MHz. Other goodies should include GPS, Bluetooth, a 2 megapixel camera, and a selection of colors when it launches for somewhere between 300 and 400 (about $445 to $593) later this year.

[Via the::unwired]

Not to be outdone by E-TEN, Gigabyte's ready to pull some aces out of its sleeve for Mobile World Congress, too. If you can really call these "aces," that is. According to Russian site MyBestPDA, the g-Smart MW700 and MS800 are getting all geared up for MWC debuts with Windows Mobile 6 (possibly 6.1), 256MB of ROM and 64MB of RAM, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, integrated FM tuner, and in the MS800's case, 3G data. Physically, both devices look the same -- which is to say very, very bland -- but then again, that's exactly how some Windows Mobile users like it. More on these devices, we presume, in a couple weeks from Barcelona.

[Via Unwired View]

Like the just-announced glofiish X600 but wanted that certain something extra? You know, that intangible feature that could've set the X600 well apart from the crowd. Okay, here's an idea: how about an FM transmitter? Yep, the X650 goes all Fusic on us by taking the X600's formula, changing the color scheme just a smidge, and adding an FM transmitter for sending its tunes onto whatever radio in the vicinity that's tuned to the right frequency (according to the filed user's manua. Unfortunately, the X650 gains no 3G advantage over its cousin, but we're hearing it might rock a VGA display versus the X600's QVGA -- and if that's the case, screw the FM transmitter, 640 x 480 is the real reason to get this sucker.

Is it just us, or does this teeny, tiny image bear a striking resemblance to one ASUS P550, a feature-packed Windows Mobile handset that hit the FCC a couple months back? The few specs Vodafone lists on its site for this coming-soon device match up with the aforementioned FCC docs, too, so we'd say it's pretty safe to assume ASUS is the ODM in question here. Anyway, it looks like Voda will be getting this bad boy as the self-branded v1520 -- and while the 3.5 inch screen is pretty hot, the headlining feature seems to be an astounding 12 hours of rated talk time (whether real-world results are anywhere near that remains to be seen). No word on price or drop date yet, but you UK folk keep your ears to the ground, k?

[Via the::unwired and CoolSmartPhone]

Is it just us, or did this thing take a glancing blow from the ugly stick? Not a direct, brutal strike by any means, but it seems like there may have been a bit of an exchange before this sucker's announcement. Anyway, yeah, Samsung's i780 is all official now -- which we now know has absolutely no relation to the BlackJack2 for AT&T -- and while it may not be taking earning any points for sheer beauty, it makes up for the indiscretion with sheer braun. You get Windows Mobile 6 Professional (yes, Professional, not Standard), assisted GPS, a 2.6 inch 320 x 320 display, 256MB of ROM and 128MB of RAM, WiFi, and that crazy optical touchpad that lets you navigate via mouse pointer. Sadly, the triband GSM and single-band 3G are going to keep this one well off US shores, but then again, keep in mind that the i600 spawned the i607 BlackJack back in the day -- so stay positive, folks.

[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]

Wing who? T-Mobile today has announced the long-rumored Shadow, a Windows Mobile 6 Standard device that looks not just better than its Wing stablemate, but arguably better than just about any comparably-equipped smartphone on the market today. Besides the "slick, slider design" and a juiced version of the standard Windows Mobile 6 UI, the Shadow features a rotating jog dial front and center, 2 megapixel camera, WiFi, and a new version of T-Mobile's myFaves interface allowing users to call, email, text, or MMS the peeps in their "fave five." Like what you see? If you do, good, because it turns out this is just the first in a whole line of upcoming Shadow-branded phones for the carrier -- a line that'll be focusing on multimedia connectivity and slanting the work / life balance a little more to the "life" side than some of HTC's and T-Mobile's other smart devices (ahem, Wing, we're looking straight at you). Grab the Shadow starting this Wednesday in "sage" or "copper" for a surprisingly reasonable $149.99 on two-year contract.

Several months and a few in the wild pics later, Verizon Wireless has gotten around to launching its latest Windows Mobile Professional device, the Samsung i760. Weighing in just under 5.3 ounces and measuring in at 2.28 x 4.49 x 0.77 inches, it's one of the more compact PDAs available for the carrier. The i760 is packed with features like a 2.8 inch touchscreen LCD, 128MB of RAM and 64 MB of ROM, an EV-DO radio (sorry, no Rev. A here), Bluetooth 2.0 and WiFi connectivity, microSD expandable memory, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and a 1.3 megapixel camera. Enough with all this chit chat, though -- how's about some pics?

Not wanting be outdone by its rival -- Telus Mobility -- could Rogers Wireless be planning to launch the HTC Touch? Signs are starting to point to yes with internet ads begin to pop up depicting an upcoming launch for the Canadian carrier. Just in case you've been in hiding for the last six months, we'll run down the specs again: Windows Mobile 6 Professional combined with HTC's TouchFlo interface, 2 megapixel shooter with expandable memory via microSD, 128MB of ROM and 64MB of RAM, and Bluetooth 2.0 rounding out the feature set. 'Course, the original Touch can't take advantage of Rogers' just-launched 3G network, but hey, it's still better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

There's still apparently no 3G to be found, but E-TEN looks to be prepping the successor to its arguably attractive (and unarguably thin) X500 and X500+ Windows Mobile handsets. The new X600 model -- allegedly being announced any day now -- should feature 128MB of ROM with 64MB RAM (isn't 256 and 128 the standard nowadays?), 2 megapixel cam, microSD expansion, Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS all stuffed into a case measuring 14.7mm thick. If it rocked a VGA display we'd be in business, but we'll have to make do with the 2.8 inch QVGA example instead. We'll live.

Gee, Verizon, go ahead and take your time there, will ya? Alltel follows up Sprint to become the second network in the US to launch HTC's next-gen CDMA Windows Mobile 6 Professional handset (Alltel's site claims it's Windows Mobile 5, but we're not believing that -- check the screen shots), offering WiFi, stereo Bluetooth, 2 megapixel cam, and just about all the EV-DO you can handle as the HTC PPC6800. Grab it for $549 off contract, or $249 after two-year agreement and a $100 snail mail rebate.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Well well well, look what the FCC dragged in! We're still not sold on the sickly champagne color shared by members of the Ultimate line, but there's very little to not love about the i-mate 6150 Ultimate's internals: tri-band HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth, Windows Mobile 6, integrated FM radio, and a glorious VGA display -- internals that look to be assembled by ODM Arima, according to the FCC documentation. Of the five Ultimates promised, this particular one might be more of a... shall we say, "acquired taste" than the four others, owing mainly to its lack of a physical keypad. Otherwise, though, we're down. Can we still expect this in September, i-mate?