We hear that some truly lucky humans have gotten their hands on the AT&T Quickfire (also known as the Knick), which is supposed to go on sale November 10th, so that means... yup about two days early. The asking price for the device was $149.99 (with a $50 mail in rebate) with a new 2 year contract. As for details, all we know is that it was purchased in an AT&T store by an unnamed mystery customer in a "small town." Sometimes it truly pays to live in the real America.

One of the more interesting devices to hit AT&T's lineup in recent memory -- the PCD-sourced Quickfire -- is getting ready to hit in the next few days, making good on a promise to deliver the 3G Sidekick killer in November. Of course, it remains to be seen whether the Quickfire really is a Sidekick killer, but we'll all have an opportunity to find out come November 10 when it launches in three colors for $99 on contract. If you're feeling crazy enough to bypass the commitment, you can pick one up without signing your life away for $299, which still isn't that bad considering that you're getting a touchscreen, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and HSDPA.

[Thanks, Kal]

If you're into that whole SMS craze and you're on AT&T, you're in luck -- four times over. The carrier's gone ahead and announced not one, not two, but four QWERTY-equipped dumphones today, including a dual slider and a Pantech being billed as "the world's thinnest device with a full QWERTY keypad."

First up, the Pantech Matrix is available now in your choice of blue or green, with red being added on Thursday, October 16. It slides two ways -- a conventional vertical slide to reveal a numeric keypad, and a second side slider for the full QWERTY action. It's got 3G, AT&T Navigation, Video Share support, and a 1.3-megapixel cam, running $79.99 on contract with rebate. Next, the Samsung Propel apes the i620's industrial design -- but make no mistake, there's no Windows Mobile to be found here. It also does 3G and features the full host of AT&T services, packs a 1.3-megapixel cam, and will run the same $79.99 as the Matrix when it hits in late October in blue, green, red, and white with red accents. Next, the Pantech Slate is pretty appropriately named -- if its claim of being the thinnest QWERTY device in the world ends up holding water, anyway. It'll be available in late October alongside the Propel for $49.99 on contract with a 1.3-megapixel camera, but there's no high-speed data to be found in this sucker. Finally, the long-rumored Quickfire -- you may know it better as the Knick -- will come in November bearing AT&T branding and a Sidekick-esque style that'll likely appeal to the young'uns among us. It's got a touchscreen in addition to a slide-out QWERTY deal, a 1.3-megapixel camera (notice a trend here?), and 3G in your choice of orange, lime, and silver for $99.99 after you've inked up the dotted line.

Well, that mystery didn't take very long to solve. Remember that UTStarcom / PCD-sourced Knick that was getting shown around at some Radio Shack shindig not long ago? It's still very real and very much on the launch docket for AT&T -- but it's now the carrier-branded "Quickfire". Of course, PCD has never been a company to slap its own name on a handset being offered by a network, so the move makes a ton of sense. Right now it's tentatively scheduled to hit stores late this month for $99.99 on a two-year deal in silver, orange, and green, and it looks like it'll support AGPS for those rare instances when you're, say, driving instead of texting.

[Thanks, Kal]

This week is the week for Pantech and Sony Ericsson fans on AT&T to break out the bubbly and throw a wild, crazy party, because the trick dual-sliding C740 Matrix will be joining the W760a (check the gallery) for release on Thursday; they'll be available for $79.99 and $129.99, respectively. Down the road, we're now seeing signs of a Pantech "Slate" running $49.99 and a Samsung "Propel" for $79.99 (in three available colors, no less), the latter of which is signed up for a late October release, but we really don't know much more about 'em.

We don't have dates, but it looks like that Samsung Epix will suck $199.99 out of your wallet after rebates, and the Fuze will run $299.99. Finally, we're seeing an AT&T "Quickfire" that's due in late October just like that Samsung Propel -- but unfortunately, we don't know much about this one, either. Any educated (or completely wild) guesses?

[Thanks, Kal]

A reader was sent a rather revealing "consumer survey" this week, and though the carrier (or manufacturer) responsible for commissioning it wasn't revealed, we're thinking AT&T may have been behind this one. Why's that? Well, several phones -- most real, one rendered -- were shown during the course of the survey, and one of the devices was an AT&T-branded Pantech QWERTY slider that we've straight up never seen before, so unless there's some funny business going on, no other carrier should have access to that intel. In fact, the whole survey was focused on text messaging and text-centric, QWERTY handsets, asking questions about what sorts of form factors and features customers would like to see to improve their messaging experience. Also pictured were a Sidekick Slide (presumably for comparison's sake), a Samsung QWERTY slider sporting looks similar to the i620 and i640 (minus Windows Mobile, seemingly), and a rendered, unbranded device touting a gargantuan display and a number of available colors. The reader was asked what name they thought best suited this particular phone, and the choices were "Blaze," "Quickfire," and "Reveal." Needless to say, we're not so sure how we feel about putting an "AT&T Blaze" in our pockets -- but if it happens, at least we know who to blame.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]