We can't help but notice that the ASUS V90 does seem to steal a few design cues from its J502 sibling, but rather than hiding its numeric pad underneath the sliding screen, the V90 shows it all with no sliding motions required. Unfortunately, there's not too many details on this one at the moment, but a snapshot of the device taken at Computex shows off its thinness and two-inch TFT display, and it purportedly includes a three-megapixel camera as well. Thankfully, we won't have to wait too terribly long for this one to arrive, as at least some parts of the globe should receive shipments by Q4 of this year.

[Via Slashphone]

For those of you stickin' with the Orange and waiting in tense anticipation for the "world's slimmest" 3G QWERTY smartphone to head your way, the wait is just about over. Thanks to a pre-release page on Orange's webstore, the i600 is being boasted about in all of its uber-skinny glory before it actually becomes available, and unsurprisingly packs a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, speakerphone, video telephony, WiFi, Windows Mobile 5, and all the usual amenities that you're already so well aware of. No word just yet on an actual sale date nor a price to go along with it, but we'd suggest pinching those pennies (or should we say, pence) for an "any day now" release.

[Via CoolSmartphone]

It looks like "around mid-January" is finally upon us, and those looking to grab a dark grey Motorola Q with that unmistakable yellow splash screen need not wait any longer, as Sprint is officially loosing its rendition of the smartphone to citizens everywhere. You've all had time to deliberate by now, considering you've seen all the sneak peeks and even read a hands-on review, so now the real question is how certain are you about locking yourself into a two-year agreement with a provider that won't carry that oh-so-anticipated iPhone? Regardless, Sprint's offering up its Q for $199.99 after all applicable rebates and in exchange for two years of your cellular soul, or you can buy it outright for $449.99 if you should so desire.


[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

With all the facelifting, refinement, and replacement Motorola's RAZR lineup has gotten as of late, one might think the poor, overlooked SLVR series was in danger of going the way of the dinosaurs (or, perhaps more appropriately, the MPx). Actually, readers following The Boy Genius Report have known that Moto has been slaving over a hot stove chock full o' the thin candybars in a variety of flavors for a little while now, and it just so happens that the updated L7 we'd scooped -- identified back then as the L7i -- has gone on to officially become the SLVR L7e. Visually, the re-upped model is nearly a dead ringer for its pappy, save for the keypad which has taken on a decidedly RIZR-esque appearance and a "shimmering blue" hue. The microSD slot is a carryover from the L7, but virtually every other major spec has been tweaked: the cam goes from VGA to 1.3-megapixel, A2DP is now supported for wireless stereo, and the GSM radio mercifully adds EDGE for decent 2.5G data. Word has it no American carrier has expressed interest in the updated model, but thanks to support for both the 850 and 1900MHz bands, this is one phone that should be a breeze to import and use when it drops by year's end.

[Via phoneArena]

It may not bear the same altruistic intent of its red cousins, but with the fresh coat of paint, the pink L2 will still manage to stand out a bit in a sea of silver and black SLVRs. As a refresher, the L2 is the low-end variant of Motorola's SLVR L7, trading a few metal bits for plastic ones but otherwise keeping a strong resemblance to its pricier counterpart. How "low-end," you ask? The L2 can presently be had on Cingular in your choice of silver or the aforementioned pink for $0 or $10 on contract, respectively.

[Via Mobile Magazine]

There are slimmer phones on the market, sure, but the 7.7 millimeter, Asia-only Smart S100 has that poorly-faked-iPod look that Samsung simply doesn't have anywhere in their product lineup. With the exception of the unfortunate dual-band 900 / 1800 GSM radio with nothing more than GPRS to feed it data, the phone's specs aren't half bad, with a 160 x 128 OLED display, 2-megapixel cam, and that Nokia 3650-style circular keypad we all love (or love to hate). Without even a single US-friendly GSM band, we think we've probably spent too much time on this thing already, but it's fascinating to know that a no-name phone can beat virtually every major manufacturer in the slimphone game.

[Via Slashphone]

As a phone manufacturer, it could be argued that one of the first steps you'd better take to get yourself out from under the financial gun is to release some quality products. That's exactly what VK Mobile looks to be doing here -- or trying to do, anyway -- in offering the VK-X200 for Korea's SK Telecom. The smart-looking X200 clocks in at 9.9mm, slim by all but the most extreme standards, and apparently rocks a 2-megapixel cam and media player. Good luck to ya, VK; we hope this thing sells like hotcakes.

If you're into the form factor, you don't need Bluetooth, and you're looking to save some coin, you might turn your attention to the FCC's deets on UTStarcom's GPRS1226 (or UT1200, depending on what documentation you're reading). Like the SLVR it loosely mimics, the microSD-equipped GPRS1226 emphasizes its music playback capabilities, even offering a dedicated music player button on its side. GSM 850 and 1900 support mean this thing is likely targeted at the North American market; we're not sure which carrier would offer it, but given its meager spec sheet, we're guessing you could walk away with it nearly free on contract.

[Via phoneArena]

Get ready Guinness 'cause Samsung just launched an entire series of "World's slimmest" handsets. Sure, we've seen the D830 clam, X820 candybar, and FCC approved D900 slider before, only now they've been turned-out onto that mean global scene official, spec'd, and rebadged with their ultra-slim, millimeter measurements right in the name: the Ultra Edition 9.9 (D830), 12.9 (D900), and 6.9 (X820) pictured left-to-right. The UE 9.9 brings tri-band (900/1800/1900MHz) GPRS/EDGE, a 2 megapixel cam with auto-focus and flash, a 2.3-inch 240x320 262k TFT main display (0.8-inch 92x16 grayscale external), Bluetooth, 80MB embedded memory with MicroSD expansion, MP3/AAC media player, and even an MPEG4 recorder with TV-out jack slammed into this world's slimmest flip. The UE 6.9 brings pretty much the same network coverage, cam, Bluetooth, media capabilities, and on-board memory as the 9.9 but had to forgo the microSD card and flash while dropping down to a 1.9-inch 176x220 262k TFT display in order to slip into that world's slimmest, 6.9-mm, 2.33-ounce dress. The relatively plump UE 12.9 takes advantage of all that, uh, roominess to squeeze in quad-band GPRS/EDGE, a 3.13 megapixel shooter, 2.1-inch 240x320 262k TFT, that good media lovin' we've already seen, Bluetooth with A2DP stereo audio support, and 80MB with microsSD expansion. Yeah, that makes it the world's slimmest slider, er, with 3 megapixel camera -- kind of a stretch, but that's how Sammy likes to roll. They didn't bother with drop dates, countries, or prices but the fact that the press release hit their English site gives us hope for this Samsung triptych to drop in the US sometime this year.

[Via AVING]

The folks at LG are no stranger to slim phones, and they look to have a winner with their new KG320. Beyond the 0.39-inch thick form factor (the same as Samsung's recently launched T509) the LG phone features a 2.2 megapixel camera, 176 x 200 pixel screen, Bluetooth and a whole 128MB of memory. Playback isn't bad neither, with support for MPEG4, MP3 and AAC files. It's just a tri-band GSM unit, but the phone is headed for Europe in addition to the usual Asian targets, so here's hoping for a US launch.

[Via MobileKorea.TV]

Though always the first to cram a few more megapixels into a cameraphone or shave a few millimeters off a slimphone, Samsung hasn't ever really seemed to try very hard on their UI. Well they're trying something new with their E900 called "Black UI," which looks pretty snazzy and even (heaven forbid) usable. That's not to say they forgot about the hardware this time, the E900 looks to be a respectable slider phone, with a touch-sensitive control pad not unlike that of LG's Chocolate phone. The phone measures 0.65-inches thick, and has a 2-inch display, 2 megapixel camera, microSD storage, and Bluetooth. The phone also boasts music playback functionality, and the control pad switches from phone mode to music player mode based on what you're using it for. We're not sure what carrier(s) are getting this phone in Europe, or the price, but it looks to be a solid contender for at least a few hard earned Euros. Click on for more pics.

Forgoing the traditional methods of actually announcing their products, Pantech is content to let the FCC do their PR for them, with the latest example being the PN-320 clamshell. It's not going for the world record or anything, but the 0.9-inch thick PN-320 is still fairly slim for a flip phone, and it's not too hard on the eyes neither. Otherwise, the CDMA phone is pretty lame, with a mere VGA camera and 262k color LCD, ala its PN-315 sibling. There's no branding visible, but the phone looks to be headed for Verizon like the PN-315, thanks to some Verizon-specific wording in the manual. We just hope Verizon users can contain themselves for joy, and the FCC is getting reimbursed somehow.

[Via phoneArena]

The Samsung SGH-T509 we expect to hit T-Mobile anyday now just nabbed a "very good" rating over at c|net. While that uber-thin, 0.39-inch shell might draw in the eye, in the hand it "feels fragile" (though it emerged from a couple of drop tests without any damage) and suffers from "mixed call quality." However, those good looks, a "bright vibrant" 1.8-inch TFT display, solid feature set, EDGE support, and tested 4.5 hours of talk time resulted in a 7/10 rating from the reviewer who calls the T509 "a step above" that other slim candybar, the Moto SLVR L6.

Update: Thanks to tipster Alex for pointing out that T-Mo is now offering-up the T509 -- giddy up.

Nokia has been gaining a bit of a reputation for being on the chubby side of the thin phone wars. So the 14-mm slim, 6126 flip which the FCC just approved, still passes for thin these days in the Nokia camp of plumpsters. Other than the 32MB flash and 16MB RAM we now know this thing packs, the filing doesn't tell us more than we already knew: quad-band GSM/EDGE, a 2.2-inch, 320 x 240 internal display, 1.3 megapixel cam, and microSD slot for storage expansion. Worth the wait we guess, if you're a Series 40 fan.

Samsung just knocked a couple more phone models outta bed to show-off their new SCH-V890/SPH-V8900 cellphone. This slider measures in at 13.8-mm and 85-grams and features a 2.12-inch, 240 x 320, 262K color TFT LCD, Bluetooth, a 1.3 megapixel shooter, MP3 player and that Nate Drive service popular in South Korea. We're not sure, but we'll bet you can even hold it up real close to your pie-hole for making calls. At least it better for that roughly $525 US equiv.

[via Akihabara News]