Anyone looking for the hottest T-Mobile-powered BlackBerry experience that money can buy need only wait a few dozen hours now, because the carrier has just revealed that it'll be launching the latest rendition of the Bold -- the 9700 -- on Monday, November 16 for $200 on contract. Your hard-earned cash reels in T-Mobile's very first 3G BlackBerry underpinned by a 3.2 megapixel camera and 480 x 360 display, beating AT&T's launch by a solid six days. Enjoy, folks.

Dubbing itself the "multimedia powerhouse" for T-Mobile's expansive Android lineup, the Samsung Behold II has just been confirmed for that rumored November 18th launch on T-Mobile (still no word on price, though we're hearing a predictable $200). The slate-style touchscreen handset has a 3.2-inch AMOLED display, and puts it to good use with a hearty skinning job on the part of Samsung, porting in most (but not all) of its TouchWiz UI -- unfortunately for us, that silly cube menu made the cut. Underneath is Android 1.5, and what seems to be a pretty standard processor.

Hardware-wise there's really nothing to complain about on this phone. It's heavy, relatively thin (not iPhone-thin, but just fine), with solid materials and wonderfully tactile face buttons. The screen is everything you'd expect out of an AMOLED display, though high-resolution phones like the Droid dampen that enthusiasm somewhat. One wonderful Samsung addition to the traditional Android experience is a "real" camera button on the side, which can even register half-presses for focus. For someone who doesn't want a physical keyboard, but doesn't want their handset to feel like a toy (sorry, myTouch) there's plenty to love. However, we're more concerned about the software side of things. We're not morally opposed to Samsung adding in TouchWiz, but we are afraid of anything that has the potential to slow down the OS, and on first glance we'd say it's notably less responsive than stock Android. We'll of course be going further in-depth to see just how usable this iteration is, but let us just put this out on the table: a virtual 3D cube to launch media apps is no way "intuitive," "helpful" or "cool." OK, maybe it's kind of cool, but seriously Samsung, stop it. Check out our unboxing below.

Update: We added some video after the break. Behold the cube!

Looking for a cheap full touch handset or a USB stick with 3G capability for T-Mobile? Heck, why not both? The self-branded Tap intro'd last month has now hit retail, bringing a 2 megapixel cam, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, and a choice of two hunger-inducing colors for $79.99 on contract. Coming alongside the Tap is the webConnect Jet USB modem, which can find its way into your shopping cart for as little as zero dollars -- $50 less than the older webConnect it slides next to in the lineup. Drop Android onto that feisty little Tap, sell it for the same price, and we're pretty sure we'd have a winner on our hands -- next year, perhaps?

Read - webConnect Jet
Read - T-Mobile Tap (Berry)
Read - T-Mobile Tap (Midnight Blue)

With the N900 getting AWS support, there's every reason to believe that T-Mobile USA and Nokia want to make beautiful music together -- but in order to do that, they're going to need some quality hardware in the mix. Whether the S60 5th Edition-based 5230 qualifies as "quality hardware" is strictly a matter of personal opinion, but for what it's worth, Cell Phone Signal has raised some very good points about a recent FCC filing suggesting that the model is inbound. First off -- and most importantly -- the SAR report for model code RM-593 indicates that AWS 3G is supported, and overlaying the back of a 5230 with the filing's label document lines up perfectly. A slam dunk? No, it's not -- but considering how long it's been since T-Mobile's sold an S60-based device, the time might be right to get back into the game.

[Via Cell Phone Signal]

It's always a good sign when a device-specific product release becomes the focal point of the XDA development community: it means you've got a winner on your hands. Not that anyone ever doubted the intense demand for Google's new turn-by-turn Navigation introduced exclusively on Motorola's DROID. No more. Brave souls have now tweaked the original code to run on the original Android device, the HTC G1 running on T-Mobile. Anecdotal reports suggest that it's working great -- a good sign that we'll see a cooked ROM unveiled just as soon as feverish fingers can package the new code.

Update: Photographic evidence has arrived. Enjoy.

[Thanks, Alex H.]

T-Mobile is now offering unlimited voice for little enough cash through its Even More promo these days that it's officially bidding myFaves adieu, spelling out the final chapter of one of the better-known plan packages in the US wireless biz. It won't go away completely -- the myFaves app will apparently continue to be offered as a convenient, cutesy way to access five frequent contacts and existing subscribers won't be kicked off their plans -- but for new subscribers, Even More is being billed as the spiritual successor. For the record, unlimited voice through Even More Plus starts at $49.99, so the price is definitely right -- but more importantly will this end up meaning that we lose the beloved silkscreened myFaves logo on the back of virtually every T-Mobile handset sold today?

Say "AWS-compliant Nokia" and the first thing many folks are going to be thinking about right now is the mighty N900, but yeah, that's not what T-Mobile's getting around to launching today. Instead, it's the 3711 that we first met back in early October, offering a QVGA primary display, 2 megapixel camera, GPS, and FM radio in a smooth little clamshell package that'll run $69.99 on an Even More contract after rebate or $159.99 on Even More Plus. It's available now -- just don't expect to be running Maemo on this bad boy and you should be fine.

Reports are coming in, by and large it seems via Android and Me, that T-Mobile's begun its rollout of its 7.2Mbps HSPA network for some extra speedy mobile browsing. We've done some testing in the listed cities, notably Chicago and New York, but so far are coming up with the usual, mundane speeds. It'd certainly make up for yesterday's snafu (almost), but at this point we're classifying as unconfirmed. Anyone else having better luck?

Read - 1MB mobile speed test
Read - Android and Me's report

We're getting reports from sea to shining sea this evening that T-Mobile service is down or intermittent on both voice and data -- particularly bad timing in light of the recent Sidekick drama. We've tested in New York and it's definitely down for us -- both voice and data -- so how's service treating everyone out there?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: We just got an official statement from T-Mobile, and it's confirmed -- service is down. Here's the statement:

"T-Mobile customers may be experiencing service disruptions impacting voice and data. Our rapid response teams have been mobilized to restore service as quickly as possible. We will provide updates as more information is available."

Update 2: All service is now restored, according to the company -- they say about 5 percent of users were affected by the outage, though circumstantial evidence would certainly suggest that the number is higher (especially considering that New York City was one of the dead zones).

Android-powered handsets are still rare enough so that the world can't afford to segment them by continent -- when a big model comes out, it's pretty much got to go everywhere. Okay, correction: it doesn't have to go everywhere, but we certainly want it to -- and fortunately, it looks like some lucky carrier in the Americas is signed up for the Huawei U8220. You might know this puppy better as the Pulse over on T-Mobile in Europe, and a new variant of the device -- model number U8220-6 -- has just garnered FCC approval in the past few days with 3G on the 850 and 1900MHz bands. That means Bell, Telus, Rogers, Fido, and AT&T could all be on tap to get this one; we doubt that AT&T would make its inaugural Android plunge with a midrange Huawei, but stranger things have happened.

[Via androphones.com, thanks Silver]

Motorola's Android-laden CLIQ has been available to existing T-Mobile USA users for a hot minute now, but not until today has the handset been widely available to all that care to take notice. Of course, the proper launch has been dampened somewhat by the emergence of the DROID (alongside Android 2.0), but hey, MOTOBLUR ain't nuthin' to scoff at, right? Feel free to locate your nearest T-Mob retail location, waltz in with $199.99 and get yours today.

WinMo folks, we wouldn't blame you for getting a bit of Android envy after last week's DROID onslaught, but if there's one thing that could make people pine for your OS it's HTC's HD2, and T-Mobile has just confirmed it's coming on November 9 -- a mere weekend after Moto's new hotness hits Verizon. Mind you, there is some confusion going on here, as the picture on T-Mo's site is of the old Touch HD, not the HD2 we met and loved, and the mention of "loads of applications to download from Android Market" is particularly perplexing. But, we've been told to go ahead and blame a bumbling marketeer rather than to expect some sort of cross-platform app marketplace love fest -- groovy as that may sound.

Update: We've also just learned that HTC is going to officially launch the HD2 on November 4 ahead of a November 11 release elsewhere. We're not entirely sure what there is left to learn about the thing, but we're always game for another press event.

Update 2: Just to clarify things, this is T-Mobile UK. Also, as many have pointed out in comments, we're now thinking the "09" above means 2009, not November 9, which likely points to a November 11 release. Surely you can swallow that DROID envy for another two days, yeah?

[Via WMPoweruser.com]

Did you hear? Google's got this little OS called Android that has reached the ripe, mature age of 2-point-Oh. With the giant eclair now sitting on Google's front lawn and the SDK out in the wilds, what was poor Akira Harada to do with all that code knowing that the Motorola Droid was still days away from shipping? Port it to the original Android device, the T-Mobile G1 / HTC Dream, naturally. It's a rough port, not even close to being optimized but it should whet your appetites for all those official updates and delicious home-cooked ROMs we expect to be arriving in the hallowed halls of the XDA forums in the days ahead. See it after the break... roll it!

The T707 has become Sony Ericsson's gold-standard midrange fashion flip for 2009, and in light of the fact that T-Mobile USA has been turning a new leaf with these guys lately, it only makes sense that they'd want to bring a version of it onto the network, right? Indeed, the TM717 remix that we've seen in the FCC already has now been officially revealed as the Equinox, featuring a 3.2 megapixel camera, integrated FM radio, support for HSDPA, and a trick motion sensor that lets you control certain phone functions by waving your hand over the front. It'll be hitting "select" T-Mobile retail locations plus the corporate website tomorrow, but anyone holding out until the 31st and visiting the grand opening of T-Mob's latest LA location will have a chance to meet diehard Sony Ericsson fanatic Maria Sharapova (pictured, along with a T707) and participate in a lookalike contest. Conveniently, we were looking to go out on Halloween as Maria Sharapova anyhow, so this works out swimmingly.

Right on schedule with the whispers, T-Mobile lifted the veil off of its new price plan tier structure, Even More and Even More Plus, and from the looks of it all those leaks were pretty much spot-on. The traditional Even More plan is a two-year commitment and discounted phone, with unlimited individual prices starting at $59 per month and going up to $99 if you want unlimited messaging and text, too. Even More Plus scrapes the device discount but offers unlimited individual prices at $49 for voice / $79 for everything. It looks like the only major differentiator is the subsidized handset, but here's where the numbers don't add up: even with the steep $350 discount on myTouch 3G, factoring in that $20 premium would pay for the phone during the 18th month, leaving six months and $120 of extra payments left that have no obvious justification to us. Additionally the FlexPay / equipment installment plan is now available, letting you break up the cost of your phone into interest-free monthly bills. It seems Even More's subsidized phones are offered over four installments (e.g. $37 per month for the $150 MyTouch 3G) while Even More Plus' is two installments (e.g. $25 per month for the same device at the $500 full price). Our initial takeaway from the price tiers is that T-Mobile is doing what it can to drive its consumers away from the traditional and over to the non-traditional (for US, at least) Even More Plus plan, but hey, we're not gonna argue over a beneficial contract-free plan, even if monthly phone payments keep us paying the company for at least 20 months. So T-Mo, any other Project Dark surprises in the cards? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]