Nice going RIM, you've successfully filed for a patent on a device that companies like HTC have been making since 2005. That's right folks, your friends at Research In Motion have just thrown an application in the direction of the US Patent Office which should look painfully familiar. The company is calling it a "Hybrid Portrait-Landscape Handheld Device With Trackball Navigation and QWERTY Hide-Away Keyboard," but we're calling it the Wizard. We suppose it's possible that the BlackBerry-maker has something up its sleeve that goes beyond the typical functionality of a phone like this, but nothing in the application seemed to indicate such a scenario. Did RIM even check out the competition before issuing this paperwork? It seems unlikely given the obvious and commonly used shape and design of this particular handset... oh, wait, this one has a trackball. Okay, our bad.

[Via BlackBerry Cool]

We're not sure why HTC waited longer than virtually all of its carrier partners to unleash a Windows Mobile 6 upgrade for its own-branded Hermes, the TyTn, but no bother -- the point is it's now available, so there's really no good excuse for anyone with Hermes hardware to still be rocking old-skool WM5 at this point. Meanwhile, users of the P3300 (Artemis), S620 (Excalibur), and Advantage should all get their hookups this month if everything goes according to plan. Wasn't it, like, an eternity ago now that T-Mobile rocked WM6 on the Dash? Better late than never, we suppose.

[Via the::unwired]

Germans on O2, relish in this moment, for you are much of the world's envy. After promising a Windows Mobile 6 upgrade path for the Xda trion (that's the HTC Hermes / TyTn for lay folk) not long ago, the carrier has now made good by rolling out the package. Walk, don't run -- it'll wipe your data -- but we figure it's more than worth the hassle nonetheless.

[Via the::unwired]

As is sometimes de rigeur for providers, Rogers Wireless' TyTN seemed to be rolling out for the last couple days save for a press release, pricing info, and any details on its product pages. All that has finally been settled and today marks the day when this fine bit of tech can finally be picked up in Canada. No major changes seem to be in place -- no, no Windows Mobile 6, at least not yet -- for this new handset and pricing is set at a steep $399.99 (that price is of course in Canadian dollars, which works out to $370 or so) on a 3 year term. Way to go Ted and Co, but we have to ask why this little fella took so long to get out the door. Hit the read link for the goods.

Hold on, Apache owners, your knight in shining armor is just around the corner! At least we think it is, now that we've seen some shots of a Verizon-branded XV6800 doing its thing in the wild. It may not look much different than the XV6700 it replaces, but we figure that if the EV-DO Rev. A doesn't tempt you -- or the promise of a Rev. A upgrade at some point, at least -- the 2 megapixel camera and 256MB of Flash just might. Hit the gallery for more pictures.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Holy crap, it's a Christmas miracle! Look what Santa Roc A Fella dropped in our laps this morning: shots of the CDMA HTC TyTn, courtesy of our new pal HTC Kid! About freaking time. Here we have UTStarcom XV6800 on Verizon, and this thing is seriously no slouch. It improves on the Hermes with more memory, Bluetooth 2, and, of course, features EV-DO with Rev A support. Here's the dirt:

• WM5 AKU 3
• 256MB flash / 96MB RAM
• Thumb wheel
• 802.11b/g
• Bluetooth 2.0
• BBAC -- BroadbandAccess Connect, i.e. tetherable EV-DO
  
• microSD slot

We hear Roc's got more coming soon, watch out for it. Big ups to HTC Kid!

While we don't expect the Hong Kong-derived HTC TyTN Music Dock to produce the same level of audio fidelity as Orange's Bluetooth variety, we'll admit that getting a dock, charger, and paperweight for 28 bucks isn't such a bad deal. The device sports a charging / syncing cradle for your HTC TyTN (Hermes), i-mate JasJam, Qtek 9600, O2 XDA Trion, Dopod CHT 9000, Orange SPV M3100, or Cingular 8525, as well as touting a pair of stereo speakers, 3.5-millimeter line in jack, and that oh-so-important LED illumination. You'll even get a stereo cable to save you a trip to Radio Shack, but the lack of a headphone port (or line-out) sort of puts a damper on things. Nevertheless, the HTC TyTN Music Dock can be picked up now for HK$190 ($28), but the overseas shipping just might kill the deal.

Ah yes, this is what we've been so eagerly awaiting. Enough pussyfooting around with the Palm Treo 680 and HTC Hermes / 8525 coming to Cingular -- we know they're due. We need prices, we need dates. And according to what appears to be a recent Cingular marketing presentation, we've got 'em:

• Treo 680: $424.99 straight, $349.99 one year, $249.99 one year with unlimited data (and $100 rebate), $274.99 two year, $174.99 two year with unlimited data (and $100 rebate; their ad, however, shows a $200 list price, but it's good to know we can count on around two Benjamins. Expect it November 5th (tentative).
• Cingular 8525: $559.99 straight, $484.99 one year (not including $50 rebate if included with unlimited data), $409.99 two year (also not including that same rebate); expect it October 29th.

See, now that wasn't so bad, was it? Both came in right around where we'd expected and hoped; between the Dash, the Q, and the 680, it looks like that $200 price point is the sweet spot for ever-slimming smartphones. And the 8525 ain't too bad either, considering what you're getting.

[Thanks also to djnth]

Thar she blows. We're not going to pretend like there's any surprise left here -- it's the 8525 in all its tri-band UMTS / HSDPA glory, it was on Cingular's page, and it looks like they're about ready to go. Yep, all we're waiting for is a price and release date. Yep, just gonna keep on waiting. Cingular?

[Thanks, JeShUa, Matt, and jetfxr]

The Cingy 8525 isn't really a well kept secret at this point, but as always, the nearer to release, the likelier we are to get some shots in from Roc A Fella. There isn't too much different on this well anticipated HSDPA handset than the current releases of the HTC TyTn, besides the front-facing camera going missing. Sorry guys, no video conferencing on this bad boy. Roc sez to look for this one in the next 30 or so days, and to keep an eye out for pricing and specs soon. Oh yeah, we've got another shot after the break.

French site PPCReviews has managed to score a Qtek-branded copy of the hotly anticipated HTC Hermes, and thanks to some decent Google translation, we've managed to take away quite a bit from the thorough review. Many folks are expecting the Hermes to be a superstar compared to its already good older brother, the Wizard, but PPCReviews is a bit bummed out about the switch from miniSD to microSD expansion, the lackluster battery performance, rather portly 175 grams, and lack of true VGA display. Of course, we all know the good stuff the Hermes brings to the table by now, and the review ends on a happy note, confirming that the 3G and fresh 400MHz Samsung core work wonders for the device. Pardon the interruption, everyone; you can go back to incessantly refreshing Expansys' TyTN product page every few minutes in the hope of an early shipment.

[Via kaitech.hk, thanks Ajit]

Looks like Cingular customers aren't the only ones expected to get an HTC windfall this summer; according to The Unwired, come July and August it appears that the Hermes and Star Trek will be launched on German Vodafone as the Vodafone VPA Compact III and Qtek 8500, respectively. Apparently the VPA Compact III will set you back as much as €900 ($1,150 US) without contract, or €409 ($522 US) with a two-year, whereas the 8500 will go for €600 ($766 US) and €170 ($217 US) the same ways -- something tells us they want their customers to snag these subsidized.

It's been a crazy few years for the once unknown Taiwanese OEM known as High Tech Computer. Although still not a household name like Sony or Samsung, HTC has leveraged its strong ties with Microsoft to offer tantalizing products that have made us early-adopters stand up and take notice, and now the company feels that it's in a strong enough market position to ditch the Qtek brand and begin selling phones under its own name. The Qtek phase-out was announced as part of HTC's official unveiling of the 3G Hermes Windows Mobile Pocket PC phone -- now known as the TyTN -- as well as the compact, UMTS-capable Breeze smartphone -- which is now called the MTeoR (yeah, we're noticing a MOTO-like naming trend too; see the rebadged STRTrk for further proof). In announcing July's European launch of these self-branded handsets, HTC reemphasized its dedication to the many carriers selling its products under their own names, but this development certainly bodes well for the company's overall name-recognition; imagine, instead of lying and telling people we have a Treo because Sprint-branded-UTStarcomm-PPC-6700-based-on-the-HTC-Apache sounds so nerdy, we may one day be able to proudly proclaim "Oh, it's an HTC." [Warning: PDF link]

[Via Geekzone, thanks to everyone who sent this in]