This one's been in the mix for a long time now, so it's really too bad it's not a u940-caliber device so we could have ourselves a big ol' celebration. Don't get us wrong -- as the successor to the u540, we're sure Samsung's u550 flip for Verizon will end up seeing its fair share of takers -- it's just nothing to get too fired up over. The headlining features are going to be EV-DO, a 1.3 megapixel camera with Night Shot, Bluetooth, internal 220 x 176 and external 96 x 96 displays, and that's about it -- specifications that would've catapulted the device smack into the middle of the midrange a year or two ago, but now, it's struggling to stay atop the bottom feeders. Fortunately, it's priced accordingly at just $69.99 on a two-year contract after rebates, and it's available today.

It's been a hot minute since we've heard what's up with the Samsung U550, successor to the U540 and little cuz to the magnificently... uh, gleamy U700 Gleam. Don't fret, though; turns out it's still in the mix and tracking for a release in the not-too-distant future. Our tipster points out that the new model fixes a niggle with the U540 -- a strangely shaped d-pad -- and may feature a 2 megapixel camera. Stay tuned!

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Alright, we think can pretty clearly order these three by excitement factor and expect a minimal amount of disagreement. phoneArena's pulled together a garden variety of new information on three upcoming models for Verizon: the U550 and U700 from Samsung along with the the VX8800 from LG. The U550 should succeed the U540 when it materializes in early 2008; as best as we can tell there's nothing here to get too excited about unless midrange flips are your thing. The rumored U700 comes around a little sooner, apparently seeing availability early next month -- and looking well deserving of its "Gleam" moniker, may we add. Finally, we learn the gorgeous VX8800 turns out to be equipped with a 2 megapixel camera (sans flash or autofocus), sports a leather-like rear to match its high end appearance, and should include two themes for those looking to get as far, far away from the standard Verizon theme as possible. Any guesses which model we find the most exciting?

Read - Samsung U550
Read - Samsung U700
Read - LG VX8800

It's been a tick since we've seen anything notable surface from Huawei (well, the real Huawei, anyway), but the handset manufacturer was back in action at CommunicAsia in Singapore. First up was the ultrathin U550 flip-phone, which purportedly supports HSDPA / UMTS / EDGE / GSM connectivity options, sports touch-sensitive buttons, and of course, provides a beautiful link to the 'net when your laptop can't sense a stray WiFi signal. The candybar-styled U121 device (seen after the jump) aims to be a more music-centric offering, and aside from the metallic design, built-in Bluetooth, and integrated media player, everything else looks fairly standard. No word from Asia on when this duo will storm store shelves, but it's usually not too long after gracing the showroom floor that citizens can snag their own.