Avert your eyes, average consumers, because Opticon's two new Windows Mobile smartphones are aimed squarely at the business fleet market and they've got spec sheets to match. The H16 is a Windows Mobile 5 -- yes, you read that right, Windows Mobile frickin' 5 Pocket PC phone with EDGE data, WiFi, Bluetooth, and an integrated barcode scanner for the princely sum of $1,195. The H19 meanwhile gets a little bit closer to modern era technology with Windows Mobile 6, WiFi, Bluetooth, integrated GPS, and a barcode scanner, though it shares the H16's lame EDGE radio and stratospheric price tag. The big deal here is that AT&T has officially certified the H16 for use on its network and certification for the H19 is expected (hoped) by September; in other words, corporate brass will be able to rest a little easier knowing that their wireless requisitions aren't considered unsupportable rogues by the carrier -- and with most of those types already at their daily Tums limit, any stress reduction is a good thing.

[Via the::unwired]

Read - Opticon H19
Read - Opticon H16

Sorry if we got your hopes up for a second there, AT&Ters; we're still not sure if this one's ever coming to the US, and today is most definitely not the day. Instead, the SCH-M480, which appears to be alternately known as the BlackJack III and Ultra Messaging 2, has been launched on Korea's own SK Telecom for something in the range of 600,000 won (about $592). The Windows Mobile 6 Professional handset is a dead ringer for the i780 that's been launched for a few months now, featuring a lovely 320 x 320 touchscreen, HSDPA, WiFi, and a 2 megapixel camera; not really a direct successor to the BlackJack II since the latter runs Standard, but we could still see a whole host of folks going for the upgrade -- if it ever comes to AT&T, that is.

Separately, Boy Genius Report is claiming that AT&T will be getting its very own BlackJack III come October of this year, albeit with a 3 megapixel camera, up from the 2 megapixel sensor seen here. With these fancy new pink and blue versions of the BlackJack II, though, who the heck needs it? We kid, we kid.

[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]

Read - Ultra Messaging II
Read - US BlackJack III in October?

Saying that Samsung's new BlackJack IIs are pink and blue is really only telling part of the story. Unlike the originals, the stylish new models feature contrasting white fronts with color-coordinated keys and fancy designs on the back -- perfect for that fashion-conscious Windows Mobile nerd in your life (if that's not an oxymoron, we don't know what is). Collect the whole set now for $99.99 a pop on contract.

Time to dust off the ole memory bank, folks. Toshiba's G910 super-device, which hit the FCC at the tail end of 2007, has finally been acquired, unboxed, photographed and reviewed. In one place, too -- isn't that so convenient? For starters, it's tough to argue with an 800 x 480 resolution display, but you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who considers the overall style to be anywhere close to sexy. Overall, the Portege G910 was deemed a lackluster business phone with above average battery life, though the inability to function on a US 3G network was a real downer for those in the States. Additionally, it lagged behind in pure performance, and a variety of quirks caused the reviewer to utilize the handy reset button "a lot." Seems like a glance at the pics may be as close as you'll ever want to get with this one.

Even as we marvel at the HTC Touch Diamond's gorgeous VGA display, let's not forget that 640 x 480 resolution (buried within the larger context of a monster spec sheet, no less) is old hat for some Windows Mobile devices. i-mate's Ultimate line has been reppin' the high res displays for a while now, starting with the 6150 and 8150 models that were announced well over a year ago; more recently, the 9502 was added, offering shoppers a grand total of three distinct form factors from which to choose plus a more traditional QVGA setup with the 8502. Hate on Windows Mobile all you want, but you have to admit, it's hard to find this kind of hardware diversity with any other platform out there.

We just had an opportunity to play with all four models side by side -- an especially rare opportunity, considering that neither the 8502 nor 9502 are officially being sold in the US (despite their support for HSDPA 850 / 1900). Follow the break for some quick impressions with each of the fearsome foursome.

As QWERTY slider WinMo sets go, HTC and Sony Ericsson have collectively thrown down a big-ass gauntlet that competitors are likely going to be struggling to match for some time. So it goes with the glofiish M810, an HSDPA powerhouse that would've stolen the show 12 or 18 months ago -- but now it's got the Touch Pro and X1 to contend with, leaving the QVGA display and tired styling a bit tough to swallow. We suppose that a deep discount could still lure a throng, especially if Acer / E-TEN comes through with a Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrade -- but until we all make that fateful decision, check out Pocket PC Thoughts' quick unboxing, live vicariously, and see if it feels right.

One of Samsung's worst kept secrets (if we can even call it that) has finally been "announced" by the company, and we're guessing the timing here isn't coincidental. Nevertheless, the Windows Mobile 6.1-powered i900 Omnia features quad-band GSM / GPRS / EDGE support, 7.2Mbps HSDPA, a built-in accelerometer, WiFi module, USB port, FM tuner, Bluetooth, 3.2-inch 400 x 240 resolution display and a 5-megapixel camera (with smile detection and geotagging). An 8GB and 16GB version will soon be available, and prospective buyers can expect to see Sammy's own TouchWiz user interface loaded on. Reportedly, the handset will be available later this month in undisclosed areas of the globe (probably after being showcased at CommunicAsia), while Europe is expected to see it in July. Hands-on photos await you in the read link.

We like to rag on the SMT5700 every so often -- not because it's low-end, not because it lacks 3G, not because it's not the prettiest smartphone we've ever seen. No, we give the SMT5700 a well-earned dose of crap because it earned FCC approval over a year ago. That's pretty insane even by US carrier standards, and new intel over at Boy Genius Reports indicates that AT&T may finally be ramping up to sell this thing. As we mentioned, it'll be pretty low-end on account of its EDGE data and 2 megapixel cam, but hey -- in the year 2008, there's no good reason folks shouldn't be able to get a capable smartphone for next to nothing on any major carrier, in our humblest of opinions. The site doesn't seem to know when exactly it'll launch, but they've posted a few puzzle piece-like press shots of the phone to whet our appetite (or get us to gag, depending on your disposition toward these kinds of phones).

It's not going to satisfy your unending hankering for 3G, but ASUS' P320 does have at least one thing going for it: it's mighty small. The so-called "Galaxi Mini" first broke cover back at CeBIT, offering GPS, WiFi, and a 2 megapixel camera in one of the smallest Windows Mobile 6 Professional packages to hit the market. Add that to the fact that it's looking a heck of a lot better in black than the sickly mauve the ASUS gals and dudes were showing off a couple months back, and we might just be sold. No word on a release date or whether it'll be officially offered stateside, but with that FCC certification under its belt, at least owners will be able to rest easy knowing that they're emitting only the finest, government-approved electromagnetic radiation available.

Remember that M810 that E-TEN announced for its glofiish line of Windows Mobile-powered goodies at MWC? Yep, well, they've announced it again -- along with its underachieving little brother, the M750 -- along with full details and a promise of availability in just two to three weeks. The QWERTY-clad monsters both support WiFi, feature 2 megapixel cameras, GPS, Bluetooth, and 256MB of onboard storage; the lesser M750 makes do with EDGE for wide-area data while the M810 steps it up to HSDPA. If they were coming out of the gate with Windows Mobile 6.1 we'd be whooping and hollering, but they're merely 6 -- to start, anyway -- so nothing to get too excited about. Unless you're into 3.5G data, GPS, and keyboards that glow blue, that is.

[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]

It certainly didn't take very long for the apple to fall a long, long way from the tree. Just a handful of months after completing its spinoff from parent O2, MWg has started taking to rebranding existing handsets -- in this case, a pair of UBiQUiOs. The QWERTY duo both run Windows Mobile 6 Professional, with the 501 model featuring a 200MHz OMAP750, 2 megapixel camera, and WiFi to get the bits flowing when the GPRS radio won't do. The higher-end 503g (pictured), meanwhile, upgrades to triband 3.6Mbps HSDPA and swaps out the TI core for a 520MHz XScale. Not bad, we guess, but we liked the old days when these guys commissioned their own handsets from the ODMs -- how are they supposed to stand out when they're just slapping a silkscreened logo on a device that's already in the marketplace?

[Via Cellpassion]

Putting Windows Mobile 6's user interface at ease with fat fingers is a monumental challenge -- but it's not a challenge manufacturers are shying away from. Perhaps they see devices like the iPhone as a threat they can't ignore any longer, or perhaps they're simply tired of waiting for Microsoft to roll something truly revolutionary, but at any rate, companies like HTC with its TouchFLO interface are doing pretty much everything they can to keep the stylus firmly locked away. That's where the LG KS20 comes into play, which steals as much of the Viewty's identity as it can while still keeping Windows Mobile 6 under the hood.

LG's effort results in limited success. The home screen is about as attractive as any we've seen on a WinMo 6 Professional handset, but it's not particularly useful beyond the plain-vanilla functionality beyond what you'd see on any device in this class. No big, pretty clock, no weather widget -- just a nice color scheme and a four-pack of touchable buttons above the two regular soft keys. Hitting the right three buttons will take you to the normal dialer, messaging, and browser apps, respectively, while the leftmost button takes you to another Viewty-esque display for launching apps. It's nice, but we noticed that it's not difficult to confuse the phone into reverting back to the normal, stock launcher, which looks starkly out of place in this glossy beaut.

As usual, the lack of North American HSDPA is a dismal downside, too. Bottom line? It's a great looking device -- but don't expect LG to have worked any miracles with the platform.

Thanks to the good folks at Wireless Imports for the hookup!

There's nothing quite as profoundly unsettling as reading a review about a phone you can't have. For Americans, that's an all-too-common experience -- and thanks to the ongoing Qualcomm / Broadcom drama, even phones that had originally been destined for the colonies have been unceremoniously dropped, destined for regions well beyond the reaches of the legal system. Case in point: HP had originally wanted to bring the interesting iPAQ 610 series here, but backed off at the last second. If you really want one, though, you can still finagle one from an importer -- not to mention that countless Windows Mobile fanatics populate areas of the globe friendlier to HP's latest pocket candy -- so Tracy and Matt's Blog took a close look at the 614c, which is now shipping. Although the reviewer found its Windows Mobile 6 load to be plenty speedy, he also discovered that it was a tad on the chunky side -- not to mention that the 3G radio seemed to be way flaky, the screen is too inset to use entirely stylus-free, and the virtual nav wheel embedded in the keypad (arguably the ace up the 610's sleeve) wasn't much fun to use. Nice try, HP, but on second thought, maybe we're not so broken up that you're keeping it out of the States.

Here's one you may not have heard before: a manufacturer decides to stick a VGA touchscreen in some handset model not because it wants VGA resolution, but just because it got a killer deal on them. That's the rumor being floated on a handful of sites and forums about ASUS' monster P750 Windows Mobile 6 Professional device, with some sharp-eyed contributors noticing that each logical pixel on their devices' screens are actually comprised of -- count 'em -- four physical pixels. Indeed, a quick glance of the spec sheet for the alleged part number used reveals a "VGA/QVGA dual viewing mode," so the story seems to check out, and folks are apparently already hard at work enabling full 640 x 480 resolution on their beloved devices. Good luck, everyone!