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Set to become the third carrier to offer the popular HTC Touch Pro2, Verizon Wireless plans to release the device on September 11th, according to a leaked document.  As with many of the latest high-end smartphone devices on Verizon, the Touch Pro2 will offer a SIM card slot for international roaming (via EDGE).  As we've covered before, specifications include a 3.6-inch tilting touchscreen, 3.2-megapixel camera, GPS, Wi-Fi, and thankfully, a 3.5mm headphone jack.  Verizon customers are also in a better position than their T-Mobile and Sprint counterparts when it comes to pricing: the device is slated to be $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate.

The first thing that I'm curious about is the response by the two carriers that offer the device - will they lower their $300-$400 pricetags in response to Verizon?  And more importantly, where are you, AT&T?  It's about time to announce the device!

Source: Engadget Mobile

Multimedia messaging. Seems like a simple concept and lots of phones offer it these days. Well,  the innovative, "industry-leading" iPhone is finally among them. September 25 is the launch date for this highly anticipated feature on the Apple handset. (So much for a summer release. But better late than never, I suppose.)

If you're wondering why it took so long, join the club. Sadly, there's not exactly a clear-cut reason, other than the one cranked out by AT&T's PR machine: The carrier wanted "to give our customers a positive experience from day one," so extra time was needed "to make sure our network is ready to handle what we expect will be a record volume of MMS traffic."

Users can expect MMS functionality to arrive via software update. (Sorry, but if you're carting around an earlier model, there's no joy to be had from this. It's for iPhone 3G and 3G S only.)



If you're waiting for tethering, well that's another story. The carrier says it's coming "in the future," but there's no date for that yet. And AT&T cops a similar excuse to its MMS rationale: "This function [tethering] could exponentially increase traffic on the network, and we need to ensure that some of our current upgrades are in place before we can deliver the expanded functionality with the excellent performance that customers expect."

Great. I'll hold my breath.

If you're wondering what the official announcement said, here it is for your reading pleasure:


An Update on iPhone MMS for our Mobility Customers
We know many of our iPhone customers are eager for an update on our rollout schedule for Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). We've been working for the past several months to prepare our systems and network to ensure the best possible experience with MMS when it launches – and that launch date is: September 25 for iPhone 3G and 3GS customers. MMS will be enabled through a software update on that day.

We know that iPhone users will embrace MMS. The unique capabilities and high usage of the iPhone's multimedia capabilities required us to work on our network MMS architecture to carry the expected record volumes of MMS traffic and ensure an excellent experience from Day One. We appreciate your patience as we work toward that end.

We're riding the leading edge of smartphone growth that's resulted in an explosion of traffic over the AT&T network. Wireless use on our network has grown an average of 350 percent year-over-year for the past two years, and is projected to continue at a rapid pace in 2009 and beyond. The volume of smartphone data traffic the AT&T network is handling is unmatched in the wireless industry. We want you to know that we're working relentlessly to innovate and invest in our network to anticipate this growth in usage and to stay ahead of the anticipated growth in data demand, new devices and applications for years to come.

We thank you for your business and look forward to keeping you updated on our initiatives.

[via Engadget, Gizmodo]

Looks like HTC’s Touch2 is heading out to UK customers on October 6. Considering that’s the same day the next version of Windows’ mobile OS is set to debut, it makes sense that the phone would come with WinMo 6.5 preloaded.

WinMo 6.5 also adds support for Windows Marketplace for Mobile and Microsoft My Phone. Touch2 users will also have a revamped Internet Explorer interface and Flash support, as well as a new more colorful version of TouchFLO 3D. (Word has it that it’s not unlike Android’s Sense UI.) 

The rest of the specs aren’t quite as exciting as these features. But even though they may not be tricked-out enough for serious hardware nerds, they’re not bad for customers looking for a mid-level device: quad-band GSM, 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7225 processor, 256MB RAM (512MB ROM), 2.8” screen (QVGA res), 3 MP cam, GPS, Wifi, 3.5 mm jack and choice of 3 colors.

Sadly, there’s some bad news for U.S. users: The phone rides dual-band 3G (900/2100 MHz), which means you can’t enjoy the full broadband goodness from American carriers.

Well you’ll time to ponder that, since the HTC Touch2 will initially be available to European and Asian markets. The pre-order price is 320 euros.



[HTC via PhoneArena]

One great way to waste some time online is to read exciting news and information about mobile phones. Another great way to toil away the hours is to take online quizzes. Why not combine two things into one by taking some of these fun/silly/revealing mobile phone quizzes from around the web? There are quizzes that will tell you your mobile phone personality, quizzes for testing your mobile phone knowledge and even quizzes that can help you pick a new phone.

Mobile Phone Personality Quizzes

• Cell Phone Personality Quiz. This quiz asks you ten different questions about your personality. Some of the questions relate to your phone (such as what do you do if it rings in a theatre) and others are random (like what kind of car do you drive). Then it tells you what kind of a person you are and what this means for you in terms of phones that you might like. For example, it might say that you’re a “fun phone user” who has a colorful personality and you want your mobile phone to reflect that. It even gives you current, upcoming and discontinued phone models that might be suitable to you based on your results.

• What Type of Mobile Phone Are You? Based on your personality, what type of phone would you be? You answer some super-simple silly questions about things that you care about in a phone and then you find out what type of phone you are. For example, you might be a “basic” phone with some general features but nothing flashy.

• What Bird Would Your Mobile Phone Personality Be? This is an odd one. You answer a series of questions about your personality and style when using your mobile phone. For example, one question asks you what you get from your mobile phone that you don’t get from your landline. After answering these questions, you get a result telling you about your mobile phone personality. However, the twist is that you also learn what kind of bird you are like. For example you might end up being a “pigeon” which is basically your plain-and-boring “garden variety” mobile phone user. (more…)

Post from Dial-a-Phone, UK's no. 1 for Mobile Phones.

Motivated by the creative comments from our last "Top Five" segment, the idea of creating a new top five list seemed quite appealing (okay, Noah's top five lists were a deciding factor too - always good to have friendly competition, right?).  But why stop at a top five phone list?  Instead, why not make it carrier based?  Wireless devices can differ dramatically from carrier to carrier, so, realizing the importance of this; I decided to follow suit, and do a list for each company.

In this industry, new devices seem to launch every other day (oh wait, they usually do), so keep the date of this article in mind when you're reading this around, say, Christmas.  I'm sure the list will look outdated by then.

More Top 5 lists:

 

Noah: AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile

Aaron: AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile

 

 

 

1. HTC Touch Pro2
The premier smartphone for Windows Mobile junkies, the Touch Pro2 offers a 3.6-inch tilting touchscreen, full QWERTY keyboard, Windows Mobile 6.1, and more.  Too bad T-Mobile opted not to include the 3.5mm jack, but beyond that, it's a feature packed device perfect for a true PDA user.

2. BlackBerry Curve 8900
It may not have 3G, but the Curve 8900 packs a good looking screen with a strong 3.2-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi with UMA, and OS 4.6, packed into a .  The keyboard is love or hate by die-hard BlackBerry users (keys together or separate is a common argument within the community).  Hopefully T-Mobile will get the upcoming BlackBerry Bold 9700, but until then, this is as good as it gets on Magenta.

3. T-Mobile myTouch 3G
What good would a T-Mobile list be without some Android love thrown in there?  Though it doesn't have a physical keyboard, the myTouch 3G offers a cool design, cool colors, and a cool operating system.  From what I've gathered, many want the Hero, but until then, the myTouch is more than capable.

4. Samsung Memoir
With an 8-megapixel camera and 3G connectivity, the Memoir is the way to go in regards to dumbphones.  Snap pictures and look cool with the touchscreen - what could be cooler?

5. Motorola W490
About as basic as it gets, the W490 is a solid phone with good reception.

By way of a different take on the beloved Top 5 lists, I decided to go carrier by carrier instead of phone type by phone type. I'm sticking to the four major US carriers since theirs are the phones I regularly review and are available to the widest swath of our audience.  Maybe I'll have to do a Top 5 unlocked phones list, too.

As you peruse these lists and come up with counter-arguments and nasty names to call me, bear in mind that we should see a nice big handful of new devices hit all four of these carriers between now and Thanksgiving. So these lists could change drastically over the next few months.

More Top 5s for Sept. 1, 2009

Noah: AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile
Aaron: AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile

Top 5 Phones - T-Mobile

1. BlackBerry Curve 8900

Yes, it's kind of sad that my favorite T-Mobile device doesn't even have 3G capabilities. But for my personal wants and needs, the trusty old Curve 8900 still fits the bill better than the others. 8900's size is near-perfect, its QWERTY board is great, and EDGE data is plenty fast enough for constant push Email. Add to that WiFi connectivity with UMA calling support and a 3.5mm headphone jack for my music needs, and you've got a great device that kept me connected and happy the week I was in Barcelona this past February covering Mobile World Congress.

2. HTC myTouch 3G with Google

myTouch 3G is the device that T-Mobile should have launched when they launched the G1. And the new HTC Hero is the device that T-Mo should have just launched instead of myTouch. Still, myTouch is sleek, lightweight, and your portal to the growing world of Google's Android OS. I prefer myTouch to G1 mainly because G1s hard QWERTY board isn't good enough to justify the extra bulk of the device. But I prefer Hero to myTouch because Hero's multitouch display and custom virtual QWERTY make text entry much, much nicer than on mT3G. All that said, myTouch brings Android, 3G, and WiFI to the table, not to mention a host of customization options from shells to pouches to colored earbuds.

3. HTC Touch Pro2

Touch Pro2 is the ultimate business smartphone. At least for now. HTC's Straight Talk technology makes TP2's speakerphone a joy to use, and the big, roomy five-row QWERTY board is flat-out awesome. Add to that a giant touch display, Opera Mobile, and a refined TouchFlo 3D interface that's even better than the one found on the original Touch Pro and you've got ... I'll say it again ... one sexy beast of a phone. If you use Windows Mobile and don't mind a bulky device, it doesn't get any better than Touch Pro2 ... at least not until those Snapdragon-powered phones start shipping.

4, Samsung Memoir

Megpixel races are silly. That said, the 8MP Samsung Memoir does take pretty darn good photos, especially considering it's also a full-touchscreen cell phone with 3G data and an HTML Web browser. Don't let the fact that I got to hang with supermodel Helena Christensen at the Memoir launch event trick you into thinking I'm biased here. Really.

5. Nokia 5310 XpressMusic

I own a 5310 and still love it. Super thin, super reliable, with a 3.5mm headphone jack and dedicated media controls to boot. And it comes in orange! And it's free on contract! Seriously, for calling, texting, and listening to music, the 5310 is well worth a look.

Honorable Mention: HTC Dash 3G - Like a BlackBerry Curve, but it runs Windows, Sidekick LX - The best Sidekick Yet, HTC G1 with Google - Android + QWERTY Board, but beware the suspect build quality reported by some G1 owners

Sprint's HTC Touch Pro2 has a real headphone jack! Yay! But it's still $349.99 after rebate ... Boo!

The first week of September has been a really exciting one, with three new Nokias and the X2 all being made official, however, let’s take a look at some of the other stories which may have passed us by.

1.  Sony Ericsson Surprise Everyone with the Xperia Pureness!

Yes, it’s the other phone that was pictured with the Xperia X3!  Now renamed the Pureness, Sony Ericsson are promoting the phone as a ‘work of art’ rather than a simple mobile phone.  Details are scarce at the moment, as it popped up at a business meeting rather than its own launch event, but it’s scheduled for a November release in ’selected stores in key cities around the world’.

2.  Touch2 is the Latest HTC Sequel.

The original HTC Touch was a svelte handset that beget the likes of the Diamond and now, HTC have announced the Touch2 upgrade.  Joining the Diamond 2 and Pro 2,  the new Touch - also known as the Mega - will feature Windows Mobile 6.5 and TouchFLO 3D, plus a 3 megapixel camera, 3G/HSDPA, Wi-Fi and GPS, easily trumping it’s older sibling’s basic spec.  It’s out in October. (more…)

Post from Dial-a-Phone, UK's no. 1 for Mobile Phones.

EDIT: This rumor has been confirmed.
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If you are a hard-core PhoneDogger, or have stumbled onto a few select posts, you know that I'm fond of whining about mail-in rebates. In the past, my experience is that they're used simply to get you in the door and that most companies will find any loophole they can to avoid paying up.

I had one company claim to have not received a paper that I had a fax confirmation for. After jumping through the hoops, they said the promotion was over. Promotion. Well, no need to rehash those complaints here, but I just wanted to set this post up properly.

Sprint is selling Hero on October 11th at $179.99 after mail-in rebate. But if quickpwn is correct, you can skip that mess. I cannot independently verify this at the time of posting, but the site is reporting that Best Buy will sell the handset for $179 outright. I want so much to believe. Searching Best Buy for the SKU brings up nothing.