We haven’t caught anything official from HTC about their upcoming Iolite model, so we’re guessing Expansys made a mistake to make the Windows Mobile smartphone available for pre-order. That, however, doesn’t mean the Iolite is too impressive. This is not to say it’s a bad phone — quite the contrary, it’s a solid all-touchscreen WinMo device. However, when compared to the HTC Touch Diamond it has a lower res screen — WQVGA instead of Diamond’s VGA.

Rest of the specs are identical and include a 3.2 megapixel camera, HSDPA support, aGPS, TouchFLO 3D user interface, 512 MB of ROM and 288 MB of RAM. In addition, unlike the Diamond, Iolite lacks built-in flash memory but relies on microSD memory cards for storage capacity. Size wise, it measures 102×53.5×14.5 mm, and has a weight of 103 grams with battery…

[Via: Engadget Mobile]

It’s not often that we see manufacturers launching their mobile wares ahead of schedule. Bureaucratic red tape and carrier testing procedures usually result in launch delays. We’re used to seeing products delayed for so long that they risk becoming irrelevant, so it’s refreshing to see that the BlackBerry Curve 8900 (codenamed: Javelin) has actually had its launch window bumped up by a week. The BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Curve 8900 Javelin is now expected to launch on T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) on February 11, moved up from the previous launch date of February 18.

As you will probably recall, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 lacks any 3G radios, and so will be limited to GPRS/EDGE data speeds on T-Mobile’s network. Still, for those with little need for faster data speeds, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 should fit the bill quite nicely. With its slimmer profile, 3.2 megapixel camera, WiFi, and high-resolution display, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 takes the Curve lineup to the next level.

Now, if only RIM saw fit to endow the Bold with WiFi Javelin with 3G…

[Via: TmoNews]

This is strictly still in “rumor-land,” but the latest murmurs along the grapevine indicate that T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) won’t be endowing their T-Mobile Shadow II with high-speed 3G wireless data speeds. T-Mobile has just recently started to roll out devices with support for the carrier’s 3G network on the AWS 1700Mhz frequency band, but word on the street is that the Shadow II (expected to be called the Shadow 2009) won’t be one of T-Mo’s 3G handsets.

The Shadow II picks up where the original, consumer-friendly Shadow left off. We’re looking forward to the Shadow 2009 (Shadow II) packin’ Windows Mobile 6.1 and support for T-Mobile’s HotSpot @Home UMA service. Unfortunately, wireless data speeds will be limited to GPRS/EDGE speeds.

Interestingly, the T-Mobile Shadow II showed up at the FCC with support for the 1700Mhz frequency band. That little tidbit alone is enough to keep our hopes of a 3G-capable T-Mobile Shadow 2009 alive and kicking.

Expect the T-Mobile Shadow II (Shadow 2009) to launch on January 28.

[Via: WMExperts]

Have you noticed your AT&T (NYSE: T) coverage drop dramatically in the last couple of months? Well, rumour has it that AT&T has been quietly shifting some areas to use the 1900 MHz band instead of 800 MHz for 2G devices in order to make room for 3G growth, resulting in poorer signal quality for those with older devices. This dip in service has been reported since the ramp-up to the iPhone 3G launch in July. Sure, out with the old and in with the new, but shouldn’t AT&T phase out EDGE handsets before selling them off to customers then castrating their coverage and forcing them to upgrade early? Reaping ETFs and higher rates as a result just seems tacky to me.

[OFB via MobileWhack]

CrunchGear got an exclusive information from a trusted source about Palm (NSDQ: PALM)’s upcoming CES announcement. Palm’s new OS aka “Nova” is described as “amazing,” boasting full software market a la Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) AppStore alongside Palm’s classic PIM suite.

The device that will run the new operating system is “iPhone-like” and comes with a full QWERTY keyboard that slides down under a portrait-oriented touchscreen. A mock-up above should explain you how this could look like…

And that’s about all we know at this stage. If everything goes as planned, we’ll see Palm returning to the “game” starting from this Thursday, when they’ll go all official with the new device and OS at the CES. Guess that $100 million injection helped a lot.

[Via: CrunchGear]

Back in December we wrote about the upcoming C510 aka Kate phone. Now we have live images of the device caught in the wild.

Specs are already known, let me quickly recap them: 3.2 megapixel camera with auto-focus and LED flash, auto-rotation, face detection, smile shutter, photo fix, Cyber-shot UI 2.0, 2.2-inch QVGA screen, 160 MB of in-built memory, Memory Stick Micro (M2) slot, YouTube integration, direct post to blogs, support for printing service Snapfish, and more.

Enough said, here are all the images we got. Enjoy it!

[Via: DailyMobile.se]

Reports are surfacing that due to irregularly high return rates and software glitches (such as dropped calls and unexplained restarts), Orange is on the verge of pulling the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) 9000 from their lineup. The Storm I could understand, but the Bold? Really? I haven’t had a single problem with my Bold, and I’ve been packing it since launch day on Rogers (NYSE: RCI). Every carrier has their own quirks though, and for some reason repeated chances to fix them have failed. The Bold has been publicly available for almost 6 months now, so you would think all the bugs would have been smooshed but good, but maybe it’s for the best if this BlackBerry is a headache to customers. Have you guys had any problems with your Bolds?

[Telegraph via BlackBerry News]

Although we don’t have this officially confirmed, it’s coming from the always highly informed source (at least when it comes to Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) matters) - SEMC Blog.

We talked about the upcoming Sony Ericsson Hikaru phone before, and now we have more information to share. Here’s what we know:

• It’s a Walkman phone
• 2.6-inch screen
• 8 megapixel camera
• 8GB of internal memory
• Walkman 4.0 software
• Standard 3.5mm audio jack
• Dedicated music-control keys

We’ve also heard the Hikaru will be released at the end of Q2 2009, meaning we’ll probably see it announced at the CES or Mobile World Congress. Stay tuned…

Yes, it is an old iPhone Nano concept pic. But its soooo cute!

Supply chain checks are usually reliable indicators of what a technology company has in store for future device launches. As such, Wedbush Morgan analyst Craig Berger cites reliable contacts and supply chain information in their prediction that Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) will indeed drop the iPhone Nano bomb on us in the first half of 2009. Berger says that their “contacts see a lower-cost version of the iPhone, possibly in mid 2Q.”

Apple has been rumored to be releasing an alternative, possibly smaller, iPhone form-factor to expand its iPhone lineup. We’ve been tossing around iPhone Nano rumors for quite some time, but this time around the rumors are gaining serious traction. Following on an iPhone Nano case announcement from legit iPhone case maker Vaja, this latest prediction makes good sense.

The iPhone Nano, or whatever the device ends up being named, was once speculated to be announced at the MacWorld Expo 2009. But, with Steve Jobs’s pull-out from the convention killing off any hopes for his traditional product-launching keynote, the iPhone Nano will likely launch in the months following the January convention.

[Via: SeekingAlpha]

If you weren’t sure if the whole iPhone Nano rumor was going to be a reality or not, it looks like reality it will be… At least according to this little bit of information.

Vaja Cases are a long time case/bag/accessory manufacturer that build top-quality product. This morning it was noticed by the peeps at BGR that they’ve added an ‘iPhone Nano’ section to their website. Now, not only has XSKN in China added the iPhone Nano… Now the folks from Vaja have done the same, and I’m even more inclined to believe that this thing is going to happen. I should note here however, that I just tried hitting up vajacases.com over here, and could not find the iPhone Nano on the site. Could be I’m seeing a cached version of the site, or they’ve removed the entry for now. Puzzling. To check for yourself look under the Products menu, then hit up Phones > Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)… and let me know what you see!

iPhone Alley is also reporting that the iPhone Nano will be appearing at Macworld, and that this has been confirmed. They had a ‘reliable source within Apple’ tip them off that they are indeed working on the iPhone Nano… and that the official announcement will take place at Macworld. The device will be similar in form to the iPod Touch, but will not include 3G.

All very interesting stuff if you ask me. I’m really curious to see what this iPhone Nano turns out to be, if all of this hype is indeed true.

[BGR via iPhoneAlley]