AT&T and Nokia announces the upcoming availability of the Nokia Surge – a smartphone designed especially for all you social-networking minded individuals out there.

With features such as a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and the Symbian S60 OS, the Surge allows you to stay connected with your family and friends whether it’s through the use of IM, text, email, multimedia messaging, AT&T Video Share, or updating and reading content from social networking websites.

Specs and features include:

• 2.0 megapixel camera
• Web browser with Adobe Flash support
• JuiceCaster application
• Support for AT&T Navigator, AT&T Mobile Music, and AT&T Video Share

What makes the Surge particularly interesting is the claim that the Surge was designed in the U.S. – a Nokia phone designed in the U.S. specifically for the U.S. audience. Not bad.

The Nokia Surge will be available through select AT&T retail locations and online for a price of $79.99 along with a new two year agreement and a mail-in rebate (Pay $129.99 and send in a $50 dollar AT&T Promotion Card). The company expects the Nokia Surge to be available starting on July 19th.

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Technorati Tags: AT&T, Nokia, Nokia Surge

Now in other Nokia-related news, the company announced that the E71x is now available for purchase at AT&T retail stores and online. The E71x is currently the slimmest smartphone on the market with features such as a full QWERTY keyboard, 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, and a built-in music player. The full feature list and specs are as follows:

• GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA support
• 850/900/1800/1900MHz frequencies for GSM/GPRS/EDGE
• 850/1900MHz for UMTS/HSDPA
• Symbian S60 3.2
• 120MB memory
• microSD slot
• 2.4 inch 240 x 320 resolution display with support for 16M colors
• GPS and aGPS ready
• Wi-Fi, microUSB, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR + Stereo A2DP
• Infrared
• 2.5 mm UHJ connector for audio
• Speakerphone
• Video file format support including .Flash lite 3, MP4, .3GP, H.263, MPEG-4 VSP
• Audio file format support including MP3, WMA, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+
• Measures 4.4 x 2.2 x 0.4 inches and weighs 4.4 oz
• Talk time of 4.5 hours
• Standby time of 12 days
• Mail for Exchange support as well as support for Yahoo Mail, AOL, Windows Live, Hotmail etc
• IM support including AIM, Windows Live, and Yahoo
• Text and MMS support
• AT&T Navigator support
• Web Browser with Flash support
• 3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus and flash

And now.. for the price. The Nokia E71x is available for $99.99 after a new two year contract and a mail-in rebate.

[Check it out via Nokia Press Release]

Read this in Chinese Simplified and in French

Technorati Tags: AT&T Wireless, Nokia, Nokia E71x

These are certainly tough times for Palm. They’re in the midst of rolling to an entire new OS and smartphone platform yet they still have a large inventory of existing smartphone devices to sell. Combine that with abysmal economic climate and customers waiting for the new Pre, it’s really not that surprising to see dismal numbers.

Here’s hoping the new webOS and Palm Pre product line will bring growth back to the company.

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Technorati Tags: Palm third quarter revenue numbers

Sprint will begin offering the Palm Treo Pro Windows Mobile smartphone starting on March 15th for a price of $199.99 after a new two-year agreement (after a $100 instant rebate and $100 mail-in rebate, with an Everything plan with data or a $30 per month or higher data add-on. Was that simple enough for ya ?? ).  The Treo Pro will be available online, at retail stores, or by calling 800-SPRINT-1

In case you’re not familiar with the Treo Pro, here are the major highlights:

• Windows Mobile 6.1 OS
• First Palm phone with Internet Explorer Mobile 6 with options for either mobile optimized or desktop-like Internet browsing
• High resolution color touch-screen display
• Full QWERTY keyboard
• Removable battery with up to five hours of talk time
• One-touch Wi-Fi button
• EV-DO Rev A support
• Integrated GPS
• Microsoft Direct Push technology support
• Sprint Navigation with turn-by-turn directions, maps, and points-of-interest searches
• Sprint TV – watch TV or video-on-demand
• Sprint Music – wirelessly download digital music tracks to phone
• Pocket Expres – get the latest up to date web content
• Ringer switch
• Clock and date screen saver
• New voicemail indicator – center button flashes when new voicemail is available
• Dedicated email and calendar buttons

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Technorati Tags: Sprint Nextel, Palm Treo Pro, Windows Mobile 6.1, Windows Mobile Smartphones

The new Nokia E63 is the company’s latest Eseries handset designed for a broader market thanks to the suggested price of EUR 199. The E63 builds on the flagship E71 handset and features a QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi connectivity, Mail for Exchange support, and dedicated key access to contacts, calendar, and email.  Other specs include:

• CSD, HSCSD, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA support
• 2.36 inch 320 x 240 (QVGA) display with support for up to 16 million colors
• Two customizable home screens – switch between a business mode to a personal mode
• Speaker dependent and speaker independent voice dialing
• 2.0 megapixel digital camera
• Built-in video recording and playback
• Built-in music player
• Voice and audio recording
• Micro-USB connector, full-speed
• microSD memory card slot
• 110 MB internal memory
• SMS, MMS, email, Web Browser,
• Nokia Music Store support
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
• Speakerphone, Push to Talk, VoIP support
• Files on Ovi – allows you to get remote access to their PC files
• 1GB of online file storage for free
• Symbian S60 3.1 edition
• Measures 113 x 59 x 13 mm and weighs 126 grams

The E63 will be available in ruby red or ultramarine blue.

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Technorati Tags: Nokia E63

• 2.0 megapixel camera with integrated flash and 4x zoom
• Live video capture and playback
• Brushed metal fold design
• Internal 2.2 inch QVGA display with support for 16 million colors
• External 1.36 inch display
• Support for AT&T Navigator, AT&T Video Share, and AT&T Mobile Music
• 3G network support
• Built-in music player with support for MP3, MIDI, AAC, AAC+, AMR
• Streaming Radio, MusicID support
• Text messaging, IM, Email, Web browser
• Quad band GSM support
• microSD slot
• Measures 3.93 x 1.86 x 0.64 inches and weighs 3.95 oz

The Nokia 6650 is available now in red and silver.

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Technorati Tags: AT&T, Nokia 6650

Yes, the Palm Treo Pro finally got formally announced today by Palm Inc. As most of you know already (thanks to a ton of leaked pics), the Treo Pro is a new streamlined smartphone running the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS and featuring email, Wi-Fi, and GPS capabilities. Features include the following:

• One-touch Wi-Fi button supporting 802.11 b/g
• Today screen enhancements – perform web searches directly from the Today screen
• Ringer switch – silences the device immediately
• Screen saver – lets users know at a glance without turning on the device what time it is and whether they missed a call or have a new text message
• New voicemail indicator – center button flashes to let users know that a voicemail is waiting
• Dedicated email and calendar buttons
• Microsoft Direct Push technology – direct connection to Exchange Server 2003 SP2 and 2007
• Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 allows IT professionals to manager large Treo Pro deployments
• High speed UMTS/HSDPA support
• Integrated GPS receiver for maps, and turn-by-turn directions and point of interest searches
• Qualcomm MSM7201 400MHz processor
• 320 x 320 TFT flush touchscreen
• Quad-band GSM support
• Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR support
• 2.0 megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom
• microSDHC card support
• microUSB 2.0
• 3.5 mm stereo headset jack
• Measures 4.49 x 2.36 x 0.53 inches and weighs 4.69 oz

The Palm Treo Pro will be available from Vodafone and O2 in Europe, from Telstra in Australia, and will be available in an unlocked version in the U.S., Europe, and Asia Pacific. In the U.S., the Palm Treo Pro will be available for a price of $549.

Technorati Tags: Palm, Treo Pro, Windows Mobile Professinal 6.1, Windows Smartphone

New preview stills of the upcoming Palm Treo Pro (Treo 850w) have surfaced on the net courtesy of Treo8.com. No firm information on specs but the pics reveal it to be a GSM phone with a built-in stylus running of course, Windows Mobile (hence the w).The phone is thinner than previous Treo models.

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Technorati Tags: Palm Treo 850, Treo Pro, Windows Mobile

While two million Centros is certainly no small feat, let’s not forget that the Apple iPhone 3G hit one million units in literally the first weekend of availability.

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Technorati Tags: Palm Centro

Other specs include:

• Video recording in QVGA resolutions at up to 120fps and VGA at 30 fps
• Symbian 9.3 S60 3rd Edition FP2
• 2.8 (?) 16 million color QVGA TFT display
• Built-in GPS receiver
• Built-in accelerometer
• Built-in Wi-Fi
• 16GB internal memory
• microSD memory card slot
• Bluetooth 2.0

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Samsung i8510, Symbian

Sprint and Palm have announced that the new Palm Treo 800w is now available for Sprint subscribers. The Treo 800w runs Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and includes support for EV-DO Rev A data speeds. According to Sprint, the Treo 800w is “Palm’s most business-friendly phone yet.” Features include:

• Full QWERTY keyboard
• Five way navigation controls
• One-touch buttons
• EV-DO Rev A support with download speeds up to 3.1 Mbps
• One-touch Wi-Fi button with support for 802.11 b/g
• Integrated GPS
• Supports Sprint Navigation
• Connects with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP2 or 2007
• Support for Microsoft Direct Push Technology
• Today Screen enhancements
• Dial from the Today screen
• Voicemail controls
• Sprint TV enabled
• Speakerphone
• Built-in 2.0 megapixel camera
• Bluetooth
• 320 x 320 External display
• Memory card slot (microSD)
• 256 MB user memory and 128 MB program memory

The Treo 800w will be available for $249.99 after discounts and a two year contract.

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Technorati Tags: Palm, Sprint, Treo 800w, Windows Smartphone, Windows Moble 6.1 Professional

While Symbian is the most widely used mobile phone OS, it’s very clear that the competition is gaining on them. It’s increasingly evident that companies are positioning themselves to be the platform provider of choice. Just look at Microsoft’s Windows Mobile OS, Apple’s OS X for the iPhone, and Google’s Android platform. Each of these three competing platforms take different routes to delivering software to their respective hardware platforms. Both Microsoft and Apple are going their traditional routes with Microsoft licensing their OS to hardware manufacturers and Apple controlling both the hardware and software specifications for a relatively closed yet powerful platform and experience. Google hopes to gain market share by making their platform open and free to use (with money coming in from potential ad revenue). To combat these approaches, Nokia and the other companies had to do something – and that something was the founding of the Symbian Foundation.

According to the Foundation’s website, these companies are “coming together .. to bring to life a shared vision and to create the most proven, open and complete mobile software platform – available for free.” Membership within the foundation will be open to all organizations for an annual fee of $1500. The resulting Symbian Foundation platform will be available to members under a royalty free license. The platform itself will go open source in the next two years and will use the Eclipse Pubic License. The platform code will be available to all for free.

Of course – no one knows how all of this will pan out in the long haul. Will all the companies in the foundation be able to work well together? How will competing interests within each handset manufacturer play out in the OS world? One thing is for sure – things are getting more and more interesting in the mobile front.

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Technorati Tags: Nokia, Symbian Limited, Symbian Foundation

Above is supposedly a picture of the upcoming Treo 800w smartphone. The rumored specs on this phone are as follows:

• Windows Mobile 6.1 OS
• 400 MHz CPU
• 128MB RAM
• 256MB flash memory
• Built-in GPS receiver
• Wi-Fi support
• EV-DO Rev A support
• microUSB support

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Technorati Tags: Palm, Treo 800w

• Quad-band world phone
• 1.3 megapixel digital camera with video capture
• EDGE support
• Bluetooth 1.2
• AIM, Yahoo! and Windows Live IM
• Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support
• XM Radio, AT&T Music, and MusicID support
• Push-to-Talk support
• Measures 4.2 x 2.1 x 0.73 inches and weighs 4.23 oz
• 3 hour talk time
• 10 day standby time
• QWERTY keyboard
• Runs Palm OS 5.4.9
• Intel 312 MHz processor
• 64MB flash/ 64MB RAM
• microSD slot
• 2.2 inch 320 x 320 touch-screen display with 64K colors

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Palm, Centro, AT&T, Smartphone

The feature summary for the HTC Advantage X7510 includes the following:

• 5 inch VGA color touch screen display
• Detachable Magnetic QWERTY keyboard with haptic feedback
• Marvell PXA270 processor running at 624 MHz
• Built-in GPS receiver
• TomTom NAVIGATOR 6
• Tri-band HSDPA support
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 support
• quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• 3.1 megapixel camera with auto focus
• 256MB + 16GB flash and 128MB RAM
• miniSD card slot
• 300 minute WCDMA talk time and 360 minute GSM talk time
• 300 hour WCDMA standby time and 300 hour GSM standby time

The new HTC Advantage will be available in March in select countries across Europe.

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Technorati Tags: HTC Advantage X7510

A Chinese company called THTF (Tsinghua Tongfan Co. Ltd.) had a fairly large booth at CES 2008 where they were showcasing their new product line called “Limepc”. Limepc actually belongs to MTC which is a subsidiary of THTF specializing in multimedia products research and development, manufacturing, and international marketing and sales. Limepc itself is a new product line specializing in HDTVs, Multimedia thinPCs, UMPCs, Handheld PCs, Palm PCs, etc. Limepc also specializes in creating their own OS and application suite for their various devices called the LimeOS Lite.

Above is the Limepc Widescreen PC. This system features:

• 17 inch glossy widescreen LCD display
• 16:10 aspect ratio
• DC powered green energy saving
• TruSurround speakers
• Measures 350 x 410 x 60 mm and weighs 4000 grams

Above are pictures of the Limepc UMPC, HandheldPC, and PalmPC.

The UMPC features:

• Freescale MPC5121e mobileGT processor
• High performance multimedia SOC with 3D graphics
• WiFi – 802.11 b/g support
• Bluetooth 2.0 support
• MicroUSB 2.0 host jack – battery charge via USB
• Headphone level stereo audio out 3.5 mm jack
• 5.61 inch 1024 x 600, 16:9 widescreen LCD display
• 30GB/80GB/100GB PATA HDD
• 4800 mAh LiIon battery
• Touch screen
• Measures 170 x 118 x 24.5 mm
• Weighs 450 grams

The HandheldPC features:

• Freescale MPC5121e mobileGT processor
• High performance multimedia SOC with 3D graphics
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g support
• Bluetooth 2.0 support
• Micro USB 2.0 jack with battery charge via USB
• Headphone level stereo audio out 3.5 mm jack
• LCD display with 4.0 inch 272 x 480 16:9 widescreen
• Touch screen
• 8GB/16GB NAND flash
• 1600 mAh LiIon battery
• Measures 130 x 76 x 16.5 mm and weighs 170 grams

The PalmPC features:

• Freescale MPC5121e mobileGT processor
• High performance multimedia SOC with 3D graphics
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g support
• Bluetooth 2.0 support
• Micro USB 2.0 jack with battery charge via USB
• Headphone level stero audio out 3.5 mm jack
• LCD display – 2.86 inches 240 x 400 resolution – 16:9 widescreen
• Touch-Screen
• 8GB/16GB NAND flash
• 1200 mAh LiIon battery
• Measures 110 x 58 x 15.9 mm and weighs 130 grams

Finally, here is the Limepc HDTV set. It’s a combination PC/HDTV system featuring:

• 42 inch 720p display
• ATSC/Analog dual mode tuner built in
• Stereo, 5.1 audio support
• HDMI, VGA, Component, S-Video, RCA inputs
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g support
• Bluetooth 2.0 support
• 2 USB 2.0 ports
• HDTV PC functions
• Freescale MPC5121e mobileGT processor with 800 MIPS of processing power
• High performance multimedia SOC with 3D graphics processor core

Technorati Tags: THTF, MTC, Limepc, CES 2008

Here’s the HP iPAQ 300 Series Travel Companion:

The HP iPAQ 300 series Travel Companions are personal navigation systems that provide a unique 3D travel experience. The device comes with a 4.3 inch touch screen display and an integrated GPS receiver. Features include:

• View maps in 3D
• Locate millions of points of interest
• SiRFtitan 600MHz Dual Core processor
• 4.3 inch touch screen transreflective display (800 x 480 resolution) and LED backlight
• Integrated World Clock
• Enjoy music, videos, pre-installed games and photos
• Plan trips from your PC
• Search for POI, personalize your trip, share with friends – all from your PC and then download to your device and go
• Bluetooth support for hands-free answering system
• 128MB SDRAM, 2GB ROM
• Measures 4.3 x 0.7 x 3.4 in
• Weighs 6.6 oz
• Removable/rechargeable 1700 mAh Lithium-ion battery

HP iPAQ 200 Series Enterprise Handheld

The iPAQ 200 (here’s the 210) series are designed for business/enterprise users who want a beefy PDA device with a large display. Features of the iPAQ 210 include:

• 4 inch touch screen transreflective color display (480 x 640) with LED backlight
• 3 year lifecycle
• 802.11 b/g wireless networking
• Bluetooth wireless
• SDIO and CompactFlash slot
• Marvell PXA310 processor running at 624 MHz
• 128MB SDRAM
• 256MB ROM
• Windows Mobile 6 Classic
• Windows Mobile Office
• Measures 2.99 x .63 x 4.96 in
• Weighs 6.8 oz

HP iPAQ 110 Classic Handheld:

The iPAQ 110 certainly reminds many iPAQ fans of the original iPAQ design yet still has a modern stylish look to it. Features of the iPAQ 110 include:

• Wi-Fi support – 802.11 b/g
• Bluetooth support
• Windows Mobile 6 Classic OS
• Office tools including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook
• View PDF documents
• 3.5 inch touch screen display (240 x 320) with LED backlight
• HP Photosmart Mobile
• Marvell PXA310 processor running at 624 MHz
• 64MB SDRAM
• 256 MB ROM
• Integrated microphone, receiver, speaker
• 3.5 mm headphone jack
• 1 SDIO slot
• Measures 2.71 x 0.54 x 4.59 inches
• Weighs 3.86 oz
• Removable/rechargeable 1200 mAh Lithium-lon battery

Technorati Tags: HP iPAQ, 300 Series, 200 Series, 100 Series, CES 2008

• 3.5 inch touch screen display
• Windows Mobile 6 OS
• Marvell PXA310 processor
• Supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0
• MSRP of around $305 dollars

Meanwhile, HP is planning to contract out the production of two new iPAQ phones to Inventec Appliances – the iPAQ 610 and the iPAQ 910. Both the 610 and the 910 support 3.5G and will come out during the first half of 2008.

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Technorati Tags: HP, iPAQ, 112, 610, 910,

Verizon Wireless and Palm announced the immediate availability of the Palm Treo 755p for the Verizon Wireless network. The 755p will be available in an exclusive deep blue-green color and may be purchased now on the Verizon Wireless website here. The 755p will be available in Verizon Wireless Stores starting on January 7th.

Features of the Treo 755p include the following:

• Intel XScale 312MHz processor
• Sleeker design with an internal antenna
• Soft touch feel
• Large high resolution color touch screen (320 x 320 resolution and over 65K colors)
• Bluetooth 1.2 support
• QWERTY keyboard
• 1.3 megapixel digital camera
• Built-in support for Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents and PDF documents
• Palm OS 5.4.9
• VersaMail 3.5.45 with built-in Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support for Microsoft Direct Push Technology
• EV-DO support
• 60MB of user available memory
• miniSD slot
• Google Maps

The Treo 755p will be available for $399.99 after a $50 dollar mail-in rebate and a new two-year customer agreement.

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Technorati Tags: Palm, Treo 755p, Verizon Wireless

• Microsoft Direct Push Technology connection to email, calendar, contacts, and tasks
• Email enhancements
• Ability to set an out-of-office message from Treo Smartphone
• Mini-SD storage card encryption, password, and PIN improvements, and remote data wipe
• Ability to search for email messages on Exchange server
• Meeting request and scheduling conflict improvements
• Improved Calendar with Day-at-a-Glance bar

You’ll be able to download the update here:

http://www.palm.com/750updateATT

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Palm, Treo 750, Windows Mobile 6 Update