AT&T also announced today the upcoming availability of the LG Shine II handset featuring a stainless steel construction, polished rounded edges, and a 2.2 inch wide mirror LCD. Specs to the Shine II include:

• 2.0 megapixel camera with flash and video recording
• Image editor allows users to resize, crop, rotate, color adjust photos, insert fun frames, and produce mirror effects
• Built-in music player with customizable equalizer, music recognition, and ringtone creator
• Direct-to-device music download capabilities
• Built-in stereo Bluetooth wireless
• Java 2.0 support
• Support for AT&T Navigator

The Shine II will be available starting on November 22nd for $119.99 after a mail-in rebate and a new two year agreement (you’ll receive a $50 dollar AT&T Promotion Card).

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Technorati Tags: AT&T, LG Shine II

AT&T announces the upcoming availability of the BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone. The Curve 8520 is a compact smartphone with features such as a full QWERTY keyboard, a touch-sensitive trackpad, a built-in media player, and built-in Wi-Fi. Other notable specs include:

• Dedicated media keys
• Email, text, IM, picture messaging
• 320 x 240 resolution display
• 512MHz processor
• 256MB of flash memory
• 2 megapixel camera
• Video recording
• DataViz Documents to Go suite for editing and viewing Microsoft Office documents
• Corporate and personal email support

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 will be available in the coming weeks for a price of $99.99 after a $100 dollar mail-in rebate and a new two year agreement with a minimum $59.99 data plan.

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Technorati Tags: AT&T, BlackBerry Curve 8520

Those Android smartphones just keep on coming don’t they? Samsung shows off their latest Android handset today with the announcement of the Galaxy Spica I5700 (where the heck do they come up with these names anyhow??). The Galaxy Spica comes with an impressive 800MHz application processor which should make the handset one of the more powerful Android smartphones out on the market.

Features and specs to the Galaxy Spica include the following:

• HSDPA 3.6Mbps (900/2100) and EDGE/GPRS (850/900/1800/1900) network support
• Android version 1.5
• 3.2” HVGA(320×480) TFT display
• 3 megapixel camera with auto focus
• Video support: MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV, DivX
• Audio support: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA
• Full Web Browser
• Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Talk
• Android Market
• 3.5mm Ear jack
• GPS
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Wi-Fi
• 180 MB of internal memory and microSD slot
• 1500mAh battery
• Measures 115 x 57 x 13.2mm

Looks like the Samsung Galaxy Spica won’t be coming to the U.S. anytime soon though. The handset is currently available in Europe, CIS, and soon the MEA region.

Technorati Tags: Samsung Galaxy Spica I5700

Confirming what most in the mobile industry already knew, Dell announced last week they were entering the smartphone market with the announcement and introduction of the Android-powered Dell Mini 3 smartphone. Dell also announced two mobile carrier partnerships, China Mobile – with a customer base of over 500 million customers, and Claro – a mobile network serving over 42 million customers in Brazil, both of which will carry the new Mini 3 smartphone.

According to a China Mobile spokesperson:

“We are excited for Dell to be among the first manufacturers to introduce new technology based on the OPhone platform. We look forward to working with Dell as it brings innovative new products and services to add value to our customers’ lives.”

Details of the phone models will be announced on a partner-by-partner basis when the devices become available in stores. (Let’s hope the MIni 3’s specs are better than the original rumors). The Mini 3 is expected in late November for China Mobile and by the end of the year for Claro.

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Technorati Tags: Dell Mini 3, Android smartphone, China Mobile, Claro

The Palm Pixi smartphone featuring the Palm webOS is now available for Sprint customers at a price of $99.99 after a new two-year contract, and instant-savings of $200 dollars, and a mail-in rebate of $100 dollars.

Features of the Pixi include:

• Dual-band CDMA2000 with support for EvDO Rev A
• 2.63 inch multitouch screen with 18 bit color and a 320 x 400 resoluton
• Universal search for searching across contacts, applications, Google services, etc
• Built-in full HTML web browser
• 2.0 megapixel camera with LED flash
• Combined IM, MMS, and SMS messaging
• All-in-one calendar
• Integrated contacts from multiple sources
• Linked contacts and layered calendar
• Ambient light, accelerometer, and proximity sensors
• Audio Formats: MP3, AAC, AAC+, AMR, QCELP, WAV
• Video Formats: MPEG-4, H.263, H.264
• GPS navigation enabled
• Email support including Microsoft Exchange, POP3/IMAP
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo
• 8GB memory with 7GB user available
• 3.5 mm stereo jack
• Compatible with Palm Touchstone charging dock
• Measures 2.17 x 4.37 x 0.43 inches and weighs 3.26 oz

Make sure to head on over to the Boy Genius Report for some unboxing pics of the Palm Pixi.

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[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Sprint, Palm Pixi,

T-Mobile customers looking for another Android-powered handset to choose from will be happy to hear that the new Samsung Behold II will be available exclusively from the carrier starting on November 18th. The Behold II is the first handset from T-Mobile to feature a 3.2 inch AMOLED display for “crisper colors and wider viewing angles”. You’ll also find an impressive built-in camera with a 5 megapixel resolution and capabilities such as autofocus, zoom, flash, five shooting modes, and video capture.

Other features and specs for the Samsung Behold II include:

• Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface for easy customization of movable widgets and one-touch access to commonly used features and applications
• Three different home screens for multiple workspaces
• Support for Google mobile services including Google Search, Google Maps, YouTube, and Google Talk.
• Support for the Android Market
• Personal and corporate email
• IM, text, picture, and video messaging
• Built-in aGPS
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Visual voicemail
• Support for up to 16GB external memory
• Includes 2GB microSD card
• Support for T-Mobile’s 3G network

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Technorati Tags: Samsung Behold II, T-Mobile, Android smartphone

A couple of other interesting news blurbs from Akihabara News. The site snapped up images of two new handsets for SoftBank – the Sharp Aquos Full Touch and the Sharp Aquos Shot.

The Sharp Aquos Full Touch (941SH) features a 4 inch touch-screen display with a half-XGA resolution, an 8 megapixel camera with autofocus, Bluetooth connectivity, Wi-Fi connectivity, built-in GPS, 1Seg TV tuner, and 220MB of internal memory.

The Sharp Aquos Shot comes with a whopping 12.1 megapixel camera with autofocus, a burst mode capable of capturing 100 images in QVGA resolution in a few seconds, a 1Seg TV tuner, built-in GPS, and Bluetooth connectivity.

Technorati Tags: SoftBank, Sharp Aquos Full Touch, Sharp Aquos Shot

From the news desk at Akihabara News comes word that Softbank has announced a new Android handset for 2010. Details are scarce but a couple of high level features are known (courtesy of the news conference). The Softbank handset will feature a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and come with a whopping 3.7 inch EL display. Unfortunately no pics of the handset are available.

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Technorati Tags: Softbank, Android

Alltel Wireless and LG Electronics announced on Thursday the availability of the LG 8575 Touch handset at Alltel retail stores and online at Alltel.com. The LG 8575 Touch will be particularly interesting to music lovers thanks to features such as Dolby Mobile sound system, 3.5 mm stereo headphones, built-in FM tuner, and a music player with applications that invite users to “join the band” by turning their handset into a virtual keyboard and thumping drum kit.

Features and specs include:

• 1GB of internal memory with support for microSD cards
• 3.2 megapixel camera
• Camera includes “Intelligent Shot” for improved image quality and built-in image editor
• 3 inch touch-screen display
• Text, picture, and video messaging support
• One-touch speakerphone
• Text to speech functionality
• Built-in GPS
• Web browser
• Bluetooth support
• Rechargeable battery for up to 5 hours of talk time

The LG 8575 Touch is available for a mere $19.99 after a $50 dollar mail-in rebate and activation to a 1 yr service contract on a qualifying rate plan.

Technorati Tags: Alltel Wireless, LG 8575 Touch

Sony Ericsson finally jumps on the Android bandwagon with yesterday’s announcement of the upcoming XPERIA X10 handset – their first phone to deliver Sony Ericsson’s new user experience (UX) platform built on top of the Android OS. Sigh.. another Android phone I just might be lusting after.

The introduction of the X10 also brings with it two new “signature” applications – Mediascape and Timescape. Timescape manages all of your communications within a single application – whether its emails, text messages, status updates with Twitter, Facebook etc. Mediascape is a centralized application for music, photos, and videos with access to content on the phone and on the Internet.

Other features and specs of the XPERIA X10 include:

• Supports GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS HSPA 900/1700/2100 and UMTS HSPA 800/850/1900/2100
• 4.0 inch 480 x 854 resolution scratch-resistant display with support for 262K colors
• Android Market support
• ActiveSync for access to Microsoft Exchange
• Built-in aGPS
• HSPA connectivity
• 8.1 megapixel camera with up to 16x digital zoom
• Intelligent face recognition technology; geotagging; image and video stabilizer; photo and video light; smile detection; touch focus; and video recording
• Music features include Album Art, Bluetooth stereo profile support, built-in media player, music tones, PlayNow support, and TrackID
• Built-in web browser
• Alarm clock, calculator, calendar, flight mode, Infinite button, office suite, phone book with dialer, and world clock
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity
• 8GB microSD card
• Measures 4.7 x 2.5 x 0.5 inches and weighs 4.8oz

The XPERIA X10 will be available in Sensuous Black and Luster White and should be available in “selected markets” in Q1 of 2010.

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[Check out the press release]

Technorati Tags: Sony Ericsson, Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10, Android Smartphone