InspirePhones.com

Filed under: Handsets, Others, Samsung, Verizon Wireless, Symbian, Windows Mobile, GSM, EDGE, EV-DO, CDMA, Casio, iPhone OS

Here’s some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of mobile for Tuesday, August 4th, 2009:

• Following the G’zOne C731 Rock, Casio’s C741 Brigade for Verizon has nabbed FCC clearance. Not much is known about the phone — we can assume it’ll be ruggedized to one degree or another — but one interesting tidbit is the inclusion of VCAST TV support, something Verizon’s been getting lax on as of late. [Via PhoneArena]
• Have you seen a white / silver Samsung i7500 Galaxy? Now you have. [Thanks, Ruben W.]
• China’s regulatory peeps have had the good fortune of seeing a couple new Philips Xeniums in their midst, a K700 full touch model and an X501 candybar. Philips has yet to announce either unit, but you can bet they’ll last until the next ice age on a single charge. [Via Unwired View]
• Microsoft’s MSDN — its official developer network — has published a case study on porting an iPhone app to Windows Mobile. A year ago, you’d have been more likely to see case studies going in the other direction, but, you know, times are changing. [Via Tweakers.net]
• Digia put together a nice little web browser for UIQ called @Web, but then UIQ sorta went away — so they’re back at it again, this time on S60 5th Edition in beta form. S60 does a decent job browsing out of the gate, but @Web’s got some interesting UI elements that might make it worth a look. [Via All About Symbian]
• We don’t see much of it in the States, but Samsung’s got a whole brand — DuoS — for dual-SIM capable handsets. Mobil.cz has dug up a new model in the series, a low-end candybar dubbed C3212 that’ll run the equivalent of around $195 and go on sale in Russia later this summer before expanding to other European markets. [Via Mobile Phone Helpdesk]
• Value brand Cricket is adding yet more value to its unlimited voice plans that start at a bargain-basement $40. The $40 price point now includes web access; $45 gets you unlimited email, backup, and 30 roaming minutes a month, and $55 ups the roaming to 200 minutes.

Oh, by the way: August 4, 2009 originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Handsets, Palm, Verizon Wireless

It’s no secret that Verizon wants the Pre; in fact, as much as we’re sure they’d like to be showing a corporate poker face, it’s pretty obvious they want it badly given how swiftly it sought to take the wind out of Sprint’s sails with comments around the time of the initial launch. Sprint’s Dan Hesse moved just as quickly to quash the thought as best he could by publicly slamming his company’s archrival, telling media that Verizon needed to cut it out with the assumptions that Sprint’s exclusivity period was six months and reiterating that he’d have the Pre in his back pocket through the end of 2009. The obvious response from Verizon? Revise your language just a little bit and keep at it. Big Red is now saying that it’ll have the Pre “early next year” in comments made during its earnings call today — in other words, the very moment Sprint’s exclusivity ends if Verizon has anything to say about it. From Palm’s perspective, sitting pretty atop the States’ largest carrier is a good place to be, so we’re sure they’re stoked to hear the depth of Verizon’s interest — not to mention that we’ve still got that Eos floating around somewhere.

[Via PreCentral]

Verizon reiterates it’ll have the Pre — early next year originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Handsets, RIM, Verizon Wireless

Back in the heady pre-9500 days when “touchscreen BlackBerry” was still a novel and exotic phrase, “Storm” and “Thunder” were both rumored as codenames for RIM’s first foray into touch territory. Of course, “Storm” would ultimately prevail as the retail branding — and the rest, as they say, is history. Or is it? A BlackBerry Thunder has apparently magically reappeared in Verizon’s systems this week, though it’s not clear whether this is a new device — the Storm 2, for instance — or just residual offal from the original Storm launch last year. If it’s new, we get the theme, but what’s next? Hail? Tornado? Sleet?

BlackBerry Thunder codename reemerges after lengthy sabbatical originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Handsets, HTC, Verizon Wireless, Windows Mobile, GSM, EDGE, EV-DO, HSDPA, UMTS, CDMA

Remember way back in March when HTC’s 2009 lineup first started to come apart at the seams? You might recall that there was a “Whitestone” in there, rumored to be packing a wide VGA display, 5 megapixel camera, and global GSM / CDMA support for Verizon sometime around September. That leak looks to be proving frighteningly accurate now that Dutch site Tweakers.net has seen (and we’ve been able to verify) a user agent profile that describes the XV6975 in just enough detail so that we can fit the puzzle pieces together: 800 x 480 display and no keyboard, chiefly, and when you add to that the fact that we know it’s got HSDPA on board from its GCF certification, you can pretty much see where this is going. Hard to say whether it’ll launch with Windows Mobile 6.1 or 6.5 — obviously we’re pulling for 6.5, but if the rumored September launch is even close to accurate, that’ll put it right on the cusp; fortunately, we’d fully expect it to be upgradeable either way. Separately, we’re hearing that Verizon’s Touch Pro2 is actually the XV6875, but the real question is this: at this point, which one do you want?

Verizon’s HTC XV6975 turns out to be the Whitestone: 5 megapixels, no keyboard originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 21 Jul 2009 04:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Handsets, RIM, Verizon Wireless, EV-DO, CDMA, BlackBerry OS

With all signs (and by “all,” we mean “all”) pointing to a new Storm joining Verizon Wireless’ lineup in the not-too-distant future, it’s just about the perfect time to start discounting the current model in hopes of working that inventory down before the inevitable launch of numero dos. Starting today, VZW customers can snap up the SurePress-equipped Storm 9530 for $99.99 on contract, which is a full Benjamin less than it has been since debuting last November. If you’re looking for a word of advice on the situation, here’s ours: hold out for the next revision — you’ll thank us later.

[Thanks, Cara]

Verizon drops BlackBerry Storm price to $99.99 on contract originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Verizon Wireless

The original plan was to max out exclusivity periods at six months for Samsung and LG products, but now, Verizon’s offering an even larger olive branch to small carriers, saying that it’ll limit exclusivity to half a year for “all devices.” Straight-up competitors like Sprint certainly won’t be reaping any benefit from this, but the little guys — carriers with 500,000 or fewer subscribers — will now be able to pick up the same hardware Verizon has after the six-month cooling off period has elapsed. Though it seems like a genuinely good-hearted measure, the move is undoubtedly designed to get the FCC and Congress to cool off, both of which have been taking a keen look into potentially practices by some of the nation’s largest carriers — AT&T and Verizon in particular. But hey, either way, if this means faster Wireless Coupe launches across the country, we’re all for it.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Verizon cutting all device exclusivity to six months for small carriers originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Verizon Wireless

AirSage has been working on the whole cellular data-traffic flow interconnection thing for a while now, and the company has just landed itself a whale of a partner for collecting that data: Verizon. It’s said that the integration of anonymous cellular signaling data from Verizon’s network will quadruple the number of messages AirSage is receiving, covering 200,000 miles of roadway across the country with improved information on just how screwed you are by that lane-widening project right now. The companies aren’t saying how long it’ll take to fully integrate the additional data, so in the meantime, just go ahead and give yourself the extra 15 minutes to get to work — something tells us you’ll need it.

Verizon offering up anonymous data to improve real-time traffic information originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Handsets, RIM, Sprint, Verizon Wireless

By the time Sprint gets around to releasing the 9630 Tour with WiFi, due out sometime early next year, we think most everyone’ll have moved on to any one of the numerous BlackBerry devices likely to hit in the interim. What’s more important in this FierceWireless report is that Sprint’s requiring WiFi “in all its major devices going forward” — which should mean pretty much every smartphone that lands in its CDMA-loving mitts. Verizon Wireless, who along with Sprint is also launching the WLAN-less Tour this Sunday, said that the company’s working with RIM to get WiFi into future BlackBerry, but didn’t oblige us with any hopeful descriptors that’d help us understand just how strong of a push was being made. Frankly, smartphones without WiFi at this point is downright criminal, and with CDMA phones trailing behind their GSM counterparts in this category, kudos to Sprint for taking the initiative.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Sprint mandating WiFi on future smartphones, WLAN-lovin’ BlackBerry Tour coming next year originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Handsets, Features, RIM, Verizon Wireless, GSM, EDGE, EV-DO, HSDPA, UMTS, CDMA, BlackBerry OS

You might say that Verizon’s brand new BlackBerry Tour 9630… ahem, took a “tour” through our offices this morning, gracing us with its QWERTY-having, global-roaming, 8830-killing presence. There’s absolutely no question it’s the best-looking CDMA BlackBerry to date and we also think you’ll be able to stop Bold owners in their tracks as you flash this thing around town; we’d argue that the Curve 8900 is still a cuter handset when you take the company’s lineup as a whole, but then again, the 8900 lacks 3G, and the Tour’s keyboard might just be the best RIM’s ever crafted for a phone. Bottom line, owners of any BlackBerry on Verizon or Sprint should be salivating at the sight of this thing — and if they’re not, honestly, they need their salivary glands checked. Stay tuned for our full review, but in the meantime, enjoy an unboxing and a few quick shots of the Tour taking its first breaths!

Verizon BlackBerry Tour unboxing originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Handsets, RIM, Verizon Wireless, GSM, EDGE, EV-DO, HSDPA, UMTS, CDMA, BlackBerry OS

Only the most buttoned-up, high-security businessfolk still require phones without cameras these days — and seeing how the BlackBerry Tour is destined to become the new de facto choice for buttoned-up, high-security businessfolk, it stands to reason that a cameraless version makes a whole lot of sense. Sure enough, it turns out that Verizon will be offering a non-cam version right alongside the regular Tour when it launches on the 12th, but don’t think of this as a great money-saving opportunity if you don’t snap a lot of photos — Big Red wants to charge the same $199.99 on contract for this one that they’re charging for the regular version. CIA operatives, though, have to be pretty stoked.

[Via CrackBerry]

There’ll be a BlackBerry Tour without a camera, too originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments