Sprint in the US have now launched the HTC Hero on to their network. The phone costs $179.99 (with a $100 rebate) and requires that you enter in to a two year contract to get it at that price.

You do have the option of buying it SIM only which bumps the price up to $479.99 which is quite steep, but an option should you not want to be tied down to a contract. [Read more…]

The HTC Touch Diamond2 is a Windows based phone that runs the Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system (can be upgraded to the new Windows Phone – WM 6.5 OS). It was launched earlier this year although we still thought we would take a look considering it can run the latest Windows Phone operating system.

The new Diamond2 is a little larger than the original HTC Touch Diamond smartphone although we are only talking a few mm on each of the dimensions that make it 108 x 53 x 13.7mm in size. The phone it’s self looks sleek with the smooth front face surrounded by a by a thin bezel around the edges. On the front of the device you’ll find 4 buttons below the screen allowing you to send/end calls along with a dedicated Windows key and a back key. Just above those keys there is a touch sensitive scroll strip to be found. A forward facing camera can also be found allowing you to make video calls where the network permits. [Read more…]

Check out this cool little hack that see’s Motorola’s MotoBlur ported over to a HTC G1 android phone. The hacker managed to achieve this by using a leaked copy of the Motorola Cliq ROM which was then converted, some how, and ported on to the G1.

As of yet, there are no instructions on how this was done, but hopefully in the next few weeks somewhere like XDA forums will have a user who provides the details.

Some cool applications that you don’t see on the regular G1 include Happening which is a service that mixes together updates from your Facebook profile along with Twitter and MySpace and presents them all on a single thread. Also Happening has a widget that displays similar information on the home screen of the G1. [Read more…]

Just a few weeks back we reported that the TomTom iPhone car kit was ready for pre-order at what seemed to be a good price of £100 including the TomTom software. Shortly after various websites mentioned it Apple pulled the product off line stating that the £100 was just for the car kit and the software had to be purchased separately.

Today we hear that Apple have re added the iPhone car kit to the UK site, but this time they have priced it up correctly at £100 for the car kit alone. A disclaimer has also been added to the store which says… “The TomTom app for iPhone is not included with this TomTom Car Kit. The Car Kit dock is compatible with all iPhone models, but the TomTom app only works with iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.” [Read more…]

TXTBlocker is a system that prevents a mobile phone from sending a text while the phone is detected as moving. It is designed for parents and employers to ensure the safety of others while they are driving. The service is subscription based and allows the subscriber to set certain situations where text messaging and phone calls cannot be made.

The system works by using cell and GPS data to locate the location and travel speed of a phone. If the phone is determined to be in a car then service is limited.

Although it might prevent accidents from happening I can see it being a bit of a pain to deal with as you might be travelling by train or bus and suddenly be unable to use your phone. The system does allow for passenger functions which allow the phone to be used if a passenger is using it, but this is only permitted through the admin control panel. [Read more…]

The Samsung Moment is an Android based mobile phone that features a full QWERTY slideout keyboard along with a 3.2 inch AMOLED touch-screen. The Moment will be made available on 1st November costing $179.99 along with a 2 year contract (and a mail in rebate of $100).

For connectivity the Samsung Moment works on Sprints EV-DO Rev A network and also has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built in. GPS is also another feature allowing the phone to utilise location based services as well as use Android based satnav systems such as AndNav. [Read more…]

The Dell Mini 3i that was reported recently as going to China only now appears to be moving to the US also in the next few months.

The Mini 3i will be shipping in the US and will be aimed at competing with other Android handsets from companies such as HTC, Samsung and Motorola who are quickly making a mark in that territory.

When Crunch Gears tipster had a play with the Mini 3i it was reported that the phone was cheap and plasticky but it is expected that the phone will be spruced up when it makes it to the US. [Read more…]

After a lot of speculation, HTC have now confirmed that the HTC HD2 is now official and that it will be coming to UK networks this month. The HD2 will run Windows Mobile 6.5 and have a massive 4.3 inch touchscreen display that will support multitouch and have a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels.

The HD2 will also use the HTC Sense user interface on top of Windows Mobile 6.5. Pocket-Lint say not to get too excited about that though as it seems very similar to TouchFLO that other HTC devices have running Windows. [Read more…]

An announcement from Virgin Mobile USA has revealed that the LG Rumor 2 is going to their network. The Rumor 2 has a full QWERTY keyboard that slides out that makes it ideal for messaging and email.

The phone also has Bluetooth as well as 3G connectivity Update: No 3G on this phone. Also, GPS can be found in the phone making it quite a handy device should you want to use navigation.

The great news is that the phone will cost just $129.99 without a contract. [Read more…]

Gizmodo managed to get their hands on a new Windows Mobile 6.5 device for review this morning and although they were hoping to give it a raving review, they were let down by a mobile operating system that seems to be just patching over a few things on the previous 6.1 version.

First problems seemed to be with the start menu that according to Giz you cannot organise the way you want it easily. Instead, you need to tap on an icon and hit a menu telling it to jump to the top. You then need to go through each icon moving it to the top in the correct order to get the menu system looking how you want it. It’s only a small problem, but as it’s 2009 you’d kind of expect more. [Read more…]

Samsung are launching a new Android phone on to the T-Mobile network in the US. The phone is the Samsung Behold II and it features a 3.2 inch AMOLED touchscreen along with a 5 megapixel camera.

Other features of this phone include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 and 3G connectiity. The Behold II uses the TouchWiz UI that overlays on top of Android. All the regular google style apps can be found in the Android OS phone that includes maps, voice search, youtube etc… Also included with this phone is Microsoft Exchange support which is a nice addition allowing the phone to be used more in businesses that support Exchange server.

Storage wise the memory can be expanded up to 16GB by using microSD cards. [Read more…]

A thread over at XDA Forums has revealed more information about the HTC HD2 / Leo smartphone including some technical specs, more pictures and general details about the hardware such as the screen type. Some of it we already know from previous leaks but a lot of the information is new. We already have heard it is going on to the O2 and T-Mobile networks in the UK. We have previously heard it will launch October 12 although some sources say 19th although that could depend on the network. Previously we heard that it will have a capacitive touchscreen. Lets see what else it will have…

At this point it is important to mention that this information has come from a user over on the XDA forums, so some might be speculative although they seem in line with what we would expect of a phone of this size. [Read more…]