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Update 2: Matt checks back in and lets us know that while there is a check box for "Turbo," it doesn't enable a proxy like in the 9.7 beta.

Original: One of the main features of the Opera Mobile 9.7 beta is the "Turbo" feature, which basically switches the browser to a proxy mode, rendering the page elsewhere and piping it to your phone. Bottom line: It's faster, but with more security concerns.

But it turns out the Turbo mode is available in the build of Opera Mobile 9.5 found on the recently released T-Mobile Touch Pro 2. Matt Miller (of Nokia Experts fame and his own ZDNet blog) discovered such and shares the details:

1. Type opera:config in the URL box.
2. Scroll to User Prefs
3. Choose "Turbo Mode" and hit the checkbox to enable it.
4. Scroll down and hit save.

Matt also details a couple of other tricks, such as setting Opera to be the default browser in TouchFLO 3D, and increasing the number of tabs possible in the browser. Check it all out here.

Update: Our pal Gregory, who reviewed the Telus Touch Pro 2 for us, er, tells us that the Turbo mode is available in the Canadian version, too.

The silly season is in full effect, when legitimate companies and patent trolls file lawsuits against much, much bigger fish.

First came i4i's suit in which a federal judge in Texas ruled that Microsoft must stop selling its Word software because it blatantly and willingly infringed on an XML patent. And Microsoft must pay $240 million.

Now, EMG Technology has filed federal suit in the same East Texas district that will hear just about any patent case, it seems, taking on Windows Mobile, an online brokerage firm and an airline. Reports Information Week:

EMG, meanwhile, contends that Microsoft's Windows CE, PocketPC, and Windows Mobile products infringe its patent for viewing Web content on a mobile device. EMG also lists investment broker Scottrade and Southwest Airlines in its complaint.

The patents in question are 7,441,196 (Apparatus and Method of Manipulating a Region on a Wireless Device Screen) and 7,020,845 (Navigating Internet Content on a Television using a simplified Interface and a Remote Control).

TG Daily translates for us:

EMG alleges that Microsoft breaches the patents in operating system software including Windows CE and Windows Mobile. Scottrade is alleged to have breached the patent by providing financial and stock market information on mobile devices. Southwest, it's said, breaches the patents by allowing customers to book travel and cargo services reformatted for a small screen.

Welp, folks, that's it for Microsoft. Stick a fork in 'em. They're done. Let's all buy iPhones. No way they'll survive th- ... Wait, what's that? More money than who? Oh, OK.

As Tom's Hardware is reporting (via Nvidia's official press release), the Zune HD, which is using Nvidia's much-hyped Tegra chipset, has a whopping eight processors to achieve that super-smooth OS:

Specifically, the Tegra provides the Zune HD with eight independent processors, each designed for a specific class of tasks - among them are an HD video processor, an audio processor, a graphics processor, and two ARM cores. Furthermore, the processors can work together or independently to minimize power consumption.

The press release goes on to say that Nvidia has no fewer than "50 active Tegra processor-based design projects currently in the works today," which is a heck of a lot, if you ask us.

And since we believe WM7 devices are going to need Tegra (or Snapdragon) to run as a requirement, you can begin to understand just how massive an overhaul in raw-processing ability Microsoft's new mobile OS will be bringing in 2010.

While we are anticipating the "official" release of Windows Mobile 6.5, the "unofficial" versions of the new operating system have been making the rounds through cooked or home-grown ROMs for some time now. Chefs at such sites as XDA Developers, PPCGeeks, and Mobility Digest have successfully cooked WM 6.5 ROMs in their kitchens, and we decided to see what all the fuss was about.

Understand that cooked ROMs are a lot like beta versions of applications. They can work like a charm or turn your phone into a "pretend" phone for you children (if you are so inclined) to play with. If you are considering flashing your Windows Mobile phone with a cooked ROM, extensively research the process as well as the ROM you are considering. Then and only then proceed at your own risk. Just as cooking up these ROMs isn't for everyone, flashing them isn't as well.

Now that the obligatory cautionary statement/words of warning have been tossed out, to see what our experiences has been with the cooked ROM menu, just follow the break.

While some of us around here might have called shenanigans on the recent renders of the HTC Leo, it's looking more real as we get another glimpse of the rear of the phone, thanks to a leaked ROM that Pocketnow's been playing with. [via]

That said, our overly suspicious selves will point out that it should be pretty easy to change something like this in a pre-production ROM, but it's still a pretty good indication that we're on the right track.

And speaking of unreleased HTC phones, Digitimes reports that the lower-end HTC Mega should run about $300 unlocked.

Peep the video of the HTC Leo ROM after the break.

We brought you the first renders of the HTC Whitestone - aka the Touch Diamond 2. We brought you diagrams of the phone. Now we bring it to you wearing the Verizon badge.

Notice that the buttons have changed a bit from the last picture we saw, gaining color. The Windows Flag has moved to the middle, and there's now what appears to be a multimedia/music button on board. And that silver speaker grille-type bezel has gone dark.

Still zero news on availability, but stay tuned.

Either there are just a ton of people jonesin' to Photoshop some renders, or the HTC Leo (aka the Thoth and Athena 2) is starting to firm up a bit. These latest leaked shots from ai.rs are in line with what we saw just a few days ago.

Again, the supposed specs:

• Windows Mobile 6.5 (an upgrade to WM7 is likely)
• 4.3-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen
• Qualcomm MSM 8250 Snapdragon processor @ 1GHz
• 5MP camera with autofocus and LED flash
• 512MB ROM/320MB RAM
• MicroSD
• WiFi
• Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR
• Size: 121x67x11mm
• aGPS
• Accelerometer
• Light sensor/proximity sensor
• 3.5mm headphone jack (which we see in these renders)

Still absolutely no word on availability, pricing or whether it comes with a unicorn tear.

Via Unwiredview

It pretty much goes without saying that a lot of us are (or already have) plan on dropping several hundred dollars later this summer and fall on the latest Windows phone, be it from Samsung, HTC, whomever.

But before you shell out your hard-earned cash and wait patiently for the release of Windows Mobile 6.5, a word of warning. Big things are afoot with Windows Mobile 7, and the two may not play nicely together.

More on that, after the break.

Congratulations to commenter JsrxJsr, who won himself the BlueAnt S1 Sun Visor speakerphone. We'll get it shipped off post-haste.

Don't worry, folks. We're not done with the giveaways. Look for more free stuff from your friends at WMExperts real soon.

Though deviating from HTC's idea of the Diamond 2, Verizon sure has an idea of what its will look like (dubbed "Whitestone"), and it is basically the Touch Pro 2 sans keyboard, which many have been clamoring for. (Others have rightfully noted that's basically the Touch HD.)

We broke the first the image of what this October-destined device will look like for Verizon and now we have some layout diagrams to boot.

Some things to note are the inclusion of the unique "kickstand" and the stylus, which we're surprised is still there. Also is the dedicated "multimedia" button, which along with said kickstand is making this device very media-centric.  And why not with that huge 3.6-inch screen and 5MP camera? Seems spot on. Oh, and how about that 3.5mm jack?

More pics after the break.

Twitter client Twikini V 1.2 has been released. While it's not the cheapest (read: free) client out there, it is one of our favorites. Here's what's new in 1.2:

• When you click a Twitpic link, a large version of the photo is shown inside Twikini. No more having to launch a browser.
• You can choose to launch links in Skweezer.
• Twikini can show @replies and DMs by default at startup. Similarly, you can choose to only auto-refresh @'s and DM's.
• Nu på dansk!
• If you scroll to the end of the time line, Twikini will "wrap" back to the top. (Careful: If you're at the top of the time line and hit "up," it'll take you to the bottom of the time line.)
• After replying to a tweet, the time line won't jump back to the top.
• Improved GPS codes and several other bug fixes.

You can install this version right over your old one, but you'll have to re-input your accounts. Twikini is $4.95 and has a 14-day trial. You can find it here.