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Ahead of CTIA this week, MySpace has announced it'll have an official Windows Mobile application ready this summer. But wait! That's not all, folks! MySpace also is hopping on board the Silverlight train. PCMagazine's got the lowdown:

"Our relationship enables app developers to use Silverlight to create engaging MySpace apps and allows Windows Mobile users to have a more personal MySpace experience on their phone," Aber Whitcomb, chief technology officer of MySpace, said in a statement.

If the above picture of the MySpace app looks familiar, you're right. The icons are right along with what we've seen in the Facebook app that was ported over from a Windows Mobile 6.5 ROM. That could well be an indicator that the MySpace app will be just as useable.

Stay tuned for more coming out of CTIA later this week.

The mobile internet community and communications service Fring has announced the release of a new, updated, Twitter 2.0 Add-on that will allow you to get immediate twits from people you are following, allow you answer and post your own twits, and keyword search posts.

To get the Twitter 2.0 Add-on, you can go to the add-ons tab inside Fring, unsubscribe to the previous version and re-subscribe to the new version.  Granted if you don't have Fring, you'll need to go to their website to get the application.

Fring is a free download/service that brings online communities together under one roof. It allows Windows Mobile users to connect to social networks including Skype, MSN Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ, SIP, Yahoo, AIM and Facebook. Fring also has offers interface with VOIP services such as Skype Out, SIPNET, EuteliaVIOP, VolPVOIP and VolPTalk.

Funny video announcement of Fring & Twitter after the break. (And, yeah, we now we're seeing video screen shots on Symbian. That should make our friends at NokiaExperts happy.)

Each week we round up the best of the Smartphone Experts Network in a few pithy paragraphs designed for your reading pleasure. Everything from a new leaked Storm ROM to waiting on any number of new smartphones to finally arrive to a comprehensive look at iPhone 3.0 can be found here.

You'll want to stay tuned to the Smartphone Experts family of sites next week - we'll be live at the CTIA Wireless convention, bringing you all the latest from every manufacturer on all of our sites. Will Android finally have its coming out party? Will Palm finally tell us when the Pre is being released? Will the AT&T Nokia E71 ever get official? Whatever happens, we'll give you the scoop.

Read on for the Best of SPE!

(One programming note: the WMExperts Podcast is taking the week off, we'll be back next week!)

While sketchy, we are seeing indications that the HTC Touch Diamond 2 may be available in mid-April (emphasis on "may") for the Europe and Asian markets. Uberphones is reporting a retail listing (Expansys.com) that shows the Touch Diamond 2 available on April 19 at at the modest price of 424.99 pounds (a touch over $608 in U.S. dollars). This is about $100 more than the pre-order price we discovered the latter part of February. And if you're thinking about picking one up this way, don't expect it to have the U.S. 3G bands.

It's not the strongest source for a release date, but it is in the ballpark and may be a good indication that we'll see the Touch Diamond 2 in the States shortly thereafter. While we wait for more signs of seeing this new phone come to market, we'll also hope that a carrier picks up the Diamond 2 and takes a bite out of the price tag via contractual discounts. 

Need a little more enticement on the Diamond 2?  Follow the break for a revealing hands-on video that we ran across.

It's nice to see developers staying on top of things and updating their products to add features or simply improve the applications overall performance. While we've already reviewed GuardMobile, we have received word that they have updated their security application again.

A few of the new features on this update (version 1.11.3372 to be precise) includes the hard reset covering both the internal memory and storage card; the ability to remotely change the primary control number; monitoring of calls; and activating your Windows Mobile password screen lock.

While the previous versions included commands to locate your missing Windows phone, this command timed out after five minutes. The updated version adds the command "force locate," which eliminates the time limit and survives soft-resets. You also have the command "wipe" which erases the data from the phone and storage card without resetting the system.

GuardMobile still does not have an online interface, and interaction is restricted to SMS commands from authorized numbers. Regardless, if you're looking for a on-board security application, the recent updates to GuardMobile keep it an attractive option to consider.

We had a little fun with our friends at The iPhone Blog last week after the iPhone 3.0 software was announced. Certainly it's a red-letter day in TiPB nation.

But now that we've had our fun, let's a take a serious look at how the iPhone 3.0 software compares to Windows Mobile present — and future, in Windows Mobile 6.5. Join us as we break down Rene's excellent 3.0 walkthrough.

Having to live with Qualcomm's MSM series of chipsets for so long, it's nice to see the next-gen series (Snapdragon) finally strut its stuff. To refresh your memory, basically these systems are running 1ghz processors, can do HD graphics (720p), "day-long battery life" and have more advanced GPS and wireless connetivity (read more here)

Though we've seen it running that ho-hum custom Today screen on the Toshiba TG01, it seems that at MWC a few weeks ago a much more in-depth graphics demo was given.  We have to say, it's looking very promising so far.

Basically, from a non-technical perspective, it looks like we'll be having Sony PSP-level graphics on our super-thin (10mm) WinMo phones in late 2009/2010, which we're really stoked about. Advanced lighting, shading & translucency? Yes please.

Check out the 3 min demonstration of Qualcomm's Snapdragon after the jump! You don't wanna miss.

Mobilna Technologia [via]

Last.fm, the popular internet music streaming service, has announced that all third-party apps will be shut out of its service. Popular third-party clients include Windows Mobile’s Pocket Scrobbler, S60’s Mobbler, and if you’re a Crackberry addict, Flipside also will go the way of the dinosaur. Citing pressures from record labels and wanting to flex its muscles, these changes should take place in the near future.

Last.fm breaks it down further in its forums:

Last.fm has never had a public radio API, although we've tolerated third-party clients using the undocumented calls that our client uses. This is finally about to change - we're going to make a public, documented streaming API available to everyone who has an API account. There are a few limitations:

• Only subscribers will be allowed to stream using API applications unless you negotiate a separate deal with us - we need to get the money to cover royalties.
• You won't be allowed to use our API to stream to mobile phones. This is unfortunately a limitation of some of our licensing agreements. Again, we may be able to make an exception to this if you talk to us directly.

So on the upside, current developers may take advantage of new APIs to help them develop under Last.fm’s guidance. Word on the street is that the official apps on the iPhone and Android platform will continue to work, as they are officially sanctioned.

This is going to upset a lot of people. But the good news is that there still will be APIs available for developers, it'll just cost some cash.

Last.fm via Gizmodo

This kind of is a no-brainer, but here it is, highlighted in pink. If you're a full-time employee (or full-time equivalent?) of Microsoft, chances are you're taking part in the beta test of Windows Mobile 6.5. [wmpoweruser via uberphones] Enjoy, you lucky dogs. The rest of us will wait not so patiently.

Kinda makes us wish we hadn't dropped out of school to follow Phish around, but whatevs.

[updated to fix link]

We've been digesting the news surrounding Microsoft's Windows Marketplace for Mobile as the details trickle out. Developers keep 70 percent of the profits, same with Apple's App Store. Standards must be met, but Microsoft will be there to guide developers.

And recently there's been a bit of debate as we learned that updates to an application count the same as submitting a new app. [I Started Something via jkontherun]

Here's how it works: For the initial $99 application fee, devs can submit up to five apps. Any additional submission beyond the first five will cost another $99. So you could submit one application, then update it four times in a year without paying more. Or you can submit five different apps. Dealer's choice.  Counting app updates against the 5-a-year free limit sounds downright crazy wrong to us, but we're not developers.

So before we get all outraged, let's take a deep breath and think things through. More to the point, we asked developers. After the break, we talk with a few well-known developers and see how they feel about Marketplace.

Oh, the ROMs, they are a 'leakin'. There's some buzz going on at XDA Developers over a Touch Pro 2 ROM that purportedly has ties to T-Mobile in the United States. (Don't be alarmed by the picture above — it's an engineering prototype and the shell wasn't finished.) We've known for a while that the Touch Pro 2 is coming, we just don't officially know to which carriers, or when. (We do know that T-Mobile Europe has picked up the Touch Pro 2.)

But what XDA user d474rpr says what we have here is a ROM destined for T-Mobile. Some digging cropped up the same U.S. country ID code as is used on the Dash and Shadow, so this is looking pretty good.

MyFaves are on board, as are YouTube and Telenav (not sure if they're stub apps or the whole thing). The Facebook application that we've already seen ported from WinMo 6.5 also will be there. Another unknown is whether a T-Mobile touch Pro 2 would support its UMA Hotspot @ Home service, which would route calls through your home broadband Internet connection when available.

If this is all on the level, it could prove to be an exciting year for Windows Mobile fans on T-Mo.

Via AllShadow and Pocketnow

Windows Mobile 6.5 isn't even out yet — hell, as we just found out, they're still tweaking the UI — so we suppose that means it's time to start the speculation of what Windows Mobile 7 is going to look like.

Above, we have Exhibit A from wmpoweruser of what supposedly is a shot of Windows Mobile 7. Also, they say, the "latest inside rumors" say WM7 will reach manufacturers by the end of the year and be out on phones by spring 2010. That's right in line with what we've previously reported.

So maybe this is a shot of Windows Mobile 7, and maybe it ain't. (We'd expect to see the Windows flag somewhere at some point.) Regardless, what we (hopefully) see this time next year is likely to change a fair bit.

But what say you, dear readers? If this is legit, how's it look to you?