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Further musings of the Saga saga ...

If you're a Verizon customer and are tired of waiting for a possible appearance of the Treo 800w, Samsung's i770 might just fit the bill. But getting it could be a little tricky.

The Boy Genius Report spied a post over at Howard Forums showing that the i770 — aka the Saga — will hit online and telesales this Friday, Nov. 14. Engadget Mobile follows up with an in-store date of Dec. 1. However, the in-store sales will be through "direct fulfillment" only at first, which basically means you order it there and get it later.

Price for the world phone — yep, it comes with a sim card, too — will be $199 with the usual rebate/contract deals.

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Tilt Gets Backlight Hotfix

You HTC Tilt owners should have received text messages recently stating,

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Samsung has introduced the T-Omnia (or is it T*Omnia?) in Korea. It's nearly identical to the current Samsung Omnia (which we're still hoping will hit Verizon soon) with one important difference: the resolution on thing is a screen-busting 800x480 pixels on a 3.3 inch screen.

It looks to come with Windows Mobile 6.1, come in models with either 4gb or 16gb of storage built-in, and also feature Korean-specific features like DMB-TV.

Engadget reported last week that the Ballmer himself headed over there to praise the T-Omnia, giving it your standard smartphone boilerplate kudos.

It looks like it should launch for really real SK Telecom under the Anycall brand later this month. A US version, well, that's likely to be a much longer-way off, if we see it at all.

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Xperia X1 said to hit Best Buy on Dec. 7

That ever-elusive Sony Xperia X1 appears to finally be getting closer to a U.S. release.

The Boy Genius Report has snagged an inventory sheet that has the X1(a) — that's the North American version — hitting Best Buy on Dec. 7. That's an "in-stock" date, which may or may not mean you can swing by and pick one up that day.

Still no official word on when AT&T may release the X1(a) along with the expected subsidy and rebates.

But the price you'll pay for the unlocked goodness? Try $800. Ouch. We're pretty sure we know what's going to be first on your holiday wish list.

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Some AT&T Stores Selling the Fuze Early, Get Ready

We're celebrating Fuze Launch Day one day early here at WMExperts. It's not just that we've published a full review of the Fuze, but we're also finding ourselves all over the web checking things out.

If you're interested in picking up a Fuze yourself, BGR [via mobilty site] notes that tomorrow is looking pretty firm. If you can't wait that long, wmpoweruser points us to this phonenews report that some AT&T stores have jumped the gun and are selling the Fuze today instead of holding off until tomorrow.

For those not lucky enough to be near one of these mythical AT&T stores, you can pass the time by checking out the new Fuze Mobility Podcast (welcome to the audio-based internets, guys!) and they've also posted a great list of software and tweaks to get downloaded for future use on a Fuze. Otherwise, you can just gaze on the screenshot of the official HTC Fuze Page that temporarily popped up.

Finally, we'd like to point out that up until this very sentence, we're relatively sure that WMExperts has managed to abstain from making any 'short Fuze' or 'Fuzing form and function' or 'inFuzed with power' puns. You're welcome.

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Sprint Quarterly Results: Losses and More Losses

Sprint posted their Quarterly results for the 3rd quarter and the numbers aren't pretty. We're looking at a loss of $326 million on $8.8 billion in revenue and a loss of 1.3 million subscribers. For those of you keeping score:

  • Quarter 4, 2007: loss of $29.5 Billion (with a 'B,' but that was because of their Nextel write-off) and 683k subscribers.
  • Quarter 1, 2008: loss of $253 million and 1.09 million subscribers
  • Quarter 2, 2008: loss of $344 million and 900k subscribers
  • Quarter 3, 2008 (now): loss of $326 million and 1.3 million subscribers.

Hesse put a positive spin on things, naturally, by noting that Sprint has managed to maintain cash reserves ($4.1 billion) by managing their business operations. He also claimed that customer service has improved. Although we're fond of suggesting that Sprint be put on a deathwatch, it is worth noting that they still have just over 50 million total subscribers, so we'll hold off on that for now.

How did Sprint manage to free up so much cash? Well, first they sold off their towers and then leased the service and then they created a separate Clearwire company (a plan that's been fully approved) to handle their next-gen WiMAX network rather than incur the infrastructure costs directly. In all, it does mean that Sprint can be rather nimble in their future decisions. Here's a thought, though: could it also mean that they're an easier takeover target if things go really south?

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HTC Fuze now live on AT&T's Web site

We brought you the first video of AT&T's version of the HTC Touch Pro, now dubbed the Fuze. We brought you a full-on review, as only Dieter Bohn can do. Then we brought word that the Fuze was available in stores a day earlier than expected.

Now, for those who just can't make it to an AT&T store, we're telling you that it's available online for $299 after the usual rebates/contracts.

At this point, you don't really have any excuses. While there's no substitute for feeling a phone in your own hands, the next best thing is, well, putting it in ours.

So check out Dieter's reviews. Check out HobbesIsReal's excellent 24-hour review of the Sprint version. And take a walk through our forums and see what your fellow readers are saying.

Because knowing is half the battle. (Hey, at least it wasn't a "Fuze" pun ...)

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Microsoft quietly patches serious 6.1 e-mail bug

Ever have an e-mail you know you sent just seem to sit in your outbox?

Turns out you're not crazy. At least not because of this. Fellow WM Expert George Ponder has turned us on to a post over at Smartphone Thoughts that helps shed light on the whole thing.

It turns out there is a bug in Windows Mobile 6.1 that can keep messages in you outbox for good. It goes like this:

  • When you send an e-mail, your phone attempts to use the specified SMTP server name. (On my AT&T phone, it's CWMX.com, a holdover from the Cingular days.) Think of that as Mailman 1.
  • If Mailman 1 isn't available, for whatever reason — I like to think he's enjoying a tall cold one on the beach — Windows Mobile 6.1 looks for an alternate SMTP server. That'd be Mailman 2. But if there's no alternate server listed (has there every been?), and your phone can't connect with the first server (that beach/beer thing again), then that e-mail gets kicked into a perpetual outbox loop. Even when your phone reconnects later, that e-mail's still stuck, unsent.

The Microsoft readme file (read the entire thing after the jump) is a little more ominous:

This behavior is associated with a feature that is introduced in Windows Mobile 6.1. The feature allows for mobile operators to specify an alternate SMTP server name that is used if e-mail messages cannot be sent by using the user-specified SMTP server name. If the mobile operator does not specify an alternate SMTP server name and if the Windows Mobile 6.1-based device does not connect, the e-mail account is corrupted and cannot send e-mail messages.

How do we fix this? With a simple download. Hit up Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.1 POP and IMAP Send Mail Patch page. You can either install from your desktop or directly onto your phone as a cab file. Your phone will immediately reset, and all will be right in the world. Note that if you hard-reset your phone, you'll probably have to re-apply this patch.

The bug applies to IMAP and POP mail, but not Exchange mail or SMS/MMS text messages, and it affects touchscreen and non-touchscreen phones. If all of this is Greek to you, go ahead and apply it.

Fair warning: Microsoft says anything that's stuck in your outbox will now be sent. So if you have any e-mails with the subjects "Honestly, it was just dinner," "Dear boss, screw you," or "I promise I'll have the money on Tuesday" in there, now would be a good time to clean them out.

Obligatory rant: Why have none of the wireless carriers made notice of this yet? (Edit: HTC just sent out a message on its Twitter feed a few minutes after we first posted this.) It's just one more disconnect in the strange relationship between the carriers and Microsoft. And for more about that, be sure to check out the latest WM Experts Podcast, in which Dieter and Malatesta dive deep into that dysfunctional family.

Windows Mobile 6.1 POP and IMAP Send Mail Patch

This behavior is associated with a feature that is introduced in Windows Mobile 6.1. The feature allows for mobile operators to specify an alternate SMTP server name that is used if e-mail messages cannot be sent by using the user-specified SMTP server name. If the mobile operator does not specify an alternate SMTP server name and if the Windows Mobile 6.1-based device does not connect, the e-mail account is corrupted and cannot send e-mail messages.

Important

Follow all steps below completely and in order. Be sure to complete all steps.

Follow only one set of instructions below, depending on whether you synchronize your device to a PC:

  • If you connect your device directly to a PC with a USB cable or cradle, follow the instructions for Windows Mobile users who connect to a PC to synchronize.

  • If do not synchronize your device or phone with your PC or you only synchronize your phone or device wirelessly with a Microsoft Exchange Server or other e-mail and calendar systems, follow the instructions for Windows Mobile users who do not connect to their PCs to synchronize

Windows Mobile users who connect to a PC to synchronize

Download and run the Windows Mobile 6.1 POP and IMAP Send Mail Patch.

Check to make sure you have the latest version of ActiveSync or Windows Mobile Device Center:

ActiveSync 4.5 or Windows Mobile Device Center 6.1.

Connect your Windows Mobile device to your PC, download and then run the Windows Mobile 6.1 POP and IMAP Send Mail Patch for Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile users who do not connect to their PCs to synchronize

For users that do not connect to PCs, there is an update file (.CAB) available to make this update. (Note: There are a number of ways to install a .CAB file and below outlines a popular method).

Using the Microsoft Internet Explorer Mobile browser on your device, go to this location http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=D9D71B2E-D2DD-44F2-86E5-1E53AAD7FB7A&displaylang=en and download this file, WindowsMobile61-KB958639.msi, to your Windows Mobile device. This file will install the update directly on the device.

Installation Instruction:

From your device, navigate to the file you downloaded, and then tap it (or select the file and press “OK” button on a non-touch screen device) to install the update. If you are unable to download the file proceed to step 2.

If you are unable to access the file in step 1 on your device, open Windows Internet Explorer on your PC and click here to start the download process. After downloading the file, attach it to an e-mail and send it to an account you can access on your device (the send mail bug will not prevent you from receiving messages). On your device, open the e-mail and save the attached file; on some devices, you may need to synchronize your e-mail a second time to download the attached file. Then navigate to the file on your device and click on it to install the update.

Note: After you install this update, your device will automatically restart to ensure that the update is complete

Installation tips

Check the messages in your Outbox

After you have applied the update to your Windows Mobile device, messages in the Outbox folder of your affected POP and IMAP accounts will be sent. You may no longer wish to send these messages if they are out of date. You can keep these messages from being sent by navigating to the Outbox folder of these accounts and either deleting the messages or moving them to another folder. On a WM 6.1 Professional device you can access account folders by tapping on the folder drop down located on the upper left of the message list. On WM 6.1 Standard devices you can access account folders by Pressing the Menu soft key, then selecting Folders.

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Tip of the Week: GParkS (Dude, Where's My Car?)

Confession: we love cool GPS apps here at WME.

This little freebie comes from smrtdrmmr over at XDA. Long story short: this is an app that you can use to GeoTag a location (actually up to 3) and it then tells you in feet (or KM) and direction how to get back to it.

Why? Ever park your car at a golf course, far, far from the football stadium where you are catching the local game? Did you ever then spend 20 mins trying to then find you car after the game? Yeah, well smrtdrmmr did and when he looked for a WM version of the popular iPhone app "Dude, Where's my Car" and couldn't find one.

So he went home and programmed up his own version.

It's not a pretty program, but darn it all, it works as advertised. In fact, you can tag up to three objects and name each one (see pic above). To use, just launch the app (you'll need .NET CF 3.5) and that'll kick off the GPS automatically. Give it a few seconds to stabilize your coordinates and then hit "Save". Later, re-launch the app and simply click "Find" and follow the directions. Simple!

Hats off to you smrtdrmmr! More info and download here (need to register).

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Touch Pro for Verizon on the GrainyCam

We're fairly certain that the Touch Pro on Verizon isn't hobbled, what we were waiting to hear was a release date. Engadget Mobile is speculating November 14th (that's three days after we praying the Fuze will hit).

They also have a GrainyCam video of the device, showing a few elements of TouchFlo 3D -- including what looks to be a newer landscape mode. Grab your dramamine as you go watch, because there's a definite blair witch feel to it, what with the creepy sped-up audio, bouncy camera, and even (spoiler alert) the last thing you see is some roommate off in the corner before the witch gets you from behind.

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Ballmer Confirms Windows Mobile 6.5

Our friends over at TechRadar are reporting that Microsoft

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Xperia X1 panels on the Touch HD

Excuse us while we take a minute to wrap our minds around this one.

First we had TouchFlo 3D on the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1.  Now it appears turnabout is fair play as the X1 panels have been ported onto HTC

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Around SPE - 9 Nov 2008

This week's Around SPE is sponsored by the the TiPb iPhone Accessory Store, which has long been your best source for iPhone accessories. A lot of iPhone 3G upgraders were left out in the cold when their car chargers turned out to not be compatible, but they've got plenty that are, not to mention plenty of headphones that are a step up compared to the standard white buds

Last week both CrackBerry.com and WMExperts found themselves on the cusp of major releases -- the BlackBerry Storm, BlackBerry Bold on AT&T, the HTC Fuze on AT&T, not to mention a few others on the Windows Mobile side. So while everybody has been anticipating new devices, all of the editors at SPE are anticipating something else that will be starting on November 17th. The hint is right up there in the picture!

Read on for the full skinny on what's been happening around SPE!

WMExperts

WMExperts made a big splash Friday afternoon with the 'net's first and only video of the HTC Fuze for AT&T! Be sure to check back Monday morning because we're also cooking up a full review of this latest and greatest Windows Mobile smartphone. It looks like the Fuze release date has finally been pinned down, too.

WMExperts also tends to cover some more general industry news, so all the action at the FCC last week definitely caught our eye. Lastly, we're more than a little proud of our writer George Ponder, who used a Treo Pro to help manage the election in his district.

CrackBerry.com

Over at CrackBerry.com, thousands of BlackBerry enthusiasts rejoiced as AT&T stayed true to their promised November 4th release date and launched the Bold. Picking election day turned out to be a smart move for AT&T and RIM, as stations like CNN played the new AT&T BlackBerry Bold commercial all day long.

The BlackBerry Storm, RIM's first touchscreen BlackBerry, continues to build on the hype leading up to its launch. Vodafone has dropped word of a November 14th release, and the Vodafone BlackBerry Storm bus has been traveling London which has turned out a bunch of Storm preview videos. While Verizon has not given official on the availability of their Storm, the educated rumor points to the week of the 23rd.

You'll want to keep it locked to CrackBerry.com this week. The What Would You Do for a BlackBerry Storm? Contest has come to an end and the top ten finalists have been selected. In order to win their new BlackBerry, the winners have to carry out their “To Dos” which will be published on CrackBerry.com as they come in. The first one hits on Monday!

The iPhone Blog

According to JD Power, the iPhone is absolutely destroying the Blackberry in *business* satisfaction due to it's drop dead ease of use and killer UI, but does Apple just not “get” the Four Pillars of PIM, something Palm nailed way back in 1997? Probably not, as the latest iPhone OS 2.2 leaks focus on over-the-air podcast downloads (admittedly super sweet!) and yet more App Store tweaks.

Speaking of the App Store, turns out Opera Mini was NOT denied (but probably would be), WeightBot's developers aren't done innovating on the iPhone just yet, and Shazam wants a piece of Midomi in our App vs. App battle royal for music mastery. (Leave a comment and you just might win an iTunes gift certificate). Of course, if you want to win a whole slew stuff -- an Ultimate iPhone Accessory Pack no less -- check out the Phone Different to find out this week's way to enter (hint: requires @theiphoneblog and rhymes with “sweet”.)

TreoCentral

Over at TreoCentral, we learned via a Barron's article that analysts at Avian Securities and Morgan Keegan downgraded PALM due to the belief that Palm's cash position will significantly erode ($248 million at the end of the latest quarter to $75 million over the next year) which leaves “little room for error.” The downgrade was also due to a U.S. retailer survey resulting in the belief that smartphone sales will come in below expectations for the next several quarters.

We also found out in that same Barron's article that we might not (corrected, thanks Scott!) be seeing the Treo Pro on AT&T and the Treo 800w on Verizon in time for the holiday shopping season.

Plus we learned that Apple almost bought Palm back in the summer of 1997. Jean-Louis Gassée noted in an article over at Monday Note:

A perhaps little known fact: in the Summer of 1997, Steve Jobs called Eric Benhamou, 3Com's CEO (the company owned Palm). “Give me the Palm and come and join my Board of Directors. Only Apple can make Palm a true consumer brand.” Nothing happened. Apple's foray into the product segment had to wait ten more years.

Android Central

We've settled in over at Android Central, now that the G1 seems to be out there and getting used by a surprisingly large number of people. Just check out these download statistics for the Android Market to see what we mean, or check out some the backstory behind Android Apps.

Our favorite new app: the Android Gameboy emulator! A close 2nd favorite use for the G1 might be the newly discovered tethering method, though. Meanwhile, we're keeping our eye on the just-discovered Android Jailbreak and security risks that have popped up.

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9

Where Be The Fuze?

We've heard from a few sources now that the Fuze has been delayed -- which is really bumming us out here, we gotta tell you. That hasn't stopped AT&T from mentioning it in a rebate form (Thanks for that, Greg!), but it certainly has stopped the Nov 4th release (i.e. today) that we were hoping for (though, as David points out, there's probably one or two to be found on eBay.)

BGR brings word that the Fuze has been caught in the wild and should be sent to stores 'within the next two weeks' for a Black Friday release. That, friends, is a lot later than we were hoping. We've also heard November 7th. We hear a lot -- but nothing we feel confident with anymore.

Anybody else waiting for the Touch Pro/Fuze to hit on AT&T?

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And where be the X1?

See that phone there? That's the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1.

And that's still as close as you can get to it.

Word on the street is that the third-party vendors who supply components of the device — think processor, GPS, radio and who knows what else that's packed into this thing — can't keep up with demand, and thus we still have seen neither hide nor hair of the X1 on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

From the Dutch-language Tweakers.net (translation):

Xperia handsets are currently only in dribs and drabs, said the spokesman Harold Abstract opposite Tweakers.net. The problem in all countries where Sony Ericsson phone last month on the market. "We have a problem with the supply of components by third parties. That does not make enough parts on time, leaving too few copies of the device can be made."

Oh. That could just mean all kinds of good (read bad) news for AT&T, which, as we just learned, is still trying to get the HTC Fuze out the door.

Via Inxperia

Meanwhile, you can hold yourself over with our own review from way back in April or this more recent one from Mobile Tech Addicts.

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Another Verizon Omnia sighting

We're suckers for all things vague and blurry around here. Witness the above photo.

Uberphones reports that this is a Verizon Wireless training schedule that lists Nov. 15 as the day VZW workers will get their online training with the Samsung Omnia. Keep squinting. You'll see it, too.

Obviously, that kind of blows our previously reported Oct. 14-Nov. 15 window out of the water. But it also means that Verizon customers (hopefully) shouldn't have too much longer to wait for the Omnia. Of course, we've said that before.

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A few months ago, we reviewed GPSToday and called it one of Windows Mobile's killer apps. We also hinted back then that some more features were to come in future revisions, specifically relating to social networking and communications.

Welp, that time has come. This week, GeoTerrestrial updated their program with a bunch of lil' fixes and improvements and few big ones, including GeoMail. GeoMail is simply a method to send your current coordinates or street address via email/sms to friends and colleagues.

The other major update is a new standalone version. With the popularity of HTC's TouchFlow interface, running 3rd party Today Plugins is a bit of hassle. Now you can download a separate non-plugin version of GPSToday. Sweet.

Read on for my quick overview/review of GPSToday's GeoMail feature.

First, some other minor updates that come with 0.9.9.3:

  • Weather updating mechanism is tightened up
  • Today screen flicker is removed
  • Now you can change the temperature display color on the today screen to suit your needs

GeoMail

This is now probably one of the best features of GPSToday. Ever been meeting up with someone in the city and you want to send them your location? Not very easy if you use Google Maps or Live Search as (1) You can't send people your blue dot (2) Just because you see yourself on the map, doesn't mean you know the actual street address.

GPSToday and GeoMail solve this by simply looking up your GPS location, converting to a street address and with just a few clicks, being able to send that info via email or SMS.

But what's really cool here is how GeoMail handles this feature. When you send the info via email, the recipient gets 3 options via links

  • A link to a map for desktop users
  • A link to a map for mobile phone users
  • Option for GPSToday users to open the info in GPSToday (via menu)

In other words, the program does not need your recipients to have GPSToday installed or some special software on their end. That non-proprietary feel is very nice and GT seem to have covered all possible scenarios of real users.

If sent via SMS, the recipient will get your geolocation & street address. And the super cool part: if you have GPSToday installed and receive somebody's geolocation info via their GPSToday...it automagically opens up your GPSToday to display their location with a little message. They then show up on your map as a little pin, with their name and even their message.

Hands off, no fiddling, no copy n pasting, no looking up. It just does it for your. Plus you can respond back to the person with your location and a message. You can even send to multiple recipients.

A+ GeoTerrestrial.

Registration for GeoMail

One quibble some may have is that you need to register an account to use GeoMail. Like the program itself, it's free and there are no gimmicks here. Though you may wonder why you have to register (we did) and this is what GeoTerrerstrial had to say:

The reason is that next version onwards geomail will allow sending/receiving locations by choosing recipient usernames, via the geoterrestrial network (a third way over sms and email). That method will be a bit slower than sms (but free unlike sms), and much faster than email. Even better than that, it will also allow us to de-couple sending/receiving methods based upon user preferences. For example, a user will be able to send a message via email, but the recipient will receive it instantly via sms, and so on. We think that will be really neat.

And as a teaser, GeoTerrestrial lets us know of another new feature they are working on, cryptically called GeoGroups which will also take advantage of the "geoterrestrial network". You heard it here first :-)

Plus, as far as signing up goes, this is pretty painless as you can do it all on the device and they require no personal information (just a username and password). Still, we suppose one could argue about security risks, so if you have a fear (or a reason to fear) someone spying on you...well, you should probably not even have a phone with GPS.

Final Thoughts

What can we say? We're smitten with this program. It's free, it looks cool and it's probably one of the most useful applications to take advantage of your device's on-board GPS.

With GeoWeather (weather based on your current location), GeoTagging (automatically tag your photos with your geolocation info), GeoLogger (log your movements, hikes, etc.),the future GeoGroups (?!) and now GeoMail, GPSToday is packed full of features that are just (geek alert!)...really awesome.

If we had any gripe it would be this: somehow add a GeoMail icon to the Today Plugin, or give us an option for an expanded Today Plugin. We think it'd be really cool to just one-click (via icon) launch GeoMail without having to launch the map and go into some sub-menu. But that's a minor criticism.

Two bigger issues are still no-compatibility with non-Touch Screen devices (we feel for you Moto Q9 users) and street address lookup is still U.S. based only.

But hey, if you're in the U.S., have a touchscreen WM device and GPS...this seems like a no brainer.

Post your thoughts and comments below!

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Verizon-Alltel? Done -- the FCC joined the DOJ and said “OMG U can has buyout.” As BGR reports, they added a few more markets that Verizon will need to pull out of for anti-competitive reasons. So $28 billion dollars gets Verizon bragging rights as the US's largest carrier, bypassing AT&T.

The FCC didn't stop there, though. They also approved that whole Sprint-Clearwire deal we told you about in May. It's a little complicated, but the gist is that Clearwire is now an independent company, 51% owned by Sprint, the rest by Google, Intel, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Brighthouse. Clearwire will provide WiMAX service to all of the above, who will the presumably bend that sweet sweet data to their own services. Although AT&T didn't like this deal either (they really lost out today), the FCC was pretty effusive about the potential for WiMAX.

The thing we're most excited about, though is that the FCC has approved the contentious bands known as “White Space” for broadband use. “White Space” in this context refers to bands within the broadcast television spectrum that aren't used by regular TV channels. Both Microsoft and Google were pushing hard for the FCC to allow these unused 'in-between' parts of the spectrum for data and for awhile it wasn't looking very likely. This should get broadband to rural areas right quick, at the very least, and it could potentially really shake up the wireless industry. It's complicated, here's a quick blog roundup to get you started.

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For those who may not know, my day job is with the local Sheriff

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AT&T Fuze coming Nov. 11 for $299

A couple of days ago we asked "Where be the Fuze?" Apparently the boys and girls over at the Boy Genius Report were reading and have been kind enough to track down the answer.

The date: Nov. 11 — that'd be next Tuesday, just a week after what we initially thought would be the launch.

The price: $299.99 with the standard 2-year contract/rebates/data plan.

The cost goes up from there. If you want it off-contract, you're gonna have to shell out $499.99.

What else do we learn? There should be a camera-less version for the worrisome enterprise types. Expect a national advertising campaign starting next month.

Hit up the BGR link here for the rest of the dirty details.

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It's been long speculated that devices such as the Sprint Diamond and Touch Pro have build in FM radios that are disabled. The question is are they disabled at the hardware level (bad) or software level (good)?

Well the news is at least for Sprint Touch Diamond users it is at the software level and you can now enable that ancient technology and get FM jamming through your touchy device.

Thanks to No2Chem, famous for his custom ROMs on various HTC devices, you can go ahead and grab his latest project right here.

Bad news? Don't expect any such FM goodness on the Sprint Touch Pro (see gallery):

HOWEVER, the Touch PRO is a different
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Around SPE - 2 Nov 08

This week's Around SPE is sponsored by the Android Central Store, where you can find a full complement of accessories for the T-Mobile G1 including headset adapters, body skins, and screen protectors.

What's the big news in the Smartphone world this week? It's a mix, really. Android's looking like a viable platform to more and more people, there are a ton of Windows Mobile devices on the way, and both CrackBerry.com and the iPhone Blog are running contests that ought to spark your interest. Read on!

Android Central

Android Central is still enamored with the G1, so we followed up our full review of Android with a look at the Android Market App Store. We're excited to see that said App Store should soon be populated with quality games from EA, not to mention complete Exchange support for push email and PIM info.

Of course, like the rest of the Android-watching-web-world, we noticed that some folks were touting that they'd successfully unlocked a T-Mobile G1. Yeah, we did that a week earlier than anybody else did and we got AT&T's data working just peachily as well, thanks. We'd be more bitter, but the fact that you can grab a G1 at Walmart has our head spinning so fast we ain't got time to mope.

CrackBerry.com

CrackBerry Nation is abuzz with new BlackBerry releases. After months and months and months and months of waiting, the BlackBerry Bold will finally be available from AT&T this Tuesday! Storm fever is still going strong, with launch parties taking place and release dates getting near. You can now pre-order a Storm from Vodafone, and things are still looking on track for the Storm to be out on Verizon by Black Friday. The Pearl Flip is making its rounds too: T-Mobile is now offering it in Red (in addition to the Black model they launched with) and it's starting to pop up in Rogers stores (in both black and pink) with November 4th availability everywhere.

Phase 1 of the The What Would You Do for a BlackBerry Storm? Contest was a huge success, with over 3,000 crazy CrackBerry addicts entering their What Would You Dos. Judging for that is going on as we speak (should be complete by Monday night).. with the top ten soon-to-be Storm winners to be contacted on Tuesday. Next step - they'll have to carry out their To Dos on video!

And the long-waited CrackBerry Book is nearing it's eBook launch date (print copy to follow in a couple weeks)... Featuring real life tales of BlackBerry Addiction gone too far and effective strategies to help get your use under control, this will be a must read for the BlackBerry Addict (expect your signifcant other to pick you up a copy!). Keep your eyes peeled for it to surface later this week!

The iPhone Blog

iPhone Live! -- our new podcast which will alternate with Phone Different and make us all nice and weekly -- is now archived and available in the iPhone blog's usual feed. Join Dieter, Brian, Chad, and Rene, for a discussion of iPhone 2.2, GPS, Turn-by-Turn Navigation, and a Q&A from our live chat audience.

...You'll also be interested in the beginning of our Ultimate Accessory Pack Give Away Contest!

Big week for Apps as well, as TiPb interviews PCalc's James Thomson for a look behind the marketing and money of the App Store. New release Google Earth also goes App vs. App against veteran Earthscape, and we take a look at why Apple may have denied browser rival Opera Mini a place on the iPhone.

TreoCentral

Over at TreoCentral, we found via WMExperts about another clue telling us that the Treo Pro is on its way to Sprint. And we found out that the Treo 750 has disappeared from AT&T's website, and you can only get it from Palm in the unlocked variety.

We read that John Hartnett, Palm's SVP of Global Markets, is leaving the company in November for undisclosed reasons. This comes on the heels of Palm hiring Simon Lloyd as Senior Director, EMEA Marketing, to try and win some ground in the European market as Palm wants to make a comeback against the BlackBerry and iPhone in brand stakes. And speaking of markets, how about the stock market, in which Palm's stock teetered at low records (hitting $2.70) on Tuesday.

Brian has written a review of the Celio Redfly, which makes a great mobile companion for the Palm Treo Pro. If you haven't bought the Redfly as of this writing, you still have a chance to grab it for $199.95 in the TreoCentral Store.

WMExperts

WMExperts is buckling down for a deluge of new Windows Mobile releases in the coming weeks, although we did manage to get out of the gate early with first review of the Touch Pro on Sprint. We're expecting the AT&T version of that device, AKA the Fuze, to arrive on Monday and for the Verizon version to be pretty much identical Sprint's.

Mostly, though, we focused on the wider launch of Microsoft's Live Mesh service, which is a great cloud-sync application that works on Windows, Mac, and of course, Windows Mobile. Be sure to check out our early walkthrough.

Not enough for you? Well, we did confirm the rumor that we also were the first to report, namely that the Treo Pro will hit Sprint. WM devices on Sprint also finally joined the MMS crowd and, well, there's a mystery version of Windows Mobile that we're waiting on as well.

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Alltel Touch Diamond is out; Touch Pro imminent?

We haven't forgotten all you Alltel customers out there in the recent release of HTC devices. (See Touch Pro on Sprint and the Touch Fuze (this week, we hope) on AT&T.)

The Touch Diamond has been available for a couple of days now. You'll pay $249.99 after the usual contract discount and mail-in rebate. And with the Verizon-Alltel deal getting the go-ahead from the Justice Department — provided Verizon sells off some its assets first — you'd probably better pick this up before the Big V does some of its famous device neutering.

We're also still expecting the Touch Pro. A little birdie tells us it should be released on or about Nov. 14. Price reportedly could be $100 higher than the Diamond, but that'd leave it $50 more than Sprint is asking for the Touch Pro. So we'll wait and see on that one.

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Xperia X1 Hits the Phillipines Nov 14th

Our friends over at Mobile Phillipines are reporting that Sony Ericsson has launched a

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Sprint is dropping the price on their Family Locator Service. Yep -- Sprint tells us it's fully compatible with Windows Mobile devices, too. Now when you sign up for Family Locator it will only cost you $5 instead of $10 to track down those beloved children of yours. Mostly designed for the

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