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If you can't beat 'em, join 'em? Dell apparently plans to buy and resell mobile airtime from Japan's NTTDoCoMo to go along with its notebook side of things, a Japanese newspaper reports.

GigaOm explains:

Dell’s plan in Japan involves buying preset airtime from NTTDoCoMo and bundling it with purchase of Dell notebooks that are preconfigured with an appropriate modem. Users can then add more time (or megabytes?) if they need it. If this works in Japan, it’s something Dell may experiment with elsewhere, but it raises the question of whether or not device makers should get into the MVNO game.

This isn't all that crazy — Amazon uses Sprint for its Kindle e-reader. And Apple reportedly thought about becoming an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) for the iPhone, before AT&T picked it up. And we'll speculate one further: If U.S. carriers did in fact turn down Dell's latest smartphone offerings (or not, depending on who you ask), Dell buying its own airtime and releasing the phones itself could be a possibility. But we're not holding our breath for that one.

TechRadar via GigaOm

We recently spoke to several application developers about the pricing structure for Windows Marketplace for Mobile — namely that devs would pay $99 to submit up to five apps to the Marketplace; any submission after that would cost another $99 per app, including for updates.

The blogosphere erupted. The devs we spoke to were largely a little more patient, adopting a wait-and-see approach.

But CNET [via electronista] says Microsoft has clarified things. The initial $99 will still only cover the first five apps, and each additional submission will cost another $99, but updates will be free.

Now all updates or version upgrades for applications that have already been submitted to the store will be accepted free of charge, a Microsoft representative confirmed. This applies to minor bug fixes as well as second-generation releases that add new features or capabilities.

There. Are we all happy now? And do we still think this will help sort out the crapware that can be overwhelming in other stores?

It's been speculated for a while now that the Samsung Omnia would be coming to Canada on the Bell network. And that's now about as official as it gets, with the Omnia appearing on Sammy's Canadian Web site.

In case you need a reminder, here's what our neighbors to the north will be getting:

• CDMA with EVDO Rev. A
• Windows Mobile 6.1
• 240x400 touchscreen (that never ceases to stop looking weird)
• 5.0MP camera
• 8 gigs of on-board storage, upgradeable to 16
• 128 megs of RAM

And if that's still not enough, check out our own hardware and software hands-on videos of the Omnia.

Mobile Syrup via IntoMobile

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.)

Joining its feature-phone-made-pro-by-adding-Windows-Mobile brother the Matrix Pro (see full review), AT&T has taken the lid of the Samsung Propel Pro, as expected.  It will be available on April 14th for $149.99 after contract.  You're looking at a Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard device with a slide-down QWERTY keyboard, WiFi, and 3G for data. 

[via Engadget Mobile]

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.