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The Touch Pro and the Diamond are definitely the new hotness -- though we still don't know yet when we're going to see an American release. The Diamond made the rounds on the interw00ts first, now comes the Touch Pro. Mobileburn takes a peek and notes that HTC wouldn't let them play around with the inteface, perhaps hinting at yet more TouchFLO 3D enhancements coming down the pike. SlashGear is justifiably happy that the back of the device is matted so there'll be fewer fingerpints. Finally, PhoneScoop find the Touch Pro to be a little thick to their liking. We suppose compared to the Diamond, darn near anything is going to fee a little thick.

As excited as we are for the Xperia X1, we're HTC boys at heart. The Touch Pro looks to beat it by just a hair.

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The long-awaited Opera Mobile 9.5 is nearly ready for the public. Opera has announced that an initial beta test is slated for July 15 at www.opera.com, and we'll all be able to get our grubby little hands on it.

Opera also addresses what's taken so long:

Some versions of Opera Mobile 9.5 are already shipping on great phones like the HTC Touch Diamond, and some of you have asked why we wouldn't be able to release it publically yet. As you probably know, releasing a version that works on a large variety of phones is more complex than making it work on one specific phone. You should also expect a few differences between the versions that are pre-installed on phones and the public version of Opera Mobile 9.5.

So, the beta version may contain a few differences than what was seen in a hands-on review back in February.

WMExperts is, strictly speaking, a Windows Mobile site. But we recognize good wireless industry prose when we see it, and we see it in Daniel Roth's piece in Wired magazine, "Google's Open Source Android Phone Will Free the Wireless Web."

Roth details the birth of Android - the brain child of Andy Rubin, seen above - and the Open Handset Alliance, created to directly compete against WinMo and Apple's iPhone, as well as to challenge the status quo among device makers, carriers and software/OS developers.

"But WMExperts," you say, "you were quick to post on a reported Android delay, and we could see the smirk on your face as you chalked up another point in the Windows Mobile column."

OK, we've been skeptical. But the story provides an interesting look at some of the behind-the-scenes problems with developers and carriers that Microsoft currently has to deal with, that Apple largely has bypassed, and that Google is learning to live with.

And besides. We're trying to be a little less evil.

An excerpt:

Microsoft's system, however, was the ugly stepsister of what Rubin was proposing: Redmond executives cared less about opening up the Net to mobile users than about tying the mobile operating system into its desktop dominance. A decade ago, Microsoft had underestimated the growth of the Web and then lost control of it to Google. Now it looked like it was Google's turn to be caught flat-footed.

Read "Google's Open Source Android Phone Will Free the Wireless Web"

Engadget has scored some leaked spec sheets and training materials on the Treo 800w. There's nothing new here, as the Treo 800w has basically already reached overexposed status on the internet. We're still expecting it on July 13th (slightly earlier for corporate customers) for $249.99 with contract. It still sports some very decent specs: Windows Mobile 6.1, threaded SMS (by Palm, not the WinMo version), 320x320 touch screen, WiFi, ugly debatable looks, and a size that's Centro-esque but with a more usable keyboard.

Engadget notes the lack of MMS, an aspect of WinMo on Sprint we've often bemoaned in the past. Sprint has promised to rectify the situation, but that was before they started hemorrhaging subscribers and before they began their Samsung Instinct Blitz. In other words, we wouldn't be entirely surprised if Sprit has taken their eyes off the MMS on Windows Mobile Ball.

Update: We lie. There is something new here. Check out the screenshot of the Treo 800w today screen at right. In addition to the standard Windows Live Search field, it appears that Palm has replaced their first-to-market, on-the-Today Screen search field with something new, an on-the-Today Screen local search field. There's a field for what you want and a 2nd field for “nearby,” which you could perhaps change to something else. The icon on the left of the area appears to be a Windows Icon, which means that this smells a lot like it uses the Live Search app. Also notable, we suppose, is the tethering status icon in the upper right, so that will also be fully supported. Nice touches, Palm.

 

The Google Mobile Blog has alerted us to a new umbrella page for its mobile services.

Hit up www.google.com/mobile/winmo from your desktop for one-stop shopping for all of Google's mobile device products available on Windows Mobile, including Google Maps, Gmail, Picasa and their bread and butter, Internet search.

Nothing earth-shattering here, but it's all available under one roof, with some how-to videos thrown in as well. No mention of Google Gears, though.

Microsoft on Thursday announced it was purchasing a company that allows you to back up your PIM data - that'd be your e-mail, contacts, calendar items, etc. - online, as well as post directly to social networking sites, such as Facebook.

No, it's not buying Dashwire, which has been a hot topic of late.

What Redmond is buying is MobiComp, who is tight with Europe's Vodafone (Verizon's parent company), and other mobile carriers with a good number of customers in Portugal and Saudi Arabia.

A direct shot across Dashwire's bow? Or Apple's Mobile Me, for that matter? Probably not just yet.

According to a Reuters report, Microsoft intends to turn MobiComp into a research and development group and keep it in Portugal, making it unclear exactly what Microsoft will do with MobiComp's technology. Microsoft already has a number of cloud services in development and is rapidly expanding its mobile portfolio.

Hang in there, Dashwire. Chin up, Mobile Me. You've probably got a good one, maybe two years if we stick to Microsoft's "development" schedule.

Welcome to this week's Software Wrangle! Get ready to lasso this week's new, updated and free software for WM Professional and WM Standard.

This week we are featuring new software for WM Standard, Smartphone PopUps Notification Windows and MemoryUp-Mobile RAM Booster v2.5 Updated software includes PhatNotes 5.3 and 1Touch Contacts. Freeware this week is Skype for Smartphone v2.2.0.44.

WM Professional new software is EasyHelper Information Hide v1.0 and PRPWallet - Digital Password Manager for Windows Mobile Pocket PC v1.0. Updated software includes IM+ All-in-One Messenger: AIM/ iChat, MSN/ Live Messenger, Yahoo!, ICQ, Jabber, GTalk and MySpace v5.3 and HandyMenu v3.7. Freeware is JB Piano v1.7.

Time to circle the wagons and dig in to the software!

WM Standard: New

First up is Smartphone PopUps Notification Windows for WM 5 / 6 Smartphone or Standard v1.03 by QoreFunctions. Don't miss anything with the help of PopUps!

It's like Caller-ID for New Email, SMS, Missed Call, & Voice Mail Messages! Actual Contact Name & Photo of sender appears in PopUp window.

Instantly know who sent new Email or SMS messages, tried calling your phone, or left Voice Mail messages.

Save time & keystrokes - Read & Reply to Messages, Return Calls, Dial Voice Mail directly from PopUp Window!

Never miss another unattended event- each PopUp remains visible until dismissed or action taken

Features: - PocketPC-style PopUp Event Notifications for WM Smartphone/Standard devices - Caller-ID for Email, SMS, Missed Calls, Voice Mail - PopUps for New Email Messages - PopUps for New SMS/Text Messages - PopUps for Missed Calls - PopUps for New VoiceMail Messages - Displays Contact Name & Photo in PopUp - Displays SMS message & Email subject in PopUp - No need to launch Messaging - VoiceMail ID - Displays Name & Photo of caller who left message (no need to dial voice mail) - Save time- Read & Reply to Messages, Return Calls, Dial Voice Mail directly from PopUp Window - Customize PopUps with different colors or Themes!

Get Smartphone PopUps Notification Windows for WM 5 / 6 Smartphone or Standard v1.03 for $12.95 here.

Next up is MemoryUp-Mobile RAM Booster v2.5 by eMobiStudio Inc.

Is your cell phone running slow? Do your programs crash after the smartphone has been running awhile? Then you need a boost, a Memory Boost! MemoryUp Standard Edition recovers memory leaks, and prevents cell phone crashes. Read on to boost your smartphone memory.

MemoryUp is a powerful mobile RAM boosting tool and Java virtual machine (JVM) management application specially designed for Windows Mobile smartphone users. It is a handy memory optimizer tool that will keep your smartphone running faster and efficiently. It increases your cell phone performance by making more memory available for both your applications and the mobile system.

MemoryUp is optimized for all series of Windows Mobile smartphones, which can monitor your mobile system in the background, freeing resources when needed. It uses many advanced features to keep your smartphone running at optimum speed. But more importantly, it's designed with all users in mind; whether you're a power-user or a novice, MemoryUp will give you the features you want without confusing or limiting you.

Get MemoryUp-Mobile RAM Booster v2.5 for $13.99/year here.

WM Standard: Updated

PhatNotes 5.3 by Phatware is our first updated software for WM Standard this week.

PhatNotes is an award-winning notes organizer for Microsoft Windows based Pocket PC, Microsoft Windows Mobile based Smartphone, and Desktop PC. You can create notes providing them with category, subject, creation and modification date, which helps to find required information quickly and easily.

With PhatNotes you can search for specific text in a specific field and sort notes by category, date, or subject. You can protect notes from unauthorized access with a password and send e-mail messages directly from the Note Editor. Interface to the Contacts Database enables you to pick an e-mail address instead of typing it in.

PhatNotes uses a compressed database, saving limited storage space. The intuitive, easy user interface lets you start using the program within minutes. PhatNotes Professional Edition allows synchronizing multiple notes databases between the desktop PC and mobile device.

Get PhatNotes 5.3 for $39.95 here.

1Touch Contacts v3.0 by 1TouchMobile is the next updated application this week.

1Touch Contacts has been designed to give the user easy and efficient ways to accomplish frequently used tasks and to provide new features that will make managing contacts a more enjoyable experience. It uses the same contacts database as the built-in contacts and can be syncronized with Outlook using ActiveSync.

Users can now manage their contact groups using a Group Manager. Sending SMS to multiple users can be accomplished with 1Touch Contacts.

Business cards (vCard) can be transferred using bluetooth just like the built-in contacts, the only difference being - you can transfer multiple business cards in one operation.

Selecting contacts for sending SMS or business card or for deleting contacts is done using a smart selection list. 1Touch Contacts allows deleting of multiple contacts from a single selection list.

Get 1Touch Contacts v3.0 for $14.95 here.

WM Standard: Freeware

Skype for Smartphone v2.2.0.44 by Skype is the WM Standard freeware app featured today in our Wrangle.

Skype for Windows Mobile Smartphone v2.2.0.44 provides you with: - Free calls to friends and family from your mobile phone. - Save on mobile calls