We had a chance to spend some time with AT&T Vice President of Marketing, Mike Woodward, a little while back to talk about AT&T’s first 4G LTE smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket and HTC Vivid, in addition to 4G LTE in general, the company’s stance on Android, iOS, and more. Catch the interview after the break!

We recently caught up with singer and entertainer Sean Paul, who’s in the middle of promoting a brand new single, to check in with him about how technology influences his life and career. From his addiction to his iPad and how he uses GarageBand for music production, to Twitter, to how he recently dumped his iPhone to switch back to a BlackBerry… we covered it all. Check out the full video interview after the break.

BGR Interview is a series of interviews and conversations with executives, influencers, tastemakers and innovators, covering the mobile and consumer electronics industries.

BGR recently had a chance to catch up with actor, comedian, musician, producer, host, tech-lover, and now father, Nick Cannon, to see how tech has impacted his life and career. Nick is one of the most prominent Sidekick users around, so we wanted to find out if T-Mobile’s first Android-powered Sidekick managed to keep him reeled in. We also wanted to see how the advent of social media has impacted his life and career — Nick has over 2.5 million Twitter followers, and we’re sure many of you will recall his huge social campaign attempting to battle Eminem in a boxing ring for charity — and even what apps and games Nick and Mariah are planning to use with their new twins. Hit the jump for our interview.

BGR Interview is a series of interviews and conversations with executives, influencers, tastemakers and innovators, covering the mobile and consumer electronics industries.

You used to be a really prominent Sidekick user, but what’s your device of choice now?

The new Sidekick just came out so I got that, but I mean, I got everything from the iPhone, to the BlackBerry Torch, to the G2. I just happen to like the Sidekick — it’s just the easiest thing for me to use because I’m so used to it.

What do you like most about the Sidekick 4G? Do you like the keyboard? Do you like how fast it is — the way you can jump into any app real quick? How do you use it to help what you do?

I like the keyboard and then just how everything, like access to the text messaging and email and the phone, is right there. It’s just mad easy.

Let’s switch gears to BlackBerry… RIM has a new tablet that just came out called the BlackBerry PlayBook. What would you pick between the iPad 2 and the new BlackBerry PlayBook?

Probably the iPad. That’s what I got now and I really hate having to learn how to do new stuff. If I have a device, I want to just use it for what it does best right then and there and not have to read a manual and all of that. Since I’ve had the iPad for a minute, I’d rather rock with that then have to learn a whole new device.

Speaking of the iPad then, do you use any specific apps or programs for making music, or anything on the go? If you’re not near a studio and you get an idea, do you have anything that helps you?

Not yet. I’ve noticed that there’s some stuff coming out. I even saw they have the DJ app on the iPad now — the turntables, the mixer, everything in one — but, I haven’t been able to jump into it yet. I’m just still an outboard gear type of guy.

You’re a really huge Twitter user with over 2.5 million followers. How do you think using Twitter, with the ability to connect and speak directly to your fans, has impacted your music and your other projects?

It just allows me to connect on a real level with everybody. It’s a dialogue amongst fans, and even people who aren’t fans, but it allows you to connect in a way that’s never been possible before.

Touching on the whole Eminem and Mariah controversy — and we obviously don’t have to get into any sort of specificity if you wouldn’t like — but feuds like this five or ten years ago would normally involve some back and forths in a song, maybe a couple interviews and everyone would keep it moving. Here, you launched a really big social campaign — a proposed boxing match with you and Eminem, for charity. You used a lot of social media and your radio show to spread the word. What kind of response did you get from that?

It was everywhere. Everybody talked about it… it was big! I wasn’t even going for that; it just was one of those things that happen organically and naturally when you do talk about it on Twitter and my blog and all that. I mean, at the end of the day, I guess it was what it was. It was entertaining.

Well, congrats on becoming a father man!

Thank you man, I appreciate it!

Have you started to think about any games or tech toys you can use or play with your kids? Has anyone given you any advice?

I am trying to figure out how to get them on the iPad as soon as possible! I’ve seen it on YouTube with all these babies using an iPad. I’m looking forward to all those kid apps that are out there. I even went and got the baby can read thing and all that so, I’m trying to have tech-saavy kids!

What’s your favorite app on the Sidekick 4G that you’re using now?

I haven’t really dove into any extra apps yet, but they got this Word document one that’s really easy to write in, and I’ve been rocking with that for a minute.

Tell us about the Showtime stand up Mr. Showbiz and the accompanying album.

Yeah man, I’m excited. May 16th the album is out. This weekend the special actually airs on Showtime, and a lot of people didn’t know I even did standup, so it’s like the first introduction for some. And then, it’s like a dream come true for me because it’s something I have been doing since I was a preteen, and to finally get to share it with the world is cool.

Wrapping up, can you give us a couple general areas where technology has impacted your career?

You know, you kind of hit it on the head. Everything with Twitter, with all the followers, and being able to connect directly with your audience in a way that’s never been done before, really on an intimate level where they feel like they can get to know you. That has definitely impacted my career. Then everything from Serato has really allowed me to be the best DJ I could possibly be without having to carry around, you know, 1200 crates, and be able to operate on a level, and do things in a nightclub, and on radio, that I never would have been able to do before. Those are probably the most two impactful things with technology in my career.

Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us today, Nick.

No doubt.

As Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 push kicks into high gear ahead of the holidays, great devices like the HTC HD7 will help foster interest in the new smartphone operating system. Microsoft’s massive advertising campaign certainly won’t hurt either. Putting eyes on the new OS is only half the battle, however, as Microsoft struggles to regain mind share in a category it helped build a decade ago.

Times have changed since the introduction of Pocket PC 2000, and smartphone platforms now battle for billions rather than scrounging for scraps. The global market for smart devices has exploded and in the process, consumers have evolved. Pedigree isn’t enough for smartphone users anymore — the market is changing far too rapidly for major players to rely on blind allegiance to keep customers aboard. Apple has taken the industry by storm, Google’s Android OS is gaining market share at breakneck speeds, and successful platforms like Symbian and BlackBerry are on the verge of revitalization. Smartphone brands need to fight for users more today than ever before.

And on top of all this commotion in the industry, a new mobile currency has been born: apps.

Once barely an afterthought, smartphone apps now play a central role in the success of a platform. It has gotten to the point where Apple and Google hold the number of apps in their respective catalogs over competitors’ heads. But it’s not just marketing — an abundance of apps is of paramount importance for smartphone platforms, and users will have a hard time jumping from one platform to another if their staples are not available on the new OS.

One app that has found its way onto the must-have list for countless users in recent history is an SMS replacement service called WhatsApp.

Like the popular BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service available on RIM’s smartphones, WhatsApp provides a vastly improved alternative to traditional SMS. Users can send text, picture, video or audio messages, and WhatsApp even makes it easy to share a location on a map. Unlike BBM, however, WhatsApp has the advantage of working across multiple platforms. It has become the premier means of communication for countless smartphone users, and that is where Microsoft has a problem.

As of right now, WhatsApp will not be making its way to Windows Phone 7 — and the reason behind the app’s absence on the new Microsoft platform has nothing to do with a lack of perceived value.

“We would love to build a client because our mission is to have our application available on as many platforms as possible, which is why you see us support platforms like Nokia while many of our competitors do not,” WhatsApp Inc. CEO Jan Koum told BGR in an interview. “WP7 is missing core address book integration APIs that our application requires.”

WhatsApp has amassed millions of users to date, and the fact that it’s smarter than most messaging apps helps keep users on board. The app doesn’t use screen names, user names or PIN numbers to identify its users — in fact, you don’t even need to add contacts manually. The app constantly scans your local address book and compares the phone numbers within to its massive list of users. When someone in your address book has WhatsApp installed on his or her phone, an entry will automatically be added to your WhatsApp contact list.

This seemingly simple function is one of the behind-the-scenes processes that makes WhatsApp unique and far more user-friendly than the bulk of its competition. It’s just like SMS — all you need is a cell phone number and you can communicate. Because Windows Phone 7 does not give apps a way to access and scan the address book, this key functionality would be impossible on the platform.

We asked several WhatsApp users if they would consider purchasing a phone with which WhatsApp was not compatible. The answer was unanimous. “Not in a million years,” one WhatsApp user said. “I use it more than texting, email and phone calls combined.”

This is a big problem for Microsoft. WhatsApp is just one example of countless hugely popular apps that are not yet available on the Windows Phone 7 platform. Some titles, like Pandora Radio for example, will likely launch in the near future. Other popular apps may never come, unfortunately.

While Microsoft should be doing everything in its power to woo developers and provide robust tools with extensive and clear documentation, Windows Phone 7 remains a giant question mark for Koum and the rest of the WhatsApp team. “We don’t know of any possible workarounds at the moment and we don’t know if these issues will be addressed in future versions.” That won’t stop the company from continuing to expand its offering and leaving Windows Phone 7 behind, however. WhatsApp is currently available for iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Symbian smartphones, and Koum confirmed to BGR that the company has plans to expand to new platforms in 2011.

We just got off the phone with our buddy Sean Kovacs, aka the Google Voice king of iOS, and he filled us in on the latest with his app and the development and submission process. If you aren’t aware, (please stop reading this site) Apple removed all Google Voice-related applications over a year ago when it decided that the apps “duplicated” functionality on the phone (phone app). People have been debating the real issue behind Apple’s move since then, but with the recently updated and reasonably straight forward developer guidelines now published, Sean Kovacs is deciding to try his hand again. Hit the jump for our conversation.

After reading through the guidelines and making sure there were nothing he’d be violating, he decided to try to appeal to Apple’s new appeal board. Sean filled out the form and that initiated a new review of the app. Since there have been many server-side changes on Google’s end since the app was last available, the app crashed at start up and prompted Apple to email back saying the application wasn’t functional. But, if Sean resubmitted it, Apple would look it over and review it again.

Sean told us he feels pretty confident about resubmitting a newer, more feature-packed, OS 4 compatible Google Voice app. Before, all emails went unanswered, but now Apple is communicating with Sean regularly. If you’re a Cydia user, there’s a good chance the app will be left in the repository, though new updates will probably cease. Also, since the app was deleted and app names can’t be used twice, it should hit the App Store (if it gets approved) as GV Mobile +. There will also be a “free day” around a week after the hopeful release that will allow previous customers to download the app again for free; there won’t be an update to the older one.

Sean has been nice enough to send us builds every now and then over the past couple months in ad-hoc mode for our iPhone, but we’re definitely glad that Apple is not the only one on the right path with their new guidelines and some transparency, but great developers like Sean will be able to share their software publicly again.

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Sprint and BGR are collaborating on a video segment with the purpose of focusing on questions from you guys, our readers! We’ll be filming this video with David Owens, Sprint’s Vice President of Consumer Marketing, next week in New York City. While we’ll have some questions of our own about 4G and upcoming handsets, we really wanted to get some great questions to include from you all. Want to know if the Samsung Epic 4G will be able to support 10 computers/devices simultaneously over a mobile hotspot? Maybe you’re wondering when the handset will be upgraded with Android 2.2? Who knows, but shoot us your questions in the comments, and we’ll pick a whole lot of them to go over in our interview, ok?

While we were camped out in front of the Apple Store at 5th Avenue — buying iPhone 4′s to give away to our beloved readers — we ran into our friends from the Fox Business Network. They asked our very own BG to smile for the camera, and explain why there were thousands of fanatics waiting in a line that stretched around a city block on a 90 degree day. Unfortunately, Jonathan forgot his black mock-turtle neck and John Lennon spectacles at home… but you can use your imagination. Hit the jump to see Mr. Jonathan Geller sound off.

I am really excited to share that I will be speaking on a panel taking place at NYU on June 8th during Internet Week with pretty good company — Dan Abrams, Arianna Huffington and some other great folks. It is put together by Patrick Phillips of I Want Media, and if you are thinking of attending my first public appearance (yes, that sounds funny to my ears as well), I would act soon as seating is very limited.

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Canadians have long craved for a new wireless carrier to bust onto the scene and break up what is often described as the anti-competitive practices of incumbents Bell, Rogers and TELUS (aka “The Big Three”). Following Industry Canada’s 2008 auction of Advanced Wireless Services, the majority of hope was placed in a swaggering upstart which recently announced it would operate under the WIND brand name. But this Thursday, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission informed WIND that it that it couldn’t go live with its HSPA network. The reasoning behind the CRTC’s decision was that if felt WIND’s parent company, Globalive Wireless, did not meet the criteria set forth in the Telecommunications Act which stipulates all carriers must be majority owned and controlled by Canadians. To meet these requirements, at least 80% of the board of directors and voting shares must be controlled by Canadians and the company cannot be “otherwise controlled by persons that are not Canadian.” What the CRTC found was that Oracsom, Globalive’s Egyptian financiers, controlled 65.1% of WINDs equity, the Canadian rights to the WIND brand, carried the majority of the company’s debt and that liquidity rights were “inconsistent with the relative voting interests of the shareholders.” The situation is complex, but all is not lost for WIND. With this in mind, we sat down with WIND’s CEO Ken Campbell and asked him what the future holds.

Mike: Prior to the ruling, you were quite optimistic that the CRTC would approve WINDs launch given that Industry Canada had previously ruled that your ownership structure complied with the Telecommunications Act. What do you think caused the CRTC to rule differently?

Ken: What we do know is that Industry Canada approved us back in March, on March 13th, and the frame of reference that they used was pretty much the same as the CRTC. The two groups came to different conclusions, obviously, and right now what we are doing is reviewing what’s come out and assessing what our options could be. It’s a pretty sad day for Canadian consumers. It’s unfortunate, Canada needs competition and needs a new national wireless operator and this is a setback.

Mike: There has been a lot of talk about having Industry Minister Tony Clement and the Cabinet overturn the CRTCs ruling, something they are legally permitted to do. Are you actively exploring this option, and if so, are you fearful of any backlash?

Ken: I am not sure what you are referring to, but no, for our part, we are just looking at what our options might be and reviewing what the CRTC has come out with. I am not aware of what Minister Clement might have commented on today.

[Ed. Prior to our interview, Industry Minister Tony Clement publically stated that he and Industry Canada will be investigating the CRTC’s decision. Said Clement: “We are examining the CRTC decision very closely, and certainly we are still very much in favour of more competition in the telecom space for Canadian consumers. That’s why we opened up these contracts to other new entrants.”

Mike: What are some of your options as you understand it? Certainly there is talk of WIND aligning itself with…

Ken: At this time all of those things are just media speculation. As I said, we are looking at all of our alternatives. We are going to assess all of them very seriously and will determine what sort of action we can take. We have to review the CRTC ruling – there is a lot to it – and we are going to look at what our options which include many.

BG: Not being Canadian and looking at the Canadian landscape in terms of wireless carriers, the premise of what you set out to do seems so great. There have been rumors, and much of them have been confirmed, that there was to be a simple 3-tier price plan, great handsets, a great retail experience, etc. How important do you think the whole retail experience is to the customer and providing a great service?

Ken: I think the customer experience is absolutely important. Here we’ve got a situation where we pay twice as much as they do in the US, our minutes of use are half of what they are in the US, and wireless penetration is at 65%. Clearly it is a market that is under-developed and where customers simply overpay. The other thing is that in Canada our customer saturation numbers are extremely low. We’ve got a very disenfranchised and very frustrated customer base that is really ripe and in need of competition. The other thing you should know is that this country is dominated by three carriers, but if you look regionally, it is typically two carriers that dominate regional markets. Canada is effectively an oligopoly and in many regions pretty much a duopoly. There is definitely an opportunity with consumers and the numbers speak for themselves.

BG: Going forward, you were really hopeful from everything that we read…

Ken: We’ve got 800 employees. We’ve got retail staff, we’ve hired call centers, we have a brand, we have a great experience, and definitely, as you mentioned, we have some good price plans and a very solid proposition that will resonate with consumers. We’re definitely teed up and ready to go.

BG: Have you announced the price plans at all?

Ken: No, we haven’t announced them. We did announce that we have a few, three, and I think that customers will find them simple and easy to understand and, frankly, a great value.

BG: So, like you said, everyone is hired and things are read to go. Can you continue those operations in the mean time until you get approval, or does all of that have to stop now?

Ken: Well, we are assessing what our options are. But the network has been being built in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa and our coverage was being deployed. What we are going to continue to focus in on is our operation and assessing what our options are with this unfortunate ruling.

Mike: Are you still allowed to continue the development of the network , or are you abandoning this work until you can get things sorted out?

Ken: We’re really assessing and evaluating our options right now.

Mike: So it sounds as if you are more focused on the legal matter at hand as opposed to continuing to develop the network.

Ken: Yes, it’s just prudent that we evaluate the situation and the ruling. Obviously to run our business we need the CRTC to approve it, so we will see what our options might be. Canada definitely deserves some competition here and so for our part we just have to focus in on the ruling and see what, if anything, can be done.

Mike: How confident are you that a compromise will be reached in the near future that would allow you to continue the development of your network and eventually launch?

Ken: It’s just not clear right now. It’s too early to say.

BG: Well, Ken, thank you so much for your time we really appreciate it.

Ken: Thanks very much for reaching out to us. I like your site.

We’ve been getting an enormous response to the news that Best Buy’s Palm Pres will go for $100 less (well, basically) and we hit up Best Buy to try and get some answers on various questions you guys have been asking. Straight Talk Express style. Hit the jump for some possibly valuable info that could save your ass from going home without webOS in your pants.

Scott Anderson, director of merchandising at Best Buy Mobile took some time out to clarify the following for us:

Q: First off, what’s up with the stock situation? Forget rumors, Dan Hesse himself has said there’s probably a greater chance of getting a nice Sprint customer service rep than nailing a Pre on launch day. How’s Best Buy’s stock going to be?

A: Like most of the significant handset launches, we expect inventory to be in limited supply for the first 4-8 weeks.

Q: What about preorders? A lot of people are incredibly excited over the Palm Pre and that the device will be available at Best Buy with an “instant” mail-in-rebate. Will you guys be doing any preorders, reservations, etc? How will you deal with long lines if there are some?

A: The addition of the Palm Pre expands our already large assortment of smartphones. We are excited about the opportunity to present consumers with many choices and solutions as they look to meet their individual mobile technology needs. Best Buy Mobile is initiating a “ticketing process” beginning on June 6.  Meaning, if any store were to sell through all of its inventory, the store would begin to log customer names in an effort to prioritize them for the next shipment’s arrival.

Q: Ok, cool. Will every Best Buy location be selling the Pre or is there a “limited” launch like we reported a little while back?

A: Every Best Buy Mobile store that offers Sprint phones, which is nearly 1,000 stores, will have the Pre.

So there you have it folks. If you have any additional questions hit us in the comments and we’ll try and pass them on. You can also stop by Best Buy Mobile for free upgrade checks to see if you’re eligible for a new smartphone. That will help to speed things up on launch day, you know, if you’re the nice person type.

While we were at WES, we had the opportunity to sit down with RIM’s Antoine Boucher, Vice President, Accessories Integration. During our meeting, we were briefed on some upcoming BlackBerry accessories so we thought that we would share the goods with everyone. Hit the jump to read about what everyone’s favorite Waterloo-based smartphone company has in the pipeline. We promise you won’t be let down.

New Bluetooth headset

• Codenamed “Alpha 1″
• Black with chrome BlackBerry logo (text is omitted)
• Dedicated on / off switch
• Dial / hangup button
• Over the ear loop design with ergonomically molded in-ear bud, slightly smaller than both the Jawbone PRIME and barely larger than the BlueAnt Q1
• Noise cancellation technology
• Emphasis on ease of use and simplistic design
• microUSB charging port (the new standard for all RIM devices)
• Ability to listen to music (mono) and listen to voice command-enabled GPS navigation apps
• Possibility of text to speech and speech to text sometime in the future
• “Competitively priced”

When discussing how well the Alpha 1 fits in the ears compared to competitors, Boucher told us that the Alpha 1 is as good if not better than any headset currently on the market but was careful to note the reality which is that it’s impossible to design a headset that will fit everyone perfectly. In fact according to Boucher, who worked closely with a company who specializes in all things audio, there are 30 distinct shapes of human ear and means a lot of work went into designing a headset that can accommodate the most common shapes within the population.

Bluetooth Vehicle Visor Mount

• Referred to as Bluetooth Vehicle Visor Mount
• First seen at CES 2009
• Attaches to sun visor in automobiles
• Built-in FM transmitter to allow MP3s stored on BlackBerry to be beamed from Bluetooth Vehicle Visor Mount to automobiles’ radio
• Simple, sleek design with all black color scheme and subtle gray BlackBerry logo
• Targeted for June / July release

*Possible* Bluetooth watch

The next one is quite interesting. While sitting down with Boucher we noticed that he was wearing a Sony Ericsson Bluetooth watch, something which does not work with any BlackBerry. When we brought it up, Boucher winked and said he could not discuss that matter. But when we continued to ask questions about it, it was revealed that yes, it is indeed possible to modify the SE Bluetooth watches to display when a new emails, BlackBerry Messenger messages, texts, IMs, Tweets, Facebook messages, etc arrive on the device — something that could be very beneficial for those situations when it would be considered very rude to pull out ones BlackBerry. When we asked whether or not RIM was looking into developing such an accessory, Boucher simply said that “we are exploring many accessories that would surprise people.” Hmm.

*Possible* TV-out gateway

As our meeting with Boucher was nearing an end, he asked us what we look for in an accessory and what sort of accessories we would like to see that would help us better use our device. We mentioned that we would love to see a way to get TV-out on our devices especially considering that microSD cards now reach 32GB and are hot-swappable. Boucher asked what we envisioned such an accessory would be like, and not wanting to sound overly demanding, we said that we’d be fine with a simple cable that hooks into a TV or computer. Boucher then smirked and asked why we wouldn’t prefer such a device to be an updated BlackBerry Music Gateway…

Strategy

Halfway through our talks, we asked Boucher what his thoughts were on the growing amount of third-party accessory companies that have products for BlackBerry. We also asked if RIM would ever try to move in on companies that make the most popular accessories. Furthermore, we wondered about companies such as OtterBox whose rugged cases and skins were seen in the hands of a surprising number of the 5,000 plus BlackBerry users in attendance at WES. Boucher said that RIM is more than open to collaboration (a buzzword that came up a lot during our meeting), but for niche products such as OtterBox who make “great products, but ones that most people don’t have a use for” there is very little sense for RIM to lend a hand. Boucher added however, that RIM would not rule out working with accessory companies “if it makes business sense to us. If it doesn’t make business sense, then there is no point for us.”

Also of note was Boucher’s vision of what a good accessory should do. In his view, which is essentially that of RIM, a good BlackBerry accessory should make you use the product more and in more beneficial ways. For example, there is a set of BlackBerry headphones that feature multimedia controls for audio and video which, in combination with a high-capacity microSD card, means that BlackBerry users can leave their iPod at home and travel with one device. And when they do return home, they can sit at their desks and beam music to their stereo systems with the BlackBerry Music Gateway. In short, it’s all about encouraging more and more BlackBerry use in daily life with the goal of making life much more simple and convenient.

Well there you have it. The first two are definitely coming alongside a new accessory push slated for June / July, but the last two are just things that we’d be willing to bet some serious money are being tested pretty thoroughly right now. After all, what good is a feature-rich smartphone with “dumb” accessories?

If you’re one of the lucky ones that I’ve let follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that yesterday the BGR team hit Fat Joe and Akon’s music video shoot for “One”. Fat Joe’s a BGR buddy, but Akon has eluded our HD camcorders until now. Check out our brief interviews with both of them on the tour bus. Quick takeaways? Joe uses a Boost Mobile i880, Akon uses a BlackBerry Bold, and RIM, AT&T and Colorware need to start cutting us some checks.

Steve Wozniak took the time out of his busy schedule to sit down with a Bay Area affiliate of NBC to discuss his take on the current situation over at Apple now that Steve Jobs won’t be gracing the hallways of 1 Infinite Loop until June. The discussion was in typical Woz style (though somewhat un-Woz in that he was mindful not to say anything bad about jobs) and provided a more rational look at Apple’s current and future situation than any analyst we’ve heard from to date. With Jobs gone until June, a lot of analysts and investors are panicking, fearing that Apple has automatically lost the innovation that it is famous for; an absurd notion to say the least. To this point Woz made sure to stress that with any tech company, products are in development for 12 to 18 months before they hit the street. Because of this, future products from Apple are “not going to be disturbed.” In fact, Woz made an excellent point that having Jobs away from Apple will allow him “rest and peacefulness”, something which could ultimately benefit Apple as it would give Jobs lots of time to think up “better concepts and products and ways the future could be…” Video after the jump.

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Well look who decided to come back and poke its head out again. The Motorola i9 we first showed you live images of back in October is making news again as official pics begin to scatter across the internet. This sweet-looking love child of a rambunctious RAZR and ROKR is apparently gearing up for a release soon and it will likely be well received among the dumbphone crowd, assuming the price is right. A 3 megapixel camera with auto focus and flash, ModeShift and integrated GPS are among the features that might draw in Sprint customers. So, iDEN people, first the 8350i is made official and now this – you guys feeling the love or are both the handsets already old news?

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Granted, The Boston Globe basically tossed up a bunch of softballs but it still gives us a warm and fuzzy feeling any time Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, or OPK as he is affectionately nicknamed, simply utters the words “US market”. It lets us know that somewhere, somehow, Nokia does in fact still remember that Americans use cell phones. Yes, Nokia’s track record with supporting the US 3G spectra (AT&T’s at least) in high-end phones is most definitely improving. We still aren’t seeing Nokia actively push S60 devices to market here however, and Nokia’s US market share sits in the mid-single digits as a result. S60 fans here in the US are hoping that the recent release of the Nokia 6650 via AT&T is the start of a trend but we’re skeptical at best. Enthusiasts hoped the same thing when the E62 was released, and then the N75. OPK was pretty direct while speaking to the Globe however:

We are investing more in the US market. We are expanding our research and development activity in San Diego. We’ve got lots of people there designing phones now that are specific to the US needs and the US market.

Kallasvuo went on to say that Nokia’s approach will cover all market segments here in the US, not just smartphones, and that LTE will be the technology of choice for Nokia when it comes to 4G. Nokia will still dabble in WiMax as we’ve seen with the N810, but LTE is the way to go for the Finnish giant. Oh well, there’s plenty more fish in the sea, Sprint. Hit the read link for the full yet brief interview with OPK.

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