Included in the company’s barrage of press releases this morning, Research In Motion officially announced BlackBerry 7. The new smartphone operating system — formerly known as BlackBerry 6.1 — brings HTML 5 and a new Just-In-Time (JIT) JavaScript engine to the browser, along with BlackBerry Balance support, enhanced universal search, and a new “Liquid Graphics” theme. BlackBerry 7 will debut on the recently announced BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930 — the company did not, however, mention if older hardware would be upgraded to the new code.

UPDATE: RIM has confirmed that BlackBerry devices currently in-market will not be upgraded to BlackBerry 7.

Research In Motion’s co-CEO, Jim Balsillie, confirmed a rumor that has been circulating the Internet over the past several days: BlackBerry 6.1 will come to market as BlackBerry 7. We gave you a quick look at the operating system running on the Bold Touch, Touch and Torch 2, and, as you can see, the cosmetic changes are minor. During the company’s shipment warning issuance yesterday, Balsillie quipped that 6.1 was “such a big update” that they felt obliged to knight the software BlackBerry 7. It was rumored that the company’s seventh major operating system revision would be based on QNX’s code base, however it now looks like the BlackBerry faithful will have to wait for BlackBerry 8 for handsets running the high-test OS.

Read

This one lies deep in the bowels of Rumorsville for the time being but we can’t say we’d hate for it to become a reality. According to Samsung – HD blog, Sammy will have a new addition to its Omnia lineup come July. Billed as the Omnia Pro — which, by the way, definitely detracts from the believability-factor of this rumor — the new handset will feature a full touchscreen sitting atop a QWERTY slider a la HTC’s Touch Pro and Pro2. Perhaps Sammy figured if it was going to bite the form factor it might as well bite the name, too? Reported specs for the Omnia Pro include a 3.5-inch 800 x 480 AMOLED touchscreen display, Windows Mobile 6.1 (which will be upgradable to 6.5 upon release) and a 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus, a flash and video recording capabilities. So if you’ve been eying the OmniaHD but aren’t a fan of S60 5h Edition or touchscreen-only handsets, keep your fingers crossed that this rumor ends up panning out. The image above, by the way, is a mock up created by the source.

[Via Unwired View]

Read

It’s all about QWERTY these days and despite the company’s penchant for full-touchscreen handsets, Samsung has been known to turn out a solid messenger or two. Case in point: the new Samsung Propel Pro, which is now available from AT&T. AT&T made the Propel Pro offical just ahead ahead of CTIA and introduced it alongside five other message-hungry handsets. Despite being forced to share the limelight with a handful of other devices, the Propel Pro can certainly hold its own and looks to be a fine replacement for its predecessor, the Propel. Specs:

• Slider form factor, QWERTY keypad
• 2.5-inch TFT display, 320 x 320 pixels, 65K colors
• Quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE connectivity (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
• Tri-band UMTS/HSDPA connectivity (850/1900/2100 MHz)
• Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard OS
• 3 megapixel camera with autofocus
• Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth 2.0
• MicroSDHC support
• 4 x 2.5 x 0.6 inches, 4.8 ounces
• Talk time: up to 6 hours, Standby time: up to 12 days

Sammy’s Propel Pro rings up at $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate on a two-year contract. For the more frugal among you, the original Propel is sitting pretty at $49.99 until inventory is depleted. As an odd side note, AT&T is offering refurbished Propels online at the same $49.99 price point. Hmm.

[Via Business Wire]

Read

AT&T and Pantech have officially announced the Matrix Pro this morning and while it won’t knock you out of your seat per se, it definitely fairs well as far as bang for your buck is concerned. As the smartphone successor to the dual-sliding Pantech Matrix, the Pro model maintains the same form factor while adding Windows Mobile 6.1 to the mix for a much more capable result. The design of the handset has also been refined to an extent and the specs have be freshened up a bit. Highlights include an upgrade from dual-band to tri-band 3G for the travelers among us, a 2 megapixel camera, aGPS, threaded SMS, Video Share, stereo Bluetooth, microSDHC support and last but certainly not least, a snazzy mirror finish. In terms of pricing and availability, the Matrix Pro will be available beginning next Tuesday, February 24th, for a respectable $179.99 after $50 mail-in rebate. As an aside, if we see “nation’s fastest 3G network” in one more AT&T press release before the company addresses the 3G network speed and dropped call issues plaguing various regions across the country, we might just lose our cool.

Read

Hmm… so we’ve got an update to the Samsung Propel, have we? More or less, yes, this is as we’re told, the Samsung Propel Pro and it brings pro-level features with it. Things like Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard, an optical joystick (which our ninja says is absolutely worthless), 3G, and we’d guess a camera and what not. We haven’t been told anything other than that the QWERTY keyboard is pretty decent, but we’re still in the dark on a release date, pricing, and the usual ever-important spec sheet on this AT&T device. Hey, T-Mobile Shadow, you just got scooped like ice cream. Couple more shots after the jump!

Thanks, Jay!

“I’d rather have fewer devices and be more focused,” he said. That way “we get better integration” between phone and operating system.

Well that’s one way to put it, though we’re not sure shareholders will mirror the sentiment. Another way to put it would be to simply state that the advent of open source mobile operating systems and the fading interest in Microsoft’s aging OS are creating a more competitive market place and Windows Mobile simply isn’t ready to compete at the level it did in years past. Today it’s Android, tomorrow it will be the fruit borne by the Symbian Foundation; handset manufacturers are now beginning to turn toward low-cost open solutions that provide more user-friendly interfaces and welcoming development environments. It remains to be seen whether Windows Mobile 7 will be able to compete as the industry evolves and its already low market share dwindles. We hope it can compete – variety being the spice of life – and rest assured, Microsoft would happily see the number of Windows Mobile-powered devices double despite this recent statement to the contrary. If manufacturers decrease the number of Windows Mobile handsets released in the future however, it won’t be because Microsoft asked them to stop making so many Windows-powered phones. It will be the allure of newer and more usable operating systems that pull handset manufacturers in other directions.

Read

The Shadow II / Shadow 2 / Shadow 2009 / whatever else you want to call it, is quite the polarizing device. People are either sitting on the edges of their seats in anticipation of its release, or they think it’s hideous. Either way, we now have a rumored release date, giving T-Mobile customers a good idea of when their next Windows Mobile smartphone option might become available. That date: January 28th – a Wednesday. Sources weren’t cited but TmoNews seems pretty confident so we’ll just hope for the best. For a quick history lesson, we first scooped the Shadow II waaaaaay back in October of 2007 and then the first live image surfaced in April of this year. Since then nearly all of the gaps have been filled in but there are still a few mysteries – namely, will the device have a 3G radio? If the 28th of next month does indeed turn out to be an accurate release date, expect answers to come in the form of an official announcement that will likely coincide with CES next month.

Read

First things first… It’s no TouchFLO 3D. Ok, now that we have that out of the way we do have to say that we’re happy to see another company making an effort to tidy up the Windows Mobile UI a tad. Who knows how far away we really are from Windows Mobile 7 becoming a reality and in the meantime, even many Windows Mobile die hards seem to be losing patience with the very dated look of the OS. Samsung, HTC and Sony Ericsson aren’t the only companies attempting to bandage their mobile OS of choice however, as i-mate has just announced its “i-mate Go” UI. No, it’s not the catchiest name in the game, but those of you looking for high visibility and simple design for your i-mate UI should be pleased. i-mate Go is powered by VITO Winterface of course, a Windows Mobile UI enhancement that essentially started as an iPhone rip off and evolved into a slightly less obvious iPhone rip off. Apparently that subtle change was enough to get the i-mate folks to bite, so job well done. The i-mate Go UI is available for the JAMA 101 along with the Ultimate 6150, 8150, 8502 and 9502, and can be downloaded for free from the i-mate website.

[Via phonearena]

Read

Sure it’s always a mystery how a handset might turn out after making its way through the carrier branding process, or “the crippler” as we call it. Will it be crippled beyond repair? Will it still be usable and only undergo minor feature changes? As far as the Samsung Omnia is concerned, the biggest question was with regards to whether or not Verizon would disable WiFi. Well you know what they say – a picture is worth 1,000 words. Big Red was indeed kind to the Omnia as it passed though the branding process and as you can see above, WiFi will be ready and waiting for all you touchscreen Windows Mobile fans for whom EVDO just isn’t enough. So there you have it folks; we showed you the pics, we gave you pricing and a release time line and now you know WiFi is still sitting pretty. All that’s left is for you to call in and place your orders or head out early next month to get your hands on a sure winner from what is now the nation’s largest carrier.

Thanks, krazyVZW!

You didn’t think we’d keep you in the dark for too long did you? Come on people, you should know your pals at BGR a little better than that by now. It has only been two days since we showed you the first live pics of Samsung’s sexy 5 megapixel touchscreen all dressed up in Verizon threads, but you clearly weren’t going to be satisfied until we gave you some more details. Ok, no problem – you know our ninjas don’t sleep… Those of you who really can’t wait to get your mitts on this puppy will have early online and telesales orders fulfilled on November 26th. For the rest of you who want to check the Omnia out in person before shelling out some cash for it, December 8th is the official in-store date. Woo! As far as pricing goes, you’re looking at a respectable $249.99 after the $70 mail-in rebate. Sure we would have loved to break that $200 mark for the release price but hey, early adopter tax is nothing new to us right? So there you have it, VZW peeps. If touchscreen is your game and the Storm isn’t exactly your cup of tea, the Samsung Omnia might be just what the doctor ordered.

Thanks, krazyVZW!

A leaked Verizon document reveals that the Samsung i770 will be available via B2B, telesales and online starting November 14th. That is in 3 days! In typical Verizon fashion, the handset will then make its store debut a few weeks later on December 1st. The i770 will come in at a cool $199 after an $80 mail-in rebate. Just as a refresher the i770 is a Windows Mobile 6.1 professional device with both CDMA and GSM support for global roaming. It has EV-DO Rev. A, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, microSD expansion and a 2 megapixel camera. Coincidentally, it will launch the same day as the new “mandatory” data plans so you can expect to pay a minimum of $29.99 per month for data with this hot new phone. Now if Verizon can just get the ball rolling on the Touch Pro and the Samsung Omnia, then Verizon Wireless customers could really have an extra Happy Holiday season! We won’t hold our breath waiting though, as you know how Big Red is with getting new phones out the door.

Read

Following up on their popular and consumer-friendly T-Mobile Shadow, the boys in pink are releasing the Shadow 2. While we’ve seen it before, from these pics, it looks a little better and definitely a nice successor to the original. The keyboard still features the two-letters-per-key, which some are not a huge fan of, and reveals itself when the phone slides open. This will be the first device to feature Windows Mobile 6.1 with UMA capabilities. Everyone who has a HotSpot@Home account now has more options in terms of phone selection – good call on HTC and T-Mobile’s part. As far as we know, this little bugger is slated for an October 15 release on T-Mobile and will likely be $149.99 with new contract and mail-in rebate. There aren’t too many other details on the device for now, especially whether it will support T-Mobile’s new 3G network (let’s hope, but doubt it), but we’ll keep all our faithful readers updated as we can! Hit the link for more pics…

Thanks Roger A!

Read