Information has been appearing in dribs and drabs about Nokia’s last Symbian smartphone, the Nokia 803, but a trusted source of ours has come through with some details that vary a bit from earlier reports. For starters, the Nokia 803 will run Symbian Belle and serve it up on a 4-inch AMOLED display instead of the smaller 3.5-inch screen that had been reported. An HDMI-out port, microSIM support and NFC are all a go as well. We have also been told that the Nokia 803 will feature one of the largest camera sensors — if not the largest camera sensor — ever seen on a mobile phone. The Nokia 803 is currently expected to be released in the May timeframe.

German gadget news site BestBoyZ has gotten its hands on one of LG’s upcoming mid-range handsets, the E730 Optimus Sol. Originally codenamed “Victor,” the device is equipped with a 3.8-inch AMOLED display and a 1GHz processor. The Optimus Sol runs Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread) and is loaded with LG’s custom Optimus user interface on top. It is unclear when the Optimus Sol will hit the market but rumor has it Vodafone will offer the device in black and silver when it finally launches. Hit the jump for two more images and a full hands-on video.

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Sprint dropped the price of its Nexus S 4G smartphone to $99.99 on Friday. The Google-branded smartphone originally made its debut on Sprint on May 8th for $199.99. The Nexus S 4G offers a “pure Google” experience and runs the latest Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) operating system. It also sports a 4-inch AMOLED display, a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 16GB of internal memory and support for Sprint’s 4G WiMAX network. If you’re looking for a solid device that’s going to be constantly updated with the freshest OS builds from Google, the Nexus S 4G is a good bet — and its new $99.99 price point just makes it a bit sweeter.

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Images of a new HTC phone that’s currently being dubbed “Eternity” have apparently been leaked online. Reportedly it will land as one of the first Windows Phone Mango devices, which are set to begin launching this fall. Reportedly, the Eternity will be powered by a 1.5GHz Qualcomm processor and will come equipped with a 4.7-inch AMOLED display — a monster of a screen. Rumor has it there’s also an 8-megapixel camera, HDMI-out, 16GB of onboard storage, a 1.3-megapixel camera for video chats, 512MB of RAM, and a 1,650 mAh battery. The form factor reminds us of the HTC EVO 4G, the Inspire 4G, and the HD7, which are starting to feel a bit stale. There’s no word on when the Eternity will make its debut, but as we said earlier, we have a hunch it could be sometime this fall.

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The DROID Incredible 2 recently landed on Verizon Wireless, and it has some tough shoes to fill. When the original launched, it was BGR’s favorite Android phone to date despite stiff competition from the Motorola DROID, which launched at the same time. The DROID Incredible 2 packs some decent hardware, like a 1GHz processor, an 8-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p video, and more, but its specs — and data speeds — don’t match those of phones at the higher end of Verizon’s portfolio. Is the DROID Incredible 2 a worthy successor to the original or does it fall short? Read on to find out!

Hardware / Display

I remember reviewing the original Incredible and feeling a sense of loss the day I had to send it back. It had a unique race-car inspired design and HTC even had interchangeable red and white covers for the back panel that you could buy separately. The whole idea was that HTC was totally tweaking the industrial design of the phone to really get consumers turned on to the sexy designs possible with a mobile device. There’s less shock value with the Incredible 2. The red battery compartment is gone, the contours aren’t unique anymore, and the whole device feels too similar to the original to be exciting.

The phone feels excellent in the hand, though, and the soft-touch black finish provides good grip. The volume keys are in easy reach on the top left hand side, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top across from a power button, and the back is home to an 8-megapixel camera and a dual-LED flash. I love that the menu, home, search, and return buttons automatically rotate so that they’re displayed correctly in both landscape and portrait view. HTC should definitely carry that feature into other phones.

The most noticeable difference on the Incredible 2 is its larger 4-inch 800 x 480 resolution display. I like that it’s bigger than the original 3.7-inch screen on the first Incredible, which was a hair too small, but I’m disappointed that HTC ditched the AMOLED display panel. Text looks decent on the screen, but the colors don’t pop in the way they did on the original Incredible. The trade off is that the current display is much easier to view under direct sunlight, however.

I’ll discuss the rest of the hardware in various parts of this review, but here’s a quick rundown of the raw specs: the DROID Incredible is powered by a 1GHz processor — that’s the same clock speed as the original — and it has an 8-megapixel with a dual-LED flash, a 1,450 mAh battery, a 1.3-megapixel forward-facing camera for video chat, and a 16GB microSD card pre-installed.

Software

The Incredible 2 is powered by Android 2.2.1 (Froyo) with HTC’s custom Sense user interface running on top, and its 1GHz powered through it all just fine. Unfortunately, the phone is not loaded with HTC’s new revamped version of Sense, which will make its debut on the T-Mobile HTC Sensation 4G any week now. I’ve always been a big fan of Sense. It’s one of my favorite Android user interfaces, but it’s hard to recommend software that’s already being replaced. The DROID Incredible 2 also runs Android 2.2 (Froyo), too, instead of the newer Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS.

Thankfully, there’s relatively little bloatware installed, save for V Cast Apps, V CAST Media, V CAST Music, V CAST Tones, and V CAST Videos. Verizon has pre-installed some other software, including 3G Mobile Hotspot, Blockbuster, Amazon Kindle, Lets Golf 2, NFS Shift, Skype Mobile, NFL Mobile, Slacker, and more, but those applications are often very popular Android apps, too, and I’m a big fan of many of them. The 3G Hotpsot application will allow you to share your 3G connection with other Wi-Fi enabled devices, and I used the Incredible 2 hotspot during an entire workday without any connection drops.

Calling / Data

Calls on the DROID Incredible 2 were solid, as is typically the case on Verizon’s phones in New York City. During a test call, the other party said I sounded “clear” while walking on the streets of New York City, and she said she couldn’t make out the background traffic. The speakerphone was a bit watery but the volume was sufficient. As far as data, the Incredible 2′s data speeds were just OK. I averaged 1.2Mbps on the downlink and 1Mbps up, which is good enough for a 3G phone but a far cry from Verizon’s brand new 4G LTE network which offers download speeds that are nearly 20 times that.

Camera

The Incredible 2 packs an 8-megapixel camera, just like the original, and can shoot 720p HD video. I was satisfied with the images I snapped — they look great on the phone itself and just as solid blown up on a computer screen. Unlike some newer phones, the Incredible 2 isn’t capable of auto-focusing while shooting video, though, which was a bit of a disappointment. Similarly, it lacks an HDMI-out port, so you won’t be able to show videos or photos on your bigscreen TV, another feature that’s supported by many other high-end devices.

Battery Life

During my few days of testing I didn’t have any problem getting through a full day of moderate use before the 1,450mAh battery ran out on the Incredible 2. Verizon rates it for 6.5 hours of usage, though, so you’ll want to bring a charger along if you’re planning to watch movies during a long plane ride or car trip.

Wrap-up

The DROID Incredible 2 is a good phone — there’s nothing inherently wrong with it — but I don’t think it brings the Incredible brand forward at all. In fact, there really isn’t anything “incredible” about it. The phone is very similar to the original, save for a larger screen and some small tweaks like a forward-facing camera, but at $199.99 it costs just as much as dual-core smartphones like the DROID X2, and it’s $50 shy of Verizon’s 4G LTE smartphones that offer much, much, faster data speeds. Is it a solid follow-up to the original? No. In fact, I like the original better.

Microsoft will reveal nine new Windows Phone handsets during its Windows Phone “Mango” press conference on Tuesday morning, according to WMPoweruser. Samsung is expected to have the lion’s share of devices with four new models, HTC and Acer are both expected to launch two, and Dell will supposedly reveal one. Reportedly, Samsung’s Windows Phones will bear some resemblance to its Galaxy S II device, and we’re hoping the phones are equipped with Samsung’s stunning Super AMOLED Plus displays, too. The new devices will hit the market in time for the holiday season according to the report, but no launch details are expected during the announcements. We’ll be reporting live from the press conference tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m., so stay tuned for more.

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Verizon’s second 4G LTE smartphone, the Samsung DROID Charge, is finally available. Here’s a quick refresher of the phone’s spec sheet: it offers a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, a 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, a 32GB microSD card, and an 8-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p HD video. We recently reviewed the DROID Charge, and with data speeds that hovered regularly around 20Mbps in New York City, we called it the 4G LTE “phone to beat.” You can pick up the DROID Charge in Verizon Wireless stores and online for $299.99 with a new two-year contract.

The Samsung Infuse 4G, with a radio capable of achieving peak rates of 21Mbps, is being marketed as the fastest smartphone currently available from AT&T. It’s the big brother to the Samsung Captivate, and fits just between that device and Samsung’s Galaxy S II when it comes to hardware specs. The Infuse 4G packs a gorgeous and massive 4.5-inch display, a thin and light form factor, and a solid camera. AT&T’s first HSPA+ “4G” phones fell flat when it came to data — neither the HTC Inspire 4G nor the Motorola ATRIX 4G could hold a candle to the 3G download speeds available on the iPhone 4, and we won’t even discuss the upload speeds. Is the Infuse the AT&T 4G smartphone you’ve been waiting for? I’ve been trekking along with it for more than a week and have penned my impressions, so check out the gallery below and then hit the jump for my full review.

Hardware / Display

The very first thing you will, and I did, notice about the Infuse 4G is its huge 4.5-inch 800 x 480-pixel resolution Super AMOLED Plus display. It’s the same screen technology that’s on the DROID Charge from Verizon Wireless, and it’s hard to describe just how beautifully colorful, bright, and sharp it is. We first saw Samsung’s last generation Super AMOLED displays on its Galaxy S devices, and the Super AMOLED Plus improves on that panel in a number of ways. It’s easier to read under direct sunlight, and the blacks are even darker and inkier. Everyone needs to see this screen, even if you’re not on the market for a new phone. But I digress.

Despite having such a large display, the Infuse 4G is shockingly light at about 5 ounces. It’s thin, too, and measures just 0.35-in thick. The touch sensitive buttons for menu, home, return, and search all worked well during my tests. The power and volume buttons are all located within reach and there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top of the phone. With a capable camera on board though, I wish Samsung added a camera quick-launch button, too.

Speaking of cameras, the Infuse 4G has two of them: a 1.3-megapixel front-facing shooter for video chats, and an 8-megapixel camera capable of recording full 720p HD video on the back. There’s also a single-LED flash, something the Captivate lacked. The back of the phone looks sharp and has a textured finish that blends nicely with the imitation metal border that wraps around the whole device. However, the textured back battery panel is flimsy. The HTC Inspire 4G, by contrast, has a rock solid unibody design. While I appreciate the Infuse 4G’s lightness and its aesthetic, it does feel a bit cheap.

Under the hood there’s a 1.2GHz processor, 16GB of storage built in, a 2GB microSD card, support for 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi networks, a 1,750mAh battery, and more. That’s not a huge jump from the hardware that the Captivate offered, and I wish the phone packed Samsung’s dual-core Orion processor that’s inside the Galaxy S II. All of the aformentioned hardware powers Android 2.2.1 (Froyo), with Samsung’s last generation TouchWiz user interface. Let’s get into that now.

Software

The Infuse 4G runs Google’s previous-generation Android 2.2.1 operating system. That’s not a huge deal, given that just 4% of phones are powered by the newer Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS, but it’s still odd to me that new devices are hitting the market with an outdated version preloaded. Here’s what really gets me though: Samsung’s previous-generation TouchWiz user interface.

I’ve spent time with Samsung’s new TouchWiz 4.0 on the DROID Charge, and I like what the firm has done to improve it compared to earlier versions. The UI feels faster, has several new and fun zooming features, and has an improved widget interface. Unfortunately, Samsung didn’t include that on the Infuse 4G, and I can’t figure out why. TouchWiz 3.0 is too colorful and cartoonish, and the widgets waste too much space. Thankfully the 1.2GHz processor kept everything snappy, though, so it never felt too sluggish. User interfaces are a matter of taste, and I’ve met plenty of people that prefer TouchWiz to competing UIs. For me personally though, it’s not a good fit.

As I’ve said in the past, I’m not a fan of the black background in the e-mail user interface, and don’t like Samsung’s default keyboard. There’s the option to use Swype on the Infuse 4G, which worked pretty well, and you can switch to the default Android keyboard, too. One software issue in particular that stood out was the sluggishness of the web browser. On multiple occasions it would lock up while I was trying to access a new website or pan around a page. Sometimes it would just stall for a few seconds, and then work properly again, but this is an issue I’ve typically seen with lower-end devices — not 1.2GHz “superphones.”

Last, but not least, the Infuse 4G is the first phone on AT&T to allow for side-loading of third-party applications. That means you can load up an .apk file on the phone, access it via your file manager of choice, and then install it. Before you can start side-loading apps, however, you’ll have to visit Settings > Applications, and check the box next to “Unknown Sources.”

Calling / Data

The data speeds on the Infuse 4G are awful and are just barely better than what I’ve seen on the ATRIX 4G and the Inspire 4G. I averaged 3.07Mbps on the downlink and a pitiful .11Mbps on the uplink. That’s a solid 3G download speed, but overall the throughput is pathetic for anything with a 4G moniker. Verizon’s 4G LTE network consistently offers downlink speeds of 20Mbps with phones like the Samsung DROID Charge; that’s more than six times faster than AT&T’s 4G network. I hope AT&T issues a patch that fixes the speeds, and it’s upsetting the carrier is advertising this as its fastest phone yet — with theoretical 21Mbps peak download speeds — when even 5Mbps seems unachievable and the “3G” iPhone 4 regularly sees faster download speeds.

Calls on the Infuse 4G were decent, but nothing to call home about. I didn’t have a single dropped call during my tests in New York City, but voices did sound a bit watery during a few conversations. The speakerphone volume was more than sufficient. One friend said he could tell I was using a speakerphone but that I sounded “pretty clear.” Overall the call quality of the Infuse 4G sits around average in my book.

Battery Life

I was easily able to get through a full workday with moderate usage on a single charge of the Infuse 4G’s 1,750mAh battery. That’s an improvement over the Captivate, which frequently died on me before 5:00 p.m. Using the phone as my primary device, checking email, surfing the web, and listening to music, drained the battery noticeably faster, but I was also impressed with its standby time. Overall the Infuse 4G’s battery life was among the best I’ve seen on a high-powered Android phone yet. If you’re looking for a bit longer, I’d suggest checking out the ATRIX 4G, which managed to muster through a full workday with heavy usage.

Camera

The Infuse 4G’s 8-megapixel took stellar photos, especially in good lighting conditions. Shots taken around New York City came out clear, and the sky on a sunny day was deep blue. On particularly bright days, I noticed that the sky would bleed a bit into my subjects, and shots came out overexposed altogether. Low light pictures came out OK, but just like the DROID Charge on Verizon, street lights really bled into my images, even with the anti-shake option enabled. I took a few more images while watching the Kentucky Derby in a dark pub, though, and the flash did a good job when I took a picture of my dinner plate.

The Infuse 4G’s camera is capable of recording 720p video, and the results were impressive, but on a par with what the Captivate was capable of shooting, too. I didn’t see much distortion, even while panning around. The camera also continuously auto-focuses, which is a nice touch.

Wrap-up

No, it’s not the 4G phone you’ve been waiting for, but it’s still a solid device. I’m shocked that AT&T can get away with calling this a 4G phone, however, because I have yet to see data speeds that push the boundaries of its network. But if AT&T making good on its “4G” claims and delivering solid data speeds isn’t a necessity for you, the Infuse 4G is worthy of your attention. The screen is incredible, I like the thin form factor, and the solid battery life was definitely appreciated. Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface isn’t for everyone either, but I still highly recommend you consider reserving a spot in your pocket for the Infuse 4G when it launches on May 15th for $199.99.

Sure we’ve had some up close and personal time with the Nexus S 4G before, but now we can finally spend some quality one-on-one time with it as we compose our full review. So far we’re impressed with the speed at which we can zip around Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread), and we still love the contoured glass display. We’ve definitely been spoiled using the Super AMOLED Plus screens on the Samsung DROID Charge and the Samsung Infuse 4G, but our Nexus S 4G unit’s AMOLED display has a noticeable yellow tint that would bother us even if we hadn’t been using Samsung’s newer screens. Some users reported yellow discoloration on the original Nexus S after applying the Gingerbread update, so we’re hoping this could be a software fix or something that’s only limited to our phone. We’ll be working on a review over the next few days, but in the meantime be sure to check out our hands-on photo gallery.

I’ve spent more than a week living and breathing alongside the Samsung DROID Charge, Verizon’s second 4G LTE smartphone, and and it had some pretty big shoes to fill following Verizon’s first 4G LTE smartphone, the HTC ThunderBolt. The DROID Charge is loaded with all the trimmings you could ask for, including a huge Super AMOLED Plus display with colors that will blow your mind, an 8-megapixel camera that can shoot HD video, and of course, support for Verizon’s 4G LTE network. But do all of these features make it worth the $299 you’ll have to drop in order to own one? Hit the break for my full review to find out.

Hardware / Display

Samsung told me that the “pet name” for the DROID Charge was the “Stealth,” and that’s certainly an accurate description of its industrial design. The area below the phone’s large 4.3-inch screen tapers down to a small chin, and its rounded edges, glossy mirror gray finish, and sharp accents around the camera lens definitely add to its fighter-jet style. Samsung’s Super AMOLED Plus display is one of the clearest, brightest, and sharpest screens I’ve ever seen on a smartphone. The display offers even deeper blacks than the Super AMOLED screen on Samsung’s Galaxy S phones, which is really saying a lot. Colors are stunning and you really just have to see it to understand the beauty, but a beautiful screen this size comes at a cost; the DROID Charge definitely has a bit of heft at just over 5 ounces, but at just 0.46-inches slim it easily slid into my pocket.

Unlike the Galaxy S devices before it, the DROID Charge has hardware keys below the screen instead of touch-sensitive buttons. The keys have nice bounce and each has a soft white backlight that illuminates while the screen is activated. Under the hood the DROID Charge runs on a 1GHz processor, which is a bit lower powered than the dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 devices that have started to infiltrate the market. Still, there’s 512MB of RAM that helps speed things up a bit, and our unit came with a 32GB microSD card so there’s more than enough space to store videos, music, and photos. A 32GB microSD card runs about $60 on Amazon, so I’m starting to see why the DROID Charge is priced as high as it is.

One feature that I really enjoyed using was HDMI-out. You can purchase movies from Media Hub for about $9.99 each, or move files over to the phone using your USB cable, and then output them to an HDTV using a mini-HDMI cable. There were a few hiccups in the frame rates, but otherwise the movie played without a hitch. I’ll revisit this a bit more in the camera section of the review.

Software

Here’s where things get a bit stale: The DROID Charge runs Android 2.2 (Froyo) with Samsung’s custom TouchWiz user interface on top. I’m not a big fan of TouchWiz — it’s too cartoony looking, the widgets are always larger than necessary, and they don’t use screen real estate efficiently. There are several useful features, like the ability to sync Twitter or Facebook with your address book, but generally TouchWiz turns me off. Thankfully, the DROID Charge’s processor hummed along just fine despite the UI, which can slow things down just a bit on other devices. There are  also other small issues that drive me mad about TouchWiz, though — like its black e-mail interface — and at times I just wish Samsung had stuck with a vanilla version of Android on the Charge.

The Charge’s virtual keyboard mirrors those on Samsung’s Galaxy S devices, and I’m not a fan. The space bar is too small and seems to be positioned too far to the left; half the time I try to type a space I end up hitting the period button instead. This, of course, is where third-party developers come in, and I definite;y recommend installing your third-party keyboard of choice on the Charge.

There’s a fair amount of bloatware on the phone including VerizonApps, a Guided Tour, VZ Navigator, TuneWiki, City ID, Bitbop, and more. Thankfully, though, Verizon chose to use Google as the default search option on the DROID Charge, which is a welcome change from the Fascinate.

Calling / Data

The call quality on the DROID Charge was clear during my tests and I had no issue with dropped calls in New York City or during a trip to Orlando for BlackBerry World. Friends and family on the other end of the line said I sounded good, and the ear speaker was loud enough even while walking on busy streets. The speakerphone had adequate volume as well, but voices were distorted at higher levels. Callers said I sounded fine on speakerphone and they couldn’t tell I wasn’t directly talking into the handset.

The DROID Charge is Verizon’s second phone capable of placing phone calls while surfing the Internet, and this feature worked perfectly during my tests. I looked up a quick place to eat lunch while I had a friend on speakerphone, and I didn’t notice any drop in call quality or data speeds. BGR Editor in Chief Jonathan Geller, in his ThunderBolt review, wondered if perhaps the poor voice quality on that phone was related to the talk / surf feature, and I’m glad to report that’s not the case with the Charge.

Data speeds on Verizon’s 4G LTE network regularly exceeded 20Mbps on the downlink in New York City, and I typically saw upload speeds around 4Mbps. The download speeds are faster than you’ll find on any other U.S. carrier hands-down and are even on a par with home network connections.

There are drawbacks to being an early adopter, however. During my first week of testing Verizon’s 4G LTE network, it went down for just over 24 hours. Users weren’t compensated for the downtime, and I couldn’t even access a 3G network during the outage. That’s a big deal, especially for business users or those of us who rely on our smartphones throughout most of the day. Similarly, while tethered to a laptop, I noticed that the signal dropped a number of times, and there are reports from some websites claiming the same issue — hopefully this is something that will be fixed in a future software update. I’m not dinging Verizon, though; it’s the first to roll-out such a high-speed network and there are bound to be small hiccups along the way.

Battery Life

The DROID Charge moniker is quite fitting as I found the 1,600mAh needed frequent charging under heavy 4G use. The phone offered up better battery life than the 4.5 hours Jonathan saw with the HTC ThunderBolt, but it still wasn’t great. Generally, I was able to go from about 7:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. with moderate usage on 4G.

If you need to save battery life, there’s an option under wireless network settings to use a CDMA network only. This let me place voice calls and use Verizon’s slower 3G EV-DO network for surfing the Web. It’s definitely a welcome change over the HTC ThunderBolt, which didn’t ship with that option, although an app is now available. With 3G enabled, I was able to get through a full work day with moderate usage. Unfortunately there isn’t a widget to quickly switch networks out of the box; that would certainly be a welcome addition, but I’m sure Android enthusiasts will whip something up to fix that.

Camera

There’s an 8-megapixel camera on the DROID Charge, and I used it to shoot a bunch of photos during a trip to Florida. Images were crisp and colors looked true in daylight. Photos look amazing on the Super AMOLED Plus screen, and they just had a little distortion when I pushed them out to my 32-inch TV using HDMI-out. Pictures snapped under incandescent lights had a decidedly orange hue to them, but were otherwise perfectly acceptable.

A night shot taken of a neon sign, without the flash, had brighter colors bleeding into the darker areas of the screen, even with the camera’s anti-shake feature activated. In lower light conditions, the single-LED  flash did a decent job grabbing our subject, too, but I prefer the dual-LED option on phones like the HTC ThunderBolt.

I shot several HD video clips in 720p, but the DROID Charge defaults to a 720 x 480 resolution, so you’ll want to be sure to activate the HD option for better video. The frame rates were fluid when I played the video back on the Charge’s display, and I was just as blown away when I watched the same clip on my TV using HDMI-out. The video and audio were both crisp and I didn’t notice any pixelation, even when panning the video around. One issue I did run into, though, is that the phone required a reboot when I unplugged the HDMI cable and then tried to plug it back in again to resume playback.

Wrap-up

If you’re looking for 4G speeds, the Samsung DROID Charge is the phone to beat — but you’ll need deep pockets. Sure, I’d take HTC’s Sense user interface over TouchWiz any day, but the DROID Charge offers a few things HTC’s ThunderBolt doesn’t, namely a gorgeous Super AMOLED Plus display and an out-of-the-box option to turn off 4G to save on battery life, which meant I was able to get through a full day with moderate usage when I didn’t need to surf the Web at blazing fast speeds.

The DROID Charge is priced at $299, which is $50 more expensive than its only 4G LTE competitor, the ThunderBolt. That’s for good reason, however. It offers better battery life, a killer display, clearer phone calls, and a much less bulky design — easily worth the $50 difference. Sure, Verizon has a number of new 4G LTE smartphones coming down the pipeline, but if you want in on the carrier’s blazing fast data now, the DROID Charge is your best bet, hands-down.

Dell’s Venue Pro smartphone had its share of setbacks at launch, but we really grew to enjoy the device once the wrinkles were all ironed out. The build is outstanding, the design is sleek, the slightly curved display is unique, the 4.1-inch AMOLED display is nice and vivid, and we have big hopes for Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 platform. On Thursday, Dell quietly launched a new version of its Venue Pro smartphone, this time with T-Mobile’s 3G bands swapped out for AT&T’s. Beyond that, the device has the same great look and feel, the same great build, and the same affordable price tag — just $99.99 with a 2-year contract.

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While both phones were heavily leaked, today Nokia took the wraps off of two new Symbian-powered smartphones, the E6 and the X7. The E6 is targeted at the business bunch and sports a full QWERTY keyboard, a 2.46-inch 640 x 480 pixel touchscreen display, an 8-megapixel camera, GPS, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and a 1,500mAh battery. The X7 is no doubt the sexier of the two phones. It rocks a 4-inch 640 x 360 resolution AMOLED screen, is made of stainless steel and glass, has 8GB of storage, and offers an 8-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p HD video. The E6 and the X7 will both run Nokia’s updated Symbian “Anna” operating system which Nokia says offers a revamped user interface, new icons, improved text input, faster web browsing, and a new Ovi Maps application that includes public transportation and offers better search. Anna will also provide enterprise grade security with hardware accelerated encryption, and several new e-mail features. Both phones are scheduled to launch during the second quarter of this year; pricing information has not been divulged. If you’re looking for the X7 stateside, don’t hold your breath. AT&T has reportedly already killed its plans to launch the X7. Hit the jump for the full release.

Nokia E6 extends business mobility range and Nokia X7 introduces a new entertainment device for mobile gamers, both using the latest update of Symbian software

Espoo, Finland – Nokia today announced the Nokia E6 and the Nokia X7, two new smartphones aimed at business people and entertainment enthusiasts respectively. The two devices are the first Nokia smartphones to contain the updated Symbian software, with new icons and usability enhancements such as improved text input, a faster browser and refreshed Ovi Maps.

“We are further strengthening Nokia’s smartphone portfolio with these two new devices, both of which offer a more beautiful and intuitive user experience that will soon also be available for the Nokia N8, Nokia E7, Nokia C7 and Nokia C6-01,” said Jo Harlow, head of Nokia’s Smart Devices business. “With these new products and more Symbian devices and user enhancements coming in the near future, we are confident we can keep existing Nokia smartphone customers engaged, as well as attract new first-time and competitor smartphone users.”

Following on from Nokia’s highly successful Nokia E71 and Nokia E72 devices, the Nokia E6 is a sleek business smartphone with a full QWERTY keypad and a high resolution touch display. Designed using premium materials such as glass and stainless steel, the device comes in a compact size that makes it easy to use with either one hand or two. The Nokia E6 offers exceptional battery life and the best out-of-the-box Microsoft messaging experience on a business smartphone, including access to Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Communicator Mobile and Microsoft SharePoint.

The Nokia X7 is an entertainment-focused smartphone with a large 4″ display ideal for gaming, and an 8 Megapixel camera for capturing pictures and HD-quality video. A distinctively designed device, the Nokia X7 is made from a combination of seamless stainless steel and glass – delivering a solid and durable feel in the hand. The Nokia X7 comes preloaded with the popular Galaxy on Fire HD and Asphalt 5 HD games.

The Nokia E6 and Nokia X7 are also the first smartphones to contain the complete update of the Symbian software user experience. This update offers a host of usability enhancements, including fresh, new icons, improved text input, a faster internet browsing experience and a refreshed Ovi Maps application with improved search and new public transport routes. The renewed software also offers a strong set of new features aimed at business users in particular, including true enterprise grade security with hardware accelerated encryption, and new e-mail features such as full meeting request support.

In coming months the software update, which is nick-named Symbian Anna, will also be available as standard on newly shipping Nokia N8, Nokia E7, Nokia C7 and Nokia C6-01 devices, as well as available to download on previously purchased models of those same smartphones.

For developers, Symbian Anna greatly enhances the user experience on Nokia smartphones and makes the Qt business opportunity with Nokia even greater. Read more at: http://blogs.forum.nokia.com/blog/nokia-developer-news/

For more details on the Nokia X7 and Nokia E6, please visit: http://events.nokia.com/discover-symbian

Samsung has confirmed via an official Twitter account that the Galaxy S II, its upcoming flagship Android smartphone, will launch as planned in April. There were rumors that the device would be delayed due to speculation that Samsung had plans to upgrade the 1GHz dual-core Cotex-A9 processor to 1.2GHz. Samsung officially announced the Galaxy S II on February 13th during Mobile World Congress 2011. It offers Samsung’s next generation 4.3-inch Super-AMOLED Plus display, an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video capture, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), and Samsung’s new TouchWiz 4.0 user interface. Samsung hasn’t confirmed exactly when it will launch this month, but if you need something to tide you over, be sure to check out our hands-on.

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We just met up with Nokia and T-Mobile to check out the Astound, also known as the C7, which is the first Symbian^3 device to launch in the United States (even though Symbian^3 is now just Symbian). The Astound sports a 3.5-inch AMOLED touchscreen display, and the colors really popped off the screen during our time with the device — we watched a music video from Shakira, in case you were wondering. It’s also packed with some high-end specs, including an 8-megapixel camera that’s capable of recording 720p HD video, Bluetooth 3.0, and support for Wi-Fi b/g/n networks. Hit the jump to read on.

Overall we found the Astound to be extremely light in the hand. The phone has three different homescreens that can be customized with widgets, much like we’ve seen on the N8 and other Symbian powered phones. As we noted earlier, the display is gorgeous — especially for a phone that retails for under $100. The device felt fast while switching through applications, and as you may know, this iteration of Symbian supports multitasking — running Slacker in the background didn’t seem to slow the phone down much. Nokia also included Swype for easy text entry, but it currently only works in landscape mode; not in portrait. We tried to fire off a few snaps with the camera, and while we liked the dedicated camera key, were a little disappointed to find that the Astound lacks auto-focus. Overall, though, we thought the phone’s software and hardware worked well together. It’s being billed as a mid-tier smartphone focused on value.

The Astound lands in T-Mobile stores on April 6th for $79.99 with a new two-year contract.

Nokia delivers Astounding smartphone for T-Mobile USA customers

WHITE PLAINS, NY, and ORLANDO, Fla., March 22, 2011 – Inspired by U.S. consumers who want an affordable smartphone that offers a simplified user experience and on-the-go entertainment, Nokia today continues to broaden its Symbian smartphone portfolio with the introduction of the Nokia Astound. Offering value without compromise, the Nokia Astound will be available exclusively from T-Mobile USA beginning April 6.

The Nokia Astound’s sleek stainless-steel design features an 8-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash and 720p HD video capture, a brilliant 3.5-inch capacitive touch AMOLED display, free turn-by-turn navigation from Nokia and access to thousands of free and paid apps via Nokia’s Ovi Store. The Nokia Astound makes it easy for consumers to stay connected. The Astound has three fully customizable homescreens, giving quick access to email, and the ability to check the latest from Facebook and Twitter, or just surf the web. Consumers can kick back and enjoy the Astound’s entertainment features by playing pre-loaded games like Fruit Ninja, listening to the lastest music with the Slacker Radio app, or browsing their own music and video collection, right at their fingertips.

“As millions more consumers make the switch to smartphones, Nokia is proud to offer an alternative that is not only easy and fun to use, but is also very sexy and sleek, unlike anything in its price point,” said Mark Slater, vice president of sales, Nokia. “With a user experience rounded out by Nokia’s Ovi services, including Maps and Store, consumers will be delighted to discover Nokia’s premium design quality with no compromises on services and apps, made affordable with T-Mobile.”

“As T-Mobile continues to make owning a smartphone easy and affordable, we are thrilled to introduce the high-quality design and entertainment experience of the Nokia Astound,” said Andrew Morrison, vice president, product management, T-Mobile USA. “Offering the features of a high-end smartphone at a great price, the Nokia Astound is sure to appeal to a broad array of consumers.”

Uniquely crafted, the Nokia Astound is an example of the quality and impressive hardware that consumers associate with Nokia. Its AMOLED touchscreen is protected by ultrathin, damage-resistant glass and surrounded by stainless steel, which completes the attractive yet durable design.

Equipped with the latest commercial version of Ovi Maps1, the Nokia Astound provides free voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation in almost 100 countries in 46 languages. The Nokia Astound comes pre-loaded with automotive grade maps for the entire U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean2. With more than 8,000 3D landmarks and free premium content like Lonely Planet guides and TripAdvisor, consumers can explore new places and experiences along the way. New features include improved search engines and WiFi positioning, a drive assistance mode for real-time traffic updates, maps of public transit lines, and the ability to check in to places and share great moments with friends on Facebook, Twitter and many local social networks.

With the Nokia Astound, consumers can visit Ovi Store to discover new apps, games and themes to customize their device. Each week, Ovi Store continues to grow and add more great content that supports 32 languages in more than 190 countries. Currently, Ovi Store sees more than 4 million downloads worldwide per day, including popular apps and games like Angry Birds, OpenTable, Shazam and Galaxy on Fire. As an added convenience, apps and services can be billed directly to a consumer’s monthly T-Mobile bill or credit card.

Visitors at CTIA Wireless in Orlando, Fla., can visit the Nokia Lounge, booth #1626, to experience the Astound along with other Nokia solutions and meet developers who are creating compelling apps and content for consumers to enjoy on Nokia devices.

Availability
The Nokia Astound will be available nationwide starting April 6 through T-Mobile retail stores and online at http://www.t-mobile.com for $79.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate card with a two-year service agreement and qualifying voice and data plan.
The Nokia Astound will also be offered at select third-party dealers, and at leading national retailers including Costco, RadioShack, Sam’s Club, Target Mobile locations and Walmart. For more information, visit http://www.nokiausa.com/astound.

Today, via a brief press blast, Samsung Mobile Display announced its big intentions for this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. Sammy’s mobile display unit hopes to make a splash with two, very distinctive products: a 4.5-inch WVGA flexible AMOLED display and a 19-inch qFHD transparent AMOLED display. As Samsung explains:

SMD is presenting a prototype of the most advanced flexible AMOLED display. Only 2mm thick, the 4.5 inch flexible AMOLED runs at a WVGA 800 x 480 resolution and can be rolled down to a one centimeter radius.

At WVGA, this new concept prototype offers a display resolution four times that of the previous most flexible AMOLED prototype in the industry, thanks to the use of a new plastic substrate that can withstand the 450-500 degree temperatures required in the manufacturing process.

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SMD is showing the world’s first large transparent AMOLED Display prototype, designed for use in applications from PC monitors to TVs.

Whether the prototype AMOLED display is turned off or on, it maintains up to a 30% transparency. The average amount of transparency elsewhere has been below 10 percent.

SMD’s transparent AMOLED prototype provides the highest resolution on a transparent large screen TV (over 19 inches) or monitor display.

Look for more information about the two displays next week on January 5th.

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