Well, well, look at what we have here. It seems that the FCC has been busy as of late giving the HTC Magic a thorough examination and the good old bureaucratic stamp of approval. So what makes the T-Mobile USA-branded version of the Magic, known as the G2, so special? Well, not only does it have T-Mobile’s special 1700 MHz band of HSPA tacked on top of the 2100 MHz band for Europe and Asia, it also sports Wi-Fi with UMA for Hotspot@Home. Oh, and did we mention the camera has apparently been bumped up from 3.2 megapixels to 5 megapixels (because Americans like everything supersized)? Other than that, it looks like everything else with the device is going to be exactly as it is on the Vodafone version. Release timing and pricing are still a mystery for now but at least we have solid confirmation that the Magic is indeed coming to America, perhaps with a CTIA debut. Hit the jump for another shot.

[Via Cellphone Signal]

Read

The BlackBerry 8220 Pearl Flip – it’s truly a smartphone that you’re going to love or hate without any middle ground. But hate it or love it it’s finally now available on good ole’ T-Mobile USA. Available today in Black for $149.99 on a 2-year contract, the Pearl Flip is going to take the cell phone market for 13-year old girls by storm. And if black isn’t your thing, (no, we’re not playing the race card) you’ll be able to buy the red version come October 20th. You already know the specs by now, but to freshen your memory, the Pearl Flip’s got a 2 megapixel shooter, Wi-Fi with Hotspot@Home support, a SureType keyboard, and that oh-so-old-yet-2008 flip design.

Read

Sprint is getting ready to launch to launch their Airave signal booster on July 15th. The box, which should be available from your local Sprint store for $99, plugs into your broadband router, providing you with an added signal boost aided by your home internet connection. The service, similar to T-Mobile’s Hotspot@Home, is targeted at folks that live in a fringe coverage area, but are still tied to a Sprint account for whatever reason. It’s a decent proposition, but we’re pretty sure that the pricing scheme will place it out of reach for most casual users. The service will run you $15/month on an individual plan and $30/month, but the real kicker is that it’s rumored to require an unlimited calling plan to function. Not good. Unlike T-Mobile’s service, Airave broadcasts an actual cell signal, so it should work with all handsets, not just those equipped with Wi-Fi. The bad news, however, is that the device actually has an embedded aGPS chip to determine whether you’re currently located in a country with Sprint service, effectively squashing our dreams of yapping from Mongolia on your Sprint phone. Thanks, Sprint.

Read

• Wi-Fi-enabled; supports T-Mobile HotSpot @Home

• T-Mobile myFaves^SM-enabled
• Music player (supports WMA, MP3, AAC and eAAC+)
• Stereo Bluetooth connectivity
• 2.0 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom and video capture
• Expandable memory with microSD (support for up to 4GB)
• Instant messaging; supports AIM, ICQ, Yahoo! Messenger and Windows Live
• Speakerphone
• FM radio

Next up is the Samsung t339, which is another yawner of a phone, sporting:

• T-Mobile myFaves-enabled
• Music player (supports MP3, AAC and AAC+)
• Stereo Bluetooth connectivity
• 1.3 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom and video capture
• Expandable memory with microSD (support for up to 2GB)
• Instant messaging; supports AIM, ICQ, Yahoo! Messenger and Windows Live
• Speakerphone

Both are available immediately, but if it were up to us, these two would be sent directly to the D.O.A. pile.

Ready for some exclusive Hotspot@Home action? Good. The Samsung T339 is a T-Mobile branded handset with Wi-Fi, Quad-Band EDGE, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, and shockingly stylish looks. We’re not exactly sure how much this will cost, but expect it to slot in towards the lower end of the spectrum (like pretty much everything else T-Mobile has to offer). Hotspot@Home is a great feature, and given the appealing styling, we wouldn’t be too unhappy carrying this sucker around in our pocket. Hit the jump for a couple more exclusive shots!

Thanks, Omie!