It looks like the rumors were correct: Sprint announced on Monday that the rugged Motorola Titanium phone will be available on July 24th for $149.99. The Motorola Titanium runs Android 2.1 (Eclair) and meets Mil-Spec 810G ratings for dust, shock, vibration, low pressure, solar radiation, high temperature and low temperature. The Titanium, which supports push-to-talk, is equipped with a full QWERTY keyboard, a 5-megapixel camera, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, a 2GB microSD card and a 1,820mAh battery. Read on for the full press release.

Motorola Titanium, First Android 2.1 Smartphone with Best-in-Class Nextel Direct Connect, Available Beginning July 24 for $149.99

Motorola Titanium™, America’s first Android 2.1 (Éclair) smartphone with best-in- class Nextel Direct Connect™ for Push-to-Talk, goes on sale in Sprint Stores, online at www.sprint.com, Telesales at 1-800-SPRINT1 and Sprint Business Sales beginning Sunday, July 24, for $149.99 with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year
service agreement, after $100 mail-in rebate.

As the successor to the popular Motorola i1 launched by Sprint in 2010, Motorola Titanium is sleek and attractive, yet durable. It features a full QWERTY keyboard and 3.1-inch touchscreen display for a feature-rich, business-class experience. Built military-grade tough, Motorola Titanium is designed to meet Military Specification 810G for dust, shock, vibration, low pressure, solar radiation, high temperature and low temperature.

Additional key features of Motorola Titanium include:
• Support for Nextel Direct Connect Services, including Direct Connect, Group
Connect®, International Direct Connect®, DirectSendSM, Group Messaging and
NextMail®
• Android Market™ for access to more than 200,000 applications, widgets and
games available for download
• Google™ mobile services such as Google Search™, Gmail™, Google Talk™,
Google Maps™ with Navigation, syncing with Google Calendar™ and
YouTube™
• Corporate email (Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync®) and personal (POP3 &
IMAP) email, calendar and contacts
• 5-megapixel auto-focus camera with camcorder, 4x zoom and LED flash
• Wi-Fi b/g/n
• Stereo Bluetooth®
• GPS navigation
• microSD slot, with a 2GB memory card included, supporting up to 32GB
• 1820 mAh Lithium-ion battery

With more than 17 years of expertise, Sprint is the industry leader in Push-to-Talk, serving the world’s largest Push-to-Talk community with millions of Nextel Direct Connect subscribers on the fastest national Push-to-Talk network. Nextel Direct Connect has set the industry standard for Push-to-Talk worldwide. More U.S. workers communicate in less than a second with Nextel Direct Connect than with any other Push-to-Talk service.

A leak document picked up by SprintFeed suggests that Sprint will launch the Motorola Titanium, an Android smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard, on July 24th for $149.99. The Titanium is no secret as Motorola officially announced it in May, but the company didn’t provide pricing or launch details at that time. The phone supports push-to-talk and offers a military-grade ruggedized design that’s resistant to dust, shock, vibration, low pressure, solar radiation, high temperatures, and low temperatures. It’s equipped with a 3.1-inch touchscreen display and a 5-megapixel camera, but sadly only runs Android 2.1 (Eclair). The price and date aren’t official just yet, but $149.99 sounds about right to us.

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During the CommunicAsia trade show in Singapore on Wednesday, Sony Ericsson officially took the wraps off of three new devices: the Xperia ray, the Xperia active, and the “txt.” The Android 2.3-powered Xperia ray sports a 9.4mm thin profile, a 3.3-inch “Reality” display with an 854 x 480 resolution, an 8.1-megapixel Exmor R camera, and a 1,500 mAh battery. The Xperia active also runs Gingerbread and offers a smaller 3-inch 480 x 320 Reality display and a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording HD video. It’s also dust proof and water resistant. Lastly, the txt is a budget-friendly feature phone with a relatively simple set of specs. It offers a 2.6-inch screen, a full QWERTY keyboard, and a 3.2-megapixel camera. All three phones will launch during the third quarter of this year in select markets around the world. Hit the jump for images of the Xperia active and txt along with videos.

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Sprint on Thursday unveiled two new Android smartphones from Motorola — the Motorola XPRT and the Motorola Titanium. The XPRT is a dual-mode smartphone capable of roaming internationally on GSM networks, and it’s also the first Android phone from Sprint to feature enterprise-class security. Spec highlights include Android 2.2 (Froyo) with MOTOBLUR, a 3.1-inch touchscreen display, a 5-megapixel camera, a full QWERTY keyboard with BlackBerry-style buttons, a 1GHz processor and Adobe Flash 10 support. The Motorola Titanium is Sprint’s successor to the i1, and it will be a military-grade ruggedized smartphone running Android 2.1 (Eclair). Other highlights include a full BlackBerry-style QWERTY keypad, a 3.1-inch touchscreen display, a 5-megapixel camera, Push to Talk support and dust, shock, vibration, low pressure, solar radiation, high temperature and low temperature resistance. The Motorola XPRT launches on June 5th for $129.99 on contract. Pricing and availability details are not yet available for the Titanium. Hit the break for Sprint’s full press release.

Sprint and Motorola Unveil Two Android Devices for Business:
Motorola XPRT and Motorola Titanium

New Android smartphones target professionals with enhanced business-class experiences; Motorola XPRT offers enterprise-grade security and enhanced MOTOBLUR experience on an Android World Phone; and Motorola Titanium pairs

best-in-class Nextel Direct Connect with Android

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – May 5, 2011 – To meet the growing demand for mobile devices with industry-leading enterprise features, Sprint (NYSE: S) and Motorola Mobility, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) will launch two new smartphones with enhanced business-ready capabilities, built on the Android™ platform. Motorola XPRT™ is the first Android smartphone from Sprint to deliver enterprise-class security, personal productivity enhancements and international roaming. Motorola Titanium™ leverages Sprint’s industry-leading Push-to-Talk capabilities as the first Nextel Direct Connect^® smartphone built on Android 2.1.

“We are pleased to extend our portfolio of products directed at business-users with these two powerful and versatile Android devices,” said Paget L. Alves, president – Sprint Business. “Motorola XPRT delivers the security features enterprise customers demand without scrimping on the latest in technology, while Motorola Titanium is a rugged Android smartphone with Nextel Direct Connect’s sub-second Push-to-Talk.”

Motorola XPRT will be available on Sunday, June 5, in Sprint Stores, Business Sales, Web sales (www.sprint.com) and Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1), for $129.99 with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement. Pricing and availability for Motorola Titanium will be announced at a later date.

“Motorola XPRT and Motorola Titanium blend feature-packed consumer experiences with an optimal set of productivity and security tools,” said Jeff Miller, corporate vice president of sales, Motorola Mobility. “We are pleased to partner with Sprint to deliver each of these unique business-ready devices to their continuously growing enterprise customer base.”

Packed with Productivity Tools

Designed for business users, Motorola XPRT offers a sleek, compact design built on Android 2.2, Froyo. This full-feature world phone is equipped with a pinch-to-zoom capable touchscreen, 3.1-inch HVGA display, full QWERTY keyboard and 1GHz processor with Adobe Flash 10 web browsing.

Enterprise managers and workforces across field service, field sales, healthcare, retail, utilities, manufacturing and transportation/distribution industries will benefit from its feature-rich capabilities, enterprise-class security and data encryption. Motorola XPRT delivers business-class security features with 256-bit AES data encryption and controls the IT department will appreciate, including the ability to remotely handle functions like enabling pin or password lock, password recovery and data wipe on both the phone and SD card if lost or stolen.

Motorola XPRT comes loaded with MOTOBLUR™ offering personalized content, including email and social media updates, delivered right to the user’s home screen. It enables convenient viewing of news feeds, updates and messages from social media sites from a single screen.

Additional key features of Motorola XPRT include:

• Android Market™ for access to more than 150,000 applications, widgets and games available for download
• Google™ mobile services, such as Google Maps™ with Navigation, Google Talk™, Gmail™ and YouTube™
• Corporate email (Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync^®) and personal (POP & IMAP) email
• Worldmode – CDMA (EVDO Rev. A), GSM/UMTS (HSPA) – international roaming service available in more than 200 countries
• 3G Mobile Hotspot capability, supporting up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices simultaneously
• 5-megapixel camera with camcorder and dual LED flash for low-light performance
• microSD slot, with a 2GB memory card included, supporting up to 32GB
• Bluetooth^® 2.1 + EDR
• Wi-Fi^® b/g/n
• 1860 mAh Lithium-ion battery

Motorola XPRT requires activation on one of Sprint’s Everything Data plans, plus a required $10 Premium Data add-on charge for smartphones. Sprint’s Everything Data plan with Any Mobile, Anytime^SM includes unlimited web, texting and calling to and from any mobile in America while on the Sprint Network, starting at just $69.99 per month plus required $10 Premium Data add-on charge (pricing excludes surcharges and taxes).

Sprint also offers great value with international service add-ons for Motorola XPRT.

For just $4.99 per month, the Sprint Worldwide Voice Add on offers discounted rates while traveling in more than 100 countries. For only $2.99 per month, you can make local calls in Canada, call back to the United States and even receive calls in Canada for just $0.20 per minute. That’s a savings of $0.39 per minute over standard roaming charges. While roaming in Canada, Mexico, China, and other destinations data rates start as low as $0.002 per KB (on CDMA networks).

To sign up to learn more about Motorola XPRT, please visit www.motorola.com/XPRT.

Leading in Push-to-Talk

As the successor to the popular Motorola i1 launched by Sprint last year, Motorola Titanium is sleek and attractive, yet durable. It is the first iDEN device to combine Sprint’s best-in-class Nextel Direct Connect and Android 2.1, Éclair, for a feature rich business-class experience. It features a full QWERTY keyboard and 3.1-inch touchscreen display. Built military-grade tough, Motorola Titanium is certified to Military Specification 810G for dust, shock, vibration, low pressure, solar radiation, high temperature and low temperature.

With more than 17 years of expertise, Sprint is the industry leader in Push-to-Talk, serving the world’s largest Push-to-Talk community with millions of Nextel Direct Connect subscribers on the fastest national Push-to-Talk network. Nextel Direct Connect has set the industry standard for Push-to-Talk worldwide. More U.S. workers communicate in less than a second with Nextel Direct Connect than with any other Push-to-Talk service.

Additional key features of Motorola Titanium include:

• Support for Nextel Direct Connect Services, including Direct Connect, Group Connect^®, International Direct Connect^®, DirectSend^SM, Group Messaging and NextMail^®
• Android Market for access to more than 150,000 applications, widgets and games available for download
• Google mobile services such as Google Search, Gmail, Google Talk, Google Maps with Navigation, syncing with Google Calendar™ and YouTube
• Corporate email (Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync) and personal (POP3 & IMAP) email
• 5-megapixel camera with camcorder, 4x zoom and flash
• Wi-Fi b/g
• Stereo Bluetooth
• GPS navigation
• microSD slot, with a 2GB memory card included, supporting up to 32GB
• 1820 mAh Lithium-ion battery

To learn more about Motorola Titanium, please visit www.motorola.com/titanium.

Sprint has earned top honors in the competitive business marketplace – winning the #1 ranking for overall satisfaction for wireless voice service providers and a matching #1 ranking in overall satisfaction for wireless data service providers in a survey of large business decision makers, according to a comprehensive study by Yankee Group and Mobile Enterprise Magazine (www.mobileenterprisemag.com).¹ The study indicated that Sprint ranked first in overall satisfaction in wireless voice and data, and in voice services, ranked first or second in nine of the 10 categories among large business customers.

Verizon Wireless just took the wraps off of the Casio G’zOne Commando, its first rugged Android 2.2 (Froyo) smartphone. The G’zOne Commando meets mil-spec 810g standards for resistance against rain, immersion, shock, dust, vibration, humidity, salt fog, solar radiation, altitude, and low and high temperatures. It packs a 5-megapixel camera, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Verizon Wireless’ mobile hotspot feature for sharing your 3G connection with other devices. Like earlier G’zOne devices, the Commando offers some of Casio’s G’zGear software as well, including a compass, pedometer, tide charts, a thermometer, sun/moon schedules, and a star gazer application. The Commando will hit Verizon Wireless stores on April 28th for 199.99 with a new two-year contract. Hit the jump for the full release.

VERIZON WIRELESS AND CASIO INTRODUCE THE CASIO G’ZONE COMMANDO

First Ruggedized Android Smartphone for Verizon Wireless

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Verizon Wireless and Casio today announced a new addition to the rugged wireless category and a new Android-powered smartphone in the marketplace, the CASIO G’zOne Commando™.  Deployment ready, the Commando is a mobile office with high security features for secure corporate email; Wi-Fi for high-speed Web access; XT9 and T9 trace input for efficient typing; and snap-out menu for customized access to high-use applications.

Designed to withstand the most extreme conditions, the CASIO G’zOne Commando easily transitions from work to play with advanced G’zGEAR software.  As the ultimate outdoor tool in a mobile device, G’zGEAR operates in eight modes to enhance the active, adventure-driven lifestyle.  With the help of its Triple Sensor technology utilizing direction, acceleration and temperature, G’zGEAR enables adventurers to perform at their peak.

The Casio Commando is ideal for the business environment, especially for fields such as construction, transportation, manufacturing, utilities and healthcare.  Workers in hazardous environments, such as construction sites, warehouses and factory floors, need a smartphone that has the capability to download blueprints, files and pictures; update project plans; access field force management, inventory access and corporate applications; and capture signatures.

Key features:
·         Android™ 2.2
·         Meets Military Standards 810G for  Immersion, Rain, Shock and Dust Resistant, Vibration, Salt Fog, Humidity, Solar Radiation, Altitude, Low and High Temperature Storage
·         5-megapixel camera with auto-focus, still photo, video capture, LED light
·         High-security encryption for corporate email
·         Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n connectivity
·         Stereo Bluetooth™
·         VZ Navigator® for GPS and audible turn-by-turn directions
·         Mobile Hotspot capable-share 3G connection with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices

Lifestyle features:
·         G’zGear operates in eight modes
o    Earth Compass – Functions as a standard compass, the GPS shows the distance and direction to several domestic and international landmarks, including Yosemite National Park and Mt. Everest.
o    Walking Counter – Measures steps, distance and energy consumption, and total steps for the day, week or month. It also provides virtual treks for famous North American trails and roads including Mt. Kilimanjaro, Annapurna Circuit, Torres Del Paine Circuit, John Muir Trail and Transcontinental
o    Adventure Training – Takes training to a new level by allowing users to run with virtual opponents, like world-record holders, wild animals, or their own best personal performance stored in the training history.
o    Trip Memory – Plots and records outdoor activities along with location information to share with friends and family on Twitter™ and Facebook®.
o    Tides – Showcases the tidal graph for the day; time of tide ebb and flow; and current, past and future sea tide levels. GPS displays the nearest location map.
o    Thermometer – Displays current temperature in both Celsius and Fahrenheit with numeric and graphic thermometer readings and compares the current temperature across multiple locations.
o    Sun / Moon – Checks the time of the next sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset, and tracks the moon phases for your current location.
o    Star Gazer – Utilizes GPS to display the stars and constellation names based on the current season and time.

Pricing and availability:
·         The CASIO G’zOne Commando will be available online at www.verizonwireless.com on April 28 for $199.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.  CASIO G’zOne Commando customers will need to subscribe to a data plan.  Unlimited data plans are available to customers starting at $29.99 monthly access.
·         Business customers who want to purchase the device can contact their Business Sales Representatives at 1-800-VZW-4BIZ.

For more information on the CASIO G’zOne Commando or for other Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.  Customers can visit www.CasioGzOne.com to experience the CASIO G’zOne Commando.

Back in December of last year, Motorola boss Sanjay Jha made it known that the company planned to take the tablet market very seriously. With its first tablet offering pulling in an estimated $50 million or more each month, it’s certainly likely that Motorola is planning an all-out assault on the market. During a keynote speech at the Credit Suisse 2010 Technology Conference, Jha revealed that Motorola intends to target enterprise markets with a variety of tablet devices. Jha mentioned the retail market specifically during his speech, but it looks like Motorola is preparing a rugged 7-inch tablet as well. Spec highlights include a dual-core 1GHz processor, Android 2.3, a 7-inch display, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and a ruggedized case. No name or release details are available for the time being.

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Boasting of “the power of Sprint 3G and military-grade toughness,” Sprint announced Thursday the launch of its first sub-$100 submersible handset, the Sanyo Taho. Featuring a ruggedized housing and a non-slip grip, the Taho is an ideal device for a variety of labor industries. Sanyo’s Taho is built to military 810G spec and can withstand dust, shock, vibration, extreme temperatures, blowing rain and even water immersion. It also features a clamshell form factor, a 2-megapixel camera with LED flash and video capture support, GPS, Bluetooth, microSDHC support and more. The Sanyo Taho is available immediately online and in Sprint stores for $99.99 after rebate with a two-year contract. Hit the break for Sprint’s press release.

Ruggedized, Water Resistant Sanyo Taho by Kyocera Gives New Meaning to Term ‘Tough Talk,’ Becomes Sprint’s First Fully Submersible Phone Available for Less Than $100

SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Mother Nature has met her match with the new Sanyo Taho by Kyocera, a ruggedized handset that, despite its good looks, can withstand some of the harshest elements and 30 minutes of full immersion in water up to one meter (3.28 feet) deep. Kyocera Communications Inc., provider of Kyocera- and Sanyo-branded wireless devices, announced Sprint’s (NYSE: S) launch of the new handset today, making it Sprint’s first fully submersible device available for less than $100. Sanyo Taho is available beginning today through direct-ship sales channels, including Sprint stores, Web sales (www.sprint.com) and Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1) for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate.* It will be available in all remaining Sprint sales channels beginning Jan. 9, 2011.

“This is our first handset that pairs a tough, military-grade design with features to stand up to the rigors and demands of extreme jobs and lifestyles”

Sanyo Taho’s rugged exterior and non-slip grip make it right at home on construction sites, security beats, delivery routes—anywhere you need (or want) to be. Being “military tough” (military standard 810G) means it can stand up to dust, shock, vibration, extreme temperatures, blowing rain and water immersion. But Sanyo Taho doesn’t scrimp on features; the clamshell handset supports applications including Sprint Navigation and Sprint Family Locator, and includes a robust front-ported speaker phone and a 2 megapixel camera with flash and camcorder.

“This is our first handset that pairs a tough, military-grade design with features to stand up to the rigors and demands of extreme jobs and lifestyles,” said Yasuhiro Ohishi, vice president of sales and marketing at Kyocera Communications Inc. “This is the answer for people who are rough on phones or, for whatever reason, regularly find themselves around water. Between outdoor sports and jobs that routinely involve harsh environments, Sanyo Taho will help make sure its users are always connected. Anyone who has lost a phone to the elements will understand its value.”

Sanyo Taho’s ergonomic shape is covered in a non-slip Dura-Grip® texture to ensure a solid grip. It has a 2-inch QVGA TFT internal display and 1-inch monochrome external display. The phone includes 256 MB of internal memory, a 1 GB microSD memory card (provided with handset) and support for memory cards up to 32GB. Sanyo Taho uses CDMA 1xEV-DO network technology, supporting autonomous GPS and Java Multitasking for third-party location-based services. For workplace or family settings, Sanyo Taho can restrict incoming and outgoing voice calls with password protection, disable both the camera and Web access, and lock the phone’s GPS functionality on so the phone’s location can always be tracked. Sanyo Taho offers a robust talk time of up to 6.1 hours.

Kyocera’s full line of Kyocera- and Sanyo-branded devices can be seen at www.kyocera-wireless.com.

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The CASIO G’zOne Ravine may not be the ideal handset for most, but arguably, everyone knows someone who could benefit from owning a device like this. You know the person we’re talking about. That person who is always emailing you, or sending you Facebook messages, because they’ve dropped their phone in a puddle, pond, or pudding. Yeah, that person. Today, Verizon Wireless announced the CASIO G’zOne Ravine handset, a rough and rugged flip phone that is built to withstand water, dust, shock, vibration, humidity, altitude, salt fog, solar radiation, and high and low temperatures. The device, which carries the MIL-STD-810G certification, also packs a 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash and a noise-canceling microphone. The Ravine comes with several “lifestyle features”; in-case that clumsy friend you know also happens to also love granola, the outdoors, and Subarus. The lifestyle features include a compass, walking counter, thermometer, tides, sunrise and sunset times, astro calendar, and star gazer. Groovy man. The hippie-compliant device will retail for $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and new 2-year agreement.

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Remember that rough and rugged handset with the code name Jordan we told you about last month? Well, it looks like it has come full circle, as today, Motorola announced the DEFY handset for U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile. The DEFY has a 3.7-inch WVGA, scratch-resistant touchscreen display, a “Flash-Lite enabled” web browser, DLNA support, 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, and the MOTOBLUR UI overlay. As the press release states: “Motorola DEFY is scratch and water resistant as well as dust proof, protecting you from life’s little challenges such as a sudden rain shower to a drop in the sand. Pre-installed on the DEFY, CrystalTalk PLUS vanquishes noisy environments with two microphones that intelligently filter out background noise and amplify your voice so you don’t have to shout.” The release did not detail pricing, but did say that the handset would “be available exclusively to T-Mobile USA customers in time for the holidays.”

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Boost Mobile might have the Motorola i1 as a ruggedized Android handset, but we’ve just been informed that T-Mobile will be upping the stakes. A new Motorola Android phone, codenamed Jordan, is set for a November launch on T-Mo. The interesting thing about the Motorola Jordan is not that it is just a ruggedized handset, bur rather that we’ve heard the phone will actually be completely waterproof down to 10 meters (that’s just shy of 33-feet for those of you who are metrically challenged). Even IP67 certified. So, the phone will be swimming with the fishes at launch then?

Thanks, Daddy G.!

What’s going to be harder to get than a Samsung Super AMOLED display? An unbreakable Samsung AMOLED display of course! OLED-Display.net is reporting that within the next two years Samsung is aiming to have ultra-rugged, unbreakable smartphone screens available to OEMs. The report does not detail whether the digitizer will be included on this unbreakable AMOLED display — the digitizer is what registers touch input and what makes a Super AMOLED display “super” — but if we had to guess, we’d say probably not. You don’t have to take anyones word on the staying power of these new panels. Hit the jump to see what happens when a mallet meets a prototype of this flexible, bendable, very-hard-to-breakable, AMOLED display (spoiler alert: it doesn’t break).

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Available today from Verizon Wireless is the long awaited Casio G’zOne Brigade. The Brigade keeps the rugged good looks of its G’zOne predecessors but shakes things up by debuting as a horizontal clamshell instead of the traditional flip phone. The Brigade also ups the specs of the G’zOne line by offering the following:

• 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, flash, video capture and LED light function
• Full QWERTY keyboard
• Push to Talk
• Field Force Manager
• MIL-STD-810F standards for Water, shock, dust, immersion, vibration, humidity, salt fog, altitude, high and low temperature storage, and solar radiation
• GPS with support for VZ Navigator
• Front facing speakerphone
• Text to speech capability
• microSD expansion

The Casio G’zOne Brigade hits the shelves of Verizon Wireless at a rather pricey $249 after a $50 mail in rebate and two year contract, $319.99 after a $50 mail in rebate and one year contract and $419 full retail. It also comes with an optional $5 monthly PTT plan and is outrageously classified as a 3G Multimedia phone which will require a minimum 25MB data plan for $9.99 monthly. Anyone interested in a $250 feature phone with mandatory data?

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While heralding the launch of the HTC Imagio, Big Red snuck in a few extra goodies and made the rugged, PTT-capable Motorola Barrage, the entry level Nokia 2705 Shade, the QWERTY-packing Verizon Wireless Razzle and a 3G-enabled Gateway netbook official. All rumors and innuendos about these myriad of devices have been confirmed with launch dates and pricing as follows:

• Motorola Barrage: Available on October 1st for $129.99 after a 2-year contract and a $50 mail-in rebate. Non-camera version available October 21st
• Nokia 2705 Shade: Available on October 6th for $29.99 with a 2-year contract
• Verizon Wireless Razzle: Available on October 6th for $69.99 with a 2-year contract
• Gateway LT2016u: Available on October 4th for $149.99 after a 2-year contract and a $100 mail-in rebate

With a feature phone for every family member, a smartphone and a netbook to boot, there is a proverbial cornucopia of new wireless devices on the way for Verizon Wireless customers. Now if Big Red could just take the wraps off that Motorola Tao so we can stop squinting at those blurrycam photos. Hit the jump for a few more press shots.

That rumored imminent announcement has come sooner rather than later as Nokia has made the rugged 3720 classic official today. The press release was light on the specifications but did confirm that the 3720 classic will be IP54 certified for water, dust and shock, and will feature an Integrated LED flashlight, 2.2-inch display, 2 megapixel camera with flash, microSD card slot (ships with 1GB card installed) and extended battery life. The Nokia 3720 will be available later this summer in a variety of colors for an expected retail cost of  €125 ($174 USD) before subsidies or taxes. Will it blend?

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Over the past few days, the folks over at Nokia have been putting an unknown handset through a variety of torture tests on video, presumably to whet our appetites for an imminent announcement. The poor little guy has been dunked in a pint, smacked with a golf club, punted through the air, drowned in a pool and even dropped two stories off a ladder — each and every time followed by the phrase “it’s still working!” Suffice it to say, this new Nokia kit is ruggedized and it fairs extremely well in a variety of real world accident scenarios. As many had assumed, it looks like said handset is shaping up to be the IP54-certified 3720 classic we first heard about last month. Specs were reported this morning as follows:

• Water and dust resistant (IP54 certificate)
• Battery life: over 2.5 weeks standby time
• FM radio
• Integrated flashlight
• S40 OS
• 2.2-inch QVGA display, 16M colors
• 25MB internal memory
• MicroSD card slot
• Bluetooth
• 3.2 megapixel camera

Pretty decent for a handset that can take a serious beating. Nokia will certainly be announcing this scrapper soon but for the time being, it’s rumored to be hitting the streets some time in September at an unknown price. Hit the jump for a few of our favorite 3720 torture test videos.

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