So Verizon has announced their loaded holiday phone lineup a few days ago, but what about AT&T and T-Mobile? For sure they got some new phones ready to spend some holiday cheer with right? Of course they do, and we’re talking some really nice ones– like new BlackBerrys,  and even a new Samsung Behold 2 and LG Shine 2. What you waiting for, hit the link and get to it!

Ok, so let’s start with T-Mobile’s new phones first, and let’s start with the brand new, Google Android packing, Samsung Behold 2.

Samsung Behold 2

The Samsung Behold 2– with this cool looking cube

So the myTouch 3G just isn’t what your looking for in a new all touchscreen Android phone. You want something different, something more sleek and customized while still keeping Android. If so then this is gonna be the phone for you. Samsung and T-Mobile are bringing out the next version of the popular all touchscreen Samsung Behold, and boy is this some major upgrade. Not only are you now getting a clear, awesome 3.2 inch AMOLED screen that Samsung loves to use on new devices (see Sprint’s Android powered Moment, AT&T’s Impression, and Verizon’s Rouge), but also adding WiFi AND Android. Now this is what we call an upgrade to a device.

Samsung even customized Android further (like what HTC and Motorola have done with HTC Sense and MOTOBLUR respectivly), giving a nicer look to Android, while even throwing in things like TouchWiz for more widgets, and a very cool looking 6-way “cube” for accessing the multimedia features of the phone like YouTube, the internet, the Amazon Mp3 store, as well as your pix, music and videos.

Other specs on the phone include 3G, GPS, 5 megapixel camera with flash, auto focus and video (like the first Behold), Android 1.5 (sadly this isn’t the new Android 2.0 like on the Droid) with apps like Google Maps, Android Market, Google Talk etc., and up to 16 GB of memory through microSD card.

All in all, a pretty solid phone that if priced right (below $200– though price is currently unknown), could be a solid phone for T-Mobile users when it launches tomorrow on November 18th.

Ok, now let’s go to AT&T’s side of things, but before we do that, let’s take a look at the all the new 3G BlackBerry Bold 9700 that will be coming to BOTH T-Mobile and AT&T over the next few days.

BlackBerry Bold 9700

The T-Mobile version of the Bold 9700

The new Bold is just sick, a pretty much perfect upgrade to the first AT&T-only Bold. You got a design similar to that of Verizon and Sprint’s Tour (it also is no where near the massive size of the first Bold), which has a great feel in the hand, while also giving you that new optical trackpad found on the Curve 2. Specs wise, you get everything you’d expect in the highest end BlackBerry:

• 2.44 inch display– A tad smaller than the first Bold’s, but still a nice, big screen.
• 3G–  on both AT&T and T-Mobile’s versions.
• WiFi– And when on T-Mobile you can use this with Hotspot @Home
• GPS
• 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, auto focus and video– Up from 2 megapixel on the first Bold.
• Visual Voicemail
• microSD slot
• BlackBerry OS 5.0 with BlackBerry App World for apps.
  

If your on T-Mobile or AT&T and need/want a new BlackBerry, then we gotta say you’ll need to check this out.

T-Mobile users can pick up a Bold 9700 now for $200 with a new 2 year contract and an Even More plan, and AT&T users can pick their’s  up this coming Sunday the 22nd, also for $200 (and can check it out now at AT&T’s business preview site).

Now let’s go to some new phones AT&T is bringing out over the coming days.

BlackBerry Curve 8520

AT&T’s BlackBerry Curve 8520

Ok, so this is pretty much the AT&T version of T-Mobile’s Curve 2 that they released over 3 months ago (hey, better late then never we suppose), and is pretty much the same phone, specs wise:

• Thin design– Like all the latest BlackBerry’s, this thing definitely looks nice and should be easy to carry around.
• Touch Sensitive Optical Trackpad– Like with the new Bold 9700.
• Full QWERTY keyboard– Wouldn’t be a BlackBerry without it.
• Dedicated Media keys– This is also new for BlackBerry’s, as you now have dedicated play/pause, rewind and fast forward keys like you find on most non-smartphones. This should be great for controlling your music while your phone is in your pocket and is about time BlackBerry added this.
• 2 megapixel camera with video recording– Decent camera, but not as great as the Curve 8900 which is 3.2 megapixel with flash and video recording.
• BlackBerry App World– For downloading apps.
• Mp3 player with microSD card slot
• WiFi– Though no 3G.

This BlackBerry is expected to come out sometime over the next “couple of weeks” for $99.99 on a new 2 year contract (though seeing as you can get the Bold 9700 with more power and 3G for just $100 more, we’d recommend going for that– remember, your signing a 2 year and in the long haul that 3G is more than worth it in my opinion).

LG Shine 2

The all new LG Shine 2

Finally! Seeing as the Shine has been out since 2007, we figure it’s about time AT&T got to updating this popular phone. The aptly named Shine 2, is that successor, though sadly, minus a few new design changes it is pretty much the same ‘ol Shine. Meaning you still got a 2 megapixel camera, 3G, that miror like 2.2 inch screen, GPS and a microSD card slot.

Pretty simple and should be a solid phone, but come on AT&T– why is this $119.99 in 2009 almost 2010! The old Shine, which again had pretty much the same specs and look, was pretty much free on contract! Let’s hope this price becomes much lower and reasonable (maybe between $30 and $50 with contract) very soon after it launches with the Bold 9700 (only $80 more!) on Sunday, November 22nd.

So there you have it. All the latest on new phones for AT&T and T-Mobile coming real soon. You looking for a new phone this holiday season? Any of these on your wishlist? Let us know in the comments.

Wow– we thought Verizon would slow up on the new products for a little bit after it just announced and released one the biggest phones of the year last week, the Motorola Droid. But we were dead wrong (I mean the Droid just launched yesterday!). The other day, Verizon took the wraps off 4 new phones for the holiday and there seems to be something for everyone. We’re talking new BlackBerry Curve, new LG Chocolate phone, new Samsung phone specially designed to withstand being dropped or spilled upon, and another Android phone– the HTC Droid Eris (Verizon’s version of the HTC Hero).

While none of these are as powerful as the Motorola Droid, there is still some sick stuff here that you’d definitely want to know about– so what you waiting for, hit the more link and get to it!

Samsung Convoy

One of those people that always seems to be dropping your phone or spilling something on it? Want that extra protection against such accidents? Then listen up as that’s what Verizon and Samsung got for you here. The Samsung Convoy, like the Casio EXILIM that was launched early this year, meets military specs, meaning don’t worry bout this phone getting dropped or wet and then breaking down on you. Unlike the EXILIM, this isn’t as loaded with features like a 5 megapixel camera– instead going with a 2 megapixel camera, 3G, GPS with VZ Navigator and push to talk (walkie talkie). The design also isn’t like the swivel screen EXILIM, instead looking like your normal flip phone.

Though a phone being this simple can be a good thing, priced at only $49.99 with a new 2 year contract. It launches in a little over a week on November 15th.

LG Chocolate Touch

The LG Chocolate Touch is the next in the hit LG Chocolate line, going away from the Chocolate 3’s flip phone design in favor for an all touchscreen one.  Of course, like all the phones in the Chocolate series, this phone is loaded with features, particularly music-based ones.

• Thin design with 3 inch touchscreen– I think the best comparison here is with the LG Dare and Versa, meaning thin and comfortable for pockets of all sizes.
• 3G with V Cast services like V Cast Music, Video….
  
• Built in apps for Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace– There even is a special social network key that will give you one touch access to update your status’.
• 3.2 megapixel camera with video and built in photo editor– So you can make your shots look nice before sending them to Facebook.
• Visual Voicemail
• GPS with VZ Navigator
• Threaded Messaging– Your texts will look like an IM conversation instead of a bunch of different replys.

Of course, like the Chocolate 3, this thing is a music BEAST! And wow, LG has bumped that up even more here.

• Music Player with Dolby Mobile– Meaning surround sound, better bass etc., be it through optional speakers or on headphones. In other words, you’ll get a sick music experience that looks to rival an iPod or Zune. Oh, and it’s got a regular 3.5 mm headphone jack so you don’t need any special headphones.
• 1 GB of built-in memory just for songs– You got room for about 250 out of the box, with the ability to up that to 16 GB through a microSD card.
• FM Radio built in– The Chocolate 3 sadly only had an FM transmitter, which let you play your music in say, a car over the FM radio, but it didn’t give you an actual FM radio to listen to stations. The Chocolate Touch looks to fix that by giving you one built-in. (No word on whether the FM transmitter made it back in as well, though I think getting a full FM radio is a more than acceptable upgrade.)
• Join the Band Mode– This is pretty awesome, and something we’ve never seen on a phone before. This let’s you play along with the song your listening to with either a full drum kit complete with snare drum, kick drum, floor tom, hi-hat cymbal, ride cymbal, crash cymbal, and even a cowbell! Or you can go with a full 88 key keyboard. You also got the option to press “Pause” to stop the music and show off solo skills. I’m not gonna lie, this sounds pretty cool.

Best part? It’s available NOW, for only $79.99 with a new 2 year contract from Verizon’s site.

Ok, now to some of the big boys. First up, a new BlackBerry Curve!

BlackBerry Curve 8530

A couple of weeks ago we wrote about T-Mobile getting a cheaper, new BlackBerry Curve 8520 complete with a sleeker design and new trackpad. Well, today Verizon get’s their own version of said Curve, bringing all those features to Verizon with even some new ones thrown in. What we got?

• Thin design– Like all the latest BlackBerry’s, this thing definitely looks thin and nice and should be easy to carry around.
• Touch Sensitive Optical Trackpad– Instead of the trackball found on older BlackBerry’s
• Full QWERTY keyboard– Wouldn’t be a BlackBerry without it.
• Verizon 3G– 3G was something the Curve’s BlackBerry really lacked, and we’re glad that Verizon’s has it.
• 2 megapixel camera with video recording– Decent camera, but not as great as the Curve 8900 which is 3.2 megapixel with flash and video recording.
• BlackBerry App World– For downloading apps.
• GPS with VZ Navigator
• WiFi– something the Tour was sadly missing.
• Mp3 player with microSD card slot and dedicated media keys at the top– Comes with a 1 GB card out of the box, but you can always replace it with a bigger memory card (up to 32 GB)  if you want. The media keys is pretty great as seen on T-Mobile’s Curve, as you now have dedicated play/pause, rewind and fast forward keys like you find on most non-smartphones. This should be great for controlling your music while your phone is in your pocket.

All in all, another nice Verizon BlackBerry, that with the Storm2 and Tour, should give anyone looking for a new Verizon BlackBerry something that suits them perfectly. The Curve 8530 will be out on November 20th, for an also not too bad $99.99 on new 2 year contract and BlackBerry email and web plan.

HTC Droid Eris

This is the biggest news of Verizon’s new products announced today. Their 2nd Android device, and it too isn’t a bad one. Called the Droid Eris (looks like Verizon plans to name all their Android phones with some sort of Droid name), this is their version of the awesomely specd HTC Hero from Sprint, and looks to bring another solid Android experience to Verizon users. It’s even got some updates that the more powerful Motorola Droid is missing, like interface customizations such as HTC Sense (while the Motorola Droid runs the stock Android interface, you get the nicer looking and more social connected HTC Sense here), and more importantly, multi-touch (something that for a reason we can’t think of didn’t make it into the Droid. HTC made sure to put it on here, and we’re really glad Verizon kept it).

That being said, it still runs Android 1.5, not 2.0 like the Moto Droid, and therefore doesn’t have all the awesome updates like the better web browser and Google Maps Navigation (rumors are that the HTC Hero devices will be getting 2.0, so let’s hope Verizon and HTC it here soon). It also runs a slower processor than the new Droid, and doesn’t have the slide out keyboard and better display also found on the Droid. So what you getting here? Specs:

• Verizon 3G
• WiFi
• GPS with digital compass (like what’s on the new iPhone 3GS)
• 3.2 inch touchscreen with multi-touch (as mentioned above. This brings things like pinch to zoom on pix and web sites and using more than one finger at a time on the keyboard for typing)
• an awesome 5 megapixel camera with video
• 8 GB microSD memory card in the box (upgradable to 16 GB)
• Visual Voicemail
• Android Market for downloading apps, with Google Apps built in like YouTube, Gmail and Google Maps
  

Again, as with the Chocolate Touch and the BlackBerry Curve 8530, the price is the best part. You get all this for only $99.99 with a new 2 year contract (with a data or email plan), which is a whopping $80 cheaper than what Sprint charges for their Hero! Oh, and release date? Like the Chocolate Touch, it’s also out NOW! Yes, if you want Android today on Verizon and would prefer something without a slide out keyboard like the Motorola Droid, than look right here. You can check it out and order it at Verizon’s site here.

So that raps this latest Verizon phones post, and wow does their holiday phone line up look stacked. 2 Droids, a bunch of sick new BlackBerrys and a new Chocolate! If your on Verizon, what do you plan/want to get for your next phone?

full drum kit complete with snare drum, kick drum, floor tom,
      hi-hat cymbal, ride cymbal, crash cymbal, and even a cowbell
      --  The "Join the Band" piano function allows customers to play along
          on a full scrolling 88-key keyboard.  With the option to press
          "Pause" to stop the music and show off solo s
What this is, is mode that let's you "play along" with the songs your listening to. You can do this with either the full drum kit complete with all the bells and whistles like snare drum, kick drum, floor tom, hi-hat cymbal, ride cymbal, crash cymbal, even a cowbell! Or you can go with the piano function which lets you play while scrolling an 88-key keyboard. You can also "Pause" to stop the music and show off solo skills. This is pretty sick in my opinion.
kills, the
          possibilities of fun are endless

Watch out because here comes the Droid

Verizon users, today is your lucky day. Verizon , Google and Motorola have officially announced that one of the sickest phones of the year is coming to you– and very soon. Yup, the Droid is officially coming to Verizon, and brings some new Android 2.0 awesomeness that should make more companies than Apple a little nervous.

Ok, so in terms of specs, nothing we really haven’t covered in our previous Droid post– Verizon 3G, WiFi, 3.7 inch high res screen (we’re talking better than the iPhone’s screen here), 16 GB in the box (on a memory card), 5 megapixel camera with auto focus, flash and DVD quality video camera, Verizon Visual Voicemail, slide out full QWERTY keyboard with a design near the size of an iPhone, and Google’s Android 2.0… ok well that last part is a still a little new, and  where things got really interesting and plain awesome today.

This is the first of many devices to bring out Google’s next version of Android, Android 2.o. Android 2.0 brings along all the Android stuff we mentioned before– nicer looking interface, Facebook sync with contact app on the phone, built in apps like YouTube, GMail, Android Market, Amazon Mp3 store, and a better web browser.

Plus, there’s Google Maps, which got A LOT of news today, as now Google is also throwing in built in GPS guidance. We’re talking Garmin or TomTom quality GPS for FREE on your Android phone. Called Google Maps Navigation, this stuff is crazy. It brings all the latest Google Maps, Street Views, and live traffic, all constantly being updated to the latest info. This is something we’re really hoping Google brings to other Google Maps apps on other devices like Windows Mobile, webOS, BlackBerry and the iPhone.  (For right now, it probably is scaring the garbage out of competitors like Garmin and TomTom, or at least it looks like based on all the news of their respective stock prices dropping like a rock today, and can you blame them for not being scared of Google? Think bout it: $100 for the iPhone TomTom app versus a free Google app that does the same things on a bigger screen, for the perfect price of free). Motorola is also making docks for the Droid– one for using it in the car– like you would a regular GPS, and a multimedia station for syncing with your PC, showing off movies, pix and playing music, and also being an alarm clock with weather info from the GPS.

Anyways, check out this shot of the new navigation feature in action, looks pretty sweet no?

Google Maps Navigation– yeah, it’s that sick.

Now the big details: price and release. Well, you won’t have to wait long for this guy– the Droid comes out next week on November 6th, and the price is not that bad either, $199.99 with a new 2 year contract (with a $29.99 a month email and web plan) and $100 mail in rebate.

I don’t know bout you, but in my opinion this phone really looks to be Verizon’s true answer to the iPhone (we know it wasn’t the first Storm based on last year’s problems), and a device that if I were on Verizon, I’d definitely look into as it looks to be a great “do it all” phone.  What you think? You like what Motorola and Verizon got cooking here in the Droid, or you looking for something different in your next phone? The world wants to know, so let your voice be heard in the comments.

You can see full details on the Droid at Verizon’s preview site here.

If you’ve been watching any TV over the last few days (or any of the amazing Yanks-Angels series), you’ve probably been seeing the above commercial pretty often. This Motorola/Verizon commercial seems to be poking a lot of fun at what the iPhone lacks: a keyboard, a 5 megapixel camera, flash, multitasking, customization, widgets, and removable battery.

This all done in a very iPhone-like ad, the black text on white background and with chilled, fun music in the background. Though the end of the commercial says little of what their new device, the Droid, does or even looks like, other than that you should look forward to November. Well, if you don’t want to wait that long to learn about this exciting new phone, we have all the info and pix right here, and Verizon users– this one’s definitely for you.

Ok, first off, the name– Droid is short for Android, as in Google’s Android OS. This is the first Android device coming to Verizon, and boy is it awesome. The device is sleek looking with a huge 3.7 inch touchscreen and full slide out QWERTY keyboard (hence the keyboard comment in the ad), and is definitely one of the nicest looking slider phones we’ve ever seen– far better than the first Android slider phone, the T-Mobile G1.

The Motorola Droid– the phone behind the hype

Specs wise, your getting another really loaded device:

• Verizon 3G– Yes, this bad boy is coming to you lucky ones on Verizon.
• Dual microphones– For you know, making good sounding calls.
• 5 megapixel camera– With the ability to take photos in the dark using the really bright dual LED flash, and a whole lot more. You got image stabilization here as well, and the ability to take DVD quality videos!

The 5 Megapixel camera with flash on the back of the Droid

• GPS
• WiFi
• Verizon Visual Voicemail
• 3.5mm headphone jack– For using your regular headphones.

And then there’s one of the biggest features that is so big we’re can’t possibly put it on the bullet list: Android 2.0!

This is obviously a huge update to the Android platform, and looks to bring a bunch of new features to Android. We’re talking better contact integration with your Facebook and GMail (kinda like Motorola already does with their MOTOBLUR Android skin on the Cliq. Sadly, rumors are saying that Verizon and Motorola aren’t bringing MOTOBLUR to the Droid), a nicer looking interface, and my personal favorite– updated web browser with, coming next year, full Adobe Flash 10 support! While Android’s browser is already very good at displaying sites, using the same Webkit browser found on other phones like the iPhone and Palm Pre, this phone though will let you view websites that require Flash 10, like Hulu or ESPN vids (no known plans for the iPhone OS to be getting Flash anytime soon, though you can expect the Palm, Windows Mobile and BlackBerry phones to have Flash 10 on their mobile browsers next year as well). This though is still amazing.

You also get the usual Android apps: the Android market for downloading more apps, Google search with voice searching, GMail, Google Talk for IM, Google Maps with turn by turn directions and Street View, YouTube, and it even comes with other non-Google built in apps like the Amazon Mp3 store, QuickOffice for viewing Word, PowerPoint and Excel files, and Facebook.

The Droid when closed– pretty thin for a phone with a full slide out keyboard

We still don’t know an exact price or release date, but we obviously can expect it really soon (Motorola and Verizon wouldn’t hint toward November if they weren’t planning on announcing and releasing this right?). You gotta admit though, this looks like a sick phone– we told you Verizon’s got a lot of sick stuff on the way (and this and the Storm 2 aren’t the end of the new phones coming Verizon’s way, rumors are pointing to a lot more). If your looking for a new Verizon phone, you couldn’t have picked a better time to start looking.

We’ll of course keep you up to date on all the latest Droid news (you can sign up here at Verizon’s site for the latest emails as well), and all the latest Verizon phones. Though what do you think– does the Droid look to live up to all the hype it’s getting, or will it not come near the success the iPhone has had?

The Verizon BlackBerry Storm2 (pic from CNET)

Remember the BlackBerry Storm 2– the easy-to-use touchscreen BlackBerry we all were hoping for when the original Storm came out? Yeah, we know it looks awesome, and over the past few days reviews on the phone have been popping up all over the internet, even though Verizon hasn’t yet officially confirmed the phone’s upcoming release (though don’t worry Verizon BlackBerry users, it is).

UPDATE 10/26: Verizon confirmed today that the Storm2 will be launching this Wednesday, October 28th, for $179.99 on a new 2 year contract and after an $100 mail in rebate. It’ll also be launching with BlackBerry OS 5.0 which brings a lot of updates like a better browser and better typing. The OS 5.0 update is also available now for original Storm owners, which should help make the first Storm much easier to use).

The reviews, such as by Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal (who in the same article also reviews the new Android powered Motorola Cliq for T-Mobile) and CNET, seem to love the new Storm, particularly:

• It’s improved screen with much better SurePress technology, (with which you push down on the touchscreen as though a real button, rather than the usual tapping found on a regular BlackBerry like the Curve or Tour). As we all know, the first Storm’s screen was pretty hard to use– at best.
• Built in WiFi (finally!!)
• 18 GB of storage in box (according to the Wall Street Journal)
• An improved touch interface with even some multitouch, like for copy and paste (exciting we know) and typing with 2 fingers on the screen, though no word on other multitouch gestures like “pinch to zoom”.

Still, for those familiar with the original Storm phone, don’t expect a better browser or more intuitive keyboard (it takes a little time to get used to using the new SurePress keyboard).

All in all, this looks to be a solid Storm, and a whole lot better than the first one. But, you should know, Verizon is planning A LOT of awesome smartphones for this year (such as a couple of Android phones and other sick phones–we’ll keep you in the loop, don’t worry), so we’d say you should wait to see what else Verizon’s got planned before running to buy this new Storm.

For all the info on what’s new in the BlackBerry Storm2, see our previous post here.

Now all we need is Verizon to come clean and tell us when it’ll be available (rumors are around November time for the same $200 price as when the first Storm launched) (see above update), and we’ll be all set.

We wanna know what you think– Storm 2 gonna make you wanna go back to the touchscreen BlackBerry? Holding off because of the problems with the original Storm? Would rather something like a Pre, iPhone, Touch Pro2 or some other phone instead? Let the world know your thoughts in the comments.

The Samsung Moment for Sprint

In a couple of days, Sprint will be releasing it’s first-ever Google Android-powered phone: the awesome HTC Hero. Now if you were interested in getting an Android powered Sprint phone, but were more into something with a real full QWERTY keyboard, like with the T-Mobile G1 or Motorola Cliq, listen up– Sprint is prepping something for you too.

Meet the Samsung Moment (also known to some as the InstinctQ)– a pretty solid looking phone, that also is nicely spec’d. Let’s take a look at what we got here shall we?

• 3.2 inch AMOLED touchscreen with slide out full QWERTY keyboard and trackpad– Think of this as kinda like the G1 or Cliq in terms of design, just with a better screen than both (the screen, just for comparision’s sake, is like that on AT&T’s Samsung Impression– which is awesome). There also is a trackpad, like on the new BlackBerry 8520, which should help with navigating the device.
• 800 MHZ processor– This thing should run REALLY fast (the iPhone 3GS  by comparison clocks in at 600 MHZ, and the Cliq and G1 are both around 528 MHZ–  so your getting A LOT more power here)!
• Sprint 3G
• WiFi and GPS
  
• Google Android OS with Google– The “with Google” part means that unfortunately don’t expect a TouchWiz or any other type of customization like MOTOBLUR on the Cliq or HTC Sense on the Hero. You only get the standalone Android here. That’s not all bad though, as you still get the….
• Android Market and other Google apps like Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, etc.– You’ll get access to the thousands of apps already in the Android Market, and Sprint even has their own Android versions of Sprint TV, Sprint Navigation, and NFL and NASCAR apps already pre-installed onto the device.
• 3.2 Megapixel camera with Flash, video camera and auto-focus
• Support for Sprint Any Mobile, Anytime– This is Sprint’s new calling feature added to the Everything plan, and for $69.99 a month you get the usual unlimited data and text, but now the ability to call anyone in the country– no matter if their on AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, whatever– without the need to worry about minutes. It’s now also got unlimited calling!

You can check the full press release here, and you can expect in Sprint stores November 1st for the same price of the Hero– $179.99  with a 2 year contract and $100 mail in rebate– which requires a Sprint Everything plan. Hit the more link for a quick YouTube of the phone in action, and click here to sign up for Sprint to keep you up to date (though don’t worry, we got you covered right here).

This has been a pretty big week for cell phones, and AT&T in particular. Announcements about 6 new phones, including the HTC Touch Pro2, Touch Diamond2 and new feature phones, were announced in varying detail this week by AT&T, and boy, some of these look really good, and I mean really good.

HTC Pure

The HTC Pure

The HTC Pure is basically AT&T’s version of the Touch Diamond2– an all touchscreen, Windows Mobile phone. It’s pretty sweet and a really solid looking phone, while still packing in some impressive features:

• Thin, 3.2 inch all touchscreen design– Kinda looking like an iPhone, just with some more physical buttons on the front. It also has that great zoom bar right underneath the screen for zooming in and out of pix, web sites etc. It don’t look too bad either. The touchscreen also gives off “haptic feedback”, or a little vibration, when you tap the screen to replicate the feel of pressing a real button. Sadly though, no multi-touch here folks.
• AT&T 3G with AT&T services like Video Share, AT&T Mobile Music, Cellular Video…
  
• Windows Mobile 6.5 with HTC TouchFlo 3D– This runs Microsoft’s latest mobile OS, designed to be more finger-friendly for touchscreens than previous versions of the OS (something Windows Mobile BADLY needed). Touch Flo 3D, is well, HTC’s awesome skin for Windows Mobile that we all know and love, and makes Windows Mobile into a MUCH better touch phone. Touch Flo 3D gives you a cool and simple way to get to all the info you need– mail, texts, photos, contacts (which now pull in the latest Facebook status updates to the contact’s page!), music (with it’s own variation of Cover Flow), apps, weather and more– all from the homescreen. It really is awesome.
• WiFi, GPS and Accelerometer (like in the iPhone and iPod touch, you flip the phone to it’s side when your, say, texting or viewing a web page, the phone will automatically rotate the screen and keyboard).
• 5 Megapixel Camera with Auto-Focus and Video capture– Pretty impressive for such a thin phone, it even offers Geo-tagging (automatically adds the GPS location of where you took that pic into the pic’s file itself. Good if you wanted to post on to Flickr or Facebook where exactly you got took shot of Times Square from), and panoramic shooting modes.
• Apps from Windows Marketplace for Mobile or AT&T’s App Center– You can download apps using Microsoft’s new Windows Marketplace for Mobile app store or AT&T’s own App Center. Of course, you still can install apps straight from your computer.
• Mp3 Player and FM Radio with microSD slot– FM Radio unfortunately only works with the optional wired headset.

Overall, a pretty solid phone for AT&T that looks nice while also bringing a little power. The Pure is out now for $149.99 with a new 2 year contract and a $50 mail in rebate (need to get at least a $20 a month internet or texting plan to get the rebate), and you can order it now from AT&T’s site here.

HTC Tilt 2

AT&T’s HTC Tilt 2

Remember the AT&T Tilt? That Windows Mobile 6 phone from about 2 years back that had a screen you could literally “tilt” up? Well, even if you don’t remember that phone, you’ll still be pretty interested in the next gen version that AT&T is finally bringing to the market. Honestly, it pretty much is AT&T’s version of the Touch Pro2 that Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon had for a few weeks now, just with the Tilt 2 name (similar to what AT&T did last year by calling the original Touch Pro the HTC Fuze, which we reviewed here). A recap of the feature’s on the Tilt2/ Touch Pro2:

• 3.6 inch High Res screen with slide out QWERTY keyboard– A great touch screen which, if it’s anything like the Touch Pro’s– and we assume this one’s much better– means you’re in for a great device. And of course like the older AT&T Tilt, the touchscreen tilts up– very cool. Though again, there’s sadly no multi-touch here either.
• AT&T 3G with Video Share, Mobile Music, Cellular Video…
  
• WiFi, GPS and Accelerometer
  
• Windows Mobile 6.5 with HTC TouchFlo 3D– See above with the Pure.
• 3.2 Megapixel camera with flash, auto focus and video capture
• HTC’s Straight Talk– Automatically turns on the speakerphone when you flip the phone over on a call. Pretty cool, and something that should work great with the Tilt 2’s noise canceling dual mics and dual speakers. Call’s look to sound great on this, which is good especially if you actually use your phone, as well, a phone.
• Apps from Windows Marketplace for Mobile or AT&T’s App Center– Again, see above with the Pure.

I really like the Tilt 2, I played with Touch Pro2 briefly the other day and it was great, and I love the ability of a slide out keyboard. That, plus the huge screen, makes texting from either the on screen keyboard or the slide out one an awesome experience. The Tilt 2 should be out pretty soon (basically any day this month– with the latest rumors saying October 18th), and will cost (unfortunately) a very high price of $299.99 after 2 year contract and $50 mail in rebate (come on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint both offer the Touch Pro2 for a much more reasonable $199.99, and they’ve already had this for a FEW weeks now). If AT&T lowers the price, I think they could have a big hit on their hands here.

Now let’s move to some of the new phones from Pantech and Samsung which AT&T is marketing as full web browser phones using the new Opera-powered AT&T web browser.

Pantech Reveal

The Pantech Reveal in blue (pic from Phone Arena)

This is the first of 2 new phones from Pantech, offering not just a slide out full QWERTY keyboard like the Samsung Propel, but instead of just one slide out QWERTY keypad, there is also a traditional phone keypad underneath the screen for sending a quick text or dialing a number without opening the phone. Both keypads also are always active, meaning you could text with the bottom half and easily add numbers in with the top half– definitely something we’ve never seen before on a phone. We don’t yet have a hard core list of specs, but we know it’ll have 3G (presumably with AT&T’s services like Mobile Music, Cellular Video…), the new AT&T full web browser, 1.3 megapixel camera, Mp3 player,  and GPS with AT&T Navigator.  We don’t yet know of an exact price, but it’ll be available in either blue or red when it launches October 18th.

Pantech Impact

This phone is said to be like an AT&T version of the LG enV Touch for Verizon, with it’s  OLED touchscreen on the front screen, and the ability to flip open the phone to unveil a second screen with full QWERTY keyboard for those more intense texting moments. Sadly, the only other details we know on this now is that it will come in pink and blue and pack some 3G and AT&T’s new web browser, when it launches– no price, release date or pix just yet folks, sorry.

Now let’s go to Samsung’s side where things are much more finger friendly to say the least.

Samsung Mythic

The awesome looking Sasmsung Mythic

A 3.3-inch touchscreen-only successor to Samsung’s Eternity with Samsung’s cool TouchWiz interface (giving you all sorts of widgets on your homescreen for things like viewing pix, controlling music playback, birthdays…), AT&T Mobile TV (like on the Eternity), GPS with AT&T Navigator, AT&T Social Net, 3G, and att.net– the new full web browser mentioned in the intro before the Pantech phones, this is that new full web browser AT&T is introducing. The att.net feature is pretty cool– letting you sync your bookmarks on your computers web browser with those on your phone.

This slick phone will be coming in November for $199.99 after $50 mail in rebate and a new 2 year contract.

Samsung Flight

Samsung Flight

Like the Mythic, this too looks to be a successor to a Samsung device– this one being a true successor to the Propel. The Flight looks a lot  like the Propel design wise, packing in a full OLED touchscreen, that slides to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard underneath. The screen also features an interesting UI that provides one-touch access to functions like shortcuts, favorites and messaging (my guess is this a little different than the standard TouchWiz). It also is said to have AT&T’s new web browser.

Unfortunately, not many more details on the Flight are out now, but it will be available in red and silver color options when it launches in November for $99.99 with rebate and a new 2 year contract.

Ok, ok– not the most fully featured preview we’ve done, but hey– these phones don’t look to bad, and you can look forward to seeing them in stores pretty soon. So AT&T readers… any of these phones you interested in, or is there a different phone in AT&T’s lineup your eying instead? Sound off in the comments.

Sending a video– now finally do-able on the iPhone 3G and 3GS

Well, today is September 25th, and if your an AT&T iPhone 3G or 3GS owner you know what that means– we finally get to send pictures, audio and videos from our iPhones (as commenter me pointed out– 3GS only can do video, 3G can only do audio and pix)!!! Yes, something a phone from like 5 years ago could do we can now do!!!

All right, that’s enough excitement. The update is live now and to get it you need to connect your iPhone 3G or 3GS to iTunes, click on “Check for Update” on the iTunes iPhone page, and then download the carrier update. After that, restart your phone (either by turning it on and off or holding down the home and power button for about 10 seconds which restarts it automatically) and then poof– your ready to MMS away. That’s it. Pretty simple, no?

So there you go– MMS on the iPhone is finally here. Sound off with how the update is going for you and how you like the “new” feature in the comments.

The Motorola Cliq

We all know of T-Mobile’s love of all things Android (I mean, they were the first to launch a device with the software– and currently sell the only 2 phones in the US with it, the G1 and myTouch 3G), so it’s not much of a big surprise when this past week they teamed up with Motorola to launch Motorola’s first Android phone– the Motorola Cliq. Think of this as a G1 and myTouch 3G mix, just one that looks and promises to be much better. What are we talking about here? Well, there’s only one way to find out.

The Operating System: MOTOBLUR

Ok, so first let’s start with one of the really cool new general Android add-ons to this phone: the introduction of MOTOBLUR. What is MOTOBLUR you ask? Let’s just say it’s like HTC’s Sense just on steroids and mixed with a little bit of Palm’s webOS just for fun. Just like Sense (which is coming to the US next month with Sprint’s HTC Hero) gives Android a custom UI that’s much better than the standard one found on the G1 and myTouch 3G. Some MOTOBLUR’s great features include:

• Contacts– This is not your RAZR’s phone book– this, like Palm’s Synergy on the Pre and Pixi, syncs your contacts that are on your phone AND those that are on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter etc. And like in Synergy, when your friend changes their profile pic or updates a status, it will be automatically updated in your phone.
• Messaging– This is a feature I really like– all your texts, emails, IM’s and even updates from MySpace, Facebook and Twitter are all in one in one inbox. If your not into that whole convergence thing, don’t worry– you can also choose to view each message separately in their own respective inboxes.  You also have built in MySpace, Twitter and Facebook apps on the homescreen– so you can update your status and reply to message without even needing to open up different apps.

The Messaging App on the Motorola Cliq

• Built in Tracking– Forgot where exactly you left your phone? Too lazy to go retrace all the recent places you’ve been to find it? No worries, MOTOBLUR has a feature called My MOTOBLUR where you just log onto the service and the phone’s GPS will automatically track it down for you. Pretty sweet– and unlike the iPhone’s MobileMe service which has a similar feature, this doesn’t look like it’s gonna cost anything. Oh, and if you ever lose your phone– you don’t need to worry about having all your info in the wrong hands– it also has a remote wipe feature (again, like MobileMe) that you delete everything on the phone right from your computer.
• Homescreen– It not only has those social networking apps we mentioned above, but also other little widgets that give you things like the latest weather– right on the homescreen.

Overall, just like HTC took Android to a whole new level when they came out with Sense– I think Motorola may have something here that could definitely give it a run for it’s money as best Android customization.

You can see MOTOBLUR in action (they even got videos!) and see all the features on Motorola’s site.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s go to the big boy– the new Motorola Cliq.

The Phone: Motorola Cliq

As you can see from some of the pix above, this is looking to be one of THE Android phones of the year. I mean, it’s just so loaded! Check it:

• Nice, relatively thin design with 3.1 inch touchscreen full slide out QWERTY keyboard – This is no RAZR, but hey, for what this phone’s got (like that full slide out QWERTY keyboard) it ain’t too bad. Don’t worry it will still fit very comfortably in your pocket, as its not huge– think of it as about the size of the T-Mobile G1 (which wasn’t too bad itself thinness wise). Oh, and this phone is much better looking than the G1 in my opinion (no chin!). It also comes in “Winter White” or “Midnight Titanium” (basically a white or black finish around the screen).
• T-Mobile 3G
• Wi-Fi
• Android with MOTOBLUR– Covered above (and don’t forget that under all the MOTOBLUR goodness is Google’s Android OS with all it’s great features like awesome Gmail, Google Maps, a real web browser and of course the Android Market which is loaded with apps).
• 5 Megapixel Camera with video recording– Yeah, this is WAY better than the G1, and you can also upload these photos right to your social networking sites.
• myFaves support
  
• Mp3 player with microSD card slot– Comes with 2 GB card in the box, but you can add up to 32 GB if you so chose.
• GPS– With Geo Tagging for photos.

That all look good? Yeah, we think so too. But that might not even be the best part– Engadget uncovered a slip on T-Mobile’s site which listed the phone’s upcoming price as… FREE on 2 year contract. Since then T-Mobile has pulled the possible price from their site, but not before Engadget grabbed a pic. Anyways, all this for the unbeatable price of FREE? If so, then T-Mobile will looks to have a really big hit on it’s hands.

You can learn more at T-Mobile’s coming soon page here.

No final word on price and release– rumors saying October is when it will all go down– and we’ll of course keep you updated on that. But what you think– if your on T-Mobile would you get this? Even if your not on T-Mobile, if this is free as rumored, would you be willing to switch and go pick it up? Sound off in the comments.

Meet the Pixi. Like a Pre, but… different.

Palm yesterday evening just announced their latest offering in their new line of WebOS (same OS as the Pre) phones – the Pixi. It’s designed to be a bit smaller and lighter, and to cost less then the soon to be $150 Pre – probably around $100 or so. Best part (Palm’s aiming this one at us – the teens): a full physical keyboard designed for texting, as well as a bit smaller and cheaper.

It’ll also have 8GB of memory and a slightly weaker processor and no built in WiFi, but it’ll still run the full WebOS experience, complete with what I find to be the best feature ever to grace a phone – Synergy, which basic lets you log into anything  - your Gmail, Yahoo, Facebook, etc – download your contacts information from all those services, and automatically merge them into a single contact without any hassle. It works incredibly well, and it’ll be on the Pixi.

The bad – well, if you’re on Sprint, you’re in luck. Otherwise…. No WebOS for you. Sorry guys, but the Pixi, like it’s older brother the Pre, is Sprint only.

That’s about it right now, more info to come as we get it.

[Photo Credit: Michael Gartenberg]