When we told you yesterday that Telus was getting ready to offer the HTC Touch Diamond to its Canadian customers, we weren’t completely clear on the specs of the device. Thankfully, HTC hit us up with an official spec sheet from Telus, which provides all the dirt you could ask for on the first North American iteration of this coveted device. The biggest change, of course, is that unlike previous Touch Diamonds, the Telus iteration will be sporting an EV-DO Rev. A radio. The Telus Touch Diamond has also received a modest boost in the memory department, with 256 MB ROM/ 256 MB RAM to the GSM version’s quoted 256 MB ROM/ 192 MB RAM. That’s about all we could notice, save for an extra 5 grams of weight and an included case, so if you’ve fallen in love with the GSM version of the handset, there’s nothing about this CDMA version that should convince you otherwise. GPS, Wi-Fi, Touch FLO 3D, and much more are all still in full effect. Anyone excited?

If you’ve recently bought a Nokia N810, only to grow bored of its beautifully implemented, meticulously customized Linux-based OS, you might be in luck. Some clever folks have figured out a way to get a developer’s build of Google’s Android OS running on an N810 in 2 very easy steps. The first step involves downloading an installer file onto your Nokia handheld, and the second step involves downloading a second file. The whole process takes less 5 minutes, which puts it in reach of even the most ADD addled amongst us. Sure, it may invalidate your N810 warranty, and there’s no telling whether this might do some lasting damage to your precious handheld, but if you’re the adventurous sort, we have a feeling these concerns shouldn’t sway you.

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Man, Motorola just can’t keep a lid on anything anymore can they? We’ve got a hold of a phone codenamed the “Napolean” and it’s a CDMA EV-DO Rev. A Q9 with full GSM world roaming capabilities. This even includes the U.S. 850MHz/1900MHz bands! Even though it’s Verizon branded and will launch on Verizon, we loaded in our AT&T SIM and away we went. We’ve found the following specs on the phone so far: fingerprint scanner (seriously, on the back), Windows Mobile 6.1, EV-DO Rev. A, quad-band EDGE, 2 megapixel camera with flash, stereo speakers, 320×240 resolution screen, Wi-Fi, and a 1500mAh battery. The keyboard isn’t as good as the first Q9 or Q9m, and the d-pad is incredibly stiff and difficult to use. Sound sounded good though, and the screen seems to be the same as the original Q9s. We’ll keep diggin’, but in the meantime, take a look at a gallery, ok?

Click on over to our Motorola Napolean Q9 gallery!

Get ready for this one, folks. HTC has just announced that Telus will be the first North American carrier to offer the new HTC Touch Diamond. The handset will be offered “later this summer” for the low price of $149.99, though you’ll have to sign away 3 years of your wireless life. Telus also offers some pretty attractive data options, including a $15/month plan for unlimited email and IM, and $30/month for unlimited email, IM, and browsing. Not bad at all. We’re still waiting on official confirmation from HTC, but chances are good that this thing will be running EV-DO Rev. A, providing full 3G data speed in addition to the TouchFLO 3D interface, 4GB of internal flash memory, and much more .The Touch Diamond is one of the most coveted handsets to come out of the Windows Mobile camp in recent memory, so Telus has certainly scored a win by getting their hands on this before anyone else on the continent. Sure, we’ll see a Sprint version of this before too long, and chances are good that AT&T is planning their own variant, but first is first.

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The mobile video broadcasting space is home to a pretty interesting fight right now. Ok, maybe fight isn’t the best choice of words, or perhaps it is. There are a few big boys when it comes to live interactive video feeds streaming from a mobile handset and they are continuously trying to outdo each other. Qik has the buzz generated by many high-profile celwebrity users, Kyte is the new kid on the block entering the space with an already-substantial user base from their existing web service, and Flixwagon is the well-funded video quality leader with an exciting feature set. With the latter, things just got a whole lot more interesting as Flixwagon has just announced a new client version that brings with it a host of functionality that its competitors will surely be interested in. Take a look:

• Share on Twitter and YouTube directly from phone: you can share individual videos on twitter and YouTube directly  from your device, as well as customize the message or titles. All you need to do is add your Twitter or YouTube account details on Flixwagon.com, and then you can customize posts directly from your phone.
• Detailed sharing from device: on your device you can now easily choose which specific groups (friends, family, etc.) can access your video. Make sure you set up your contacts, groups, and alerts first on flixwagon.com and you can start sharing flix with them on the fly.
• Digital zoom-in and zoom-out.
• Post messages back to chat. You can send IM messages back to the video chat room, making chats around your video 2-way. This is especially useful when you want to respond to your viewers’ comments without interrupting the video or audio in the broadcast.
• Change title: you can now change the video title directly from the phone while broadcasting.  This is great when the ‘right’ headline comes to you while you broadcast (and can help more viewers discover your broadcast while you’re still broadcasting live).
• Choose between delay or video quality: in the preferences section you can determine whether your broadcasts will be optimized for the shortest delay, or highest video quality.

Whew! The two things of particular interest to us are digital zoom and the ability to chat while broadcasting. There are plenty of times while streaming event coverage, observation etc where typing a response to an on-screen comment is much more appropriate than speaking a response. Flixwagon also announced a few tweaks to the website such as RSS feeds that help round off this round of improvements. Definitely worth looking into.

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Google Maps Mobile is probably Google’s most actively developed mobile application. It seems like there are new versions popping up for one platform or another every couple of weeks these days. In the past few months for example, Google has issued a native S60 version updated several times, various versions that can make use of internal GPS, versions that can integrate with device phonebooks and Nokia Maps, cell-based location, etc. For the most recent feature addition, Google has decided to implement a bit of voice recognition. Sweet! A new version of Google Maps Mobile has been made available for the US BlackBerry Pearl 8110, 8120 and 8130 that allows users to speak their search criteria rather than type it. Voice search uses the same voice recognition engine as GOOG-411, Google’s free information service, so we know the accuracy will be spot on. Using pretty much couldn’t be easier:

1. Press “0″ to center the map view around your location
2. Press the left-side key and hold it while you say the name or type of business you’re looking for (for example, “pizza”)
3. When you’re done speaking, release the left-side key, and our voice recognition technology will figure out your request and find the business you’ve been looking for, no typing needed.

These days there’s a pretty good chance that the rest of your BlackBerry-toting friends make fun of you from time to time because you’re still carrying a Pearl. Opportunities might be few and far between, but here’s a good chance to show them a little something they can’t have quite yet. Hit http://www.google.com/gmm from your Pearl to snag the latest build.

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Emoze has been a top player in the push email realm for quite a while now. Known for its consistent victories in speed battles with Blackberry, Emoze can likely push new mail to your smartphone faster than any other option on the market. There have been a few drawbacks to the service in the past such as an automatically-added Emoze signature, support for only one email account at a time and handset limitations. The third item mentioned however, has been a point of focus for Emoze in recent history however. Beyond its Symbian support Emoze has added Windows Mobile and even the iPhone to its list of supported devices. As of next month dumb-phone users (sorry guys) will have the ability to push email to their handsets with the speed and efficiency of a smartphone. Made possible with the addition of a java client, Emoze will become one of the most accessible push solutions on the market. The java version will work on a variety of popular handsets from manufacturers like Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia (S40) and will accompany several UI enhancements to all Emoze clients such as new graphics and screen rotation.

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Wednesday means that your week is just about half over, but here at BGR, our work is never done. Our ninjas know that that they can never rest, and hump day is no exception. So what do we have here: how about a little Best Buy info for your viewing pleasure? One of our anonymous buddies has uncovered some info that all you Danger and RIM fans might enjoy - like a few new handsets coming your way this month from Best Buy. First, the Sidekick Gecco and limited edition Sidekick LX Tony Hawk will both be making their way to the retail giant later this month, both on T-Mobile. Inventory will be received on Sunday July 27 to be exact. On the same day, Best Buy will also be receiving what is labeled as the BlackBerry Curve Sunset; a new color of Curve for those of you you like to be a bit different. The carrier for the new Curve isn’t clear but T-Mobile is likely a safe guess. Hit the jump for more pics and a clearer view of some more stock that Best Buy will be receiving at the end of the month.

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Well what do we have here? A few upcoming Eee PCs were recently uncovered as images made the rounds earlier this week but here we have something completely new from Asus. So what is it exactly? To be completely honest, we’re not really sure. The unit is reportedly called the Eee Monitor and it had been discussed briefly at Computex earlier this year but the Taiwanese computer company made sure to sit on many key details. Well say hello to our little friend. Several shots of the Eee Monitor are now swimming around the internet and it looks like a gem. As was the case before, details are still a bit scarce but a quick look at the display, the logo in the bottom right corner on the face of the unit and the ports on the back of the unit lead to some pretty probable speculation. How about a self-contained PC with built in Denon audio hardware, a 19″ display and a rumored integrated TV tuner? We’ll take two, thanks. Word on the street is that there will be a 19″ and 21″ model and the price point will start at… Ready? $500.

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Chock this one up to the rumor mill for the time being, but word on the street is that Sprint is getting set to increase data costs for new and old customers alike. According to the SprintUsers site, the carrier will be axing their current standalone Vision and Power Vision plans, which start at $15/month, in favor of mandatory Everything plans that begin at $69/month. Sure, the new plans include voice minutes, Sprint TV, GPS nav, and more, but for anyone that was signed up for a simple data-only plan, this will represent a significant cost hike. What’s worse, we’re hearing word that SERO subscribers could be affected, which means that anyone on the current $30 all-in plan could see another $39 on their bill starting next month. Yipes! Again, treat this with caution right now, but if Sprint starts forcibly migrating existing customers to a higher rate plan, we’re pretty sure some heads will roll.

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We had some awesome responses, so thanks guys! But we bet you want to know who the winner is, right? It’s Robert M.! That’s right, step up (or sit down and wait for our congratulatory email). Thanks to everyone who took the time out to enter, and as usual, we’ve got some killer giveaways in the works.

Looking for your AT&T fix for the remainder of 2008? We’ve got you covered. The carrier has a number of exciting new handsets planned for the coming months, which should be good news for both the carrier and consumers. Everyone loves selection, right? Right. First up, AT&T is planning to release the BlackBerry Curve 8320 (yeah, we’re scratching our heads too), and the BlackBerry Bold by the end of Q3. On the Windows Mobile side of things, AT&T is planning to drop the Samsung BlackJack III, which should see Windows Mobile 6.1, a 528 MHz processor, 3MP camera, aGPS, and more. Look for a new Pantech Duo sporting Windows Mobile 6.1, GPS, HSDPA, and a 528MHz processor. They also alluded to an HTC Tilt replacement, tentatively dubbed the Tilt II, which should feature a Qualcomm 528 MHz processor, aGPS, HSDPA, 256MB ROM/ 128MB, and more. Touch Pro anyone? Expect to see all three of those by Q4 of this year. Excited yet? Yeah, we thought so, but why stop here. AT&T is also planning a slew of Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrades for existing handsets. The current Pantech Duo should see 6.1 by October, while the BlackJack II, Moto Q9h, and AT&T Tilt will get the royal treatment by July.

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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.

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