A mere two days after its release, Android 2.0 SDK has already been ripped from the womb and ported over to a T-Mobile G1. Currently in the most crude state possible, the cooked ROM runs as quickly as Babe Ruth did at his heaviest (and drunkest).The mere fact it’s able to run without melting the G1 and its 192MB of RAM, though, should give hope that the fine folks over at XDA-Developers will be able iron out enough wrinkles to make it usable as a daily driver. The only question is will G1/Dream and myTouch 3G/Magic users be treated to some delicious Eclairs like Hero users, or will they be stuck stuffing their faces with Donuts? We’re thinking the latter. Hit the jump for a video.

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Remember what we said about T-Mobile’s Project Dark this morning? Well, as is the typical BGR fashion, our word essentially turned into gold as one of our T-Mobile connects just hit us up with a ton of Project Dark documents. While we’re still waiting on information when it comes to handsets and the rapid expansion of its AWS 3G network, Project Dark does indeed included unlimited services, although things like data and texts look as if they come in the form of add-ons. The Even More and Even More Plus plans we talked about are also real. Even More does require a 2-year contract commitment which allows for handset subsidies, whereas Even More Plus plans does not require a contract and does not include subsidies. However, that’s where the new FlexPay system comes into play, and boy is this going to be big. Customers will be able to walk away with the handset of their dreams and pay for it in monthly installments just like they would for that big leather couch they can’t really afford but really, really want. Goodies are after the jump.

With the BlackBerry Storm2 getting nice and official over night, we here at BGR thought that it would be nice for us to take a moment and focus on just what its launch means for our loyal readers that aren’t living in The New World. Earlier this week, UK-based The Guardian proclaimed that the Storm2 would be announced by both RIM and Vodafone this week. Clearly this was the case as we now know it will be arriving on or around the 26th of October, but its report missed out on one huge revelation — Vodafone’s exclusivity on the device will only last “a few weeks”. This of course paves the way for other carriers such as O2, Orange and T-Mobile to get in on the Storm action. While all of the aforementioned Storm2 candidate carriers have remained mom mum on the matter, The Guardian is hedging its bets on Orange carrying the Storm2 in time for Christmas. What does this all mean for the UK? Well, when one considers that every major carrier is going to be offering the iPhone 3GS and has the option of picking up the Storm2, it looks as if a major price war is about to erupt in time for the holidays.

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Oh look, yet another BlackBerry has shown up on a carriers website before its existence has been officially acknowledged. This time the honor falls upon T-Mobile Germany and the BlackBerry Bold 9700. Listed without a price but as available in November, T-Mobile is positioning the 9700 as the “Bold the size of a Curve,” something easily confirmed by on quick glance at the accompanying spec sheet. Listed as 109mm x 60mm x 14mm, the 9700 shares identical dimensions with the Curve 8900 save for the fact the former is 0.5mm thicker. Standby time is rated at nearly 21 days while talk time clocks in at 5 hours, a far cry better than the current Bold’s 13.5 days of standby and 4.5 hours of talk time despite the fact that both devices operate on the same 1500 mAh battery. Of course all of this has been covered in our hands-on review pre-release review of the 9700, but we’re sure most of you know that already, right?

Thanks, Julius!

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Believe it or not, Christmas is but 11 weeks away which means that every single tech company on the planet is going to be lighting up our inboxes with press releases about their holiday offerings. The first company to do this for 2009 is T-Mobile. Apart from another chance to get us bloggers talking about the Behold II and the Motorola CLIQ, T-Mobile took the opportunity to introduce two new handsets and a limited edition collaboration piece. The first new handset is the Nokia 3711, a 3G clamshell affair with a 2 megapixel camera, GPS by Telenav, and stereo Bluetooth. The second is the T-Mobile Tap. Presumably made by HTC based upon its appearance, the Tap is an “affordable and attractive” full-touchscreen featurephone that, like the 3711 has 3G, a 2 megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth and GPS by Telenav. New in another sense of the word is the myTouch 3G Fender Limited Edition. With only 10,000 to be offered sometime this winter, the Fender myTouch 3G sports a “guitar-inspired wood-grain finish”, 16GB microSD card filled with a bunch of music and videos not a soul alive won’t delete, and *gasp* a 3.5mm headphone jack. What do we think, people?

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Windows Mobile fans take note — 30 new handsets powered by your mobile OS of choice will supposedly be debuting before you again sing a drunken version of Auld Lang Syne. Benjamin Tan, senior director of the GCR Mobile Team Unit at Microsoft China, let loose the rumor that an avalanche of new Windows Mobile 6.5 handsets from HTC, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, Acer, Toshiba, HP and more will be released in the waning months of 2009. Carriers who have jumped on board this Window Mobile bonanza include AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone, NTT DoCoMO, Softbank Mobile,  SKT, Telstra and Telus. Bottom line: no matter where you are located or what you prefer in a smartphone, there will apparently be a Windows Phone to suit your needs in 2009.

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Our pals across the pond are going to be facing some changes in the coming months as Deutsch Telekom and France Telecom are planning a massive merger in the UK. The companies are reportedly preparing to combine T-Mobile UK and Orange to form what will become the largest telco on the island, assuming the joint venture is approved by antitrust regulators. The deal is expected to be inked toward the end of October, giving the parties involved plenty of time to iron out details in the interim. The bright side for consumers, we suppose, is expanded network coverage — the downside of course being the fact that the two carriers will no longer be competing for business. So, what do our UK friends think?

Thanks, Roger A!

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To all of the companies with intentions to pump out cheap and readily available devices: It’s time to get a move on because Huawei has just schooled you. Announced today is the T-Mobile Pulse, a prepaid-capable Android smartphone that utilizes a UI overlay known as Canvas. In terms of specs, the Pulse is quite capable with a 3.5-inch HVGA display, 3.2 megapixel camera, 2GB internal memory, 528MHz along with HSDPA, Wi-Fi and GPS radios. There are two features notably absent however; a flash for the camera and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Both T-Mobile and Huawei insist that their exclusion was necessary to keep the Pulse’s dimensions slim and trim at 160mm x 62.5mm x 13.5mm. Like it or not, the 3.5mm-less and flash-less Pulse will be as cheap as chips when it goes on sale this October: £179.99 ($293 USD) — or as low as 4.95€ in Germany with a 2-year agreement.

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What. The. Hell. Apparently T-Mobile UK has gotten into the liquor cabinet and is feeling plenty brave. Word has spread that Tmo has been selling unlocked iPhone 3G handsets to high-spending customers despite the fact that O2 has the exclusive rights to the iPhone in the UK. It appears that the only criteria one has to meet to be offered an unlocked iPhone 3G is to have a monthly bill of £75 and up, threaten to walk and catch the right rep on a good day. To be clear, it doesn’t appear that what T-Mobile is doing is illegal (the devices are likely coming from Germany where T-Mobile is the exclusive carrier of the iPhone), although we should point out that it does know what it is doing is sketchy as it is cautious to limit sales of the iPhone to around 150 units per week so as not to raise the ire of Apple (you know, lest Steve Jobs fly over to London and pour castor oil down the throat of T-Mobile UK’s CEO). Smart thinking.

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With WWDC just around the corner, it is time for the iPhone rumors to kick into high gear and get a little international flavor. First stop is Vodafone, where an email sent to the retail staff reveals that the 16GB iPhone has been categorized as “End of Life” by well-known mobile phone supplier Brightpoint. In a different part of the world, a placeholder for an “iPhone 32 GB” has appeared and then disappeared from T-Mobile’s Austrian website, mimicking a similar brief appearance of the iPhone on T-Mobile’s German website last year. Sounds like the old is making way for the new, no?

[Via Engadget]

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Nokia’s 5800 XpressMusic might have first appeared in The Dark Knight but as much as our Finnish friends love product placement, it looks like its first S60 5th Edition phone might be making another cameo on the big screen. Nokia has just revealed it will be releasing a special Star Trek edition of the popular touchscreen phone — which will be free on contract with Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and O2 — featuring special Star Trek animated screen savers, three Star Trek wallpapers and eight exclusive Trek-themed ringtones. It also packs an exclusive phaser application but sadly, no teleporting capabilities. The 5800 Star Trek edition might not be able to beam you anywhere but all your Trekkie pals will surely be envious when you brandish it at the next Star Trek convention. Just make sure you sneak away to a corner when you use it to call your mom for a ride home.

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The overview page for the G1 on T-Mobile Germany’s website promises a software update in May. With new features such as an on-screen keyboard, video recording/playback and A2DP support, this is none other than the cupcake update that G1 users have been anxiously awaiting since late last year. No mention of a similar update on T-Mobile’s USA website but if Germany is getting it in May, then the US should expect to see cupcake hit phones around the same time. Almost time to tossed out that hacked OS and get official!

[Via Talk Android]

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There’s some pretty interesting news on the BlackBerry Front out of the UK this morning as T-Mobile has unveiled a “Pay Once” system to entice BlackBerry newcomers. Evidently T-Mobile’s BlackBerry in a Box offering, the Pay Once system is comprised of a one time fee of £180 ($262) that nets users not only a brand new Pearl 8110 but also unlimited email and and web for an entire year. Now as with all good things in life, there are some restrictions involved with this plan — you’re on your own for minutes and texts which must be done via the ol’ pay-as-you-go method. Still, it’s not a bad offering at all for those who type a lot more than they talk. For those interested in the Pay Once deal but completely uninterested in the SureType 8110, a T-Mobile UK spokesperson did hint that this offer could be extended to other BlackBerry handsets provided that the system is a success.

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Never mind the fact that they’re just doing it to get free publicity and a head start on pre-orders, we absolutely love it when retailers give it to the manufacturers in the junk and out the specs of their phones just days before they’re official. Expansys is no stranger to this process and has done it again with the Nokia E75. We’ve seen the E75 countless times before and while we want it for reasons we can’t really describe we’re now in a position to say that the E75 won’t suffice to stave off our hunger for the upcoming N97. Why? High cost, a tiny display and poor screen resolution will do the trick every time. If you’re an S60 nut however, chances are you’re going to love what the E75 has got:

• Quad-band GSM / EDGE, dual-band HSDPA (900/2100) at 3.6Mbps
• 2.4″ 240×320 QVGA display
• 3.2 megapixel camera with auto-focus, digital zoom, LED flash
• 30FPS QVGA video recording
• aGPS
• WiFi
• FM radio
• microSDHC
• 3.5mm headset, Bluetooth 2.0, microUSB
• Nokia Maps, PDF Document Viewer, ZIP File Manager
• Dual home screen (work/personal)
• 1000 mAh battery
• 630 mins talk, 408 hrs stand-by time

So what’s all of this going to cost? Early estimates are that the E75 will ship on March 13 for £389.99 SIM-free ($580 USD) or free on select tariffs from T-Mobile UK. Fail.

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If you can get over the lack of 3G data, coupled with the presence of Windows Mobile, the HTC Touch Viva starts to look more than a little appealing…we suppose. Launching exclusively on T-Mobile Europe where it will be branded as the MDA Basic, the Touch Viva is a down market handset with a decidedly impressive spec sheet. Sporting a 2MP camera, Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, Wi-Fi, GPS, MicroSD slot, TouchFlo 2D, and an impressive 8 hours of talk time, the Touch Viva can be had for a lowly 4.95 Euro, which works out to a lowly $6.47. Not too shabby. Sure, you won’t be carrying around much of a conversation pieve, and we can think of about a hundred dozen other options that are more to our liking, but if economy and function are you primary concerns (in that order, of course), then the Touch Viva might be worth a look. We wouldn’t hold our breath for an American release, but the Quad-Band EDGE support should make for an affordable Ebay jump if your heart so desires it.

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Anxiously awaiting the hot new handsets from HTC? The wait might not be over but the mystery of what handsets HTC has in store for us in 2009 has certainly been solved – compliments of Arlen at PPC Geeks, the entire 2009 lineup for HTC has been leaked. The new HTC handsets include the Touch HD Pro which will make its appearance on Verizon and Sprint, the HTC Iolite and Iolite II, HTC’s Android offering, the HTC hero, the Tungsten for T-Mobile and the HTC Jasper for Sprint. AT&T will apparently be getting the Topaz and the Barium. There are 25 handsets in all and include the following:

• Whitestone W
• Magnet (Iolite II)
• Jasper C (for Sprint)
• Firestone
• Beryl (Jade 2)
• Twin (CDMA + GSM)
• Willow W
• Thoth (Athena 2)
• Sapphire (VF)
• Saphire 2.0 (TMO)
• Sapphire 1.5 (DCM)
• Memphis
• Hero (Android Hero)
• Tungsten W (Sprint)
• Rhodium
• Rhodium W (VZW)
• Topaz
• Topaz (AT&T)
• Topaz C
• Tungsten (TMO, TMUS)
• Barium (AT&T)
• Cedar W
• Iolite
• Maple (3G Excalibure)
• Citrine

Some of the handsets appear to be new offerings while some are updated versions of current HTC handsets like Touch Diamond and the Touch HD. Hit the jump for a snapshot of each phone and make sure you lean back a bit to avoid getting drool on your keyboard.

[Via wmpoweruser]

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British friends, rejoice! T-Mobile, sneaky as it is, has just launched a country-wide sneak attack – bombarding store locations across the island. Here in the US we’re still in the dark as far as when the 8900 might find its way to AT&T or T-Mobile, but every time we see it launched abroad we get a slight glimmer of hope. Maybe. As far as T-Mobile UK pricing goes, here’s how it breaks down with an 18-month contract term:

• Combi 15: £15.00 ($22.77) / month – £166.37 ($252.57)
• Combi 20: £20.00 ($30.36) / month – £127.22 ($193.14)
• Combi 25: £25.00 ($37.95) / month – £97.87 ($148.58)
• Combi 30: £30.00 ($45.54) / month – £58.72 ($89.15)
• Combi 35: £31.50 ($47.82) / month – FREE
• Combi 40: £36.00 ($54.65) / month – FREE

Not bad T-Mobile, not bad at all. Of course if you head on over to our BlackBerry Curve 8900 giveaway you can take home a free 8900 for £0.00 / month, but these deals are still pretty good. So, if your current handset is moving cellular data way too fast for you, head on over to your local T-Mobile shop and get your EDGE on. Woo!

Thanks, Everett!

[Via engadget mobile]

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With the raging desirability of the T-Mobile G1 in the states, the powers that be have let it loose to T-Mobile UK and it’s due out October 30. The big bonus is that the device will be free for those who sign up for a £40 Combi or Flext plan. Both plans have unlimited data and some combination of minutes and texts to accompany what the device is really intended to do – be a data powerhouse. Unlike the iPhone which took quite some time after its initial US release to hit other countries, it doesn’t look like T-Mobile, Google or anyone else is shying away from getting this thing global ASAP. Good news for our British pals wanting the first device to feature Google’s highly anticipated Android!

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Fresh on the heels of last week’s announcement that they lost confidential data for 17 million customers, T-Mobile on Saturday confirmed that an error in their system exposed the confidential data for 30 million customers. The data breach which included bank account information was easy to access and manipulate online. T-Mobile quietly introduced a new security system on Friday that immediately closed the security hole and assured customers that no theft of the exposed data had occurred. After last week’s revelation and now this security breach, sounds like T-Mobile should spend more time shoring up their customer database and less time pushing phones out the door .

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Known to all of you by it’s codename of Javelin, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 has cropped up on the website of T-Mobile Germany. The EDGE-only device which features GPS, Wi-Fi, 480×360 HVGA+ screen and a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus is listed as coming soon with a targeted release date of November. A lot of you probably remember how T-Mobile Germany was continuously changing the launch month of the Bold, but don’t count on any other month to see the launch of the Curve 8900 – RIM is an old pro with EDGE devices.

Thanks, Joe!

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“According to our information, even though these details have been put up for sale on the black market, there has not been a buyer.”

Yikes! T-Mobile added that current customers should not be concerned as security procedures have been increased since the theft occurred. We sure hope so. The theft is now part of a judicial inquiry with the German Police and T-Mobile working together “for weeks” to protect the customers affected by the theft. Two years later and now you’re trying to contain the damage? Sounds like that is a little too little and little too late for 17 million of T-Mobile’s customers.

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Woot! The 3G roll out took damn long enough and it’s slowly making its way to a city near you, and now you can find out if your city has ample coverage on T-Mobile’s website. There’s a lot going on with T-Mobile these days with the HTC G1 coming out soon, and now 3G is spreading like the plague. All we have to do is cross our fingers and hope that T-Mobile doesn’t charge an arm and a leg for 3G data plans like all the other carriers do. That would certainly tarnish T-Mobile’s reputation for having the most affordable and reasonable voice and data plans.

Thanks, Jeff!

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Yeah, we don’t think so either. According to some 3rd party T-Mobile retailer in Germany, the image above is a real, honest-to-goodness rendering of what the new Apple MacBook Pro’s will look like. The company claims to have some of the machines in stock already, sporting specs that link up identically to the current crop of MBPs. Seems a little fishy, right? Why Apple would release an entirely revamped line of machines without so much as a minor spec bump is beyond us, and the images look a little too similar to the rumored descriptions that have been floating around for months now. Furthermore, would T-Mobile Germany really be the ones to break the news? Yeah, we didn’t think so. Still, we suppose these could represent Apple’s next move, but something must have been lost in the translation if that’s the case. Any thoughts?

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Since RIM completely screwed the pooch on this one (you know, like, delays for seven years?), we’re going to try and make it up to you! We’re giving away 5 BlackBerry Bolds for your local service provider. The 5 we are giving away are: AT&T, T-Mobile Germany, Rogers, Orange UK, and PCCW HK. The winner of the AT&T Bold won’t get their unit until launch since all devices we’re giving away are purchased from the respective carriers. You’ve got to play to win they say. Not so much when you’re dealing with a BGR giveaway, though. To enter, just email us a photo of your current BlackBerry. The more damaged the BlackBerry is, the higher chance you have of winning. Get it? Also drop in a comment from the same email with what carrier you’d like. RIM made you mad by making you wait, they might have even had you think impure thoughts. Now you can lay back and relax, ’cause your good friend Boy Geezie and the rest of the folks at BGR are going to hook you up!

• Send pictures to blackberrycontest at boygeniusreport dot com
• Make sure you comment here in addition to sending in the picture. Also specify what carrier you want!
  
• You can enter as many times are you like, just make sure they are different BlackBerrys
• *Highly damaged BlackBerrys are a plus*
• We’re going to add all pictures to our world-famous gallery. If you don’t want your picture included (freak) don’t enter.
• We’ll run this until this Sunday, August 24th at 11:59PM ET
• The BlackBerry Bolds in the photo are not the units you will be receiving. You will be receiving a brand new Bold in box that is locked to the requested carrier.

UPDATE: Wow, we’ve got almost 200 entries already! But! You need to comment also, people.

Enamored with the HTC Touch Diamond but think that the lack of a physical keyboard is a deal-breaker? We might be one step closer to your perfect handset. Shots of the HTC Raphael were revealed to the world leading up to this month’s Touch Diamond press event, but when the 6th of May came and went without a QWERTY version of HTC’s next generation handset, many left a bit disappointed. Thankfully, help is on the way. The HTC Raphael will be branded in Europe as the T-Mobile MDA Vario IV, and should hit the ground running sometime during Q2 of this year. The handset will sport WiFi, Bluetooth, Tri-Band GSM with HSDPA, GPS, 460×640 screen, 3.2 MP camera, 528 mhz processor, and a slew of other features. No word on whether TouchFLO 3D will be integrated, but the impression we got from HTC in London was that their impressive new Touch interface would be offered on a variety of devices, and we see no reason why the Raphael shouldn’t be one of them. No word on pricing or specific drop date, but given the tri-band GSM status we’re not holding our breath for an imminent stateside release. Seriously though, when has HTC ever offered tri-band devices in recent years? What happened to all high-end devices having quad-band EDGE and tri-band UMTS? 

[Via Engadget]

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There’s been a flood of news over the past couple weeks regarding the iPhone and carrier partnerships. Almost every single major carrier across the globe has chimed in, telling us what markets they’re going to bring the iPhone to. It’s actually gotten to the point we’re we feel we should list the announced markets up to today. Remember asking your best friend to pickup 10 iPhones during his trip to the U.S.? No more, people. No more. Here’s the complete list as of 05/16/08:

• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Canada
• Czech Republic
• Dominican Republic
• Egypt
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Ireland
• India
• Italy
• Jordan
• Mexico
• New Zealand
• Philippines
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Singapore
• Slovakia
• South Africa
• Switzerland
• Turkey
• United Kingdom
• United States of America
• Various countries in Latin America

Who’s planning to buy an iPhone when it’s finally released in your country?

Right on schedule, T-Mobile has gone ahead and made the BlackBerry 8120 available to the general public. This model is the second ‘Berry compatible with T-Mo’s Hotspot@Home UMA calling service, joining the stable alongside the BlackBerry Curve 8320. Nothing crazy to report on the feature side, with the 8120 sporting Wi-Fi, a 2 megapixel camera, externally accessible microSD slot, and an "improved" SureType keypad. That said, it is the newest BlackBerry currently available in the States, so if cutting edge technology is your thing, you might want to hit the local T-Mobile store and swoop one up. Expect to pay $150 with a two-year agreement.

UPDATE: As a couple of you have pointed out, this is in fact T-Mobile’s 3rd Hotspot@Home device, not its 2nd as noted in the post. Thanks for the heads up!

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According to an article this morning in the Kansas City Star, Deutsche Telekom is now an analyst-favorite to swoop in and save the day for sinking US carrier Sprint. It’s no mystery that Sprint would be an ideal target for a takeover; Sprint shares are dirt cheap, down almost 50% since the start of 2008. The dollar is dirt cheap as well of course and that is one of the many reasons analysts for Merrill Lynch are pointing their divining rods at T-Mobile owner, Deutsche Telekom. The Wall Street firm is speculating that continued woes may result in further price reductions at Sprint. Because T-Mobile is generally considered the best carrier option in terms of plan pricing amongst major US carriers, Merrill Lynch analysts believe further price slashing at Sprint would put unwanted pressure on T-Mobile to compete. As Sprint continues to lose subscribers and value, an acqusition may come sooner rather than later. No comment yet from Deutsche Telekom, currently the sixth largest telephone company with over 120 million customers globally.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Feeling a little behind across the pond because you can’t get your GPS rockin’? TeleNav has just launched their GPS Navigator program directly with T-Mobile UK. It runs £49.99/year and includes the usual goodies like 3D maps, voice and on-screen turn-by-turn directions, and access to millions of business listings. And heck, if that’s not enough, I guess you could always ask them to sponsor your party…

T-Mobz just hit us with the official statement regarding what we published late yesterday evening. We said that their main data center was down due to flooding, and that T-Mobile call centers were also affected, in addition to the main www.t-mobile.com website being offline. Here’s the official statement:

"Severe flooding stemming from a powerful storm has affected a facility in Western Washington that houses some T-Mobile business systems.  Our wireless network is operating at normal service levels.  Various other T-Mobile operations may be temporarily offline or otherwise impacted.  T-Mobile is working around-the-clock to restore the impacted systems.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our valued customers."

There you have it! And the site is back up, but looks like account information is temporarily unavailable for the moment.

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