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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We literally can’t tell you how exciting this is for us. For about a year and a half now, we have dreamed of a day when a new touchscreen handset could find its way to market without being called a possible “iPhone killer”. Seriously, does the inclusion of the word “iPhone” really help SEO that much? Well today is the dawn of a new era people, and this exciting movement of change is being spearheaded by a saucy Telstra executive. In a report from earlier this morning, said Telstra boss supposedly examined Palm’s upcoming Pre handset at CES and compared it to an Android-powered device from HTC that will be making its way to Telstra in Q2:

We have seen both and we believe that the new HTC phone will be a real competitor to the iPhone and the Pre which at this stage looks nice but is still not delivered to market.

Woo! Sure, he still mentioned the iPhone in that statement but could the Pre be the next must-kill handset? Could this be the start of an iPhone killer-free blogosphere? Yeah, it’s probably just wishful thinking but you can’t fault us for being hopeful. Whatever the case may be, we’re definitely looking forward to learning more about this upcoming HTC handset complete with an HTC-tweaked Android OS — a TouchFLO port perhaps?

[Via wmpoweruser]

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For Australians, that is. This bittersweet news comes out of the land down under, where lucky Telstra customers appear poised to become the first GSM subscribers with access to a 3G-equipped BlackBerry device. Chris Ting, a RIM technical account manager, revealed that the company is readying a 3G capable device for use on the country’s Telstra network. The device may also include GPS and Wi-Fi, but given the early stage of the development process, the specs have yet to be nailed down. It’s also unclear exactly which form factor this new "super-Berry" will take on. 83xx, 88xx, or could this be the early stages of the 9xxx series? Please don’t tempt us any further. What is clear, however is that the new Berry will likely operate on Telstra’s HSDPA network, giving users 3.6 mbps download speeds, and a sound reason to feel a sense of entitlement and superiority over the rest of the world.

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