Sure, the Samsung i760 may be getting a bit long in the tooth, but there’s nothing like a little OS refresh and added functionality to breathe new life into an aging dinosaur. Originally scheduled for a June launch, Verizon has officially released the Windows Mobile 6.1 update for is i760 handset. There’s nothing as sexy as EV-DO Rev. A support in there, but if the following list of improvements don’t get you excited about your oddly-shaped slide out QWERTY mobile companion, then we’re pretty sure there’s no hope left for you:

• Applied, several Bluetooth improvements (updated BT DUN profile, improved scanning)
• Applied, support for YouTube videos
• Applied, Qualcomm patch
• Fixed, memory leakage by replacing POOM API
• Fixed, notification malfunction under certain conditions
• Fixed, certain conditions prevented delivery of MMS
• Added, MEID support (included in BC04 MR)
• Added, WLAN chipset enhancement (included in BC04 MR)

Dying to get a sneak peek at the BlackBerry Thunder’s on-screen keyboard? Had enough with the iPhone madness? Check out these shots that surfaced yesterday evening. While we can’t tell how well the unit works from the pictures, you can certainly get a feel for how it’s going to look. We’ve heard that there are newer OS versions floating around, so let’s just hope RIM plans to skin those keyboards faster than an Alabamian on a puma — they’re hideous.

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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!

If you’re a Verizon subscriber looking to grab a new handset within the next several months, you’re about to have a lot lot be happy about. If these leaks are to be believed, the carrier is getting set to unveil a host of exciting new handsets. First up is the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro, both of which are clearly destined for the CDMA stable. There are no dates associated with these releases just yet, but we’re guessing a mid-fall release wouldn’t be out of the question. Next up is the Motorola Blaze which should hit stores by the 22nd of September. The Treo 800w is on there, but doesn’t have any specific date info, while the as-yet-unidentified Samsung SCH-U31 makes its first known appearance. There are a couple more slated for release in the next month or two, but the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro are the real gems here, no?

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Hello, Rhapsody. Real Networks’ online music store has finally launched a DRM-free download option on an apathetic unsuspecting public. Boasting a catalog of over 5 million songs, the new service allows customers to access their library for a mere $.99/song or $9.99/album. The pricing is relatively competitive, but considering how late they are to to DRM-free party, they might want to consider a fee-structure that is a bit more in line with Amazon/com’s $.89/song, $8.99 bargain basement average. Nevertheless, in an attempt to drum up excitement, Rhapsody is currently offering an entire album free of charge to the first 100,000 customers that sign up for the service. We wouldn’t recommend sticking around much after the free download hits your hard drive, but free music ain’t so bad, right? As an added incentive, the company is also making their online store available to Verizon subscribers by way of a special portal. It’s a decent solution, but we’d still wager that there are better and cheaper ways of getting music onto your handset.

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In yesterday’s post about the Samsung Instinct, we semi jokingly suggested that the Instinct was Sprint’s attempt to keep customers from jumping ship come July 11th. Apparently some readers were offended by the allegation and here at BGR we try not to make the same mistake twice. So with regards to Verizon’s newly-released LG Dare we’re going to keep this post serious. We will not say that like the Instinct, the Dare is Verizon’s attempt to wrangle would-be ship jumpers with a sleek touch-only handset. We will not make jokes about the familiar form factor or metal accents. No, dear friends, we will not say things like Verizon higher-ups would set their LG distribution contracts ablaze if it would result in even the slightest possibility of Apple cranking out an iPhone EV-DO. We’re better than that. In fact, we won’t even mention the iPhone a single time in this post. Nope, not one iPhone reference. So the LG Dare is now available for Verizon Wireless customers looking for some touchy goodness. Proximity sensor, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, 3.2 megapixel camera, EV-DO Rev A, HTML web browser; the Dare has all the goodies you can handle. Maybe. A click on the read link, $199 and a 2-year contract will get you in the door. Definitely a good option for the “keepin it real” crowd still paying homage to the CDMA networks of our fathers. Wait, was that a joke? Crap.

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If you’re an Verizon Alltel customer with a longing for free Wi-Fi, your life just got a bit easier. The carrier has announced a partnership with Wireless Internet provider Alltel to bring Boingo Hotspot access to wireless customers. For $69.98/month Alltel customers can experience all-they-can-eat data on their wireless handsets in addition to unlimited Boingo Hotspot browsing by subscribing to the new Internet Anywhere Bundle. Sure, it’s not the cheapest solution in the world, but integrated services are all the rage these days, so you can’t blame ‘em for throwing their hat into the ring. The service is available immediately, so anyone looking to take advantage should hit the jump with the quickness. 

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This one strikes us as a bit fishy, especially considering the impending arrival of the Palm Treo 800w, but word on the street is that the aging Treo 700wx is set to receive a Windows Mobile 6 upgrade. Great news, but even more suspicious is that the upgrade specifically mentions WM 6.0, leaving out any trace of the current generation WM 6.1 version that is currently making the rounds. The rumor also conspicuously leaves out any mention of an update for Sprint users, referring only to a Verizon rollout. We suppose time will tell all, but until we actually see this thing hit the streets, we’re remaining skeptical. In the meantime, it looks like if you don’t to wait, you can unofficially get Windows Mobile 6.0 running on your Treo 700wx.

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Word from Verizon is that the new LG Decoy will be available this coming Monday for $179 with a new 2-year contract, no signing bonus, but we didn’t want to wait until then for new live pics. So behold. Truth be told, it’s not nearly as ugly as we thought it was - In fact, it’s kind of cool looking if you’re into that sort of thing. It still appears to be a finger print magnet however, but that’s apparently the price you pay for an integrated bluetooth headset. It’s very interesting to note that there are some major design discrepancies between these pics and the ones we saw last month. Namely, the trackball is now flat and brushed as opposed to rounded and shiny and the keypad is completely different. The old pics show a silver keypad with button strips that are attached in groups of three. This keypad, as you can see in the pics after the jump, is black and rubbery with a completely different design. Hmmm. It’s worth mentioning that these pictures resemble the press shots much more closely so perhaps the old pics show an early prototype. Jump!

[Thanks Omie]

Today is a big day for Verizon. The company announced 3 shiny new LG handsets, each with a specific market niche in its target. All of the handsets have been circulating through the rumor mill for quite some time, but it’s always nice to get official confirmation, right? The LG Dare is an all touch screen affair, sporting a 3.2 megapixel camera and gesture support on the input side. No price or availability date was announced but Verizon promised more info by the end of the month. They were similarly coy about pricing and availability specifics on the Chocolate 3, but did make the 1GB of internal memory, clamshell form factor, and 2-megapixel camera official. Finally, the LG Decoy should hit stores by next Monday, slotting in at $179.99 with a 2-year agreement, seems to mark the first widely available American handset with a built-in Bluetooth headset. This is all well and good, but until we can actually get our hands on a Dare and a Decoy, we’re gonna take a rain check as this all had the feeling of an announcement about an upcoming announcement. Thanks a lot.

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If yesterday’s iPhone 3G announcement, complete with full Exchange and MobileMe mini-exchange support wasn’t enough to sway you from your existing Verizon contract, all isn’t lost. Verizon has just announced RemoSync, which amounts to a push email solution for Enterprise users. The new Get-it-now application allows users to send and receive email, access Outlook contacts, and receive calendar alerts, all from the comfort of their Verizon-branded handset. All this goodness ain’t cheap, however, with plans starting at $9.99/month + data charges. Then again, Exchange support is pretty awesome…

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We caused a little commotion when we posted the above shot last week. No it’s not a mock-up, dummy. But, there have been a flood of questions about the BlackBerry Thunder (remember, this is still a codename) so we’ll answer the most important ones for you. First off, yes there is a SIM card slot and it is under the battery of the device. Under the battery is also a microSD slot, so don’t expect it to rock a ton of internal memory out of the box. As far as release date is concerned, we’re still hearing Q3 of this year on Big Red. The cool part, though? It looks like the chip they are using supports almost everything. CDMA 1x, EV-DO, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, and HSPA. Any other questions? We’ll be here all day! Just drop a comment.

You all know the Thunder right? Well, looky looky who got a cookie. Yeah peoples, live shot of the BlackBerry Thunder right here. By just looking at the photo, we can see that almost every button on a traditional BlackBerry like the convenience keys are still there. Like we reported, there are only four physical buttons on the front and a large touch-screen. It is also coming to Verizon. Take a look at a larger shot after the jump and stay tuned for more information on it soon. Wow, we were almost spot on with our mock-up…

Thanks, Omie!

Back in March when we first told you about the LG VX9700 that would be making its way to Verizon Wireless, a brief but interesting conversation took place in the comments section. It went something like this:

my brother said there is no VX9700 coming out for verizon, he hasnt even heard of it, and hes the store manager there, he did say the EnV 2 is supposed to come out this month.

your brother is an idiot

Now we’re not necessarily agreeing that the guy’s brother is an idiot, but the image above speaks volumes. In the midst of 3G iPhone-mania, there will still be no iPhone coming to CDMA carriers anytime soon. Maybe you don’t care, maybe you do or maybe you pretend not to care. Whatever the case may be, Verizon does care and it continues to snatch up, shall we say, iPhone-inspired devices like the LG VX9700 Dare. That’s said, the Dare does indeed look pretty darn smooth. Word is the touchy-feely EVDO-packing Dare will be making its way to a Verizon store near you sometime in July. What do you think, drool or drop?

[Via engadget]

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The Samsung i770 may be the talk of the town at the moment, but it looks like the current i760 might be getting a little bit of love before it gets phased out. Rumor has it that the i760 will be the recipient of a fresh Windows Mobile 6.1 update sometime this month. Carriers are beginning to roll out the 6.1 updates in earnest, so this seems entirely plausible, though we don’t have any specifics in terms of an actual date. We’re still betting on the upcoming i770 as the real prize in Verizon’s future lineup, but this should hold you over until you can get your hands on the new model.

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What would you do with $27 billion? If your name is Verizon Wireless, it seems the answer is acquire rival Alltel. According to CNBC Verizon is “deep in talks” to acquire Alltel. The price currently being batted around is $27 billion, which is about equal to the GDP of Latvia. Alltel was recently purchased for $27.5 billion by private investment firms TPG and Goldman Sachs, and two sales in under 12 months is not a great sign. That said, given the current economic downward spiral it’s not the worst bidding price Alltel could have commanded. While there’s no word on exactly when this transaction might be finalized, we all know what “deep in talks” means, right? 

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Any Verizon customers out there getting close to an upgrade and curious as to what smartphones might be coming to the carrier this Summer? Look no further as Engadget Mobile has gotten their hands on some internal slides that contain info you may find of interest. Hit the read link and dig through the slides for all the VZW info you can sink your teeth into, some of interest and some not. We took particular note of the following: Q3 will bring with it two new smartphones that some will love and some will hate. Either way, you can only work with what they give you in CDMA land. The appetizer is the Treo 800w, a WiFi-bearing Palm smartphone that should be making its way to Sprint as well. Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, VZ Navigator and a craptastic 1.3 megapixel camera are among the notable specs. As a main course, the GSM-bearing Samsung i770 qwerty smartphone running Windows Mobile Professional 6.1 is sure to please those who get their declining-dollar on out of the country and hate having to leave their CDMA unit behind. The i770 also packs a less craptastic 2 megapixel camera, WiFi, bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP and some more goodies. Other info that can be had in the slides includes Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrade details for the XV6800 and Samsung i760, PTT details, specs and images of the upcoming Motorola V750 and Casio G’zOne C711 and more.

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If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on the next generation LG Chocolate handset, we’ve got some good news for you. The official release date is June 16th, which is a mere 2 1/2 weeks away. We’re being told, however, that if you call in and ask nicely, you might be able to place an order immediately, securing one delivered to your doorstep as early as Monday. Just make sure to ask for SKU LGVX8610 when calling. Pricing is $179.99 with a 2-year agreement, and $249.99 with a 1-year agreement, both after a $50 mail-in rebate. Anyone tripping over themselves running for the phone to buy this one?

Thanks, Omie!

Since we were the first ones to break the news about a touchscreen BlackBerry device, it’s only fitting that we follow up and give y’all the real lowdown on it! This is going to excite a lot of people, but anger many. Are you ready? The BlackBerry Thunder, as it is codenamed now, (all you "reporting" on it as the Storm are incorrect) will launch in Q3 of this year. It is a full touchscreen BlackBerry — no slide out keyboard — with only 4 physical keys. Those are the send / end phone keys, the BlackBerry menu key, and the back key. Here is the most interesting part, though: it will launch as a worldwide lifetime exclusive on Verizon and Vodafone! We’ve heard the unit will be a hybrid device with CDMA EV-DO Rev. C (for clarification, Rev C., known as UMB is practically dead. If the device will indeed launch with a 4G solution, our bet is on LTE), and GSM HSPA for traveling internationally. Verizon and Vodafone will have the same unit. Currently, the model number is the BlackBerry 9500, though it’s very early and that’s likely to change. This is HUGE for the Verizon lovers. For once they’ll get an exclusive device, but Verizon will have a sales quota for the device and if they don’t meet those numbers, we’ve heard the exclusivity will then dissolve and it’s over. This will be extremely interesting to see play out.

P.S. No, you morons, the image above is not real. Didn’t we go through this once before?

P.P.S. For futher clarification about the whole LTE thing, the chip might support it, but that does not mean the network will be ready by any means…OK?

Looking for a litle Verizon Curve fix before Friday’s official launch? We’ve got you covered. Nothing earth shattering here, though. Just a couple of pictures to verify that this thing is, in fact, real and that it will be launching soon never hurt anyone. Specs remain the same, and a year or so late arrival, well, remains the same. That said, we’re still secretly excited for this thing to launch into the American CDMA world, though we’re not entirely sure why. Couple more shots after the jump!

There was a little bit of confusion with the 3G-less BlackBerry 9000 we posted. We heard two different codenames: Javelin and Niagara. Well, we were just told some more information on both devices. It seems the BlackBerry codenamed Niagara is actually an EV-DO device slated to hit Verizon in May of 2009. That seems a long way away but here are the specs on that model:

• "Large screen family"
• QWERTY keyboard
• 480×360 LCD
• EV-DO Rev. A
• aGPS
• 3.2 megapixel camera
• 4.7 OS platform
• BES 5.0 support (HTML email, etc)
• Qualcomm MSM7600 processor

That’s the Niagara. What about the BlackBerry Javelin? Well, here you go:

• QWERTY keyboard
• 480×360 LCD
• Quad-band GSM/EDGE
• GPS
• Wi-Fi
• 3.2 megapixel camera
• 4.6 OS platform
• BES 5.0 support as well
• ArgonV processor

Both devices look extremely similar in physical appearance, thus the confusion. So, look at that. You just got two devices for the price of one. Who’s out there in Verizon land and excited for this one? May of next year, though…doesn’t seem right does it? Then again, you never know with Big Red.

It’s ok, you can say it… Finally! Verizon Wireless customers won’t have to wait much longer for the BlackBerry Curve 8330 that we’ve known to be coming to the nation’s largest CDMA carrier for quite some time. Of course this news is a bit overshadowed by all of the BlackBerry juice we’ve been feeding you lately, but it will still come as good news to those of you waiting for a solid upgrade on VZW. According to several reports and a bunch of emailed tips we’ve received (thanks guys), here’s how it’ll go down:

• Friday, May 9th: 8330 available through B2B, telephone sales and on the web
• Monday, May 12th: 8330 available through all other channels

The price point will reportedly be at $270 after a $50 rebate with a 2-year contract and $440 without a contract. Not bad at all; you VZW people excited or still irked that it’s taken this long? We also have heard of people getting orders through already. Anyone’s Curve shipped yet?

The feature set on this device isn’t going to blow you away by any means — 1.3 megapixel camera, speakerphone, and stereo Bluetooth. With that said, we could only assume this is going to be a free phone when it launches on Verizon. There’s two colors which are titanium and grey and the keyboard looks a little funky, so, yeah. Anyone out there remotely interested in this one? Check out all the shots in the gallery

Click on over to our Motorola W755 gallery!

Thanks, Omie!

Push To Talk may be a niche technology, but it certainly has a devoted army of followers. Hoping to bring a few more converts into the fold, Verizon appears poised to launch the next generation of the instant-access technology. The next-gen technology boasts faster connection times utilizing EV-DO Rev. A and a more robust feature set. Sprint has already rolled out their Qchat service, but Verizon’s plans have been a bit unclear until now. A newly leaked document indicates that the carrier intends to launch its very own next-generation Push To Talk service by the end of May. The initial rollout will be accompanied by two new handsets, the Motorola V750 and the Casio G’zOne c711. Both handsets sport the requisite EV-DO Rev. A radios, as well as GPS, Bluetooth, and a bit of onboard memory. No word on pricing for the handsets or feature, but expect details to show up shortly.

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Bye bye Chocolate, hello VX8610. We’re not sure what feisty nickname this puppy will end up with, but at least we can all be sure of one thing: The VX8610 is coming to Verizon, and pretty soon. We told you about the upcoming Chocolate successor back in February and now that more pics are coming out we can assume that everything is right on schedule for a release this quarter. We hope Verizon and LG can get their acts together before June because from what we can tell, June is going to be a pretty busy month. Specs on the VX8610 are still a bit scarce but from the pics above we can now see the slim bluetooth headset that is worked into the case of the handset. We’ve seen other designs that integrate headsets a bit better than this, but it’ll do. We really hope the headset fits snugly into the phone though because the back of this puppy is a bit of an eyesore while the headset is removed. More info as it comes.

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Looking for a little Verizon Smartphone plan info and pricing to brighten up your Sunday afternoon? The wireless carrier is set to launch a new add-on data plan called the Email and Web for Smartphone plan. The new service will enable "unlimited" data access, and is targeted at people that want to access email, web, and other data features on their Verizon Wireless handset. This is only available for those that need to access personal email, as no corporate Exchange access will be allowed under the new provisioning. That said, the price is right, with the new package starting at just $29.99 before any applicable service discounts. Expect this to be available for the Verizon XV6800, Motorola Q9m, and SMT5800, starting tomorrow, April 14th.

[Thanks, Omie!]

Download the full PDF

Anyone having trouble out there? We’ve been getting a ton of tips all morning reporting that Verizon and AT&T BIS users are not receiving email. Problems seems to have started around 9:00 AM.

UPDATE: T-Mobile too!

As you may remember, almost one year ago, we broke news of the BlackBerry Curve 8330. Granted, some facts have since been corrected (not a World Edition device), but it’s been a rather long wait for CDMA customers wanting a BlackBerry Curve device. Recent news posted on BGR has shown pictures of the Sprint release, as well as a launch date for the Curve model.

Now, for your very own pleasure and enjoyment on the only site you love, we bring you pictures of the BlackBerry Curve 8330 from your favorite neighborhood CDMA carriers - Verizon, Sprint, Alltel, Telus, Bell Mobility, and US Cellular.