HTC’s riding a tsunami-like wave of new Windows Mobile-based smartphones all the way to the bank. With more smartphones on market than we can keep track of (well, almost), HTC has risen to the top of their game in recent months. HTC is the powerhouse behind the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1, they’ve got their own HTC Touch Diamond and HTC Touch Pro to boast of, and they’re even on board as the premier Android-handset manufacturer with the HTC Dream G1. Now, we’re hearing that HTC has their hands all up in Palm’s business (not like that, come on now).

HTC is rumored to be the manufacturer of choice for the Palm Treo Pro, taking out its competition, Inventec, in the process. DigiTimes is reporting that Inventec is still Palm’s go-to ODM, but with HTC’s recent success in the WinMo market, it makes sense that Palm gives them a chance.

Now, we have to wonder if HTC’s own-branded devices will take a sales-hit from the competition that they essentially produced. Competition is one thing, but competing with yourself just shouts confidence.

HTC, confident? You don’t say.

[Via: DigiTimes]

There’s nothing worse than paying for high-speed 3G wireless data and then getting shafted with artificially-limited data speeds. iPhone 3G owners have been complaining of sluggish 3G data speeds, resulting in speculation that the iPhone 3G’s hardware or firmware were to blame. But, with Wired’s global iPhone 3G data speed survey suggesting that the network is likely to blame, and laboratory testing of the iPhone 3G’s antenna essentially absolving the iPhone of any hardware defects, it seems that slow 3G data speeds are rooted in the wireless network.

Today we learn that Orange, Apple’s iPhone carrier in France, has indeed been artificially throttling (limiting) 3G data speeds for iPhone 3G customers. Orange defended their move to limit 3G data speeds in claiming that the decision to throttle data was made in the name of network stability. That obviously didn’t sit well with customers.

The announcement follows on the heels of speculation that some iPhone 3G users on Orange’s network were able to reach full-3G speeds on the network.

In response to customer complaints that their iPhone 3Gs were struggling to reach 400Kbps, while iPhone 3G users in Germany were routinely seeing download speeds of 1.8Mbps, Orange announced that it will increase 3G data speeds to 1Mbps (1000Kbps) by September 15.

A noble move on Orange’s part. Now, if we could just get AT&T to improve their 3G network in the US…

[Via: AppleInsider]

Lawsuits over patented technologies are nothing new in the mobile industry. And, with frivolous lawsuits popping up left and right, it’s hard to keep a straight face whenever we hear of patent-holding firms suing industry big-wigs. Except this time, there’s some serious precedent in favor of the plaintiff.

Verizon Wireless recently introduced their own Visual Voicemail solution on the refreshed LG Voyager, bringing Verizon’s voicemail offering up to speed with AT&T’s Visual Voicemail system available on the iPhone and iPhone 3G. And, that’s where Verizon and LG’s troubles began.

Klausner Technologies rose to litigation-fame as the patent-holding firm with the tenacity to go after the likes of AT&T and Apple, not to mention Sprint and SimulScribe, for infringing on patents related to Visual Voicemail technologies. It seems Verizon Wireless and LG didn’t take note of the much-publicized lawsuit when it decided to launch their own Visual Voicemail system.

Klausner has announced that it has filed suit against Verizon Wireless and LG for using Visual Voicemail technologies on the newly refreshed LG Voyager for Verizon. All defendants from the previous lawsuit have already settled with Klausner - which set up a licensing precedent that isn’t going to help Verizon of LG’s case.

We should see a settlement and subsequent licensing agreement in short order - if Verizon and LG know what’s good for them.

[Via: Businesswire]

Rogers is really making a strong case for GSM networks in the Great White North. With the iPhone 3G already under its wing, and the BlackBerry Bold now bolstering its high-end GSM smartphone stable, Rogers is leveraging their position as Canada’s GSM carrier to good effect. Rate plan costs aside, we’ve got to hand it to Rogers for bringing the latest and greatest in the mobile space to our Canadian friends.

The latest rumors swirling around the newly announced Palm Treo Pro point to Rogers picking up Palm’s newest Windows Mobile smartphone on September 17. With 3G (HSDPA), GPS, 2 megapixel camera, QWERTY keyboard, 320×320 touchscreen, and microSD card slot, the Palm Treo Pro sounds (and looks) like a real winner for Palm. The once-pioneer of the smartphone industry sorely needs a blockbuster like the Palm Centro to help bring the company back to the top of its game, and the Palm Treo Pro could be just such a handset.

We’re hearing that Rogers could start offering the Palm Treo Pro on September 17th at an as-yet undisclosed price. AT&T will be offering the Palm Treo Pro at a $549 price-point, so it’s not too far-fetched to think the Palm Treo Pro will hit Rogers with a similar price-tag.

Stay tuned.

[Via: MobileSyrup]

With data suggesting that the iPhone 3G’s sluggish 3G data speeds and unreliable 3G service are due to AT&T’s underdeveloped network, we have to wonder if any other 3G-enabled devices are experiencing the same kind of 3G network issues.

And, upon wondering, we’re presented with an answer.

Citigroup investment research analyst Jim Suva reports that his experience in testing the BlackBerry Bold has shown 3G connectivity to be just as shaky as with the iPhone 3G - again suggesting that AT&T’s network is the weak point here.

Suva’s BlackBerry Bold test unit was apparently plagued by dropped 3G signals - the device repeatedly dropped down to EDGE speeds without rhyme or reason. More importantly, the iPhone 3G and BlackBerry Bold use different 3G radios to connect to AT&T’s 3G network, which rules out hardware defects as the potential root of the iPhone 3G’s network problems - substantiating the Swedish researchers’ findings that the iPhone 3G’s antenna is just fine.

With Wired’s global iPhone 3G data speed survey indicating that, again, the immature 3G infrastructure in the US is resulting in less-than-perfect 3G performance, it should be clear that AT&T has to boost their network before we can expect things to get better.

The BlackBerry Bold was confirmed for AT&T earlier this year, but has been delayed due to unspecified circumstances. Could AT&T be waiting to patch the BlackBerry Bold’s firmware and possibly increase their 3G network coverage before releasing the Bold in to the wild? It certainly is a possibility. It would be a shame to see two headliner devices launched on AT&T with the same set of 3G service issues.
[Via: InformationWeek]

Hardware, software, firmware, or networks. No one really knows what’s going on with the iPhone 3G that’s causing all these network problems, but new data points to the problems being rooted in the wireless network itself.

At this point, we can rule out the iPhone’s antenna as causing the network issues. And, Apple has announced that their iPhone 2.0.2 OS should help alleviate some 3G connectivity woes.

The latest data from Wired’s global iPhone 3G data speed survey allows for some interesting interpretation. The data shows that the iPhone 3G sees the highest wireless data speeds in countries with fully-mature 3G infrastructure capable of serving up 3G data at faster-than-US speeds. On the downside, the data also shows that the US wireless infrastructure is likely to blame for our iPhone 3G’s data sluggishness.

So, what’s the deal? AT&T hasn’t had the extra three years worth of 3G development that our European friends enjoy. And, as such, Yankees have to suffer with an immature 3G network to use with our iPhone 3Gs. But, it’s not like we didn’t already know about the US’s woefully lagging wireless networks.

[Via: Wired]

Just over a month into the iPhone 3G’s global sales push, it seems that Apple is about to see their iPhone 3G fleet surpass the number of original iPhones out in the wild. Basically, it comes down to Apple selling more iPhone 3G units, in less than two months, than the number of iPhones sold in a year of sales.

Sometime next week, we’re expecting Apple to pass the 6 million-unit mark with iPhone 3G sales. The iPhone 3G needed just a single weekend to move a cool million units in to eager iPhone hopefuls’ hands, and with sales still blazing around the world, we’ll likely see the iPhone 3G smash through more sales goals as time goes by.

Interestingly, sales of the iPhone 3G are still mighty strong despite scattered reports of 3G connectivity issues. That, dear readers, is the power of a truly unique and appealing UI.

[Via: TechCrunch]

We’re not exactly sure why would Casio want to push its Exilim W63CA superphone through FCC, but the Japanese company has done it nonetheless. Maybe they don’t spare the paperwork involved just to tease us what we could get only if we were in Japan…

If you’re not aware, the Casio Exilim W63CA is probably one of the best phones ever made. Period. And it’s not just the 8 megapixel camera it boasts, W63CA’s strengths are also in the WVGA (800×400 pixel) screen and an array of other acronyms, some of which are Japanese-market specific. Still, we do want one of these, at least to play with for couple of days. Uhh… those lucky Japanese with their subsidy-friendly carriers and high-end phones…

[Via: Gizmodo]

We’ve already reported Sprint will be launching the HTC Touch Diamond. As a matter of fact, we told you the struggling CDMA carrier will be offering the device in quite attractive red color. And now it seems we have the exact release data — “it seems” part is there cause we haven’t seen the official press release.

Apparently, Sprint’s potential and existing users will be able to grab the Touch Diamond starting from August 28th. The device will cost $299 on a 2-year contract, or $549 sans any agreements signed.

Last, but not the least, the CDMA version of the Touch Diamond will come with much larger (than its GSM brother) 1,350mAh battery. Not sure how many hours of web surfing or video playback that includes, but it certainly sounds a lot…

[Via: Engadget Mobile]

There are no doubts in my mind Motorola’s mobile phone business has seen better times. I’m all for the big return of the struggling American handset maker. However, I’m not sure they have what it takes. Today we’ve spotted a leaked-by-Target image of the upcoming MOTO i776 clamshell. As you can see from the image above, the device in question has an antenna.

Why oh why would Motorola want to go this route is beyond me. Apparently, the phone is heading to Sprint-owned Boost Mobile and we should hear from them in the near future. Now that I’m thinking, if I were Boost’s marketing guy, I WOULDN’T issue a press release. There’s nothing to get you excited about the i776. Sure, there’s a Bluetooth support and a built-in GPS, but that antenna is really ugly, so-old-school “feature.” Any thoughts?

[Via: Unwired View]