The age of next-gen BlackBerry devices is upon us and in the latest set of leaked BlackBerry photos we see the 3G-capable BlackBerry Pearl 9100.  Gone is the glowing light of the trackball and instead it has been replaced by the more stylish and less buggy trackpad.  With styling from the current generation of BlackBerry devices, the Pearl 9100 is quite a looker in its all black attire.  The device clearly resembled the new Bold 9700 available on T-mobile and soon-to-be available on At&t and honestly we are loving the style.  We’re not saying that the Pearl 9100 is going to be the next iPhone killer, but this device should definitely receive a warm welcome from anyone currently using a Pearl 81XX series

For the full photo gallery head on over to CrackBerry here.

[via]

If you have been counting the days until you could get rid of the trackball on your BlackBerry Tour we have some good news, the BlackBerry Curve 8530 Smartphone is now available from Verizon Wireless. The device is available in both Black and Smoky Violet, and will run you $99.99 with a new 2-year contract (and online discount). The latest CDMA device supports Wifi, has a 2.0 MP camera, music player, bluetooth capability and more. You an also grab the Curve 8530 as part of Verizon’s BOGO promo and pick up another 8530 (or select other devices) free.

For more information on the BlackBerry Curve 8530 for Verizon Wireless visit their website here.

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In what looks like the worst quality picture taken in the history of spy shots, BGR has received an image of what looks to be the rumored Motorola Motus.  The Motus is the At&t version of the Motorola CLIQ  currently available on T-mobile in the US and various carriers in the Europe as the Motorola DEXT.  According to the tipster who submitted the blurry camera phone picture, the Motus is a 3G-capable device (Tri-band 7.2Mbps HSDPA 850/1900/2100 MHz) with quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE.  The device features a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, 256MB RAM, aGPS, WiFi, a 3.1-inch capacitive HVGA resolution display (480 x 320), Bluetooth 2.0 and a 1400mAh battery.  The Motus is powered by the popular Qualcomm MSM 7201A CPU currently found in many devices including the Touch Pro2 and it features a microSD slot and MOTOBLUR UI.

Stay posted more details are sure to emerge on the Motorola Motus for At&t.

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The latest update to Palm’s webOS 1.3.1 has added support for Yahoo Messenger and the ability to watch YouTube videos in widescreen mode, but once again support for iTunes has been lost.  The seamless synchronization which Palm and Sprint pitched as a key feature for webOS enabled devices has been quite the power struggle with Apple taking the upper hand at least for now.  For the moment you will be forced to use alternative methods for synchronizing your music with your Palm Pre or Palm Pixi since Palm did not include a patch for media syncing capability in the latest OS build.

Michael Gartenberg, vice president for strategy and analysis at Interpret, a market research firm based in Los Angeles and New York, has noted how important the iTunes ecosystem is for consumers. “Palm will probably come up with a Plan B to ensure users don’t get caught in this battle,” he said.

At the moment Palm has not issued an official statement regarding iTunes syncing capabilities in future webOS updates nor did they explain why they did not include a fix in the current build.  If history is to repeat itself as we expect it will not be long before webOS is back in the saddle with iTunes support.

For a full list of the updates included in webOS 1.3.1 click here.

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The GSM Association has announced the winners of the Asia Mobile Awards 2009 and walking away with the Best Mobile Handset honors was the Nokia N97 mini.  Despite the dominance of CDMA technology here in the US, the rest of the world relies heavily on GSM service and to help identify driving forces in the GSM market the Asia Mobile Awards were created by the GSMA.  This year’s awards attracted more than 100 entries from operators, vendors and the broad value chain from across the mobile industry that provides products and services that are commercially available in at least one Asian market.  Congratulations Nokia, keep up the good work.

You can see a full list of all the winners from the 2009 Asia Mobile Awards here.

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Thanks to my buddy Chippy for delivering the goods, we are pleased to bring you some high-resolution photos of the Verizon Wireless Droid Eris by HTC.  Sure the Motorola Droid wins when it comes to sheer processing power, but smaller overall dimensions and weight, a sleek design and the HTC Sense UI complete the package.  A 3.2-inch HVGA resolution touchscreen, 512MB ROM / 288MB RAM and support for Office Outlook Mobile and Microsoft Exchange with Direct Push round out the features.  While we get a chance to handle the Droid Eris we’ll leave you with a photo gallery that truly captures the style.

[View with PicLens]

 

Early this morning we heard news that Fring for Android had been released.  Not only had Android support been added, but Fring also included Twitter support. If you have never heard or used Fring before the easiest way to explain the software is to list all of the chat and messaging protocols it supports: Skype®, MSN Messenger®, Google Talk™, ICQ, SIP, Twitter, Yahoo!™ and AIM®.  Beyond these messaging services, Fring also supports add-ons which bring an entirely new level of functionality to a piece of software that could quickly be passed of as just another messaging app.

In this quick video review I walk you through Fring for Android starting from installing the software from the marketplace and concluding with a comparison to Meebo.  If you are currently using the Motorola Droid on Verizon Wireless and want a much better messaging alternative I suggest you give Fring a shot.  If you have any questions about Fring or need additional information about using the software feel free to drop your question in the comments section below.

For more information about Fring visit their website here.

[via YouTube]

If you were waiting for an early Christmas present and you currently reside on the Verizon Wireless network Dell has the goods.  The Motorola Droid is now available for just $119.99 on a 2-year service agreement (upgrades and new subscribers welcome) through Dell’s Mobility Site.  In case you are a bit suspicious of how Dell can offer such a great deal the bottom of the website states, “Transactions are entered into with Simplexity and will appear on your credit card statement as Cell Stores* Dell Mobility Store”.  If the name ‘Simplexity’ is not ringing a bell this is actually the new name of WireFly which has been around for years selling wireless products and services.  In any event the deal is great and the device comes new from Verizon Wireless with a full U.S. warranty so what are you waiting for?

Thanks Stefan

[via Dell Mobility]

Motorola today announced the acquisition of RadioFrame Networks’ iDEN business. RadioFrame is a provider of lower cost, power efficient iDEN technology. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. RadioFrame Networks’ iDEN business will be integrated into Motorola’s Home & Networks Mobility business.

Motorola’s proprietary iDEN solution has proven to be an enduring cellular technology due to its innovative and differentiated end-user fast dispatch service and enterprise optimized talk-groups. RadioFrame’s iDEN products will further enhance Motorola’s portfolio for multi-channel base stations optimized to support non-contiguous spectrum allocations in the special mobile radio (SMR) business that are especially common outside North America.

For Motorola’s iDEN customers, RadioFrame’s base stations can flexibly manage non-contiguous spectrum channels, and its technology offers a lower cost architecture with a highly efficient use of power amplifiers, a smaller physical footprint and more flexibility in site management. RadioFrame’s iDEN technology also offers lower power consumption, lowering operating expenses.

With this acquisition, Motorola can further enhance its push-to-talk technology roadmap plans for strengthened operational capability, end-user functionality and cost-effective expansion.

[via Motorola]

In the usual PR tactic,  Kyocera who manufactures and markets SANYO wireless products and Sprint have released the specs for the Sanyo Incognito SCP-6760 media and messaging phone.  When you look at the Sanyo Incognito you’ll first notice the polished, luxurious mirrored external surface which is easily touch-activated to display a full, glow-through keypad with haptic vibrating feedback as keys are pressed.  On the outside of the phone is a 1.1-inch OLED display and inside is a 2.6-inch QVGA display with a 2.0-megapixel camera on the back of the device.  The Incognito features a customizable Sprint One Click carousel, advanced music and video support, Sprint Picture Mail, customizable phone caller ID / ringer / vibration and support for Sprint NFL Mobile Live & Nascar Sprint Cup Mobile.  The device features 256MB ROM/128MB RAM with an expandable microSD card slot and it supports Sprint Family Locator via GPS.  The Incognito will be available in Titanium Black with chrome trim and it measures 4.2 x 2.2 x 0.7 inches and weighs in at 4.3 ounces.  No word on a release date or pricing was included at this time and as of now I haven’t seen the device pop up on the Sprint website but we’d recommend keeping a close eye on the site.

[via Sprint]