Touchscreen BlackBerry Thunder Is BlackBerry 9500, Has Higher Res Screen Than iPhone

A bit more tricklage on RIM's "Apple Killer," the touchscreen BlackBerry Thunder: The official model number is the BlackBerry 9500, and the touchscreen is a bit higher res than the iPhone's (360x480 to 320x480). It'll be running OS 4.7.0 (the Bold runs 4.6). As we inch closer to the September release date expect to hear a lot more, since RIM's ship ain't exactly the tightest one on the seven seas.

A First Glimpse of the HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint?

Whenever the U.S. launch of the HTC Touch Diamond is being talked about, often the first name that comes up is Sprint. Rumors that this wireless carrier will be offering this Windows Mobile smartphone date back to April.

But pictures of the Diamond with a Sprint logo on it haven't leaked out... until now.



A user in the PPCGeeks forums has posted a couple of typical blurry spy shots that supposedly show HTC's latest emblazoned with Sprint's branding.

While pre-release photos are notoriously unreliable, the fact that the device in these images isn't an exact copy of the GSM version of the Diamond with a corporate logo pasted on them gives it some credibility.

If these pictures aren't part of a hoax, Sprint's version of this smartphone will have curved top and and bottom edges, while the GSM version is rigidly angular.

In addition, the version of HTC's TouchFLO 3D looks slightly different from the standard one. The clock has been changed and so have the icons.

This carrier's logo appears where the front-facing camera is on the European version of this phone, but few Windows Mobile models with dual cameras have been released in the U.S.

The source of these images, who claims to be a Sprint employee, says the Touch Diamond is currently undergoing carrier testing. He did not say when this model will be released.

According to a separate unconfirmed report, Verizon also has its eye on the Diamond.

Apple shows off iPhone 3G guided tour

C'mon, you knew this was coming. Apple just posted a video walkthrough of it's brand new wonder-device, replete with the familiar (yet somewhat creepy) iPhone dude. You know the score, so hop on over to Apple's site and see it all in a glorious, sprawling internet video.

AT&T announces iPhone 3G pricing plans

Finally, a piece of news we can actually do something with. AT&T today announced its pricing structure for the next iteration of Apple's iPhone -- which you can plunk down money for come 8 am, July 11th. There's not much that's surprising here -- new customers and those eligible for an upgrade will be able to nab the phone for $199 (8GB) or $299 (16GB), while "early upgraders" will have to fork over $399 or $499, all with a two year contract and $18 upgrade fee, of course. The telco says a no-commitment version of the phone will be available for $599 and $699, though it looks like that will come after the initial launch. AT&T appears to be leaning pretty heavily towards the all-in unlimited plans, but there are options if you don't want to go that route. We've sorted out the basics after the break, and included AT&T's "iReady" video -- certainly good for a few chuckles.

Verizon May Be Picking Up New Smartphones from Palm and HTC

Verizon Wireless will soon be picking up the latest Windows Mobile smartphones from Palm and HTC, if an unconfirmed report is correct.

phoneArena was told by an unnamed source that Verizon will be offering two models from HTC, the Touch Diamond and the Touch Pro. Naturally, these will be the CDMA versions of these smartphones, and support for EV-DO can be assumed.

HTC has officially announced both models, but this same report says Verizon will also be introducing one that hasn't yet been unveiled, the Palm Treo 800w, which is expected to debut later this month on Sprint's network.

The source of this unconfirmed information didn't indicate when any of these products will be released by this wireless carrier.

More about the HTC Touch Diamond and Touch Pro

HTC's latest models have a great deal in common, but the Touch Diamond is a consumer-oriented smartphone, while the Touch Pro will have more of a focus on business users.

Both these Windows Mobile 6.1 devices will have a 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen, 3G, and Wi-Fi, but the Touch Pro will add a sliding keyboard and larger battery.

And while the Diamond has 4 GB of built-in storage, the Pro will have a microSD/SDHC card slot instead.

Each will include TouchFLO 3D, HTC's new alternate user interface that makes Windows Mobile devices easier to use with a fingertip.

The GSM version of the Diamond is available in Europe now, while the Pro has yet to be released.

More about the Palm Treo 800w

According to leaked information, Palm's next Treo will run Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro, and have a number of firsts.

This is expected to be one of the first devices running Microsoft's mobile operating system to have a 320-by-320-pixel touchscreen, and Palm's first smartphone with Wi-Fi, GPS, and a Micro-USB 2.0 connector.

Like all Treos, this model will reportedly have QWERTY keyboard. In addition, the 800w will have a microSD/SDHC memory card slot, a 2 MPx camera, Bluetooth, and an infrared port.