O2 Xda Vista coming to China? What happened to MWg?

Last we'd heard, O2 was well out of Asia with remnants of the firm regrouping as MWg to forge ahead with some of O2's remaining projects and start blazing a new trail. Be that as it may, IT168 appears to have details of a clearly O2-branded "Xda Vista" with a WVGA display, NVIDIA graphics chipset, Windows Mobile 6.1, GPS, and pretty much every other feature a Windows Mobile power user is clamoring for these days. Those are downright modern specs, which means this thing was likely crafted after MWg came into existence -- or at the very least, after it was known that O2 Asia would go away -- so we're not sure what's going on here. Is it a fake? If not, will it end up getting rebranded as a MWg model by the time it's released? Then again, with a WVGA display and HSDPA, do we really care what it's called?

Toshiba Portege G810 reviewed, cursed

Hopes had been reasonably high that Toshiba's G810 would rest near the top of the keyboardless WinMo food chain for a while, but if PocketNow's review is any indication, that's a tall order. Problem numero uno -- which we didn't need a review to tell us, necessarily -- is that the completely tactile-free directional pad and accompanying buttons make using the darned thing a challenge, no matter how cool the glowy blue lights may be. What's more, the screen is QVGA, which is unacceptable for a high-end WinMo handset in 2008, and the tester was unable to get even a single full day of battery life out of it with typical use. On the bright side, the camera appears to take some of the better shots we've ever seen come out of a cameraphone, but is that really enough to justify the $700-plus that retailers are commanding? Probably not.

Google crafts web-based Google Talk for iPhone

Google's released a new version of its Google Talk web app that's optimized for the iPhone and iPod touch -- that's right, web app, meaning that they've stayed true to Stevie's original vision of keeping everything within the Safari sandbox. No firmware 2.0, no App Store, and certainly no iPhone 3G needed to take advantage of this one, just a plain ol' iPhone Classique and a willingness to keep Safari open for however long you wish to be available to your Google Talkin' comrades.

German "Future Store" lets you grocery shop with your cellphone

It's been a long, long time since we've heard from Germany's "Future Store" -- the ultra-futuristic German grocery store that might have sprung directly from the Sprawl trilogy -- but they've got a new feature we thought you might be interested in. Shoppers in the store can now use camera-equipped cellphones (i.e., cellphones) to snap pictures of item barcodes, and then download the information at the checkout when they're finished shopping. The system totals all of your purchases into one big, nasty barcode which you then scan and pony up cash (or cards, or fingerprints, or magical rainbow juice) for. It's unclear how to store handles shoppers who don't scan everything they've got in their cart, but if it's anything like our favorite books, it's not pretty.

Samsung bringing the Instinct to Canada next

Fired up to capitalize on some of the hype Sprint has managed to drum up for the Instinct down in the States, Samsung's taking its iPhone fighter north of the border for a promised intro later this summer. Bell Mobility is the lucky partner (seriously, Telus, you probably should've hustled Samsung a little harder for this one), launching at price points ranging from $149.95 up to $449.95 for a three-year contract all the way down to zero commitment. Features and software look like they're all carrying over from their stateside cousin, although the UI's looking just a little bit less Sprint-ified (read: no yellow tinge). Nice.