Samsung Propel Graduates to Propel Pro with Windows Mobile

The original Samsung Propel for AT&T was launched late last year, granting full QWERTY keyboards to people who wanted a smaller slider phone. This was a standard feature phone, but what about people who wanted just a little more?
Stepping it up just a notch is the new Samsung Propel Pro from AT&T. It's like the original Propel, except this one comes powered by Windows Mobile. In this way, the Propel Pro is easily one of the more compact smartphones that we have seen in some time.
The build quality and choice of materials also appear to be improved, furthering the "Pro" moniker. The slide-out QWERTY keyboard is backed up by an optical joystick, metallic accents, and Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard.
The hope is that AT&T and Samsung will have something for us at Mobile World Congress next month, but for now, no official information has been released. Stay tuned.

Virgin Mobile Gets Helio Ocean 2 in Time for V-Day

With Virgin Mobile's relatively recent acquisition of Helio, many of us were left wondering when the MVNO would bring the highly anticipated Helio Ocean 2 into the fray. Well, the wait is about to end.
The first Helio Ocean offered quite the unique three-layered design. Slide it out vertically and you got a numeric keypad. Slide it out horizontally and you got a QWERTY keyboard. That's pretty neat. The Helio Ocean 2 for Virgin Mobile continues with this tradition and it should hit the usual channels on February 12th. That gives you a solid day or two to get it for your honey in time for Valentine's Day. Look! It even comes with reddish accents!
You may also recall that the Helio Ocean 2 and Virgin Mobile would be one of the official sponsors of Britney Spears' next tour, which kicks off on March 3rd. In this way, the Ocean 2 will be available a full three weeks before Britney hits that baby one more time. Or something.
In terms of features, you get a 2.6-inch QVGA display, optical sensor for touchpad navigation, dual slider design, 2GB internal memory, microSD slot, 2-megapixel camera with video and geotagging, full HTML tabbed browsing, threaded text messages, ad full access to all Helio services like Buddy Beacon and HelioUP.

OnPar Golfer GPS Handheld with iPhone Flair

For most people, GPS devices are largely reserved for getting around town and navigating the highways to grandma's house. For the outdoorsy types, there are GPS devices that will ensure you don't get lost in the middle of the woods. And then there are GPS devices for the avid golfers in the audience.
Finding GPS devices for golfers is nothing new, but the new OnPar GPS could be one of the most aesthetically pleasing to date. That's because it borrows quite a bit from the iPhone in terms of style.
Featuring a large 3.5" touchscreen display, the OnPar GPS device for golfers features a menu that is not unlike that on the iPhone, letting you navigate to its different functions and applications. From there, you can see a better view of the current hole on the current golf course, determine distance to pin, work out your score, and so on.
The dynamic hole layout display is probably the most feature that will see the most play, but you can also use OnPar to determine how far away you are from the drink, a sand trap, or other hazards too. OnPar can store info for up to 300 courses to boot.
Pricing for the OnPar has not been announced, but specialty stores will start stocking his device in early February.

Moto i465: The First Moto iDEN Cell Phone with QWERTY

Everyone seems to be falling in love with QWERTY phones these days, no longer restricting the feature to the realm of corporate and business users. Teenagers want the QWERTY for ease of text messaging, for example. Even though smartphones and messaging phones have been doing the QWERTY dance for a while now, it's interesting to see that Motorola hasn't produced a QWERTY phone with iDEN yet. That has now changed.
This may have been a long time coming and the handset may be far from the prettiest thing in the world, but the i465 is the first ever iDEN phone from Motorola with a full QWERTY keyboard. As with most other iDEN phones, the Motorola i465 is a slightly ruggedized number that is well suited for industrial and outdoor applications.
Aside from the QWERTY keyboard, the Motorola i465 doesn't bring too much to the table. You don't get Windows Mobile, because this is not a smartphone. It's a "feature" phone. Rounding out the feature set are a VGA camera, Bluetooth, and push-to-talk.

General Mobile DSTL1 Android Phone Looks Hot, Rocks Double SIM

When the T-Mobile G1 finally launched last year, most people weren't terribly excited about the hardware, but the prospects of the Google Android software made for a promising proposition. As the platform continues to mature and more manufacturers start making smartphones using its framework, we could have more interesting handsets on our hands.
One of the newest Google Android-powered smartphones to enter the fray is the General Mobile DSTL1. You may not have ever heard of General Mobile, but this handset is simply gorgeous and cannot be ignored. It features a 3-inch Sharp touchscreen, double SIM slots for dual calling, and an utterly sleek appearance.
The angled corners are complemented by black glass, chrome accents, and brilliant black plastic. The design is familiar, looking sort of like an HTC Touch Diamond, but with a huge dash of extra class.
In terms of features, you get a Marvell PXA 310 (624MHz) processor running the show, tri-band GSM, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, FM radio, 4GB of internal memory, card slot, 5-megapixel autofocus camera (Sharp), and video chat. There's not explicit mention of 3G, but you've got to figure that's in there too.
The General Mobile DSTL1 Android Phone should be on display at Mobile World Congress (formerly 3GSM) next month.

HTC Touch Pro Getting Mozilla Fennec (Firefox Mobile) Next Week

While I have largely migrated to Google Chrome as my primary web browser on my computer, I did use Mozilla Firefox for the longest time. I liked it a lot more than, say, Internet Explorer. Just as you have an abundance of choices on your laptop for web browsers, the same can be said about the mobile environment. It's about to get a little more crowded with the pending release of Fennec, a browser you may know better as Firefox Mobile.
Developed by Mozilla, Firefox Mobile is supposed to bring the same kind of web browsing experience you get on your desktop over to the Windows Mobile realm of a smartphone. Carrying the codename of Fennec, Firefox Mobile will be ready to launch for the HTC Touch Pro as early as next week. This comes directly from the team at Mozilla, so this proposed release date carries some weight.
Firefox Mobile is already in Alpha 2 status, so it won't be all that long before they launch the first beta version of the mobile web browser. I can't say for sure, but I'm thinking that this will be an improvement over the mobile version of IE. A lot of Windows Mobile people are currently using Opera, but they hop to the foxy side with this release.
The initial release, as mentioned, will be the HTC Touch Pro, but it won't be long before the guys at xda-developers port the first Firefox Mobile beta to other HTC smartphones. From there, I'd imagine that some guys would work on sending Firefox Mobile to more WinMo phones too.

Sony PSP Hits the Carnival Dressed Up in Clown Colors

What is it that you desire the most from an updated Sony PlayStation Portable? Clearly, Sony is in touch with our desires, because here are four new models of the PSP dressed up in exuberant bright colors. Yes, that's what we want. More colors.
Over in the land of Japan, we find the new Carnival Colors line of the PSP. The Radiant Red and Vibrant Blue renditions of the handheld will start shipping on March 5th, whereas the Bright Yellow and Spirited Green editions hit Japanese retailers on March 19th. No matter the color, a new brightly-painted PSP will run you 19,800 Yen (about $220).
What else do you get with the Carnival Colors PSP? Is there a second analog stick? A better web browser? A slimmer design? Nope, none of those. You get an exceptionally loud paint job that'll save you the trouble of shipping a regular PSP to Colorware or something. Yay?
On a side note, Sony will continue to sell extended life battery covers for each of these Carnival Colors PSP systems, so at least you can keep gaming for a slightly longer period of time. The batteries are discontinued in the United States.

MacBook Mini Netbook Concept Features Tri-Fold Design

Considering how much talk there is about a Apple netbook of some kind, I really think that the guys in Cupertino should give this some serious thought. They have gone on the record that that they have no current interest in the netbook market, but they are keeping an eye on it. The introduction of the Sony VAIO P could pave the way toward a premium netbook from Apple, but for now, it's a pipe-dream for Apple enthusiasts.
What would a MacBook Nano or a MacBook Mini look like anyhow? You know Apple would bring something new to the table and this latest concept rendering offers us a glimpse into what is possible. Whereas all other netbooks take on the "mini-laptop" appearance, this MacBook Mini is a tri-fold.
The ultra-wide display and overall layout is similar to the Sony VAIO Pocket, but the extra flip-out portion is what makes this concept so interesting. You've got a 10-inch widescreen on one flap, the keyboard on another flap, and a large multi-touch trackpad on the third flap.
When you're only doing some web surfing and don't intend on typing anything, you can rely solely on the trackpad. This is almost as ridiculous as the MacBook Wheel, but at least you can have the regular keyboard when you need it.

Video: iPhone Gets Bluetooth File Transfers via iBluetooth

The Apple iPhone is one of the hottest handsets on the market today and while it brings a lot of great things to the table, it's also lacking in several areas as well. We're still looking for official ways to record videos and cut-and-paste. In the meantime, we turn to the developer community for support.
Something that is strangely missing from the iPhone is the ability to transfer files over a Bluetooth connection. That shortcoming has been overcome with the arrival of iBluetooth, a third-party app that lets beam that song or picture to your fellow Bluetooth-equipped smartphone user.
iBluetooth is in no way endorsed or affiliated with Apple itself and you can't even get this useful application through the regular Apple App Store. Instead, you'll first need to have a jailbroken iPhone and then you can find iBluetooth through the iSpazio repository on Cydia. It's a bit of a workaround, but at least it works.
Embedded below is a brief video of iBluetooth in action. I really do find it strange that despite its relatively cutting-edge inclinations, the iPhone is lacking in some basics like stereo Bluetooth, video recording, and Bluetooth object exchange.

Feature - Choosing My Next Smartphone

I've been fighting this battle for far too long and it's about time I come to some kind of decision. I don't know where I'll turn, but I really want to buy myslf a new smartphone. After migrating over from a conventional phone to a smartphone, there really is no turning back. The simple functionality of a dumbphone just doesn't cut the mustard for me.
Some of the Top Contenders
Although the Apple fanatics will hate me for saying this, I've already decided that I'm not going to even consider the iPhone 3G. This isn't to say that I won't have some sort of iPhone in the future, but the current incarnation isn't really what I want.
In terms of criteria, I don't think I'm being terribly picky, but this could be the source of my indecision. For frame of reference, I'm currently using an ancient T-Mobile MDA Vario (HTC Wizard) running on Windows Mobile 5. Yes, I'm that old school and it's time for an upgrade. I'd prefer to keep a touchscreen around, though that's not really a requirement. I'm open to different operating systems, but I cannot live without a hardware QWERTY keyboard. I also need a good "Today" screen.
Regarding preferences, I'd like a decent resolution camera that can do video, an adequate email client, a decent web browser, and expandable memory. I'm willing to budge on any of these if other features win me over. Let's see who is currently sitting at the top of the heap.