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Those Canadians who were hoping Fido’s modest lineup might get a little sprucing up with the Nokia E71 may be horribly and irreparably disappointed. Word has it Rogers will be taking the reins of Nokia’s enterprise flagship device, much to the dismay of loyal Fido-users. It makes good business sense for a big name to to grab a hot device from a wholly-owned subsidiary and pass them the low end and slow sellers to push at a discount, but it’s still a little sad to see such an old player in the Canadian wireless game to get screwed over like that. C’mon Rogers - throw Fido a bone.

[via MobileSyrup]

iPhone Auto-Correction toggle feature in iPhone 2.2 OS

When it comes to “openness” there are few tech companies (if any) more secretive than Apple. With their iPhone developer NDA recently lifted, however, Apple might be turning a new leaf - “might” being the operative word here. For now, things are business as usual for the locked-down iPhone maker.

The latest iPhone 2.2 OS that was seeded to iPhone developers has apparently unveiled a few hidden cards up its sleeve. Apple has officially listed only “compatibility testing” as the only change included in the iPhone 2.2 OS, but developers have uncovered some juicy features within the iPhone OS framework. In addition to the refreshed iPhone Safari UI, we’re hearing that iPhone 2.2 OS should include support for text auto-correction toggle, Emoji icons, and Google Maps Street View.

iPhone 2.2. OS with Emoji icon support

The iPhone OS’s underlying framework has apparently been tweaked to support the Google Maps Street View feature. “Street View” allows Google Maps users to zoom into the map at street level, allowing a “boots on the ground” view of a particular location’s surroundings. The inclusion of Street View in the T-Mobile G1’s Google Maps application was a highlight feature that gave Android an edge of the iPhone OS. With today’s confirmation of Street View support in iPhone 2.2 OS’s Google Maps application, it’s clear that the iPhone OS is keeping pace with Android.

Another discovery has confirmed that the iPhone 2.2 OS will also feature a toggle switch for the auto text-prediction feature. Auto-correction can be a useful tool for iPhone speed-typers looking to tap out longer emails, but the feature can sometimes get in the way. As such, an online petition garnering more than 20,000 signatures pleaded with Steve Jobs to release an auto-correction toggle switch. All the clamoring seems to have paid off, and Apple will likely release the text auto-correction feature in the next major release of the iPhone OS.

And, on a note that might be more attractive to our Japanese counterparts, the iPhone 2.2 OS apparently includes support for Japanese Emoji icons. The iPhone 3G’s lack of Emoji icons - little picture characters used to spice up messages - has been cited as a major oversight in the Japanese market. iPhone 2.2 OS includes 461 Emoji icons, enough to keep even the savviest users busy with icon-goodness.

Of course, until Apple goes on record with iPhone 2.2 OS features, this is just speculation. We have confidence that we’ll see Google Maps Street View, Emoji icon support, and auto-correction toggle in iPhone 2.2 OS, but don’t bet the farm on it.

[Via: MacRumors]

Eagle-eyed Arne from TheUnwired spotted a new, still unannounced LG smartphone, KS500, at FCC’s and GCF’s websites. Why do they think it’s a smartphone? Well, LG’s so-far-used naming scheme suggests that “KS” prefix has been used exclusively for smartphones. However, there’s no information available which mobile OS the Korean giant will use. All we know is that the upcoming device (if it ever gets released) will sport a QVGA screen (240×320 pixels), Bluetooth support, tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and single-band UMTS/HSDPA.

Let the speculations begin. Will LG opt for Symbian, Windows Mobile or Android? It’s hard to tell at this stage, but boy, do we want them to bring second Android phone to the market or what. They did sign-up for the Open Handset Alliance, after all. We’re watching closely…

[Via: the::unwired]

In document mostly about the BlackBerry Storm’s market positioning, it turns out the most interesting thing is the hint of a CDMA BlackBerry Pearl Flip code-named Apex. Generally we’re used to waiting about a year for CDMA versions of BlackBerrys, but if they’re already talking about giving the 8220 a go-over for Verizon, maybe we’ll see a quicker turnaround this time. It wouldn’t be surprising as the document full acknowledges that the BlackBerry Storm will be RIM’s first device to have both GSM and CDMA variants released simultaneously. Hopefully this will set the future trend…

The CDMA Javelin, code-named Niagra, also gets a nod and ballparked for an early 2009 release, although considering the document talks about releasing the Storm in September, this info is probably a little stale and dates may have been pushed back a bit since then. It’s cool to see RIM throwing some love CDMA’s way, even though it only commands about 10% of the mobile market.

On an unrelated note, in RIM’s keyboard testing for the BlackBerry Storm, they found that the LG Viewty scored highest for usability. Think RIM’s counteroffer with tactile feedback will be able to compete?

[via BGR]

Hot on the heels of a marketing-spiel PowerPoint, we have a slightly more informative user guide for the upcoming BlackBerry Storm on Verizon. The features and specs are generally common knowledge at this point, and as expected the operating system will largely be the same to previous BlackBerry models.

One of the first bits that catches the eye is “Not all wireless service providers support videos on BlackBerry smartphones”. They make it sound like something that’s been around for awhile, and but I couldn’t imagine why a carrier would want to cut that feature out. Hey, it is Verizon we’re talking about - maybe they want to charge a monthly fee for buyers to use video recording.

The home screen changes depending on orientation so that in portrait you’ll see the traditional style, while in landscape you’ll get the full icon list. The call screen got a little bit of a tweak to account for the lack of keyboard and shortcut for speakerphone, as well as providing quick access to flash, conference call and mute options. Cut and paste is still in, if you were worried about that kind of thing. On the whole, not much new or impressive going on, but a good look into the BlackBerry OS if you’re considering picking up the BlackBerry 9500 or 9530 when it comes out on Vodafone or Verizon around early November.

[via BGR]

Here’s a bit of a looker. The Motorola ZN4 could be landing on Verizon on October 14th. for $149.99 on contract ($349.99 without) according to an internal product lineup. The transparent flip cover is somehow interactive, and I’m a little interested to see how. The Krave is following closely in the Ming’s footsteps form-factorwise. No word on specs, but the ZN4 will have a touch display with HTML web browsing, and V CAST mobile TV and music.

[via Engadget Mobile]

During a webcast on the S60 platform, Nokia let slip some pictures of a Communicator-class device packing a touchscreen. Before you get too excited, just keep in mind that these are just concepts showing what could possibly be coming next for the S60 Touch UI. Nokia’s E90 series has found quite a following among those who like to straddle the mobile and UMPC worlds, but it may be time for a little uprgade. If the keyboard is also a touchscreen, it could open up all kinds of possibilities, and not just for language support. Dual screen video à la Nintendo DS has proven the form factor could work, and with touchscreens becoming so popular, there’s no reason Nokia shouldn’t be putting one on all of their lineups.

[via Cellpassion]

Apparently the Nokia’s “Comes with Music” service will be available on the touchscreen Nokia Tube 5800 in 2009, giving folks who pick one up a whole year of unlimited tuneage. If reviewers are getting their mitts on a Tube now, then there’s still a good chance that it’ll be out this week, although we might have to wait for New Year’s before it’ll be available. Comes with Music is a great idea and could give the Tube some much-needed chutzpah to compete with the iPhone. We hear that a slightly more deluxe version of the Tube will be launched shortly thereafter, which could be the one bringing the big guns.

[via T3]

A rumour has been floating around regarding T-Mobile’s BlackBerry 8220 due to launch this month, and it looks like the pricetag will be about on par with Rogers’ offering.

• New Activation 2 Year Contract $149.99 (after $50 MIR)
• New Activation 1 Year Contract $199.99 (after $50 MIR)
• Full Upgrade 2 Year Contract $167.99 (after $50 MIR)
• Full Upgrade 1 Year Contract $217.99 (after $50 MIR)
• Partial Upgrade: TBD
• Retail Price: $349.99

Awhile back, there were rumblings that the RIM’s first flip BlackBerry would be on the cheap, somewhere in the $50 neighbourhood in order to appeal to impoverished back-to-schoolers, but the student boat has sailed, and clearly pricing has gone back up to what you’d expect for a midrange smartphone. But hey, just take a look at existing BlackBerry Pearls out there and you’ll see that it won’t take long for the 8220’s price to dip.

[via TMoNews Forums]

Forget about the BlackJack III. AT&T had it enough with BlackJacks, hence the next QWERTY-keyboard equipped Samsung smartphone will be hitting the carrier as AT&T Epix.

From what we can say, it’s basically the i780 model with some tweaks. Specs include HSDPA support, WiFi, GPS, memory card slot, some camera (we guess 3 megapixels) with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional running the show in the back.

Apparently, AT&T will be selling the Samsung smartphone for around 200 bucks. That’s of course the price with a 2-year contract and after all discounts and rebates…

[Via: Boy Genius Report]