Bet you didn’t know the HTC HD2 supported multi-touch in its Internet Explorer Mobile web browser. Well, consider yourself officially put on notice. The HD2 you see in this here video shows the gorgeously slim, yet incredibly well endowed, getting all multi-touchy with pinch-and-stretch zooming on its 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen!

The multi-touch feature seems to be slightly laggy in the video. It’s not clear if the lag issues will be fixed as HTC puts its finishing touches on the HD2 prior to launch. Still, even with buggy multi-touch, the HD2 is high on our wishlist. We had a chance to put hands on the HD2 earlier this month, and we can say that the HD2 is worth putting up with Windows Mobile 6.5 and a slightly quirky multi-touch browsing feature. With a little luck, we’ll see the HTC HD2 going live on T-Mobile USA shortly after its November 11 launch in Europe.

[Via: WMPowerUser]

The BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Bold 9700 is just about ready to give CrackBerry addicts in the US a new BlackBerry Bold handset to lust after. Following on RIM’s official unveiling of the trackpad-toting “Onyx” smartphone, the FCC has approved the BlackBerry Bold 9700 for the US. The Bold 9700 unit tested by the FCC apparently featured frequency support on the WCDMA Band IV, which is the same AWS spectrum used by T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) for its 1700Mhz 3G network. We already knew the Bold 9700 would make its way to AT&T and T-Mobile, so this isn’t new news, but it sure is exciting to see the next-gen Bold getting ready to go live.

The Bold 9700 takes the original Bold 9000’s already impressive design and kicks it up a notch. We’re talking faster processor, more application memory, a slimmer form-factor, and a new optical trackpad in place of the trackball that RIM loves to use. That should make for a more enjoyable, and lag-free, BlackBerry experience.

The Bold 9700 also comes pre-loaded with BlackBerry OS 5.0, which Simon had the pleasure of playing with on the Storm2. You’ll still get the same class-leading QWERTY keyboard that first debuted on the Bold 9000, and the same high-resolution HVGA display that made the Bold 9000 a worthy multimedia smartphone – just in a smaller, more refined package.

FCC’s BlackBerry Bold 9700 approval

[Via: Ubergizmo]

The GSM Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre has been available in the UK and Germany, bringing with it Palm’s intuitive multi-tasking webOS and multi-touch display. Here in the US, though, the only Palm Pre available comes in CDMA guise and works only on Sprint (NYSE: S)’s network. Fortunately, Americans can now get their hands on an unlocked GSM Palm Pre from Expansys – as long as they’re willing to make some sacrifices.

The GSM Palm Pre will ship with some O2 (NYSE: TEF) branding and lacks the frequency support to pull down 3G wireless data from AT&T (NYSE: T)’s network (nor T-Mobile (NYSE: DT)’s network). You still get the same 3.1-inch multi-touch display, 3-megapixel camera, WiFi, GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack and 8GB of onboard storage that every Sprint Palm Pre user has been enjoying for months now. But, you’ll have to deal with a “QWERTZ” keyboard that swaps the “Y” and “Z” keys like those crazy Europeans like to do.

If you can deal with non-US branding, European 3G “banding,” and a quirky keyboard setup, Expansys will be happy to sell you an unlocked GSM Palm Pre for $714.99. The website shows the unit out of stock, but should be back within a week or so.

GSM Palm Pre

[Via: Gagdetell]

Verizon has been awfully quiet throughout the Storm2 announcement despite their big brother abroad, Vodafone (NYSE: VOD), has been pretty open and even squeaked out an October 26 shipping date; luckily, Verizon (NYSE: VZ) won’t be far behind as their internal blog has announced an October 28th. launch date in the U.S. Dummy units have already been finding their way to Best Buy stores, so it seems like a safe bet. Anyone interested in picking one of these up as a Christmas present? For a closer look at the Storm2, check out this leaked data sheet, the online device emulator, or our very own hands-on review.

[via CB Forums]

When it comes to offering cut-throat pricing that usually undercuts many carriers’ own subsidized handset prices, Amazon isn’t the only game in town. Dell pops up from time to time with amazing deals of their own. Deals like this Dell offer for an unlocked Nokia (NYSE: NOK) E63 for $150, after $100 instant discount.

The Nokia E63 is the little brother to the Nokia E71, but still packs a punch. The E63 features large display, full QWERTY keyboard, 3G data connectivity, WiFi and a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. Unfortunately, you’re not going to get integrated GPS on the E63. For GPS you’ll want to check out the E71.

$150 Nokia E63 from Dell

I don’t know how many of these bad boys have arrived in the UK yet, but the person who’s kindle I played with yesterday claimed theirs was one of the first! Whether that’s true or not, I’m not sure – but one thing is clear – Kindle, with support for Euro 3G, is definitely here!

To rewind a little: the Kindle is Amazon’s play in the e-book reader space – and Amazon have one huge advantage over other e-book reader manufacturers … can you guess what it is?! Yep, the (arguably) critical area of content! To say that Amazon know a bit about selling books is possibly the understatement of the year!

So Amazon have got some hardware in to the marketplace, which has been established for some time – when I say marketplace of course, what I actually mean is the US domestic marketplace (officially) – but in the last few days, the informally-titled ‘Kindle 2’has appeared, rocking 3G and EDGE support for European mobile networks.

What makes this more interesting from my perspective is that the device can supposedly roam on any major network in most countries,  and you don’t pay the data fees for doing your book downloads. Schweet!

Because the Kindle display uses E Ink®, you should theoretically get huge battery life, since the power needed to maintain screen display of a given page is close to zero. Balancing that surely would be the high power consumption needed to stay attached to a 3G network, but it is possible to turn the wireless connection off (you only need it if you are pushing content to your device).

So what is the thing like to play with? Well I just had five minutes to fiddle with one yesterday, and overall, I came away impressed. The form factor of the device is very Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)-esque, and this is no chubby wonder – its very thin indeed, with a brushed metal back, and off-white facia, wrapping a 6-inch screen.

The screen looks ‘passive’ – that is, there’s no light emitted from it, and it’s probably the closest thing you can get to looking at paper, whilst at the same time being represented electronically.  Checking out some pages from a book that was pre-loaded, the text reads nice and clearly, and monochrome images even display nicely too. There are big next/previous page  buttons, a navigation control (joystick), and a full keyboard.

Presumably the keyboard is useful when you are pushing and pulling stuff from your Amazon drop-box – a bit like an email account and FTP account rolled in to one, as I understand it. All the books you by are dropped there for the Kindle to pick up, plus you cans send documents you want to read later to there also.

I’m not sure what the long-term reading experience is like on the device – but certainly it’s capacity is far in excess of one book – so if you read a lot, it’s going to be up there among the range of options you might consider to use – that wireless connection does make in convenient too! One thing I’m not sure/keen about is the price – $269 (for the internal version, 6” screen) is quite a bit in my mind – perhaps I am just being a bit scrooge-like in my old age though!

Overall then, a neat innovation – I like the addition of wireless, and if it can do a couple of other  things well too (I didn’t have time to check in 5 minutes!), then I’d think about  buying one.. of course if Amazon UK want to send me a unit to review, I can give you all a more detailed overview!

Check out more on the Kindle here.

[Images via: Amazon.com]

RIM’s new flagship device, the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Bold 9700, has been officially announced. If you’ve been following the latest leaked videos and pictures, you’d already know a fair bit about this device (including that it’s coming to AT&T, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Bell, Rogers, telus and maybe even wind) but here’s a spec run-down anyway:

• 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, image stabilization, video recording, flash and 2 x zoom
• 122 g, 109mm x 60mm x 14.1mm
• 2.44″480 x 360 display
• New 624 Mhz processor, 256 MB of flash memory
• Wi-Fi with UMA support, A-GPS, Bluetooth (incl. A2DP)
• 3.5mm headphone jack, microUSB jack, and microSD memory card slot supporting up to 32 GB
• Optical trackpad
• 1500 mAh battery with 6 hours of talk time or 19/15 days standby (GSM and UMTS, respectively)
• 1900/1800/900/850 MHz on GSM, 2100/1900/850/800 Mhz or 2100/1700/900 Mhz on UMTS

For those currently rocking the original BlackBerry Bold 9000, upgrading to this bad boy would provide you not only with added application memory, processor speed, and an upgraded camera, but extra style by way of the optical trackpad, slimmer dimensions, and overall revamped style. Don’t worry, the keyboard you know and love has changed very little, and the leather backing is still there, if you’re into that kind of thing. Anyone who had passed up on the 9000 because it looked like a fatty next to the Curve will probably be reassessing their options this go-around.

OS 5.0 is also included in the new Bold, some of the improvements from which we’ve seen in the Storm2. A lot of the really cool enterprise stuff, like flags and remote e-mail lookup will be available for those companies who have upgraded their BES to 5.0 and have devices like the Storm2 9550 and Bold 9700 among their employees; in good time, though, OS 5.o will likely find its way to the most recent BlackBerry models.

There’s no official info on carriers or pricing, but they are expecting it to be picked up in November, just in time for Christmas.

[BlackBerry Bold 9700 Official Site]

UPDATE: Rogers (NYSE: RCI) has confirmed that they’ll be offering the 9700 for $299.99 on a three-year plan. T-Mobile and AT&T will both be selling the Bold for $199.99 on a two-year term. Bell and Telus have also confirmed the 9700; although with no price point, they’re saying November.

Looking to get your hands on an AT&T BlackBerry Curve 8900? Well, you’re in luck. Amazon is clearing out the AT&T (NYSE: T) BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Curve 8900 for FREE (plus a penny)! As long as you’re new to AT&T and willing to put up with AT&T’s network for two years, Amazon will trade you a new BlackBerry Curve 8900 for your 1-cent piece. It really doesn’t get any better than that. Amazon never ceases to amaze us with their carrier-busting prices.

Current AT&T customers can also get in on the discount fun. Amazon is offering the Curve 8900 for $50 to AT&T customers willing to upgrade and extend their contract for another two years. And, Amazon will waive the $36 activation fee through October 26th, so it’s in your interest to act fast.

The $0.01 BlackBerry Curve 8900 is only available until November 4th.

BlackBerry Curve 8900 for a penny

[Via: MobileCrunch]

T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) USA was the first carrier to jump on board the good ship Android with the HTC G1, and they’ve since stayed committed to the Google (NSDQ: GOOG) mobile operating system. Following on the recently launched T-Mobile myTouch3G, T-Mobile is now expected to go live with another Google-powered smartphone in the near future. If newly leaked launch documents from TmoNews hold true, we could see the Samsung Behold II bringing its eye-popping AMOLED touchscreen and 5-megapixel camera to T-Mobile’s Android lineup as soon as November 18th!

The rumored launch window falls in line with previous speculation that the Behold II would hit market in time for the holidays. November 18 is a little more than a week away from Black Friday – the Friday after Thanksgiving Day that is usually considered the kick-off to the holiday shopping season – which also bodes well for this rumor.

The Behold II replaces Samsung’s original Behold with all kinds of Android goodies – 3.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen capacitive, 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus and flash, aGPS, WiFi, 3G and 16GB of built-in storage. Samsung’s refreshed TouchWIZ UI is complemented by the company’s new 3D cube UI. It’s all a little confusing, we know, but it’ll make more sense once you put hands on the device. (Maybe…)

In related news, there’s also mention of some sort of T-Mobile branded touchscreen handset called the T-Mobile Tap coming down the pipeline on November 11th. Most of you probably won’t care about a T-Mobile touchscreen phone from a no-name manufacturer, but there you go.

[Via: EngadgetMobile]

The original BlackBerry Storm, though a massive departure from RIM’s usual buttoned-up candybar smartphones, left many unhappy with the clicking touchscreen called SurePress. Well, after a lengthy batch of leaks, the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) (NSDQ: RIMM) Storm2 9550 (known as Odin, once upon a time) is on its way to Verizon (NYSE: VZ) (NYSE: VZ), and presumably 02 and Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) (NYSE: VOD) across the pond. From what we’ve seen, the new and improved SurePress is based on a series of four sensors beneath the screen, as opposed to the single central pivot point on the original 9500. Being able to hit multiple keys on the virtual keyboard promises to improve typing speeds, and the inclusion of Wi-Fi is something that has been missing for a long time. Throw in a few stylistic changes, like rubberized buttons, and a new chrome trim, and you’ve got yourself an exciting sequel to a device that had previously failed to impress. So, does the Storm2 deliver? Hit the jump to find out for yourself…

[Update]
Parts 1 and 2 of the video now available!

[Update 2]
Sorry for the delay. Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the video are now available!

Read the full article »