IntoMobile » Rumors

Samsung and Moto readying Tegra smartphones?

Ben Robinson — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:47:46 +0000

Electricpig.co.uk is reporting that there are strong rumours regarding the NVIDIA Tegra chip (used in the Zune HD), being used in Mobile devices - with Samsung and Moto as prime candidates!

The original info apparently came from DigiTimes, and apparently a number of the Top 5 handset vendors have ordered the chip - amongst the reasons being that it can eke out high performance HD video and 3D GFX, without shredding the battery!

Of course it may be that a Tegra-powered, dare I say Android-based, handset might pull Moto out of the quagmire they are in currently with Mobile devices - there are plenty of people out there that would be ready to buy Moto again if they can deliver something on this level!

So let’s wear the rumour cap well, and hope this turns in to something more concrete soon!

[Via: Electricpig.co.uk via: DigiTimes]

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Verizon’s Samsung Glyde 2 caught in the wild

Dusan Belic — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 11:15:32 +0000

Verizon (NYSE: VZ) will introduce an updated version of the Samsung Glyde phone at some point in the future. The “caught in the wild” photos bellow prove the point. We don’t have much details at the moment, but we can see the full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a touchscreen and Samsung’s sexy lookin’ TouchWiz user interface. From what we can tell, this baby sounds like a winner for folks that consider themselves avid texters and/or heavy mobile Internet users. Moreover, once you get used to TouchWiz’s “way of doing things,” you end up falling in love to the interface.

[Via: PhoneArena]

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Palm App Catalog Due to Expand This Coming Week?

James Falconer — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:41:32 +0000

Looks like this coming week could be a big one for the Palm Pre users out there… Especially the Pre users fed up with the limited number of apps currently available in the App Catalog.

My bud Phil over at PreThinking has reported that multiple developers that have been accepted in the SDK Early Access program can now submit apps to Palm (NSDQ: PALM) for consideration in the Beta App Catalog… as of yesterday!

The official note from Palm:

We are pleased to announce a limited expansion of access to the Beta Application Catalog for our SDK early access partners. Starting today, you can submit your application for consideration to be included in the Catalog.

Hopefully the review process is a speedy one, and we start to see more and more apps pop into the App Catalog this coming week! Should be interesting to see what happens. Would be nice if the SDK opened up to the public sometime in the near future as well… Palm needs to put the pedal down to foster app development!

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Best Buy Mobile Reveals TELUS HTC Snap and Touch Pro2 as ‘Coming Soon’

James Falconer — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:07:04 +0000

One more tidbit of Canadian mobile news before I take a breather over here. Best Buy Mobile has confirmed that the TELUS (NYSE: TU) HTC Snap and HTC Touch Pro2 are ‘coming soon’. Rumored pricing to purchase the HTC Snap outright is sitting at $449.99, while the Touch Pro2 is coming in at $549.99.

No launch details for the Snap or Touch Pro2 were revealed, but in the flyer above, all details within are ‘good until July 30th’. So, chances are we’ll see all 3 of these devices before then. In fact, the TELUS BlackBerry Tour is scheduled to drop on July 15th (starting at $249.99 on a 3-year contract), so we could very well see all three devices launched on that date. That said, I’d lean more towards a solo Tour launch on the 15th, with the Snap and Touch Pro2 coming sometime between the 16th and the 31st. We’ll see!

[Via: MobileSyrup]

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Samsung ‘Link’ Coming to Bell July 15th?

James Falconer — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:38:07 +0000

Here’s the latest rumor from the land of Canadian mobile. Word has it that Samsung lovers in the Great White North are in for a treat. Samsung is set to release the ‘Link’ via Bell on July 15th. Not much else is known at this point (no pricing or device specs), but as you can see from the amazing image above (can you feel the sarcasm?), the Link will at the very least feature a full QWERTY keyboard. No slider here.

Stay tuned for more on the Samsung Link… I’m very interested to learn more about this one!

[Via: MobileSyrup]

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Facebook for iPhone 3.0 Coming Soon

James Falconer — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:29:10 +0000

Facebook for iPhone is awesome. Anyone that has used it usually raves about it, as It makes interacting with the site ultra-easy (and fun)… and I have to admit, I pop it open once a day just to see what’s going on. Awesomely, (Is that a word!?) Facebook has announced that the new Facebook for iPhone 3.0 is nearing completion, and we should see it available for download in the near future. Look for enhancements such as a new homescreen, new notes and events pages, plus an updated news feed. Also, and probably much more noteworthy, Facebook for iPhone 3.0 could very well let you create photo albums, upload photos, zoom photos, tag photos, and a lot more. Stay tuned for more on this. It’s coming soon… I can feel it.

[Via: UnwiredView]

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Archos to unveil Android-powered Tablet on September 15th?

Dusan Belic — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:12:45 +0000

We’ve already heard Archos is moving forward to introduce the Android-powered device. Now we have a new tidbit of information to add to the pile.

According to RegisterHardware, the company’s Managing Director of Northern Europe operations — Tony Limrick — has confirmed such device will be unveiled this September. As a matter of fact, he said it’s September 15th when we’ll hear some hot news from Archos.

Limrick described the upcoming Tablet as “Android-based devices with phone, email, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) apps and Android Apps.”

Earlier we’ve heard the specs and are hoping they’ll stay intact: 5-inch screen, HSPA connectivity, 500MB of storage, 10mm thick, HD movie playback capability and 800MHz TI OMAP 3440 CPU. The price is unknown at this stage, but judging by the specs, I doubt we’re talking about a cheap device.

[Via: phandroid]

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Microsoft Picks Ad Agency for Project Pink?

Simon Sage — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:04:10 +0000

Ad agency T.A.G (a unit of McCann) has apparently been chosen to work with Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) on what they openly referred to as the Pink project. It does exist! The rumours of Pink have floated around like vapourware for a long time now, but this certainly helps to cement its reality. The last we heard about Microsoft’s Pink was a list of preliminary specifications of the device, but it was still unclear if that encompassed the whole scope of the project. How it incorporates the Zune brand, if at all, and Windows Mobile 6.5 (or even 7) remains something of a mystery, but it would be no surprise to see all of these things come together somehow with Pink.

[via All About Microsoft]

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Snapdragon-powered Toshiba TG01 UK unveiling on July 9

Will Park — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:54:58 +0000

When it comes to super-slim and sexy smartphones with enough computing power to take over the world, the Toshiba TG01 takes the cake. Thanks to a power-packed Snapdragon chipset, the TG01 speeds along at 1Ghz clock speeds while playing with a hefty 256MB of RAM and a 4.1-inch WVGA (800 x 480) touchscreen display. The kicker - the TG01 stuffs WiFi, GPS, 3.2-megapixel camera and 3G data connectivity into a package barely 10mm thick! And, it’s coming to the UK next week.

We’ve been keeping an eye on the Toshiba (OTCPK: TOSBF) TG01 ever since we had a chance to put hands on the super-thin smartphone in Barcelona. Despite having pulled the plug on Japanese production, Toshiba looks to be going strong with their TG01 roll-out. Check out our in-depth Toshiba TG01 hands-on here.

While those of use in The States will have to wait for the Toshiba TG01 to get all official, it looks like the UK will be the next market to get the Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone. Come July 9th, Toshiba will be showing off something really cool in London. Given Toshiba’s Summer launch window for the TG01, it’s highly likely we’ll see Toshiba unleashing the Toshiba TG01 on British soil next week.

For the time being, enjoy our hands-on video.

Stay tuned!

[Via: SlashGear]

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GSM Palm Pre spotted in the wild

Will Park — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:15:11 +0000

The Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre’s biggest downfall is the network technology that it uses - the US-only CDMA standard. That fact alone limits the Palm Pre to the US. American GSM users and just about everyone else on Planet Earth will have to wait for Palm to launch the GSM variant that we spied in Barcelona.

The good news is that the GSM Pre may not be too far off. A newly leaked set of pics shows the Palm Pre clearly rocking a SIM card under the battery cover. The removable SIM bodes well for a near-term release of the GSM Palm Pre. Sooner is better than later.

[Via: Ubergizmo]

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Capacitance touchscreens for Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphones?

Will Park — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:55:08 +0000

The resistive touchscreen goes "SQUISH"

We can only hope.

The iPhone helped popularize the smartphone. The iPhone’s user-focused UI and more natural capacitance-based touchscreen has changed the mass-market’s expectation of what a smartphone should be. It’s just too bad Windows Mobile has yet to catch on - it’s still fully backing resistive touchscreens (you might know them as “squishy” touchscreens). Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) has been making excuses for not overtly supporting capacitive touchscreens by spouting higher hardware costs and lesser hand-writing recognition accuracy. Given Windows Mobile’s ancient UI and fairly disappointing user experience, a squishy touchscreen is the least of Redmond’s problems.

That doesn’t mean a capacitance touchscreen wouldn’t go a long way to making Windows Mobile work and feel more like a modern day touchscreen smartphone. In fact, Microsoft seems to be aware of “some device manufacturers” that are “considering options to ship capacitive screens” on their Windows Mobile smartphone.

A recently-posted developer article first makes a case for using capacitive touchscreens:

Capacitive technology has several advantages: zero pressure is required to make an input because nothing needs to be deformed and this leads to a much more natural interface experience; although additional material is laid onto the screen, there is no air gap so optical clarity is much improved reducing the need for backlighting making power draw lower; multiple touch points can be supported; things like touch size and pressure can be extrapolated from the capacitive data.

Microsoft then makes excuses for Windows Mobile smarpthones using resistive touchscreens:

However they do suffer in other areas: in general the cost is currently higher than the equivalent resistive screen; supporting a stylus is hard because it must be made of conducting material and must make sufficient contact to change the capacitive property of the screen; in several areas the accuracy tends to be lower than resistive e.g. around the edges of the screen, combined with the lack of a stylus and lower sample rates makes things like handwriting input very hard.

But, there’s hope yet. The article clearly states that a Windows Mobile 6.5-powered handset featuring a capacitance-based touchscreen is at least an option that’s being considered by hardware manufacturers:

Windows Mobile 6.5 has primarily been designed for resistive screens because some input areas still rely on small controls and require a high level of input accuracy that can’t be easily achieved with a finger and require a stylus; however some device manufacturers are considering options to ship capacitive screens.

HTC showed the world that Windows Mobile smartphones don’t have to suffer from small-buttons-and-awkward-UI Syndrome. HTC’s TouchFLO 3D II UI not only replaces the traditional WinMo homescreen, it also replaces many of the awkward UI elements that makes resistive touchscreens necessary. With enough customization to the WM6.5 UI, it’s possible that HTC will roll out Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphones equipped with capacitive touchscreens running HTC TouchFLO 3D II!

[Via: MSMobiles]

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Bluetooth SIG hints at Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrade for HTC Snap!

Will Park — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:18:53 +0000

The HTC Snap has already proven itself a top choice for cost-conscious smartphone fans looking for a Windows Mobile smartphone with a good QWERTY keyboard. But, with Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard running the show, the HTC Snap is going to feel a little dated when Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) launches Windows Mobile 6.5 later this year. Unless, that is, HTC decides to bless the Snap with a Windows Mobile 6.5 update - as hinted at by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG).

For those of you that don’t yet know, the Bluetooth SIG is a Bluetooth certification body that, well, certifies, uh, Bluetooth. Anyway, the Bluetooth SIG website can be a goldmine for leaked tid-bits on upcoming mobile phones. The latest leak makes reference to the HTC Cedar (HTC Snap’s codename) running “WM6.5.” It’s not clear if HTC intends to release a WM6.5 update for both HTC Snap/Cedar variants, or if the update will only be available for the recently spotted HTC Cedar100. Still, the mention of an OS upgrade for the Snap is intriguing.

With a little luck, HTC Snap owners might be treated to a Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrade in the near future.

[Via: WMPowerUser]

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Bell BlackBerry Tour 9630 Arriving July 17th

James Falconer — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:48:24 +0000

Looks like BGR has managed to get his hands on an internal document/memo from Bell. Yesterday it was dummy devices and promo materials, today we have this! You can check out full details of the document after the jump… But for now a confirmed launch of the Bell BlackBerry Tour will come July 17th, with full retail set at $699.95. Expensive for sure, but keep in mind that’s full retail. If you’re willing to sign your life away for three years, you may be able to get the Tour for somewhere in the $200 - $250 region. We’ll see.

Again, contents of the document after the jump >

Effective date July 17, 2009

Offer description

Go places with the newest global BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) smartphone. The BlackBerry Tour 9630, features not only 3G technology, but also a 3.2MP camera, high resolution screen, GPS capability, and support for popular applications such as Facebook®. This next generation global smartphone gives you the power to do more of the things that matter to you.

The feature highlights and available services of the BlackBerry Tour 9630 are:

Global smartphone: Get voice coverage in over 200 countries and data functionality in over 150 countries.
High resolution screen: The HVGA (480×360) screen along with an integrated lens design offers a clear, brilliant view that stays bright and vivid over time.
View & edit attachments: Enjoy the flexibility of working on Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)® Word, Excel® and PowerPoint® files from just about anywhere.
Organizer: Integrated address book, calendar, memo pad and task list - Email, message and place phone calls directly from one centralized address book. Set up meetings using the calendar and easily add attendees through the address book.
GPS Nav & BlackBerry Maps: Access Turn by Turn Navigation and 3D moving maps. Locate nearby businesses and services using the Local Search feature.
Rich Multimedia: 3.2 MP camera with flash, auto focus & image stabilization. Surf the internet at 3G speeds and view the pages in full HTML format.

The BlackBerry Tour 9630 box includes:

3G BlackBerry® Tour™ 9630 global smartphone.
Travel charger.
Micro USB cable.
Removable battery.
Stereo headset.
Quick Start guide.
BlackBerry desktop software CD.
User guide.
SIM card.
BlackBerry holster.

The table below outlines the pricing and agreement rebates for the BlackBerry Tour 9630:

BlackBerry Tour 9630    36 Month / 24 Month / 12 Month / 30 Day
Suggested Retail Price     $699.95 / $699.95 / $699.95 / $699.95
Agreement Rebate ISPR   $200.00 / $150.00 / $50.00 / $0.00
Client Price    $499.95 / $549.95 / $649.95 / $699.95

Always refer to the latest Pricing Grid for complete and most up to date pricing information.

The table below shows the English and French description and the SKU of the BlackBerry Tour 9630:

Description SKU
English French
RIM, BlackBerry, Tour, 9630, Black -HL RIM, BlackBerry, Tour, 9630, noir -HL 68194

Key Dates:

SKU opening: ready for ordering on Product Zone on June 30, 2009.
Shipping date: will begin shipping to all stores week of July 13, 2009.
Dealer launch kits: begin shipping the week of July 6, 2009. If you have not received your launch kit by July 17, 2009, please contact your Regional Manager. Please ensure that mock mobile phones are displayed in time for July 17, 2009.

Stay connected almost anywhere in the world.
Communicate quickly and easily with a full QWERTY keyboard.
The Tour’s evolved form factor is sleek & equipped with the latest BlackBerry features and most recent software (4.7).
- Enhanced browsing (improved web page rendering).
- Faster attachment downloading.
- Improved multimedia capabilities (more media formats supported).
- Geo-tagging functionality (attach location to photos taken).

Reasons to buy the BlackBerry Tour 9630 smartphone:

The BlackBerry Tour is a global smartphone allowing clients to bring the full power of the industry’s leading mobile email and messaging solution in over 150 countries.
The BlackBerry Tour’s view & edit capabilities of attachments lets clients enjoy the flexibility of working on Microsoft® Word, Excel® and PowerPoint® files from just about anywhere.
The BlackBerry Tour allows clients to surf the internet at 3G speeds and view the pages in full HTML format.

Reasons to sell the BlackBerry Tour 9630 smartphone:

The high-resolution screen makes video playback sharp and smooth. These features make it easy to wow prospective clients by playing a video clip or by browsing through pictures.
The BlackBerry Tour’s rich multimedia including a 3.2 MP camera with flash, auto focus and image stabilization allows clients to take the perfect picture anywhere.
The BlackBerry Tour’s organizer allows clients to stay organized with an integrated address book, calendar, memo pad and task list. Clients can email, message and place phone calls directly from one centralized address book.

[Via: BGR]

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BlackBerry Tour 9630 Coming to Alltel

James Falconer — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:22:38 +0000

Ok lets see… Yeah we’ve got Bell and Telus, yeah… oh, and Sprint and Verizon has been all up in the news in the last little bit.. Who are we missing… What? Alltel is on the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Tour scene as well!? Yep!

Looks like good ‘ol Kevin over at CrackBerry has scored a few ’spy shots’ from a source that wishes to remain anonymous. Notice the Alltel branding on the 9630, in all its glory. No details on pricing or launch date, but I think we can safely say the device will be coming real soon… and should hit us somewhere around the $199.99 price point.

[Via: CrackBerry]

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Verizon BlackBerry Tour 9630 Coming July 12th for $199

James Falconer — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:34:09 +0000

On the heels of BlackBerry Tour 9630 dummy devices and promo materials arriving at Bell, some Verizon (NYSE: VZ) BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Tour news has dropped. BGR is reporting that the Verizon BlackBerry Tour 9630 will be available online and in stores July 12th. Look for it for $199 on the standard two-year contract.

You can sign up for email updates via the BlackBerry Tour minisite at Verizon… But at the moment you’ll notice some wrinkles need to be smoothed out. You’ll notice in the screenshot above some funky image sizing and placement… I trust Verizon has a designer and/or developer on the case at the moment… It is a little late. Perhaps they were havin’ a few late night beers when they put the site up?

[Via: BGR]

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BlackBerry Tour 9630 Dummy Devices and Promo Materials Arrive at Bell

James Falconer — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:58:32 +0000

It’s only a matter of time now… You know, when you start hearing about dummy units and promo materials shipping to stores… it’s only a matter of weeks before the device pops up in-store. This time around I’m talking about the Bell BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Tour 9630, and thanks to BGR’s ‘ninjas’, we’ve got some pictures to backup the claim.

Dummy devices have arrived and promotional materials are all set to go at Bell. Mark your calendars, as the same ninjas put the Bell BlackBerry Tour 9630 available for general consumption on Friday, July 17th.

It’s looking to be a very interesting (and busy) summer surrounding the BlackBerry Tour. The Sprint version could be hitting us by July 20th… Plus, I’ve read rumors that the Verizon edition could be launching the device around the same time as Bell. Finally, Telus is squaring up to launch the Tour on the 15th… Yikes… Did I miss any carriers here?

[Via: BGR]

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BlackBerry Tour Due on Sprint July 20th?

Simon Sage — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:47:08 +0000

When the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Tour 9630 was announced a few weeks ago, Bell, Telus (NYSE: TU) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) availability wasn’t a surprise, but we hadn’t heard a peep about Sprint (NYSE: S)’s involvement. Now they’ve got the teaser page up along with notification sign-up, but nothing about a release date. Luckily, it has been released internally to Sprint that the Tour will be available on July 20th. for $199.99 on contract. At first glance, the Tour is little more than a BlackBerry Bold for CDMA, but a lot of folks have been waiting for just that after being disappointed by the Storm and Pearl Flip. As for the other carriers, Verizon is likely to get the Tour sometime in July, Telus is pretty much locked in for the 15th., and given their prep materials, Bell is probably in the same time frame.

[via just about everywhere]

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Nokia Netbook to Run Android?

Simon Sage — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:44:48 +0000

Remember those rumblings of Nokia (NYSE: NOK) jumping into the netbook game in the third quarter? An analyst from Lazard Capital Markets is claiming they’ve confirmed the netbook will be running Android and selling through carriers, although he’s saying it won’t hit the market until 2010. We’ve already seen developer pet projects showing Android running on portable computers, but that’s hardly more than a proof of concept. We’ll have to wait and see what (or if) Nokia brings to the table and if the Android OS is, in fact, a viable netbook operating system. Supposedly Dell and HTC have also been sniffing around the possibility of an Android-based netbook, so Windows’s dominance in the area may start seeing some resistance.

[via Gigaom]

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Super Sleuthing: T-Mobile myTouch 3G Arriving August 5th?

James Falconer — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:59:43 +0000

We’re all well aware that the T-Mobile myTouch 3G will be available for pre-order by existing customers on July 8th. But what we still don’t know for sure is the exact launch date. T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) graced us with an oh-so vague release date of ‘early August’, which left a lot of the die-hards reeling for more exact info.

Thanks to the good folks at Android and Me and their stellar sleuthing skills, they’ve uncovered what looks to be a launch date of August 5th. That’d be early August, no? Here’s how Taylor uncovered what he feels to be the launch date:

While browsing my Feedburner stats today, I noticed a new uncommon use from a domain I did not recognize. I typed in the URL and discovered the dev server for the official myTouch 3G website. To my surprise, they had a countdown widget in the lower corner that said “myTouch 3G in stores”.

After doing the math, I discovered the launch date to be August 5th, 2009. I needed to see how the widget was calculating the date, so I viewed the page source. A quick search revealed what I was looking for:

var launchTime = new Date(2009, 7, 5, 12, 0);

If you don’t know javascript, you might think the date was 7/5, but we know that is incorrect because the phone does not go on presale till 7/8. When calculating dates, January is the 0 month. So the actual launch date that is coded into the myTouch 3G launch site is August 5th.

I’m not going to share the dev server URL, but I took screen shots of the countdown widget and javascript. I really doubt anyone would go through the trouble to fake this, so I would assume it is real. You be the judge.

Very interesting. August 5th, eh? Can’t confirm or deny it at this point…. But this seems more than reasonable to me.

[Via: Android and Me]

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Samsung Omnia II Due on Verizon in July?

Simon Sage — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:38:15 +0000

The Samsung Jet Omnia II is rumoured to be hitting Verizon (NYSE: VZ) shelves in July, in all of its WinMo, 5 megapixel camera, WVGA screen-bearing glory. The Omnia II was announced early last week, along with a slew of other Samsung handsets, but no information was available from carriers at the time. While Verizon will likely pick up the Omnia II sooner or later, I tend to agree with the age-old adage “pics or it didn’t happen”, so let’s pencil in this July release date very lightly.

[via PhoneArena]

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