When it comes to fashion phones, Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) should dump its designers, or at least many people think so. Take a look at their latest device – Jalou. It’s touted as a fashion phone, but quite a few guys and gals find it fairly ugly. To be fair, no one has seen it in the real world and got a chance to play with it, but from the official photos we’ve seen, it’s kinda, sorta… you know where this goes. Anyway, the device is at the FCC, meaning we could see it hitting some U.S. operator’s portfolio (T-Mobile (NYSE: DT)?) in the near future. Moreover, the special edition of this clamshell could end up in your “local” D&G store. We’ll see…

[Via: Engadget Mobile]

The Escapade clamshell, which we first saw back in July, is now officially available from Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless. The low-to-mid range device is made by PCD (Personal Communications Devices) and not Pantech, as initially thought, and is designed for those who need a single device to use it in both the U.S. and the rest of the world. The trick is in using both CDMA and GSM radios, hence making sure this baby will work virtually everywhere.

Rest of the specs include 2-inch internal screen, 1.1-inch external display, 2-megapixel camera, GPS receiver, and Bluetooth connectivity support. As for supported service, the Escapade can sing along VZ Navigator, Mobile Web and Mobile Email. Verizon is asking $29.99 for the device and that’s after a $50 mail-in rebate and with a contract.

[Via: Unwired View]

The Onyx Nero

A British (yay!) handset company called Onyx has launched a range of stylish, new, dual-sim handsets today. The new dual-sim handsets mean users can insert an additional sim-card to their main number allowing them to make full use of all the money-saving tariffs on offer, to save money on calls and texts at home or abroad; or conveniently to have only one handset for both business and personal calls.

The handsets being launched today are:

• Flip – A lightweight and stylish clamshell dual-sim handset. The Flip is perfect for the style conscious looking to use multiple tariffs that best match their usage or save money on calls and texts while abroad.
• Slider – A smart, music-player that also has email functionality and a 2MP camera, combined with a dual-sim mobile phone. With the Slider you can stay connected and save money while abroad; or have all your personal and business needs in one handset.
• Nero – A handset that combines touch screen desirability, with dual-sim practicality. The Nero also has email functionality and a 2MP camera.

“These new handsets offer consumers a different choice, one that many people have been crying out for,” said Zafar Mirza, Chairman of Onyx. “They are stylish, practical and will be very competitively priced. And the dual-sim function means that consumers can shop around for the best tariffs or have a great phone to take with them as they travel abroad.”

Mirza continued, “these are exciting times for Onyx and for the UK handset market. What is particularly exciting is that the Flip, Slider and Nero are just the first three handsets that we are launching and we’re equally excited about the next handsets in the range.”

Additional handsets that are in development include a dual-sim handset with an 8MP camera, a Windows Mobile smartphone and a dual-sim Android handset with a 5MP camera. And I have to say this is where my interest really starts to come in – it will be interesting to see what a smaller, newer, handset vendor can do with the Android OS – roll on a couple of months’ time!

Check out more on Onyx here.

(Larger images after the jump)

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If you’ve been wanting to pick up the T-Mobile Sidekick LX 2009, but the price was just too much… T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) has made a substantial price-cut on this texters delight. With the original price tag of $250 (a little high in my opinion), T-Mobile has slashed this down to $175 on-contract after instant discounts and such. That’s a cool $75 in savings… not bad. Both Carbon and Orchid colors are available.

So, what do you say? Good deal, or good grief no way!? I trust if you have it in you to wait another month or two we’ll see another price drop… However, by that time you might as well use the device as a doorstop.

For more information on the Sidekick LX, you can hit up sidekick.com.

[Via: HipTop3]

Samsung unveiled a new fancy device — or that’s more of them — marked SCH-W830 for SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) and SPH-W8350 for LG Telecom. The “fancy” part comes from the fact that this clamshell(s) comes with external round screen, which looks super-cool. Moreover, at 13.4mm – it’s a super slim handset that also comes with a button on the hinge for opening of the clam — no, need for manual “work.”

Rest of the specs include 2.6-inch QVGA screen, 2-megapixel camera, media player, subway maps, SOS function, Bluetooth, microSD card, and a battery that can sustain up to 5 hours of talk and/or up to 390 hours of standby time. It is still unclear whether this baby will ever leave the shores of Korean peninsula, but we’re certainly hope to give it try. In the meantime, South Koreans can grab it in either blue, pink or white for 500,000 Won, which is about $400.

[Via: SamsungHub]

Huawei-made T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) Pulse has cleared the FCC. From what we know, this baby is heading to T-Mobile, all in its Android glory.

Details are scarce at the moment, but we’ve heard the phone will come with a large touchscreen, Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity support, HSPA, 3-megapixel camera and 1500 mAh battery. Size wise, it measures 116×62.8×13.0 mm, and has a weight of 140 grams with battery. That’s it – we’ll report back to you as soon as we hear something new, k?

[Via: CellPhoneSignal]

Two of the upcoming slated-for-Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Samsung phones have been spotted in the wild. We have only one photo per device, but that should be good enough for the moment.

First comes the U450, picture on the right, which will be sold as an entry-level QWERTY phone. But it’s not just the full slide-out keyboard this Verizon phone will pack — there’s also the standard numeric keypad for dialing numbers and hard-core T9 fans. Rest of the specs include 1.3 megapixel camera, music player and Bluetooth connectivity support.

As for the other device, U960 Rogue, it’s an EV-DO enabled handset packing both a large touchscreen and full slide-out QWERTY keyboard. There’s also a GPS on board, 3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, media player, and so on.

Release date could be set for August 23rd, or at least we’ve heard these babies will hit Best Buy Mobile’s offering at that time. We’ll see…

[Via: PhoneArena]

Nokia (NYSE: NOK)’s luxury arm keeps pumping Ascent Ti variations, like all the time. Their latest work is called Vertu Ascent Ti Neon, and unlike its siblings, it doesn’t look that expensive at all. The leather is changed for rubber, and it also comes in a revised shape to better fit in a purse. We haven’t check that out, but we know that the guts of the device remain intact and include such things as 3 megapixel camera, 4GB of storage, media player, and 3G at 2100 MHz. Look for it in October when it starts selling. That’s in case you’re willing to pour out 6,000 GBP which is roughly $9,900 for what basically is a feature phone…

[Via: Engadget Mobile]

The Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre has been a great success for Palm and their brand-spanking-new WebOS. With 87% overall satisfaction rates, the Palm Pre (well, really, the WebOS) has proven that it has what it takes to play with big-dogs in the smartphone space. The iPhone and Android are a bit more popular at this point, but that might change once Palm launches their monoblock Palm Eos (codename: Pixie) to the masses. The Palm Eos would offer WebOS hopefuls an alternative form-factor to the Palm Pre’s slider design. Unfortunately, a new rumor has the Palm Eos delayed until 2010. Looks like all that rumor of the Palm Eos being delayed might have some teeth to it. Sadly, that means we won’t see WebOS coming to AT&T (NYSE: T) by the holiday shopping season.

“We think that the Pixie, which we believe is being geared for AT&T and has a different form factor than the Pre, is not likely to be available for the 2009 holiday season,” Morgan Joseph Analyst Ilya Grozovsky noted to clients. Grozovsky also mentions that his checks have indicated that Palm Pre sales have dropped to 100,000 units in July, compared to 200,000 units shipped in June. If sales slump any more, we could see the Palm Pre price dropping a bit in August.

Of course, that would also be a great time to launch a WebOS follow-up in the Palm Eos. A Fall launch of the Palm Eos would be nice – 2010 might be a little too far off for WebOS to keep its foothold in the smartphone market. Launch schedules being what they are, we’re not going to bet one way or the other.

Update:
DigiTimes is reporting that the GSM/HSPA Palm Eos is still on track for volume shipments in October 2009, as previously rumored. The rumors of the Palm Eos being delayed until 2010 could be linked to a CDMA/EVDO variant of the Palm Eos being manufactured by Compal Communications.

[Via: MobileBurn]

The HTC Lancaster that had made an appearance in a leaked AT&T roadmap awhile back has apparently been put on hold. By the preliminary looks of things, we won’t be missing much (QVGA screen, 3 megapixel, fixed-focus camera, aGPS, 3G), but it would have been nice for AT&T (NYSE: T) to get moving on Android devices. I wonder if HTC has axed the phone entirely, or if it’s just not going to make it to AT&T… The form factor is slick, borrowing the Magic (myTouch 3G) roundness and improving on the G1’s keyboard. In any case, the date on the calendar has come and gone, so it’s probably safe to do your mourning now.

[via Engadget]