Need more evidence that the Storm 2 is coming soon? How about a snap of the second-coming of the Storm at a Best Buy location? Will that do? CB Forums member LazyDanes snapped the beauty above for our viewing pleasure. Still no release date or details from Verizon (NYSE: VZ), and I’m starting to get a bit salty on the matter for sure. Let’s go Verizon, Best Buy has dummy units showing up in-store for cryin’ out loud!

Important Note: Have you checked out our BlackBerry Storm 2 Hands-on Review yet? No? What’s wrong with you? Check it out now >

Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) launched Windows Mobile 6.5 as their supposed answer to touch-friendly mobile operating systems like iPhone and Android, but we all knew it was nothing more than a slight re-skin of the Windows Mobile platform meant to hold us over until Windows Mobile 7 was ready for consumption. Turns out, Windows Mobile 6.5 may not have even been ready to go live. The screenshots you see here from a purported Windows Mobile 6.5.1 update suggest that Microsoft is still scrambling to bring their mobile operating system up to speed with competitors. The update boasts changes to button design, button layout and button size that should make Windows Mobile 6.5 more user friendly.

The screenshots show the “Start” button has moved from the top row of the screen (the task bar) to the bottom of the screen. The task bar is now dedicated to displaying tasks, notifications and settings – all accessible with a tap of the finger.

For those of you paying attention, the new button layout meshes nicely with the new Internet Explorer Mobile’s interface (which we briefly show in this hands-on video), which lines the bottom of the display with navigation buttons. The buttons also get a refresh with a more modern look and a bump in size for easier finger input.

Is Microsoft looking to bring the Windows Mobile 6.5 UI more in line with their Windows Mobile 7 design philosophy in order to make the transition to WM7 as smooth as possible? Or does Microsoft really have no idea what they’re doing and hoping to somehow pull a miraculously enjoyable Windows Mobile 7 out of the proverbial air?

Whatever the case, Windows Mobile 6.5 shouldn’t have launched until it was really ready to launch.

[Via: iSS]

If you were excited for the cliq, Motorola (NYSE: MOT)’s first Android handset and introduction of their custom blur user interface/service, you might want to check out these snapshots of the Calgary before signing a T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) contract. The Calgary looks a little different than the first couple of shots we saw, but definitely recognizable, and coupled with the Droid, and possibly the HTC Desire, Verizon (NYSE: VZ) will be a good home for Android in the near future. The Calgary is packing GPS, magnetometer, 3 megapixel camera, 3.5 mm headphone jack, Wi-Fi, and, of course, a full QWERTY keyboard. I’m digging the form factor – what do you guys think?

[via BGR]

I can’t help myself. Doing some digging around this morning on the Android-Powered Acer Liquid A1, and have come across some new images. This comes to us via the folks at Pocket-Lint, seems as though they’ve had some hands-on time with the A1, but not the typical build we’ve seen thus far. This one was all dressed up in red. Slap a Ferrari logo on the back and call me a race car driver, me likey. Check out all of the images below.

Happy Friday, all! Remember the Acer A1 Android phone that went all official on us yesterday? Today I’ve stumbled across a full spec list for the A1, and it looks not half-bad. Key features/specs include:

• 3.5? WVGA (800 × 480) Capacitive
• Processor: Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) QSD 8250 1GHz (we will see who is actually to 768 Mhz)
• 256 MB SDRAM
• 512 MB FLASH ROM
• 115 × 64 x 12.43 mm
• Weight 135g (including battery)
• HSDPA Category 8/ HSUPA Category 5 /UMTS (2100/1900/900 Mhz) for EU
• HSDPA Category 8/ HSUPA Category 5 /UMTS (2100/1900/850 Mhz) for US
• GSM: Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• GPRS/EDGE: Class B, multi-slot class 10
• Messaging: MMS, SMS
• WLAN: 802.11b/g Wi-Fi CERTIFIED network connection
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
• Built-in AGPS Support
• 5MP camera with Auto-Focus
• Accelerometer
• Light sensor
• 3.5mm jack
• Capacitive button: Home, Search, Back, Menu
• Battery: Lithium Polymer rechargeable with 1.350 mAh capacity
• Up to 5 hours talk-time for WCDMA / Up to 6 hours for GSM

To top it off, the good folks at CNET have also posted some great images of the device. I’ve included a gallery below for your android-lovin’ eyes. I have to admit, I’ve never really been an Acer fan, but this one looks sharp.

[Via: Androinica]

Sure, the HTC HD2 packs a 5-megapixel camera. But, is it any good? Compared to the rest of the HD2’s features, the camera has a lot to live up to. We can’t speak to HD2 camera image quality until we can put our own HD2 through its paces, but from the looks of newly posted image samples, the camera looks like a winner.

The images you see here were taken in Fine and SuperFine mode. Can you tell which is which?

Find more sample images at Ai.rs.

[Via: WMPowerUser]

Here’s a look at Motorola (NYSE: MOT)’s CTIA WITE 2009 booth from the San Diego Convention Center showfloor. Sure, it’s a little late, but better than never.

Motorola’s booth was dominated by Android. As you can see from the photos, the booth was all about Android and the new Motorola CLIQ. Android is at the center of Motorola’s plan to regain lost mobile market share, so it wasn’t surprising to see Motorola’s booth decked out in little green robots. There was even a “little person” walking around, playing DDR and posing for photos in an Android costume.

Will any of that matter to the consumer? Not if they don’t get to see it. To that end, enjoy the photo gallery!

The good folks at PreCentral have managed to get their hands on some pretty darned good pictures of the GSM Palm Pre… from Germany. As you can see in the first pic above, the Pre is strapped-down to a dark, wood-grained display. Looks nice. I fully expect the display area to contain many bookshelves stocked with many leather-bound books… and one can only assume the O2 (NYSE: TEF) store where this was taken smells of rich mahogany.

But enough lame ‘Anchorman‘ references for now. Can I get a w00t from folks over in the UK and Germany regarding the release of the Pre? Not long now for you folks to wait! Are you excited? Or could you care less?

Note: The Pre is due out in the UK on October 16th, and Germany on October 13th.

There’s no doubt that the fall CTIA (also known as CTIA WITE) is a smaller shin-dig than the spring CTIA conference. That much was evident in Nokia (NYSE: NOK)’s smallish booth in the San Diego Convention Center. We’re used to seeing Nokia’s massive booths bursting with cool hardware and enthusiastic people, so it was a bit disappointing that we didn’t find piles of new hardware at the booth. It just wasn’t the same this time around.

The highlight of Nokia’s booth was the Nokia Booklet 3G. It’s an insanely expensive ultra-light laptop (we call it a netbook, but Nokia apparently isn’t down with that) boasting an air-cooled (no fans) Atom processor that can go for 12 hours one a single charge. The entire bottom case of the Booklet 3G is crafted from a single piece of aluminum – like the MacBook and MacBook Pro from Apple (NSDQ: AAPL).

It’s small, it’s light and it’s incredibly sexy. Is it worth the money? We say no. But if we somehow come into a boatload of money, the Nokia Booklet 3G will be at the top of our gotta-have list!

Well what do we have here? A few snaps of the O2 (NYSE: TEF) Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre in Germany? Yessir! The GSM variant of the Pre comes in packaging strikingly similar to the one over here in North America, but with a nice blue flavor. Of course, it comes with some different accessories and it’s not QWERTY but a QWERTZ keyboard… Little differences, but all-in-all, still pretty much the same deal with a GSM radio packed-in.

If I recall correctly, the Palm Pre is coming to the UK and Ireland on October 16th, and Germany on October 13th. Not much longer to wait now!

More images below.

[Via: webOS-blog.de]