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In case you're interested, Verizon's teaser page for its fresh lineup is offering folks the opportunity to pre-order the Samsung Juke... like, right now. Strangely, we're finding that the actual pre-order link is taking us to a page for the old-skool u620 VCAST TV slider; looks like they're still getting their I's dotted and T's crossed as we speak, so stay tuned. Either way, expect an October 19 launch (with delivery of pre-orders soon thereafter, we'd hope).
We've caught boatloads of noise detailing Verizon's pipeline for the remainder of the year (and possibly into early '08), but exact launch dates have been harder to come by. Granted, the carriers often don't know these until the last minute anyway -- network test failures and supply problems being what they are -- but Boy Genius Report has scored a spreadsheet that should at least start to give us a rough idea of what we can expect for the next few months. The Samsung i760 finally (and we do mean finally) launches on October 19, followed by the Juke two days later on the 21st. The first of November sees the BlackBerry Pearl 8130, LG VX5400, and Palm Treo 755p (probably right about the same time Alltel gets it), with the LG Venus coming just a short few days later on the 4th. The 15th sees two new shades for the G'zOne Type-S -- black and "burgundy / gold" -- alongside the Samsung u900 "FlipShot." The ultra-cool LG Voyager and G'zOne "Type-Sptt" (possibly just a Type-S without the cam) slide in on November 18, with two new VX8550 shades dropping on the 21st. Whew! Now, the real question: how many of these dates are actually gonna hold?
As expected, Verizon has welcomed the Samsung SCH-U700 Gleam into its lineup, a blindingly shiny flip with a solid spec sheet to back up the glitz. Goodies include touch-sensitive external controls, QVGA primary and 96 x 96 external displays, microSD with support for up to 4GB of expansion, stereo Bluetooth, and a 2 megapixel cam -- not bad, we reckon, though it's gotta be the wildly mirrored surface that's going to draw onlookers window-shopping their neighborhood Verizon stores. Grab it now for $150 on a two-year contract with $50 worth of rebates.
Verizon's finally ready to expand its two-strong VCAST TV lineup -- currently composed of the Samsung u620 and LG VX9400 -- to a third device, the Z6tv from Motorola. Supporting Verizon's MediaFLO-based mobile TV service, the Z6tv takes on a simple slider form factor like its u620 stablemate and features a 2 megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, support fo VZ Navigator, roughly 50MB of onboard storage (mere scraps, if you ask us) plus microSD expansion, and support for landscape viewing of television, video clips, and the camera viewfinder. Look for it to launch a week from today, October 5, for a penny shy of $180 after $50 rebate.
Users of previous-generation USB modems from Sprint and Verizon -- the gargantuan USB720 comes immediately to mind -- know that they're a little on the portly side (and that's being kind). If you're going to have this huge mass hanging off the side of your lappie, it'd be nice if you could at least pack some additional functionality into it, right? Novatel appears to have heard both complaints, offering up the new USB727 in a significantly more attractive package that's nearly an inch shorter and half an inch narrower than its predecessor. Oh, and the "additional functionality" comes in the form of an integrated microSD slot supporting cards up to 4GB, making you feel a little less bad about having an unsightly black object protrude from your PC's otherwise clean lines. Naturally, the USB727 -- known simply as the U727 on Sprint -- supports both networks' EV-DO Rev. A airwaves, promising downlink speeds in the range of 600kbps to 1.4Mbps and uplink at a brisk 350 to 500kbps (that's Sprint's claim, anyway; Verizon says 500 to 800kbps). Verizon customers can pick it up online immediately for $100 after rebate on a two-year contract while Sprint gets it next month for "as low as" $80 on contract.
Alright, we think can pretty clearly order these three by excitement factor and expect a minimal amount of disagreement. phoneArena's pulled together a garden variety of new information on three upcoming models for Verizon: the U550 and U700 from Samsung along with the the VX8800 from LG. The U550 should succeed the U540 when it materializes in early 2008; as best as we can tell there's nothing here to get too excited about unless midrange flips are your thing. The rumored U700 comes around a little sooner, apparently seeing availability early next month -- and looking well deserving of its "Gleam" moniker, may we add. Finally, we learn the gorgeous VX8800 turns out to be equipped with a 2 megapixel camera (sans flash or autofocus), sports a leather-like rear to match its high end appearance, and should include two themes for those looking to get as far, far away from the standard Verizon theme as possible. Any guesses which model we find the most exciting?
Prepare to feel your carrier-hate well from within. Remember Verizon Wireless' lawsuit against the FCC claiming that the 700MHZ open-access auction rule -- the rule enabling the likes of Google, Apple, and others to take home a slice of the spectrum pie -- "violates the US Constitution?" Well, according to "industry sources," FCC chairman Kevin Martin is "aggressively pushing" for revisions to the 700MHz open-access rule in response to Verizon Wireless' lobbying efforts. However, having been met with an internal FCC "backlash" last week, Martin is said to be preparing a "declaratory ruling" in an effort to fast-track support for VZW's claim outside of the normal public-comment process. Insiders worry that Martin is caving to VZW pressure as the auction expected to generate some $15 billion in FCC fun-money draws near. Man, nothing says free market capitalism like a little protectionist bullying -- "can we sue you now."
We may not know when this thing's going to be at retail, but hey -- at least we'll know our way around the external controls by the time it does. A tipster has graciously hooked us up with overview documentation for the Samsung U740 for Verizon, an off-the-beaten-path, swiveling musicphone that has apparently been christened "Juke." The key legend doesn't reveal anything too terribly special, though we're happy to see a speakerphone made the cut despite the unit's diminutive outline. Our tipster tells us "it's your basic Verizon Wireless phone," so beyond a music player, stereo Bluetooth, and a trick mechanism that'll impress friends (for a few days, anyway), we're banking on a reasonably low price point. How's everyone feeling about the form factor?
[Thanks, anonymous tipster]
Gallery: Samsung U470 for Verizon gets a name: "Juke"
We haven't the foggiest what's been holding them up here, but the long-outdated XV6700 has finally gone out of stock on Verizon's site, suggesting that the XV6800 -- Big Red's version of the HTC Titan -- might finally be getting ready to go live. Sprint's variant went live ages ago, and let's not forget that we first heard about the XV6800 back during the Triassic, so we think Verizon's got some splainin' to do.
In a move to standardize two of the largest networks in the world, Vodafone and Verizon Wireless have announced that both carriers will move to LTE (Long Term Evolution) for its next-gen networks. Verizon currently uses CDMA technology for voice and mostly EV-DO for data in both Rev. 0 and Rev. A flavors. LTE is the progression path for UMTS carriers like Vodafone -- who coincidentally was looking at WiMAX last month -- to fourth generation networks. LTE will run on an entirely IP based network and has data speeds up to 100Mbps download and 50Mbps upload. What's Verizon's next move, bringing in executives from Vodafone?
Since we caught wind of the VX8800 and VX10000 superphones coming down Verizon's pike, pretty much anything that starts with "VX" has been getting our hearts racing -- but relax, there's really not much to the VX8350 that would warrant such a reaction. Not to say it's a slouch, either: EV-DO, stereo Bluetooth, microSD expansion, dual color displays with external music controls, and a 1.3 megapixel cam all collaborate to make this sucker a worthy successor to the VX8300 it replaces. Grab it now for a shade under $80 on contract after rebates.
Golly, it's been so flippin' long since this thing was supposed to come out, we'd kinda forgotten about it! We kid, we kid -- it's not every day that Samsung comes out with a creative new Windows Mobile 6 Professional device, particular stateside, and we're as excited as anyone to see examples of the i760 start to find their way into patient buyers' hands. Rumor has it it's not supposed to be released until September 24, but folks have had luck calling Verizon directly and asking for the device by SKU (seriously, how hard is it to get everyone on the same page?). It'll run $519.99 full retail, with a two-year contract earning you a more manageable price of $399.99 before a $50 mail-in rebate. Be sure to spill the gory details of your efforts to evade the 9/24 official drop date in comments!
Didn't take too long, now did it? Just a couple days ago we were waxing philosophical over a totally fakeable shot of a supposed Samsung SCH-U470, a svelte swivelphone for Verizon's '08 lineup -- and now here we are with far more legit-looking assets. Naturally, someone with a steady Photoshop hand could fake these up just the same, but our confidence is growing that Big Red's actually planning on taking a stab at releasing this thing. New to these pics is some honest to goodness carrier branding atop the display and a slightly more Verizon-esque UI (for better or worse). Funny to think a phone looking this ready to be in our pocket is still a good four months -- minimum -- away from store shelves, isn't it?
Remember those crazy sons of guns at patent holding firm NTP that ended up working RIM for a shade over $612 million? They're back at it, throwing lawsuits at AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon -- that's three of the States' four national carriers, in case you're keeping count -- for alleged infringements of eight patents involving mobile email. The firm seems to be something of a one-trick pony seeing how mobile email was the issue at hand with RIM and later with Palm; for a company that does nothing but sue other companies, two-thirds of a billion dollars seems like a plenty healthy bank account, but heck, what do we know? At this point, we're assuming that once they're done suing every company that's ever offered, used, or mentioned "mobile" and "email" in the same sentence, we'll finally be able to put this issue to rest -- but until that day comes, watch your back, folks, because NTP's back on the prowl.
Update: Silly us for thinking NTP wouldn't just go ahead and make it a nice, round four! T-Mobile's been caught up in the suit, too, with its Sidekick services specifically called out (among others) for infringement of NTP's email patents.
We've gotta hand it to Verizon here; The Network's still got a bit of a reputation as a stodgy, old-school carrier that eschews style for reliability, but they've been working their rumps off the past couple years trying to shake that image with devices like the US-exclusive version of the Chocolate and the unusual VX9400. Still, though, we would've never expected a US carrier to pick up a variant of Samsung's wild X830, an ultra-narrow, swiveling music phone that isn't the easiest device in the world to use, but sure looks cool. phoneArena is reporting that the pictured device is the Samsung U470, a handset obviously in the X830's lineage, with a Verizon release planned for 2008. Features are said to include a camera, 220 x 128 display, A2DP, microSD slot, and if we had to guess, some rather healthy quantity of internal Flash. Mercifully, Samsung has opted for a traditional three-wide numeric keypad here instead of the tricky two-wide type used on the original, so we're pretty stoked that this one could be surprisingly usable despite its diminutive dimensions. Stay tuned!
Prepare to feel your carrier-hate well from within. Remember Verizon Wireless' lawsuit against the FCC claiming that the 700MHZ open-access auction rule -- the rule enabling the likes of Google, Apple, and others to take home a slice of the spectrum pie -- "violates the US Constitution?" Well, according to "industry sources," FCC chairman Kevin Martin is "aggressively pushing" for revisions to the 700MHz open-access rule in response to Verizon Wireless' lobbying efforts. However, having been met with an internal FCC "backlash" last week, Martin is said to be preparing a "declaratory ruling" in an effort to fast-track support for VZW's claim outside of the normal public-comment process. Insiders worry that Martin is caving to VZW pressure as the auction expected to generate some $15 billion in FCC fun-money draws near. Man, nothing says free market capitalism like a little protectionist bullying -- "can we sue you now." 
We haven't the foggiest what's been holding them up here, but the long-outdated XV6700 has finally gone out of stock on Verizon's site, suggesting that the XV6800 -- Big Red's version of the HTC Titan -- might finally be getting ready to go live. Sprint's variant went live ages ago, and let's not forget that we first heard about the XV6800 back during the Triassic, so we think Verizon's got some splainin' to do.
Remember those crazy sons of guns at patent holding firm NTP that ended up working RIM for a shade over $612 million? They're back at it, throwing lawsuits at AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon -- that's three of the States' four national carriers, in case you're keeping count -- for alleged infringements of eight patents involving mobile email. The firm seems to be something of a one-trick pony seeing how mobile email was the issue at hand with RIM and later with Palm; for a company that does nothing but sue other companies, two-thirds of a billion dollars seems like a plenty healthy bank account, but heck, what do we know? At this point, we're assuming that once they're done suing every company that's ever offered, used, or mentioned "mobile" and "email" in the same sentence, we'll finally be able to put this issue to rest -- but until that day comes, watch your back, folks, because NTP's back on the prowl.
