For most, the thought of spending $500 or more on a phone conjures one of two images: a high-end, do-it-all smartphone, or for 98 percent of the populace, insanity. There's a rare breed out there, though, that'll gladly shell out serious dough to get that ultimate, well executed, gorgeous, glossy phone delivered from the furthest reaches of the globe. Notice we said "phone" -- not smartphone -- and that's a key distinction here. The Sony Ericsson K850i blurs that line in some respects, but at the end of the day, you're paying some serious dinero for a powerful piece of kit that's still fundamentally tied down by its closed, proprietary platform. Yep, that's right, the K850i's a dumbphone -- albeit one of the hottest dumbphones we've ever seen or used, complete with triband HSDPA. So is the price justified? Does Sony Ericsson have any business stuffing this much power into a non-UIQ handset to begin with? We're pretty sure it's "yes" on both counts; read on to find out why.

Thanks to the good folks at Wireless Imports for the hookup!

For now it's not much more than a plan to announce a plan within the next few weeks, but since it involves Google and cellphone networks, we'll take it. The Wall Street Journal has the news that Google will announce its mobile offerings within the next two weeks, which could take the form of hardware, software packages, or -- most likely -- an open platform for phones that third party developers can build on. Interaction is the key word here: Google's platform won't involve locking down features, rather, it'll open them up so that they work together. How exactly the company will execute this plan will be revealed within the immediate future: although with most phone manufacturers already subcontracting development of their phone's software platforms, it doesn't sound like it should be too difficult a job to muscle in.

[Thanks, Harry; via MarketWatch. Image credit]

With a candybar and flip already in its Ultra-esque 3G AT&T lineup, it seemed like it was just a matter of time before Samsung pulled the trigger on a slider, too -- and sho' nuff, here it is. The a737 offers stereo Bluetooth, microSD expansion up to 4GB, HSDPA with quadband EDGE, and a 1.3 megapixel camera complete with Video Share support. At some 15-odd millimeters thick, it packs a little more junk than its a717 and a727 compadres, but at an on-contract asking price of $49.99, we're willing to forgive and forget. Get it starting today in your choice of lime, orange, or blue, all with black accents.

We don't necessarily bother bringing up every last midrange phone that hits the European market, but this thing's kinda cute, isn't it? It's the KU380 from LG, a decidedly pale slider whose highest-end feature happens to be its UMTS radio. Otherwise you get a 220 x 176 display, 1.3 megapixel cam, microSD slot, Bluetooth 1.2, and that's about it. Look for it to land on Orange and TIM.

[Via Unwired View]

Perhaps getting just a little bored with its ginormous operation as Europe's largest phone retailer, Carphone Warehouse has decided fire up its own MVNO to do battle with the very carriers whose phones it offers. Called "Talkmobile," the service is actually Carphone Warehouse's second MVNO (its first, Fresh Mobile, concentrates on prepaid service) and runs atop Vodafone's rather expansive network. Naturally, all MVNOs need a unique angle if they want any shot at scooping some subs from the competition, and Talkmobile's is pricing; in fact, its most expensive plan is just £18 (about $37) and offers a free phone to boot. Oh, and get this: contracts range from 18 months down to just 9 freakin' months. If we were any of the UK's stodgy traditional carriers, we might wanna sit up and start taking down notes here.

[Via textually.org]

No surprises here, but the Pantech Duo (split-personality and all) has officially arrived in late October, just as we were led to believe. Ready to rock texters' worlds on AT&T, the Duo does indeed boast Windows Mobile 6, a QWERTY keypad and a numeric 'board for your convenience, UMTS / HSDPA compatibility and a 320 x 240 resolution display. The unit measures in at 4.02- x 1.97- x .83-inches, and if you dig what you're seeing, it can be yours today for $199.99 if you're cool with signing a two-year agreement.

[Via Reuters / Yahoo]

AT&T's yet to officially announce the LG CU515, but no worries -- interested parties can start registering their desire to grab LG's latest 3G flip via Amazon right this second. It really isn't anything to get too fired up about, but hey -- we'll take just as many midrange 3G handsets for US frequencies as manufacturers want to pump out. The CU400 successor offers up a 1.3 megapixel camera, PTT support, stereo Bluetooth, microSD, and a monochrome external display, all while ditching the stub aerial that plagued its forebear. Actually, on second thought, take your time announcing this one, AT&T; we got kinda bored with it just rattling off the specs.

[Via phoneArena]

Update: It seems some brick and mortar stores and AT&T's Premier site have already been blessed with the CU515, leaving just the consumer site (and an official announcement, for that matter) to go -- so if you're really worried about getting your hands on this one for some strange reason, there are plenty of ways!

The FCC database continues to be full of weird and wonderful toys, and the EZFetch HD media streamer from EZ 4 Media certainly fits that description -- in addition to streaming content off networked PCs, it can also grab content from Nokia Nseries devices and display it on your TV. Connections include the usual SD composite jacks, as well as optical audio, DVI-D, Ethernet, and built-in 801.11g wireless, and codec support is pretty spectacular, including H.264, XviD, DivX HD, MPEG4, WMV, and VOB. The Nseries integration is the big feature here, however -- not only does the EZFetch stream content from any WiFi-capable Nseries device, you can also use the Nseries as a remote to control the entire EZFetch system. No word on pricing or availability, sadly, but RF spectrum test geeks can check out all the test results at the read link.

Read -- EZ 4 Media website
Read -- EZFetch FCC listing

Well we're sold. T-Mobile looks to be prepping the Shadow as a launch-off point for a whole line of consumer-friendly fancyphones that can finally give the Sidekick some competition in T-Mobile's lineup, and this first Shadow certainly doesn't miss its mark. The HTC hardware itself is pretty much spot on in every aspect, with a bright screen, solid slider action, thumb-friendly tactile keypad, smooth scroll wheel and a pocket-friendly form factor. We can't say we're crazy about this copper color, but it's subtle enough, and it's really a question of taste. Typing was a breeze on the SureType-esque keyboard, and while we wish the soft keys were a bit bigger, that's about our only caveat. It is a bit of a chore to slide open the phone and close it without resting your thumb on the screen, so smudgephobia types might have some difficulty, but we're basically resigned to that fate with any phone this glossy. Unfortunately, while T-Mobile has done its best at wrapping up Windows Mobile 6 with a glossy interface, it's still Windows Mobile, and we found the whole interface a bit sluggish. The main screen is also a bit short on data, since T-Mobile has monopolized it with those fave five. WiFi was a snap to set up, but that doesn't mean we're entirely OK with EDGE data as 2007 is coming to a close, and the slow processor wasn't helping our browsing experience either. If those few foibles can be overlooked, this could be your ticket out of smartphone monotony when it hits on October 31st for $149.99.

In a wrap-up of the state of 4G networks over at BusinessWeek, the battle between the three competing 4G network standards -- WIMAX, Long Term Evolution (LTE), and Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) -- is appraised, with WIMAX clearly edging out its other rivals. This could be a two horse race before long if Verizon chooses to back GSM's successor LTE over CDMA's sequel, UMB. That would leave Qualcomm without one of its most significant backers for CDMA's spiritual sibling, although it'll do just fine thanks to the multiple 4G patents it holds. Ultimately though, in all of this space there's very little discussion about what the consumer wants: do we really need two or three different standards that probably won't inter-operate, leaving us back at the square we've always been at? Frankly, for all the benefits that 4G is purported to bring, we'd like something a little more imaginative than the usual bickering amongst the big shots.

Update: Although it didn't come from VZW, last month Vodafone's chairman Arun Sarin made it clear that Verizon will go for LTE. Bad news for UMB!

You'll have to forgive us for missing this launch a few days back, but really, is anyone too amped about this thing? Samsung's SGH-A517 flip looks like a 3G handset, but that's as far as it goes -- it's actually nothing more than a quadband EDGE piece with a meager 1.3 megapixel cam to do the shootin' duties. On the upside, the A517 still features A2DP, a microSD slot, and external music controls, making it a great choice for mobile music on the cheap. Grab it now for $50 on contract after rebates.

[Via MobileBurn]