The good news, if there is any, is that the early termination fee only applies to early termination. Surprised you, there, didn't it? The bad news is, what Mark said about the ditch fee being $110 in the 23rd month is true. And pretty much anything you'd want to buy from Verizon these days—not just Droids and BlackBerrys but netbooks too—are locked into this new fee.

Verizon is pretty clear that this is about recouping the cost of the subsidy; a gadget lands on the "advanced" list when it has a combination of features that "drive up the cost." Only wireless modems and dumbphones (below referred to as feature phones) appear to be exempt. Here are the details from a spokesman:

The higher tier of early termination fee applies to a device category that generally includes smartphones, netbooks and other advanced devices purchased at a subsidized price under contract. Please remember, feature phones still carry a $175 early termination fee when purchased at a subsidized price with a new customer agreement.

Advanced devices include a combination of advanced capabilities that combined drive up the cost of the device, including premium HTML browser; high-resolution MP camera with optical zoom; dual processor chipsets; WiFi; very high-resolution displays, and/or operating systems such as BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Palm, or Android. The category also includes netbooks. (Modems will still carry a $175 ETF.)

We are informing customers at the point of purchase/contract renewal—whether on line, in person or over the phone. On Sunday, when the new EFT takes effect, we will post the list of advanced devices.

By the way, it is important to note that this change has no impact on customers with previously signed contracts, and as a practical matter has no impact on the majority of customers who choose to complete the terms of their contracts.

Remember, if you sign a long-term contract and complete it, there's no early termination fee. In addition, customers always have the option of buying any device at full retail without an early termination fee.

The first commercial, which I saw air for the first time during the New England Patriots game this afternoon, is called Verizon Blue Christmas (above). As Elvis croons, a man depressingly makes his way home with no cell coverage. He's utterly sad until he sees that a wrapped, red present might just contain the phone he's really looking for.

The second commercial, below, shows us that the "naughty" people won't be getting coal in their stockings this year. Nope, they'll be getting spotty AT&T 3G service instead! Ho ho ho.

The last commercial places an iPhone-esque phone on the Island of Misfit Toys.

The phone seems out of place, at least until the toys get a glimpse of its 3G network. "You'll fit right in!" they scream. And then we all just laugh and laugh. [Verizon's YouTube Account]

Windows 7 Sales 234% Higher Than Vista

NPD declared sales for Windows 7 were 234% higher than the sales for Windows Vista in the same amount of time on the market, says Nick Wingfield at the WSJ's Seattle desk. Oddly, Windows PC sales were down, 6% lower than they were during the Vista launch weeks. The NPD analyst take: "I think it's mixed. We would have liked to see a stronger jump on the hardware side." The non-analyst take: People who had XP knew that switching to Vista would suck without a new machine; now, the opposite is true, with so many people keeping their old machines but trying any means necessary to rid them of Vista. Still, these are early days, and we already knew pre-orders were insane. I'm just curious to see if PC sales will pick up for the holidays. [WSJ - Image Source]

Battery Juice No Longer Just an Expression, Still Not as Tasty as Orange Juice

You know how the Air Force has been working on a secret water-based battery technology for 25 years, but couldn't get it to work because of water's damned evaporative property? OK, me neither, but this research, which bears the ironically simple name "metal-air," might become our next great battery technology. They won't be using water, though. Instead, they'll use a clear, viscous, electrically conductive and mercifully non-volatile substance called ionic liquid. This stuff isn't going to be powering your Zune until the Zune itself is pretty much an implant (or a smart tattoo), but if you're curious, you should check out the super over-my-head chemical explanation. [MIT Tech Review - Image Source]

Verizon Calls AT&T's Ad Lawsuit "Junk"

As if AT&T's stupid "Map For That" lawsuit wasn't embarrassing enough on its own, Verizon Wireless's Jeffrey Nelson got a chance to ridicule it when AdWeek called him for comment. "This is a junk lawsuit," he said. "It's surprising that rather than defend the ‘blue' hot spots on their 3G map, our competitor instead focuses on their white spaces." This isn't working out according to plan, is it, AT&T? Reminds me of the Trojan Rabbit scene in Python's Holy Grail. [AdWeek via AllThingsD]

Air Filter Uses Plants to Get Rid of Yer Weed Smoke

There's a new air filter that draws air through the leaves, roots and soil of a house plant in order to filter impurities from the room. Well, it was designed in 2007, but it's now a reality. Hey, are you thinking what I'm thinking? If you grow pot in the filter, when you smoke it, the plant itself that bestowed it upon you can filter the smoke, and maybe recapture some THC for bonus stickiness? Wait, what? Oh man, I'm freaking out. You're crazy. This is crazy. Seriously. Let's do it. [Inhabitots]

Channels: COR, DMDR, LD, and NR Internal
Roles: Reps & Above
Markets: All
Contact: Your Manager

AT&T filed a lawsuit on November 4, 2009 against Verizon's "There's a Map for That" advertising campaign. Independent research shows that the maps in the advertisements mislead consumers into believing that we do not offer any wireless service in the vast majority of the country. In fact, AT&T's 2.5G EDGE network covers 1.75 million square miles of the United States, reaching some 296 million people, roughly the same number reached by Verizon's network. This network supports popular services like e-mail, surfing the Web, texting, and voice calling, including the activities shown in the Verizon TV advertisements. In addition, our 3G service, the nation's fastest, is available in more than 9,400 cities and towns.

We filed the lawsuit in Federal District Court in Atlanta and asked that Verizon be prohibited from misleading consumers regarding the scope of our wireless network.

How should I respond to customers who ask about the lawsuit?

While we cannot speculate on the complaint filed, it is a great opportunity to remind customers of AT&T's many advantages that over 81 million customers enjoy, including:

* Best Network
* The best coverage worldwide (More Bars in More PlacesTM).
* The nation's fastest 3G network and the only national 3G carrier providing simultaneous voice and data usage.
* The most devices that work in the most places including Japan and South Korea (3G 2100 MHz device required).
* The nation's largest wireless and wireline broadband provider.
* The nation's largest company-owned and operated WiFi network with more than 20,000 hotspots, including Starbucks, McDonald's and Barnes and Noble, as well as access to over 120,000 hotspots around the world.
* The leading provider of local and long distance voice services.

Greatest Value – The fairest value with Rollover® allowing customers to keep their unused minutes month to month.
Best Products - The most innovative exclusive devices such as the iPhoneTM 3GS.
Most Convenient Services
* The most customer friendly free self-service tools with *Services for checking usage, paying bills, and adding features.
* The most convenient and cost-effective way for customers to manage their accounts with Combined Billing for wireless and wireline products.
* Industry leading 30-day satisfaction guarantee.

As always, if you have an inquiry from the media, please refer them to your local media relations team member.

I guess that if you've made a mockery of the court system with a ridiculous lawsuit, then you might as well use the attention for a bit of spin. [Mobile Crunch]

Beginning 11/15, early terminations on contracts with unspecified "advanced device"(s) will be subject to a fee of $350. And while that policy might slow ebay entrepreneurs just looking to make a few easy bucks on a resold Blackberry, it's devastating to the average guy who just wants to ditch his contract early.

The good news, however, is that fee will drop by $10 every month. But still, that's a $110 termination fee in month 23 of a 2-year contract...which is clearly absurd. [BGR]

Now, the "There's a Map for That" ad focuses on 3G alone, and the discussion is about 3G services, including video. But the charge AT&T makes is that people who watch the ad are being deliberately led to thinking that in the white spaces, there's no AT&T phone service at all. Here's the accusation:

Consumers are interpreting the white or blank space on the maps to mean that AT&T customers who are not in an AT&T "3G" coverage area have no wireless coverage whatsoever, and therefore have no ability to use their wireless devices for any purposes in vast areas of the country. This interpretation is not surprising as Verizon, in its own coverage maps, uses white space to inform customers that no coverage of any kind exists.

The thing is, this is somewhat tricky to prove, but it sounds wrong. There are areas of Verizon voice coverage that are not marked as red in the map in the commercial, if my squint-eye human-instrument comparison test is accurate. Try it for yourself. Does the map up top better resemble the one in blue and yellow (but not green), which shows broadband, aka 3G? Or the one in red, which shows voice and messaging?

For reference, here's AT&T's map—note, only the very darkest shade of blue represents 3G coverage:

The ad may contain jargon that might confuse middle America—I will admit that—but to any trained ear, it's pretty clearly about 3G. As far as this maps claim, though, that seems dubious. The maps that Verizon chose do seem to represent the same thing—3G coverage only. Yes, AT&T lawyers, if I'm right about this, it means that had Verizon cheated, their map would have been even redder than the one in the ad. So what's say we spend more of that iPhone subscription money on fixing the network (near my house, please!) and less money on frivolous lawsuits.

[AT&T's Motion for the Restraining Order of Verizon WARNING: PDF]

Apparently, midway through pre-briefing reporters and handing out review units, there was a disagreement between Verizon Wireless and RIM over the readiness of the phone (which Verizon just "announced"). We can't discuss details, but the communication breakdown—which involved a few days of unanswered emails—had nothing to do with dissing you readers. The phone, Matt Buchanan says, is far better than the Storm 1, which makes me think its still worth a review despite it being very late, but you get the final say. What do you think?

So nice of Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam to keep them warm until we get our hands on them. [Verizon via Boy Genius]

Update: Boy Genius is reporting double confirmation that the HTC phone is in fact the Verizon edition of the HTC Hero, and that it will be out in November.

The FLO TV-based service includes content from Comedy Central, ESPN, NBC, CBS, and MTV. Access will run you $15 per month.

The rest of the Imagio's specs aren't anything to write home about really, it's more of the same: 480 x 800 screen resolution, 528MHz processor, 5-megapixel camera, microSD expansion, 3.5mm headphones jack, and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi. Oh, the V CAST TV antenna doubles as a handy kickstand when you're watching shows—that's a nice touch.

You'll be able to order the Imagio online at Verizon next Tuesday, or test it out in Verizon stores from October 20. Either way, it'll cost $200 (after rebate, with 2 year contract).

It's a Wi-Fi-wielding 3G QWERTY worldband (complete with international plugs!) Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone that runs a palatable $50 with contract. It goes on sale online June 29 and in stores July 13th.

HTC OZONE BRINGS VERIZON WIRELESS' SMARTPHONE LINEUP TO NEW HEIGHTS

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and BELLEVUE, Wash. – Verizon Wireless and HTC today introduce the Verizon Wireless HTC Ozone™. This easy-to-use smartphone combines a simple design with a host of connectivity options that include the nation's largest wireless 3G network, global roaming and Wi-Fi, making it a smart option and, at $49.99*, a great value for first-time smartphone users or savvy business professionals.

Available color: Black

Key features:

· Ergonomically-designed QWERTY keyboard for fast and easy typing

· Flexible connectivity options with Verizon Wireless' 3G network, global roaming capabilities and support for Wi-Fi

· 1500 mAh battery delivers extended operating time

· Includes international charging adapters to stay powered up while abroad

Lifestyle features:

· VZ NavigatorSM – get audible turn-by-turn directions to more than 15 million points of interest and share the directions with others

· Visual Voice Mail – view, delete, reply, listen to and forward voice mail messages without having to listen to prior messages or voice instructions

· Mobile IM – connect with friends on AOL® Instant Messenger, Windows® Messenger and Yahoo!® Messenger

· Mobile Email – access to popular e-mail services such as Yahoo!®, Hotmail®, AOL® and Windows® Live Seamless Microsoft® Exchange synchronization with Microsoft® Office Mobile for maximum productivity

· Access to most frequently used features with a simplified "sliding panel" user interface

· One-touch messaging key for quick connection to friends and family

* Price and availability:

· The HTC Ozone will be $49.99 after a $70 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. Customers will receive the rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted.

· VZ Navigator is available for $9.99 monthly access, and Visual Voice Mail is available for $2.99 monthly access.

· Customers can purchase the HTC Ozone beginning June 29 online at www.verizonwireless.com, by calling 1-800-2 JOIN IN, or through business sales channels. It will be in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores on July 13. For additional information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

The coolest thing is that you don't need a separate wireless card here. Novatel's MiFi is both a wireless hotspot and broadband modem, just one piece of hardware to lose instead of two. You of course need a plan, $60 for wireless data only. This is similar, but not identical, to Verizon's MiFi 2200 offering.

The catch, if there is one, is that this thing will cost $150 and you will get $50 through a mail-in rebate (my least favorite kind of rebate). And that discount only comes if you re-up your contract with Sprint for another two years. Here's more fine print:

At your home office, on the road or at the beach, Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot connects any WiFi-enabled device to the Sprint Now Network

The Sprint Simply Everything Plan® + Mobile Broadband = $599 savings annually vs. comparable Verizon plan
Access to multiple devices by multiple users, for same pricing plan as other Sprint mobile broadband devices
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – MAY 13, 2009 – Sprint (NYSE:S) today announced plans to bring a WiFi hotspot to customers virtually anywhere and everywhere — and whenever they need it — on any WiFi-enabled device.

Sprint plans to launch the Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 intelligent mobile hotspot device for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year service agreement (excluding taxes). The MiFi 2200, available in the first week of June on www.sprint.com, in Sprint retail stores and other select channels, will allow users to connect to the Internet by bridging WiFi-enabled devices like laptops, MP3 players and gaming devices to America's most dependable 3G network* – the EVDO Rev A Sprint Mobile Broadband Network. Sprint will launch the service under the Sprint Mobile Hotspot name, and it will be the first in the U.S. to support MiFi's GPS capabilities, allowing users to take advantage of select location and mapping applications.

"You can hold the MiFi 2200 in the palm of your hand, slip it in your pocket, even place it on a beach towel if you're lying under the sun and wirelessly connect your laptop, MP3 player and gaming device to the Internet all at once," said Steve Elfman, president of network, wholesale and product, Sprint. "Now customers will be able to use one mobile broadband device – the MiFi 2200 – to connect multiple personal devices or multiple users. If I have a WiFi-enabled device, I don't need to find a WiFi hotspot. The MiFi 2200 creates one for me."

Save money and cut the cord
Business and consumer customers may choose from the following service plans for the MiFi 2200:

* $59.99 per month mobile broadband only plan (excluding taxes and surcharges)**

or

* $149.99 per month Simply Everything Plan + Mobile Broadband (phone plus device connectivity — excluding taxes and surcharges)**

Both plans include up to 5 GB per month and 5 cents per megabyte overage for the MiFi 2200.

The Simply Everything Plan + Mobile Broadband, unique in the industry, was introduced this February to give customers the benefits of the Now Network on their phone and laptop for one price. The plan includes unlimited text, picture and video messaging, GPS navigation, email and Web surfing on their phone, plus 5 GB of blazing Internet access on their mobile broadband device – all for just $149.99 per month, a savings of $599 per year vs. comparable Verizon plans. Now, for that same price, customers can use the MiFi 2200 and connect to more devices at once.

Sprint continues to innovate and deliver value
The Sprint Mobile Hotspot service with the MiFi 2200 is part of Sprint's game-changing open approach to rolling out new types of wireless services and delivering the significant value and capabilities of the Now Network to its customers. The MiFi 2200, a portable, secure and truly wireless mobile broadband access device, is the first of its kind to be added to Sprint's portfolio – and one of several innovative mobile broadband devices that Sprint will announce this year. Sprint plans to offer a portfolio of 3G, 4G and dual-mode devices that will take advantage of the Now Network.

How MiFi works
MiFi creates a personal cloud of high-speed Internet connectivity that can be easily shared among up to five users and a variety of WiFi-enabled devices through its connection to America's most dependable 3G network,* the EVDO Rev A Sprint Mobile Broadband Network. For example:

* College student: a college student tucks her MiFi 2200 in her backpack to study with friends at the park and uses it to listen to streaming radio on her MP3 player while she connects to the school's Intranet on her laptop to get details on a class assignment. She takes a break to take pictures of her pals with her Wi-Fi enabled digital camera, and the camera uses the MiFi's signal to upload the photos to Facebook while she emails her completed report to her professor, then uses the device's GPS capability to find a nearby pizza place for lunch.

* Business travelers: Two business travelers share a cab to the airport, then wait for their flight. Sharing the signal of one MiFi 2200 device that is safely tucked away in a briefcase, they download emails and surf the Internet on their notebooks and stream music to their MP3 players.

* Portable retail: Five vendors at a local art fair have kiosks in close proximity. Accessing one MiFi 2200 device's signal, they each run a credit card point-of-sale device over WiFi and have secure backhaul.

Key Features of the Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot

* Easily fits in the palm of your hand — dimensions: 3.50"x 2.32" x 0.35" and weight: 2.05 oz.
* Brushed aluminum finish
* Provides mobile broadband Rev A Internet access wirelessly
* Supports up to five WiFi-enabled devices
* Simple to connect with Hands-Free Activation (OMA-DM). No software installation required
* Universal Wi-Fi compatibility
* Advanced security through WPA2-PSK, WEP and SPI Firewall
* MiFi GPS capabilities to take advantage of select location and mapping applications, such as getting driving or walking directions or finding the best restaurant nearby
* Battery provides four hours of user time, 40 hours standby on single charge

The MiFi 2200 is ideal for businesses looking to extend the speed and anywhere convenience of America's most dependable 3G network*. Soon after its retail launch, Sprint Wholesale will also be offering a version of the Novatel MiFi 2200 to wholesale wireless partners.

"Supporting more than one WiFi-enabled device, businesses can enable their employees to cost-effectively share a connection when mobile with other employees, vendors or customers," Elfman noted. "Now business professionals like claims adjusters, mobile professionals, retail employees and field service technicians can easily perform multiple functions using various WiFi devices, all over one connection."

"There are an abundance of consumer devices with integrated WiFi that lose their functionality when WiFi isn't available," said Michael Gartnerberg Gartenberg, vice president of strategy and analysis at Interpret. "The ability to seamlessly add WAN capabilities to this multitude of devices will empower consumers to use their devices the way they want to use them and wherever they want to use them."

The availability of the MiFi 2200 will further deliver on Sprint's promise to offer businesses and consumers a faster and more robust Internet experience in cities across the nation than any other wireless service from a national carrier. Sprint recently made history by launching 4G in 2008 in Baltimore and is the first national carrier to offer wireless access to both 3G and 4G networks on one device – the 3G/4G USB Modem U300. Sprint has new 4G devices planned for 2009 and 2010, including a single-mode 4G data card, embedded laptops and a small-office-home-office broadband modem.

* "Dependable" based on independent, third-party drive tests for 3G data connection success, session reliability and signal strength for the top 50 most populous markets from Jan. '08 to Feb. '09.
** Two year service agreement required. No discounts apply.

MiFi is a trademark of Novatel Wireless, Inc.

ABOUT SPRINT NEXTEL

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two wireless networks serving more than 49 million customers at the end of the first quarter of 2009; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.
###

We've heard talk like this for a long time, but BusinessWeek isn't going to stick its neck out for rumors that aren't at least well sourced, and on top of that, the reporters, Arik Hesseldahl and Spencer Ante, say that Verizon boss Lowell McAdam himself told them that he'd spoken with Steve Jobs in the past six months about a deal.

There aren't many details, except that the phone and the tablet would be different from the iPhone that AT&T sells, presumably so that it wouldn't interfere with the exclusivity deal currently in place. Much of the piece deals with the hedges, that is, why this whole thing may not go down in the end. Here's the bulk of it:

It's possible both sides may disagree over financial terms, such as how big a subsidy Verizon Wireless might pay for each device or whether to share monthly service revenue with Apple. Another deal breaker could be disagreements over distribution of wireless software applications. Apple is the exclusive provider and distributor of apps for the AT&T iPhone. If Apple requests a similar deal on newer devices, Verizon Wireless may balk.

For what it's worth, I think the buzz is getting too loud to ignore totally. This clearly smells like Apple's next move, and for Verizon's sake, I hope it's true, and not just a ploy by Apple to get a nicer exclusivity contract with AT&T. [BusinessWeek]

The Hub is a landline slayer launched in a wireless world, where the landline is almost dead. It's a fertile garden behind a red-painted wall—red 'cause it's Verizon, har har—found when most people are trying to break down those walls. It's a Verizon Wireless VoIP phone coming about at a time when AT&T is killing their VoIP service entirely. It's the phone we imagined before the iPhone, tethered to our home broadband connection for instant-pizza-ordering awesomeness. In other words, it's a lot of interesting things, appearing in the wrong place and at the wrong time.

That's not to say it's bad. It's just unfortunate. The Hub makes sense in a very specific context: If you're a lock, stock and barrel Verizon customer, from wireless to TV to internet to, obviously, landline phone service. That's where the "Hub" name comes in—it brings a bunch of different Verizon services together in one spot: You can monitor cellphone locations using Verizon's Chaperone, send maps and directions from the Hub to phones running VZ Navigator, and manage a central calendar that your entire family's phones sync to. Eventually, you'll be able to do more, like manage your Verizon FiOS TV DVR. While a minor point, in a sense it's a very sore point with the Hub, since you can already do that from many Verizon cellphones this very second. Why do I need a Hub again?

The garden walls reach their greatest heights when you try to text or picture message to a non-Verizon phone—you can't. The calendar isn't open, using a standard like CalDAV for easy export—it's squarely in Verizonland. A surprising amount of managing the Hub actually takes place on Verizon's website, like uploading contacts (via CSV files) and photos. Thankfully, the Hub's pages are better designed than the rest of Verizon's website—there's legit eye candy in the photo gallery, for instance. And nearly anything you can do on the Hub itself, you can do from the website remotely, like manage voicemail or check your call history. But it's odd you can't do something very simple like upload photos via the Hub's USB port.

It doesn't really matter if there are walls around the garden if you're never tempted to leave. Unfortunately, the Hub isn't enough of an attraction. Pretty much anything you can do on it—buy movie tickets, send text messages, check traffic or watch videos, you can do faster or better on your computer or cellphone. The virtually useless selection of VCAST videos make the average YouTube video feel like HD in comparison, and the "traffic report" isn't a map with live traffic info, but a canned audio briefing from Traffic.com that you have to sit through an ad to hear.

The Linux OS itself isn't particularly a joy. God knows, Verizon's committed some horrible user interface atrocities over the last few years, but at least the Hub's is alright—usable, not mind-blowing. I wish it moved faster. The keyboard is annoying to type on, but it'll get better in the next software update, which adjusts the spacing and adds pop-up letters. A persistent set of buttons on the left gives you constant, instant access to the two main menus: The phone and the uh, menu, where you get to your apps. In the top right corner is the home button, which takes you to the desktop, where your widgets, like for weather, time, voicemail, etc. hang out. Applications tend to have a two-pane layout that's framed by buttons on three sides, which doesn't sound like a problem, but it becomes one since the touchscreen is not so responsive around the edges. I've accidentally called two people at 3 in the morning while trying to press the menu button. Not cool.

Actually, that's one of my more concrete frustrations with this phone: The hardware feels cheap and shitty. The handset, which costs $80 a pop, is a plastic piece of garbage with a shoddy build quality and terrible screen. (It doesn't help that you can't do much from the handset either, like send text messages.) The touchscreen isn't as responsive as it should be, and it distorts with even the slightest bit of pressure, adding to the whole crappy feeling. A screen designed to be touched shouldn't freak out when you touch it. The speakers really harsh, crappy and tinny too. I couldn't stand using it for loudspeaker calls.

There are a few bright points. While the directory isn't as precise as say, MenuPages, it is fairly painless to find a nearby pizza place and call them in a single stroke. The synergistic—I know, that word provokes a gag reflex—stuff works well. Directions quickly went to the Samsung Sway test phone I got with it, which promptly fired up VZ Navigator and pointed to wherever I pointed it. (Too bad VZ Navigator is slow and sucky, but that's somewhat besides the point.) And the call quality itself is pretty good—or at least I sounded "loud and clear" to the people I called.

The brightest light may end up being the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel—the promise that developers will be able to create their own apps for this thing in the future. The included ones, for the most part, just aren't that hot, and some of the newer ones in the pipeline are definitely more head-turning. But it's hard to see how this product can sustain itself long enough to engender a solid third-party developer community. More likely, it'll get slightly better, then go extinct.

It's pretty ballsy to charge $200 for a landline phone with $35/month VoIP service right now, one that does the same thing you can do on an iPhone or G1, but is tied to your desk. Which is a lot of the reason I like it. But it's just as ridiculous to ask that much for a phone that's built with subpar hardware and doesn't live up to its full potential in a world where it's already horribly outmoded. Time was up two years ago. [Verizon]

On the subject of the $300 Touch Diamond, that seems like quite a hefty price for a phone that's been around for quite some time now, although it's comparable to the $300 AT&T will hit you up for if you're going for the similar HTC Touch Pro (aka Vuze).

Moving on to the more forward looking (albeit unconfirmed) department, this spyshot of a T-Mobile inventory system seems to suggest that quite a few upcoming HTC phones are headed to T-Mo, many of which can be spotted in HTC's 2009 product lineup that leaked a while back. On the list is the Rhodium, which is expected to be the successor to the Touch Pro, but no codename for the HTC Magic—the G1 successor we've seen and loved.

Then again, the origin of this spycam shot is unclear, so this could be anything. For more code-name decoding head over to T-Mo News, the source of the leaked shot. Press release for VZW's HTC Touch Pro follows: [T-Mo News]

HTC TOUCH DIAMOND AVAILABLE ON NATION'S MOST RELIABLE WIRELESS NETWORK

HTC Smartphone Delivers Advanced Technology with a Stylish Design to Business Professionals

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and BELLEVUE, Wash. – Verizon Wireless and HTC Corporation today announced that the HTC Touch Diamond™ will be available tomorrow through business sales channels and online at www.verizonwireless.com. The ideal productivity tool for busy professionals, the HTC Touch Diamond combines a fashionable mobile design with the added benefit of the nation's most reliable voice and data network for fast e-mail and Internet connectivity.

Available color: Black

Key features:

· Brilliant 2.76-inch touch screen display for navigating Web pages on the built-in Opera browser

· 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera

· microSD™ card slot that can support up to 16 GB of memory for extra storage of pictures, videos and music

· Customers can choose either the familiar Windows Mobile® home screen or the intuitive HTC TouchFLO™ 3D user interface

· Supports the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional platform and integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Office applications

Lifestyle Features:

· Visual Voice Mail to help customers prioritize their messages

· VZ NavigatorSM-capable to provide customers with audible turn-by-turn directions to more than 15 million points of interest and get directions to any address in the U.S. and share the directions with others

· Mobile IM to stay connected to colleagues when away from the office

Price:

· The HTC Touch Diamond will be available for $299.99 after a $70 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. Customers will receive the rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted.

· VZ Navigator is available for $9.99 monthly access, and Visual Voice Mail is available for $2.99 monthly access. Other charges may apply when downloading or using applications.

· For more information on Verizon Wireless products and services visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or visit www.verizonwireless.com. Business customers should call 1-800-VZW-4BIZ or contact their Verizon Wireless Business Sales Representatives.

When they're open, the two phones are hard to distinguish. On your left, up top, is the EnV3, with the smaller 4:3 screen. On the right, there's the widescreen Voyager 2.

Closed, it's a different matter. Sticking with the formula that's made them hot sellers (without being in any way innovative), LG kept the touchscreen on the Voyager 2 (below, now on the left) and the full number pad on the EnV3 (below, right). Can I say we're excited? No. But will someone buy these, and even brag about them to their friends? Signs point to "yes." [Boy Genius, Electronista]

Specifically, Melone told reporters:

The licenses we bought in the 700MHz auction cover the whole US... And we plan to roll out LTE throughout the entire country, including places where we don't offer our CDMA cellphone service today.

Because Verizon's LTE (Long Term Evolution) will operate at the 700MHz frequency—as opposed to the 2.5GHz used by the competing Sprint/Clearwire WiMax network—it could possibly have greater range with fewer towers: The lower the hertz, the farther the signal travels under the same power.

However, as some wise nerd commenter from one of Om's 700MHz stories pointed out a couple years back, the tradeoff with lower frequency is that because it travels so far, fewer users can use the exact same chunks of bandwidth, so there's a capacity issue. (Explanatory metaphor: Say you're on a ship and three people fall overboard. Instead of having three shorter ropes to throw to all of them at once—which may not reach—you get one really long rope to throw to each of them, one at a time.)

These are just some things to think about as the great 4G train starts to pick up steam, and the WiMax vs. LTE battle—characterized for no particular reason as Love Boat vs Fantasy Island—heats up. CNet has more from Melone's news conference, so hit the link. [CNet]