Most disappointing, perhaps, the apparently completely unmodified interface for Windows Mobile 6.1, the forsaken but largely inevitable operating system of choice for the Q11. As HTC and Samsung know (evidenced by their Touchflo 3D and i900 Omnia interfaces, respectively) and as my grandpa may or may not have told me once, even though you can't really shine shit, you have to at least try. What follows is an incredibly optimistic use of the word "maybe": maybe Motorola will redeem themselves with the Alexander and Atila. [Gizmodo Brazil]

Shadowmite also says it has a micro USB connection, which brings Palm out from the proprietary connector rock. It may be incremental, but it's good to see Palm playing a bit of catchup with the smartphone heavyweights. [Shadowmite via Palm Infocenter]

My favorite part of the phone is the addition of a SureType keyboard, which I think is a suitable texting alternative when QWERTY keyboards won't do (for the record, I hate T9 texting on a 0-9 pad). The hardware is minimal in design, and has a stylus-based touchscreen that gets the job done.

However, I'm no huge fan of the Windows Mobile platform, and my gripes with it still stand. The camera application kept freezing on me and required a hard reset to get it working correctly. It makes poor use of touchscreen functionality and is far more complicated than it should be. While more responsive than on other HTC offerings i've used, the interface slightly lagged and was a bit choppy. TouchFLO only fixes this so much, generally bringing you back to WinMoLand within one or two screens. The thumb swipe gesture to activate TouchFLO is somewhat difficult and requires too much effort.

In short — good looking hardware, ho hum software.

Its design is almost the same as its Sol brother, but instead of that gold-spangled keypad, its numbers are of the less-exotic laser-etched variety, trying to impress those denizens of the latter-day Roman Empire with Roman numerals instead of those old-fashioned Arabic characters. Nobody's saying anything about pricing, but to give you an idea, the company was selling an 18-karat gold-encrusted MP3 player for around $6,500. Wonder if they also plan to ship zircon-encrusted tweezers. Available in the fourth quarter of this year, these Avantgarde phones should be some seriously expensive candy bars. [Sybarites]

Press Release:

New standard in Luxury.

Gresso is presenting a new collection - «Avantgarde», the intellectual mobile phone made of Gold and African Blackwood. The case of Gresso Avantgarde is manually manufactured and fastened with Gold screws.

The name of the new Gresso «Avantgarde» is derived from the French «avant-garde», which means «to be ahead of the time». This collection is an excellent illustration of the Gresso values: a quest always to push the limits further in pursuit of excellence, as well as the necessity to apply the latest technology.

It is this blend of innovative technologies, rare materials and exclusive design that makes Gresso Avantgarde truly unique.

Technology. New intelligent solutions.

Gresso Avantgarde is powered by the Gresso operating system based on the new Windows Mobile 6 Standard. It provides quick and easy access to the most frequently used applications.

TFT display of the phone supports up to 65? colors (320*240 pixels). Built-in 2 megapixel camera.

The mobile phone has all the functions that today's mobile consumers demand. It supports Outlook, Pocket MSN, EMS/MMS/SMS, Bluetooth, synchronization with the PC. The organizer will help to plan working day, there is a calculator, a MP3-player.

All these and many other opportunities are completed with ultraslim design. Thickness of the case executed of African Blackwood is only 14 mm.

Materials. Attention to detail.

The Avantgarde collection is made of African Blackwood, which age is more than 200 years. Two identical phones do not exist, as well as in the nature there are no two identical trees.

Gresso has paid particular attention to detail.

Sapphire crystal glass of 42 K frames the screen. A special feature is the keyboard with Roman numerals. This is also an innovation by Gresso. No phone had ever been designed this way.

Figures and letters of the keyboard are cut out by the laser. Moreover, the keyboard has special, scratch-resistant titanic covering, that has been developed and patented by Gresso company.

The back cover of the phone is executed of stainless steel with a titanic covering and hand polished to a mirror shine. This covering offers protection against scratches and is very durable.

Another technical feat of accomplishment is the magnetic lock of the battery cover, for the first time realized in mobile phone. This constitutes a double advantage, at once both an improvement in the reliability of fastening and in its ease of use.

The back panel of the device is decorated with Gresso logo executed of Gold.

World premiere.

The Avantgarde Collection will come in two models: Luna and Sol.

Gresso Avantgarde Luna. Flat keyboard. Navigation key is executed of Gold. The front panel is embellished by a triangle inset of Gold - one of the special aspects of all Gresso mobile phones.

Avantgarde Sol. Every function key is made of Gold using ultra-precision turning technology. This technology, unique for the jewellery industry, ensures a superlative degree of precision of each detail. A triangle inset of Gold on the front panel.

The Avantgarde Collection will be launched in the fourth quarter 2007.

Information is sketchy thus far, but this looks like a positive step toward solving the inherent difficulties of browsing the web on a 3-inch screen. The browser is still in beta, and there's no word on when we might see a shipping version. – Charlie White

DeepFish browser for Windows Smartphone [mobility today]

E-TEN says to expect the G500 in all markets this month for an as-yet-unannounced price. The last of high-speed connectivity options will lessen its gleam for some, but for many the good-sized, 2.8-inch display and built-in GPS functions will let it kill two birds with one Tron-like stone.

Download Press Release [450K PDF]