There are certain phones that seem to have the uncanny ability to unite a fabulous cross section of carriers across North America, and these two are clearly headed in that direction. Telus way up there in Canada has launched the Motorola Q9c and announced the eventual availability of the BlackBerry Curve 8330, giving it a power pack of smartphones embraced by a good number of CDMA cousins to the south. (more…)

Thinking back to when we first caught wind of it, the turnaround on the ambiguously named VX8550 Chocolate from LG wasn’t that bad — but the same can’t be said of Verizon’s other retail introduction today, the midrange Motorola W385. This thing’s been kicking around as a rumored Big Red device since April at the latest — and yes, we’ll admit that our sense of time is a bit skewed, but that’s, like, forever. Anyhoo, pick up the VGA-cam’d, 160 x 128 screen’d W385 for $70 after all the contracts and discounts have been applied; meanwhile, the VX8500 successor can be yours for a nice, round hundie.

As mentioned a few days ago, Verizon Wireless seems to be prepping for the release of a new dual mode version of the venerable Blackberry 8800, christened the 8830. With this handy bit of tech you will be able to use CDMA radio while in the States (and maybe Canada?) and switch over to that good old fashioned GSM love while abroad. The pic above clearly shows the 8830 in silver, while the images in our last article seem to show it in black. No other solid info is available, but you can be sure we will be updating as the news and details trickle in.

This isn’t the first time we have seen Samsung’s SPH-M8100. Remember, this is that crazy WiBro (mobile WiMax) phone sporting a dedicated RSS key (upper-right button on that Korean keypad). Only now, it’s been slightly retooled for its official Korean launch. Besides the facelift, it appears unchanged spec-wise as a member of Sammy’s elite MITs (Mobile Intelligent Terminal) family of devices. So it still packs the latest CDMA and EV-DO radios and DMB mobile television only now wrapped up in a pretty Windows Mobile 6.0 interface. Bluetooth, 2.8-inch display, and 2 megapixel camera still come standard. With any luck, we might see this rollout on Sprint’s WiMAX network someday,

We feel like we can barely tell the difference between the white KRZR from Moto and the original gray — especially if you squint your eyes a bit — but choice is always good nonetheless, and to that end Telus has added the paler variant to its lineup. Going toe to toe with the K1m in the high-fashion game, Samsung’s u510 has also found its way onto the CDMA carrier (look familiar?) with a 220 x 176 display, 1.3 megapixel cam, microSD slot — something its Helio doppelganger lacks — and touch-sensitive controls. Grab your white KRZR for the same price as its grayer counterpart, $149 CDN — or a u510 for $50 CDN less, $100, both on a three-year agreement.

Liking VCAST TV but that Samsung u620 — the only supported handset at the moment — isn’t doing anything for you with its submicronic display? We can’t blame you, especially after we laid eyes on that rather comely VX9400 from crosstown rival LG at CES a couple months back. A tipster is reporting that the pivot display VX9400, which was originally thought to be scheduled to launch alongside the u620, will end up dropping on the 23rd of this month in VCAST TV markets. Not too painful of a delay, eh? Pricing should come in at $350 full retail, $250 on a one-year contract after rebate, or $200 if you like that mobile TV action enough to sign up for two full years. Launching the same day should be the Samsung u540 at $80 after rebates on a two-year agreement (we’ll take the VX9400, please).