Looks like those that call Down Under home have been blessed with yet another option in the smartphone department, as HTC has apparently launched the P3600i in your neck of the woods. Deemed an “HTC P3600 with a faster CPU and more ROM,” this Windows Mobile 6 device looks to be an Asia-Pacific exclusive for now, and touts quad-band GSM, 802.11g, a two-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0, 160MB of internal memory, a miniSD expansion slot, and UMTS / HSDPA to boot. Best of all, it’s available right now on 3.

Despite the fact that we had a bit of trouble with the latest iPhone update, some users are reporting drastically improved WiFi reception and camera performance since installing v1.0.2. Although Apple didn’t exactly go into detail about what “bug fixes” were being addressed, a number of posters on various forums are apparently thrilled with the boost in WiFi reception and the “vast improvement in the camera’s live video update.” Of course, it’s very possible that these betterments are simply due to differing circumstances in use before and after the update, so we’ll leave it up you: have you noticed any drastic meliorations since the update, or is this stuff just all in our head?

Take a moment to welcome the new Nokia 6555. This 3G (WCDMA of unspecified band) clamshell goes quadband GSM with microSD expansion (30MB on-boad) and 240 x 320 QVGA display touting 16 million colors. If thin is your thing and 3G Nokia your game then this is about as good as it gets. Available next month for about €200 pre-tax and pre-subsidy. Unfortunately, Nokia doesn’t say where, but its forward-facing profile certainly matches up nicely with Nokia’s FCC approved RM-276 handset operating in the 850 and 1900MHz bands

Read Full post for more images

Its out. LG’s newest heartthrob — the KU990 — is official and on the way to the UK (likely with Vodafone) this fall. The German IFA show at the end of the month will mark its coming out party seeing the KU990 dressed up in a 5.1 megapixel shooter with Schneider-Kreuznach lens, image stabilization (likely digital), auto focus, 120fps video, and ISO 800 sensitivity. Sure, the camera is nice and all, but this pup is packing a 3-inch, 240 x 400 touchscreen riding on 3G HSDPA data. Hoozah! With a European launch imminent (Sorry, no Stateside details), the wait for the iPhone is suddenly less of a burden, eh?

Ooh, how do you like them apples, LG? Just days after word of its SH150 for Korea’s 7.2Mbps HSDPA trials spread across the lands, Samsung fires this little gem in return. The so-called “UFO” (don’t ask us) SCH-W300 features a 2 megapixel camera (plus the obligatory front-facing piece for video calls), QVGA display, Bluetooth, and microSD expansion in a 12.9mm thich shell — not particularly impressive by 2007 standards, until you hear about that magical 7.2Mbps downstream radio packed somewhere in there. Look for it alongside its crosstown rival’s SH150 for just a little more dinero, 600,000 won (about $632).

For the brave souls willing to sign away the next three years of their life to a carrier, Fido’s rendition of Nokia’s 5200 slider seems like a pretty darned good deal. $25 Canadian (about $23) nets you the music-centric handset, featuring a VGA cam, Class 10 EDGE, Bluetooth, and microSD expansion with Nokia’s ubiquitous but solid Series 40 backing up the whole package. Fido sweetens the deal by throwing in a 1GB card, too. Looking pretty good in black, ain’t it?

[Via Engadget]

Believe it or not, Sony Ericsson’s P1i has one of the richest, most storied family trees in the smartphone world. Technically, it could be said that the phone can trace its roots all the way back to Psion’s EPOC-based organizers, but more practically, the P1i is a direct descendent of the R380, the first Symbian-powered phone and a device that made more than a few jaws drop with its versatile design and expansive touchscreen. What’s our point? Simply that this brushed metal-clad beast has some work to do to live up to its ancestry, lest a few P800s start rolling in their graves — and with WiFi, a 3.2 megapixel cam, and UIQ 3, it seems equipped for the job.

We look at this thing, and frankly, the term “phone” just never crosses our minds. Handsets designed specifically with children in mind typically look nothing like traditional cellphones, but Omego’s self-titled debut may just take the cake. Looking like a table coaster with an LCD display, the 83 gram device runs on T-Mobile MVNO Toucan Mobile in the UK, offering “educational games,” an organizer, a 40-number phone book, an obligatory lack of numeric keypad (although Firefly might be looking to change all that), and the obvious full suite of parental control. It runs £15 a month (about $30) on an 18-month contract plus £5 per megabyte (ouch!) over the handset’s GPRS modem. Then again, what are 8 year olds consuming data for?

Once the glittering crown jewel of the Windows Mobile world, HP has sat back, taken it easy on R&D, and watched its empire dwindle to an empty husk of what it once was. The reasons are unclear, but other manufacturers have certainly had no qualms about rushing in to fill the void — most notably HTC, the ODM largely responsible for HP’s success in the first place. Does it stand a chance of reclaiming the throne? Eh, with so many competitors in the game at this point, probably not, but that may not stop it from trying. Rumors have been swirling the last few days that HP will surround its iPAQ 510 Windows Mobile 6 Standard smartphone with a wide variety of devices positioned both above and below it, and if the details pan out, there could definitely be a few winners in the bunch. The 600 series is said to be similar to the 510 in form factor — candybar with a numeric keypad — but will add tri-band HSDPA, a touch sensitive navigation wheel, double the RAM and ROM, and will sport Windows Mobile Professional in place of Standard. The 900 should be largely similar, but trades the numeric keypad for a QWERTY version. Word on the street is that these should be announced in September with availability late in the year — if it all turns out to be true, we wish the best of luck to ya, HP!

Rogers Wireless has rolled out the lovely W580i slider from Sony Ericsson, a Walkman-branded piece first introduced late in the first quarter of the year. Though data tops out at EDGE speeds (this is Sony Ericsson, after all), the handset offers an integrated FM radio, 2 megapixel cam, A2DP support, pedometer, and Memory Stick Micro expansion. Grab it now for $150 Canadian (about $142) on a three-year contract.

Going all the way back to the N95, it seems like Nokia started having a really hard time keeping a lid on hot upcoming product releases — not to say we’re complaining or anything — and the upcoming N81 slider with a penchant for music is no exception. Following some serious scoopage a few months back, we’re now seeing this shot of a believable-looking N81 dummy, which we’re guessing is in the process of getting shipped out to retailers preparing to sell the real thing. With a rumored 8GB of onboard storage, HSDPA, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, we imagine said retailers should be doing a pretty brisk business, too.

It may lack the necessary internal gizmos to grant us 3G data this side of the pond, but that really didn’t stop us from touching, holding, and loving Nokia’s E90 Communicator just the same. Check out as we bring the latest, greatest QWERTY device out of Espoo from sealed box to power-up in the gallery here — or if getting your hands on one of your own is more your thing, rumor has it Nokia should be launching it stateside within a couple months. ‘Bout time!