So we might not have a physical device here, but these packaging renderings are pretty solid evidence of exactly what BlackBerry fans on Verizon — particularly those jealous of the Bold — can expect in a few weeks’ time. It looks like RIM’s first foray into the scary world of touchscreens will be officially branded the 9530 Storm, will be global (it includes a SIM card, after all), and will feature an 8GB SanDisk microSD card preinstalled. Wondering what happened to the Thunder name? Turns out that’ll apparently be reserved for the version of the phone launching on Rogers up in Canada and on Vodafone across the pond. Those Storm users on the screen there sure look happy, don’t they?

Here iss an interesting factoid to chew on: the cycle between the first rumors that the Palm 755p was coming to Verizon and its launch was longer than the window of time between launch and sunset. Just think about that for a second. Seriously. Verizon has reported to Palm Infocenter that it’s officially decommissioning the Palm OS-based smartphone — the only in Verizon’s lineup with strong ties to Palm’s old-school industrial design — in favor of the Centro, a smaller, friendlier, more consumer-oriented device. It seems like Big Red might be at risk of alienating some Garnet-loving business customers who aren’t interested in carrying a device with a keyboard as small as the Centro’s, and honestly, doesn’t it feel like the 755p has at least a few more months of life yet? Or are we crazy?

One of the worst-kept secrets in Verizon stable is finally getting official today; thats right, ladies and gentlemen, meet the Glyde from Samsung. Wearing CDMA guts underneath its F700 clothing, the fashion-friendly QWERTY slider offers a 2 megapixel cam with flash and autofocus, GPS, the full range of Bluetooth profiles, microSD slot, and a true HTML browser. Unlike its crosstown competition — (more…)

Whats blue, silver, and boring all over? If you guessed the Nokia 6205, well, you clearly knew something about the phone you were holding back to us — but nonetheless, go ahead and give yourself a gold star and a pat on the back for a job well done. The low-end flip for Verizon, which we’d mentioned not long ago, has finally been exposed in all its entry-level glory; don’t get us wrong, we’re delighted that Espoo seems to be back in the thick of the CDMA hunt, but we think we’re going to hold out for something just a little more visually stimulating than this. (more…)

For any enV owners out there who managed to not splurge on a Voyager, it looks like you could end up being rewarded here something fierce. Verizon’s true enV replacement, the VX9100, has now found its way into some glamorous press shots — and while we’re sure that reaction’s going to be mixed, we’re really digging the super-simple candybar appearance when the QWERTY clamshell is in its upright and locked position. Looks like it’ll come in at least two colors to start — black and maroon — and we’re also hearing that the name “enV2″ is being tossed around in Verizon’s documentation (surprise, surprise). Careful observers will note that the phone is sporting a USB port (either mini or micro, we’re not sure) on the side, a promising sign that we’ll finally be able to ditch those custom LG chargers in the not-too-distant future. (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.

In an announcement sure to make tweens scream and parents sigh, both AT&T and Verizon Wireless have seemingly simultaneously decided to stop featuring their respective kid-centric handsets. Folks interested in Verizon’s Migo will now be shown LG’s 3450L flip-phone instead, as the company claims that its texting abilities and Chaperone capability will lend itself to being an effective youth-oriented option. As for AT&T, its Firefly mobile will now be sold solely online, but there was no mention of what the carrier planned on offering when paranoid parents showed up looking for a highly controllable device in-store. Of course, both of these phones should remain available in other mass market channels for those still interested, but we’re sure your nine-year old kid will be lobbying for something a bit more sophisticated in a few months anyway.

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.

TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), and Verizon Wireless, owner of the nation’s most reliable wireless network, today announced the availability of TiVo® Mobile scheduling, a downloadable application available only through Verizon Wireless.

TiVo Mobile scheduling allows subscribers to purchase the mobile service through select Verizon Wireless handsets and schedule recordings on their Series2™ or Series3™ TiVo boxes.

TiVo and Verizon Wireless bring consumers the convenience of scheduling television recordings while away from the living room. Whether you are away from home or discussing TV at the water cooler, all that is needed is a select Verizon Wireless Get It Now®-enabled handset to schedule recordings on your TiVo box.
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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).

Samsung’s latest dual-hinged handset, the SCH-u740, hit Verizon this week and we’ve got a gallery full of hands-on pics for your perusal. The specs on this thing won’t blow you away, but for $200 (with two year contract) you get a messaging-centric EV-DO phone with a 1.3 megapixel camera, a microSD memory card slot (the u740 supports playback of MP3 and WMA audio files), and Bluetooth (including DUN support). First impressions: the u740 is decently thing, but we’re not really digging the champagne finish on this thing, it actually makes the u740 look cheaper than it should. Screen resolution is a disappointing 176 x 220 pixels, but we’re pretty pleased with how solid the dual-hinge is, at least so far, and switching between modes is totally seamless. The QWERTY keyboard is nothing special, the keys are a little slippery and aren’t very easy to type on. They have made a few (mostly cosmetic) improvements to the UI, but the u740 is most definitely NOT a smartphone, and so even though Verizon does offer wireless sync email this probably shouldn’t be the first choice for anyone who is really serious about doing email on their phone.

The PN-820 is the most interesting of Big Red’s latest batch, but we’ve got a couple new arrivals to talk about on the low end as well. The MOTOKRZR K1m Fire is purty much like any other K1m, with the exception of a gloss red shell — just in time for Valentine’s Day — which can be added to the pocket or gift box of your choice for $100 on a two-year agreement after discount. The Samsung SCH-U340 shores up Verizon’s already well-stocked low end with a VGA cam, speakerphone, and not bloody much else for the attractive price of “free” after all the discounts have been applied and you’ve signed on the dotted line.