Sprint's now officially holding up the tail end of the BlackBerry train in the States (though hopefully not for long) now that T-Mobile has announced that the thoroughly modern Curve 8900 is hitting the lineup. Like the 8320 before it, the 8900 does WiFi for UMA-based HotSpot calling service and a 3.5mm headphone jack, but the similarities end there; besides arguably becoming the hottest BlackBerry in RIM's stable, the 8900 features a 3.2-megapixel cam with image stabilization and a glorious 480 x 360 display that'll put anything shy of a Storm to shame. Look for it next month -- T-Mobile hasn't committed to a date, though we have no reason to doubt the 11th rumor at this point.

If you're crazy stoked about hooking up your X1 to a big ol' monitor and keyboard but you're not nearly as stoked about buying into one of Celio's dedicated REDFLY boxes, the company's announcing two new solutions that might fit the bill. First up, the aptly-named REDFLY PC Software brings all the spoils of your WinMo-based handset to any XP- or Vista-based system of your choice -- which, let's be honest, is probably a pretty limited-appeal solution unless you're dealing with some wild software package that's only available on your phone. Next up is the more interesting of the two -- the Smartphone Dock -- that basically takes a full-fledged REDFLY lappie and strips out all the human-interface stuff; in other words, bring your own keyboard and monitor. The dock's being billed as a proof of concept at this point, but the software hits shelves in March.

The good news: odds are decent your local T-Mobile store has a Curve 8900 locked away somewhere. The bad news: you can't have it. Word on the street is that T-Mob staff are under strict orders to keep the 8900 out of shopping bags until February 11, the last rumored launch date we'd heard, so keep saving your pennies... to, you know, bribe a store this week.

Yeah, sure, name any IR-equipped phone in existence and odds good to excellent that you can find a universal remote app for it, but you probably can't think of many for the iPhone, now, can you? They exist, yes, but they tend to carry a home-automation slant since the lack of an infrared port leaves the thing relegated to WiFi duty. Enter UiRemote, an ambitious little project undertaken by a handful of scrappy University of Toronto students that uses a fingertip-sized IR blaster connected to the headphone jack paired with a totally customizable app to get the job done. Novel? Not necessarily, but when you consider that a dedicated remote with these specs would probably run half a grand, it's an interesting way to save money and still end up with the coolest AV controller on the block. The devs are still tweaking both the module and the app, but hopes are high that they'll be available to all interested parties in the next couple months.

3.5's the magic number with Pharos' new Windows Mobile-based offering: 3.5-inch display -- wide VGA, no less -- and 3.5G data. The Traveler 137 rolls deep with the best HTC has to offer (owing in no small part to their ODM partnership with Inventec, we figure) with 512MB of Flash, 256MB of RAM, AGPS, 7.2Mbps HSPA on T-Mobile USA (seriously!) and European bands, WiFi, 3-megapixel cam, and the kitchen sink thrown in for good measure. Kinda sounds like a keyboardless X1, doesn't it? Look for it to hit retailers this quarter for a nickel under $600.

We'd never pegged the S740 as the kind of phone HTC would be looking to bring to the New World; it's an oddball by modern Windows Mobile standards, shucking the touchy, feely trend for a traditional numeric keypad that reminds us of a simpler, more innocent time. Miracles can and do happen from time to time, though -- and on that note we give you the S743, a dead ringer for the S740 that's had its Euro-friendly 3G gutted and replaced with HSDPA 850 / 1900 for North American use. It's got WinMo 6.1 Standard, a 2.4-inch QVGA display, and faceted styling inspired by the Touch Diamond, but the S743's real claim to fame is its slide-out QWERTY keyboard for those moments when triple-tapping and predictive text just aren't going to cut it. Look for this sucker to invade US retailers some time this quarter.

If these fine specimens look familiar, well, they should -- one's already been announced (albeit on a different carrier) and the other two have been thoroughly scooped. Motorola's CES haul includes the eco-tastic Renew W233, a simple candybar destined for T-Mobile that features a neutral carbon footprint and components made of recycled water bottles; the Tundra VA76r, a rugged 3G flip with push-to-talk that previously launched on Rogers and has its sights set on AT&T this time around for a January 13 release; and the headliner of the bunch, the SURF A3100. The WinMo 6.1-based SURF -- alias A3000, alias Atila -- features a full 2.8-inches of touchscreen adorned with a custom skin designed by Moto, 7.2Mbps triband HSDPA, a 3-megapixel autofocus cam, AGPS, and support for microSD cards up to a purely theoretical 32GB in size. Though the radio is fully equipped for North American action, no stateside launch is in the cards just yet; for now, you'll find the SURF in Asian markets before the quarter's out.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Okay, yes, we were mad skeptical that the Agora would ever see the light of day, and you know what? This is one situation where we're absolutely delighted to be proven wrong. Kogan's homegrown Android handset just got pictured in the wild -- the first time we've seen anything but a render -- on its way to a supposed CES debut. Rest assured: if it's really going to be meandering around Vegas this week, we will hunt it down.

Product delays are the greasy, disgusting lubricant that keep the wheels of the consumer electronics world turning, so when we hear of something being pushed back a week, a month, or a quarter, we really don't think much of it. Moving a launch up, though -- well, that's a totally different ball game, and it always brings a smile to our faces. Word on the street had been that T-Mobile USA would take delivery of the luscious new Curve 8900 come February 18, but now we're hearing it's actually coming a week earlier on February 11, just in time to stuff RIM's latest hardware in your loved one's box of chocolates, bouquet, or gift basket of sundry sausages, cheeses, and jams. 'Course, WiFi and 3.2-megapixel cam might be enough to get you to dump your life partner flat on his / her / its ass, so don't blame us if this thing wrecks your otherwise happy home.

[Via PhoneDog.com]

Apple's corporate font isn't Arial, if you catch our drift.

[Via NowhereElse]

Following a good half year of courtship while the regulatory miscellany ran its course, Verizon's finally ready to take the plunge and call this $5.9 billion deal done. The combined juggernaut will amass a staggering 78 million subscribers, putting it roughly 3 million ahead of its closest rival, AT&T, though it'll do so at the cost of assuming some $22.9 billion in Alltel debt. Ultimately, the merger means some positions at Alltel headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas will get axed -- but hey, AT&T Mobility HQ's just a stone's throw away in Atlanta, so Verizon's headcount loss could ultimately be AT&T's gain.

[Via Phone Scoop]

The iPhone Dev-Team works in mysterious ways, but it also works in quick ways. Granted, the iPhone 3G's initial unlock took way longer than anyone would've liked, but when reports started surfacing that it wasn't working particularly well after the first beta release earlier in the week, they appear to have worked doubletime to get a better version into circulation. The release is now up to v0.9.4 -- still beta -- but if you tried the first cut and struggled, we'd suggest giving the new version a whirl.

If you're going to go to the trouble of procuring an M8 from Meizu, you may as well turn it into an authentic, memorable, world-class experience by making the pilgrimage to Shenzhen, China to pick it up in its hometown. Oh, but don't just pick it up from some random street vendor -- do it up right by swinging on over to Meizu's shiny new flagship store, where you'll be able to select your M8 (or at least see renders of the M8) in a comfortable, relaxed environment while rubbing shoulders with Meizu employees. The fresh digs just opened today, and pictures from the grand opening show an epic mass of humanity waiting for the doors to unlock -- a promising sign for Meizu, and an unfortunate sign that the enochlophobes among us probably ought to wait a few weeks to make the trek.

[Via Meizu Me]

We'd pegged early January for the release of a pink Samsung Instinct on Sprint's airwaves, and Best Buy's doing everything it can to help us hold the line on that with a new "Coming Soon" page advertising just such a product. Unfortunately, they're asking a whopping $599.99 for the pleasure of being the first kid on your block with this thing, but the off-contract pricing in Best Buy's system is usually way out of whack -- we wouldn't worry about paying anything close to $200 on contract by the time you actually step into the store.

[Thanks, Emilio]

We've already seen it go down unofficially, but we've received word from HTC today that Android's coveted "Cupcake" branch of updates and fixes -- or at least a majority of it -- will likely be making it to the G1 in the future as a legitimate over-the-air push. HTC isn't involved in deciding what updates get pushed to the G1 or when, but given the update cadence so far and the G1's support for Cupcake's capabilities, the company believes that it's just a matter of time before T-Mobile makes it happen. The timing is still a big question -- HTC's more or less out of the loop on the schedule, and it's up to Google and T-Mobile to figure out how it's going to play out. We'll keep you updated as we find out more!

Update: We pressed HTC spokespeople to give us a little more to go on, but got the standard "we can't comment on rumors or speculation" line. T-Mobile, Google, your move -- you've got plenty of folks waiting. A belated Festivus gift, perhaps?