Oh, Nuvifone, how you disappoint us. Over here at IFA we just managed to get a Garmin rep to whip out his Nuvifone prototype for a quick look, but sadly, almost a year after the device was first announced, there really wasn't anything new to see. We still aren't allowed to take video of the interface, or really see much of the phone other than the home screen, and when the rep tried to show us how the Nuvifone kicks the iPhone's ass in navigation, the Nuvi promptly crashed -- so at least those two have that in common. Not that we should be surprised, Garmin mentioned last month that the phone had been delayed into 2009, but we're quickly running out of patience, as well as any scrap of remaining hope for this thing to actually matter when it does arrive. Peep the gallery for a little bit of iPhone 3G versus action.

Well, they're here. Nokia's latest and greatest N-series devices just hit the market like a trio of well-aimed bricks -- or at least that's what Nokia's hoping. We got to spend a little bit of hands-on time with prototypes of the new devices, and while we came away slightly impressed, we were nowhere near E-series impressed. Here's our biggest problem with the lineup: the only one worth talking about is the N85. Other than minor screen size disparities, the 16GB built-in memory of the N96 and the fresh candybar form of the N79, these three phones are pretty much exactly identical on specs, and yet the N96 manages to be inexcusably bulky, while the N79 sports an inexcusably terrible screen -- we're hoping that was just the prototype being funky, but we saw two versions with the same problem. The N85 isn't exactly the pinnacle of thinphoneness, but its amazing OLED screen and more refined design make the N96 look like more of a rough draft than a sibling. On the interface side, the phones are much more responsive to S60's new motion and transitions, but Nokia has oddly chosen to disable the Navi Wheel scrolling in all three phones -- a weird move, but we can't say we blame them, we haven't had a single good experience with Navi Wheel since Nokia introduced it. In all, we're not exactly thrilled about Nokia's prospects for winning over the masses with this new series of devices. Sure, Nokia will protest that it's going after the high-end users, but 5 megapixel cameras, GPS and WiFi are no longer the differentiators they once were, and users have begun to expect thinner, sexier devices at prices far below the N96's gargantuan $895 pricetag.

This one has been in the works for a while, but Verizon has appropriated UTStarcom's TXT8010 my-first-QWERTY phone for tweens and dropped it onto an unsuspecting market with the new "Blitz" moniker. The slider phone will run you $70 with a two year contract, is available now, and includes a few perks like VCAST Music, a microSD slot, 1.3 megapixel camera and stereo Bluetooth to keep your jaded child interested.

We can't help but feel the BlackBerry Bold 9000's much-anticipated launch ended up being just a tad bit anti-climactic. Maybe it's a Canada thing, or maybe we're just haters. Or maybe we hate Canada. While we mull that over, you might as well have a look at CrackBerry.com's video unboxing of the new phone, complete with some comparison shots and, um, unboxing. Oh, there's an iPhone versus near the end, so don't go anywhere! Video is after the break.

The dam has been breached, and now there seems to be no stopping the internet at large as every little nook and cranny of the Treo Pro is exposed and explored. TreoCentral member scottymomo has fleshed out a few more details on the device, and dug up that Comm Manager shot up above. Details include:

• HTC task manager.
• Comm Manager's Airplane Mode and other assorted easily switched options.
• MicroSD (up to 32GB supported) isn't under the battery, but you do have to take off the battery cover to access.
• 1500mh battery.
• Other stuff.

It's all very exciting, we assure you, but you can explore the shots for yourself if you're really feeling hard up for Treo Pro infos. Oh, while we're thinking about it: sexiest Treo yet, or disastrous usage of phone face real estate? Both?

[Via Palm Infocenter]

Would you look at this. A very official looking page -- at a Palm.com domain, no less -- has unveiled the previously rumored Treo 850 as the Treo Pro. We're still digging the new look, though the keyboard does look suspiciously small in these shots. At a cursory glance we've got WiFi, a camera and a 3.5mm stereo jack. A couple more pics after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Call it off Sony, no need to throw any precious man hours into making your perennially #2 handheld into some sort of amazing featurephone hybrid, some hacker has already done it for you. Through the amazing wonders of modern thinphone technology, soldering irons and probably a bit of glue, some hacker has managed the slap a Haier touchscreen phone onto the back of his PSP -- killing the UMD drive in the process, but we'd say it was well worth it.

Tilt controls might be getting all the fanfare, what with the iPhone and Sony Ericsson's own W760 featuring tilt gaming, but the analog stick still reigns supreme when it comes to getting some actual fragging done. We spotted Zeemote's promising JS1 mobile joystick back at MWC this year, featuring four trigger buttons and an analog nub, but the little Bluetooth controller is finally getting a release. In fact, Sony Ericsson is giving this thing away in the Netherlands, with the purchase of a W760. Sadly, folks who already own a W760, don't live in the Netherlands, or just want a stand-alone JS1 for throwing at people or wedging in small crevices are still out of luck -- still no word on price or release of the thing outside this deal.

Sort of. Pwnage Tool 2.0 can't handle 3G iPhone SIM unlocks just yet, though jailbreaking should work just fine, and we're also faced with the teensy little problem of the Dev Team's server being totally destroyed by downloads already -- mirror please? -- but the friendly little jailbreak app has finally been unleashed upon the earth. We'd never suggest trying out software like this right out of the gate, but, um, let us know how it goes, yeah?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: We're seeing mixed results so far in the comments, but no bricked phones to speak of. Always a good thing. Oh, and plenty of mirrors to be found in the comments, thanks guys!

Update 2: Looks like 2.0.1 is already out with a few fixes!

Despite AT&T's best attempts at completely failing its free WiFi promises eternally, iPhone owners can finally fire up Mobile Safari in their local Starbucks, or, um, that one other place we heard about with AT&T WiFi, and get browsing. Of course, that's not to say the service won't crash horribly in the next 10 minutes, but at least AT&T stuck by its word, and can now move on to more pressing issues.

Update: Yeah, turns out this isn't true, and AT&T has pulled the page. Free WiFi? That's just silly.

You hear of this new iPhone 3G thing? Doing pretty well, or so we hear. Apple says they sold one million of 'em this weekend worldwide, compared to the 74 days it took them to hit one million with the last generation. So far the little bugger has invaded 21 countries, with France next on its hit list on July 17. Oh, and that App Store isn't doing too bad for itself either, with 10 million downloads so far to iPhone 3Gs, updated iPhones and iPod touches. No breakdown yet on paid apps versus free apps, but Jared is free, and that's all that matters. However, the saddest fact in all of this is that bunches of suckers enthusiastic fans are queued up at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store this morning in New York (pictured), showing either a level of devotion to this little plastic bauble, or of complete disregard for their jobs, which is altogether frightening.

[Thanks, Laura]

Read - One million iPhone 3Gs sold
Read - 10 million App Store downloads

On top of a piano, no less. China might be a bit late to the party by now, but they've sure got class. Taiwan retailer ePrice has unboxed a Chinese UI version of the iPhone for your viewing pleasure, and they even did a bit of Chinese handwriting recognition just for kicks. There's video as well (we embedded one after the break), so you really can't go wrong with this one, we promise.

Those kind, gentle Canadians have been oh-so-politely demanding a few heads on sticks ever since Rogers' super-spendy iPhone 3G price plans were announced. Well, apparently their cries have been heard, and now Rogers is launching a promotional offer along with the iPhone of 6GB of data for $30 a month -- not quite unlimited data, but close enough -- which can be added on top of any regular voice plan. The promo will be available for iPhone buyers who activate with a three year contract before August 31. Also, perhaps in a bid to dispel some nasty rumors about a major iPhone shortage, Rogers will be hosting 8AM launch day events at six Rogers Plus stores in major Canadian cities, complete with a free breakfast. Mmm, breakfast.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Hate to break it to you, but there's little more to tell about the E66 that we didn't already cover with the E71. It's basically the exact same hardware and screen in a portrait, sliding form factor, which loses the QWERTY for a numeric keypad. That said, we wanted to go over the specific quality of those differences, and touch on a few things we missed with the E71 review. Oh, and in case you missed our video hands-on with both devices, you can find it right here.

It's official, MVNO lone survivor Virgin Mobile is picking up the struggling Helio from SK Telecom and Earthlink for a cool $39 million in Virgin Mobile USA stock. They expect the deal to close in Q3 2008, pending regulatory approval. The acquisition comes as no surprise, but it's still sad to see the one true innovator in a mostly doomed MVNO space fall to that pesky little "completely failing to make money" thing. The good news is that it while the Helio brand will be phased out, Virgin Mobile isn't just in this for the 170,000-ish subscribers it'll be picking up. They plan to leverage Helio's technology and content offerings, not to mention the willingness of its customers to pay a few extra bucks for the perks, to build the Virgin Mobile brand into new spaces -- spaces which hopefully prove profitable and Ocean 2-ey.