So patent holding firm Klausner Technologies figures it has this whole litigation thing down to a T at this point, having already sued a who's-who of companies having anything to do with visual voicemail in the past and ultimately coming away with a whole bunch of lucrative license agreements for its efforts (eleven, to be exact). Needless to say, any new company that tries to break into the game at this point is probably going to get treated with the same warm, fuzzy love, and Verizon and LG are experiencing that firsthand. Klausner has announced that it has filed suit against both companies in Texas federal court, presumably in response to Big Red's recent launch of the refreshed Voyager featuring visual voicemail software on board. Given the track record Klausner has, guys, you might just want to cut to the chase here and pay up.

So when we first loaded this image, we immediately thought "oh, that's funny, the perspective got smushed somehow." But then we saw the perfectly-shaped Sprint logo, at which point our thoughts quickly changed to "oh, no." But oh, yes, ladies and gentlemen: this appears to be LG's upcoming LX600 for Sprint, a bizarre little creature that flips open to reveal a 2.4-inch display and a full QWERTY keyboard (a la Rumor) for ease of texting. Little else is known about what the hell is going on here, so it looks like we'll have to wait until closer to the phone's release, which is currently rumored to be October 16. In the mean time, does anyone out there want to fess up to this being nothing more than a disgusting Photoshop job of theirs? Please?

[Thanks, Nate C.]

We've been slipped a handy little document that indicates the dates that Sprint is currently targeting for the release of a few of its fall hotties, and although we already knew some of this stuff, it's always good to have some corroborating evidence in these situations. First up, the Motorola Renegade V950, i365, and Samsung M220 and M320 are all still apparently locked for September 2, as is the Touch Diamond. We've heard a groundswell of concern from tipsters that the Touch Diamond may have been bumped out to October -- it certainly wouldn't surprise us, given our jaded, overwhelmingly pessimistic personalities -- but here's hoping, anyway. It also looks like the just-released Katana Eclipse in silver will be getting pink and black siblings come October 16, along with an "LG LX600 Messaging Handset." We're not sure what the LX600 might be beyond what a confidentiality-bound FCC filing tells us, but the Rumor is getting a little long in the tooth, so it could conceivably be replacement device or a slightly higher-end QWERTY set that would sit somewhere above the Rumor in the lineup.

Nah, it ain't the Prada II or anything, but who's to argue with an 8-megapixel camera? You heard right -- LG's followup to the Viewty is the KC910, a touchscreen-based handset that checks in at 14-millimeters thick and supports quad-band GSM / 7.2Mbps HSDPA. Furthermore, you'll find Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi, a 3-inch 400 x 240 resolution display, a microSD expansion slot, Xenon flash (alongside a Schneider-Kreuznach lens), video recording, TV output, a multimedia player (with DivX and XviD support, we're told) and built-in GPS. This feature-packed device is bruited to be on track for an October launch, though we've no idea how costly it'll be (nor what regions it will invade).

Remember those rumored specifications for LG's so-called Prada II? Yeah, particularly the part about the slide-out keyboard? If the image above has any traces of legitimacy, you could be looking at the Prada II. Good thing an image is worth quite a few letters, 'cause that's all the details we've got to go on for now.

Just as we'd envisioned, the Invision candybar (if a phone this stubby can, in fact, be called a candybar) from LG is now a reality for AT&T. The phone becomes just AT&T's third to support its MediaFLO-based Mobile TV service, taking a similar line to Samsung's Access by stuffing a landscape display, 1.3-megapixel camera, and HSDPA into a squarish case that's sure to make minimalists and traditionalists swoon; what's more, it also takes the honor of being AT&T's smallest Mobile TV-equipped handset to date. It's available today for $99.99 with a $50 rebate and two years' worth of commitment -- just be sure to factor the cost of the Mobile TV add-on into your budget.

So we're still not totally certain whether the Voyager Refresh is the Voyager's new firmware with visual voicemail support or whether it's actually this, a titanium-accented version of the original phone -- but either way, we think it's a good thing. Look for this one to be available this Tuesday via phone or web for the same price as the current model, while anyone hoping to meander into a Verizon store and pick one up might be waiting a while longer.

So we don't think Verizon really intended to leak any handset release dates via a slide about Mobile Email launches on various devices -- but alas, they did. At present, the Moto VU30 is scheduled for a September 9 date with destiny, and it seems that its name has changed from "Utopia" to "Rapture" somewhere along the way. Further out, the LG VX8360 (which we're guessing will be an update for the forgettable VX8350) gets real in October -- and unfortunately, that shiny, hot mess of CDMA technology from Nokia, the 7205, appears to be shelved all the way back to December. There's also a u440 "Cleo" from Samsung in there somewhere, too, though no launch window is listed. Anyway, sorry for the interruption, Verizon; please, continue fascinating us with your stories about mobile email.

Telus clearly knows what's up. College kids aren't much on talking this day and age, but they sure love to text and surf. A pair of Student Plans (good 'til September 30th) have just emerged, one for phones ($35 per month) and the other for smartphones ($50 per month). Both rate plans offer up just 200 minutes of talk time but include nationwide unlimited talk, text, picture and video messaging with your Fave 10, unlimited nights and weekends starting at 6:00PM and unlimited web browsing. If you're hemming and hawing, maybe the $50 GAP gift card you get when purchasing the $35 plan with an LG KEYBO will be the deciding factor. No? Okay.

[Via mobilesyrup]

There aren't exactly all that many details left to announce, but Verizon has just gotten official with its late to the party Visual Voicemail service which, for the time being at least, is only available on the LG Voyager. As we had heard previously, the service will run you an extra $2.99 per month on top of your usual bill, and you'll be able to store up to 40 messages for 40 days, with an option to create up to 10 greetings and 20 distribution lists. Unfortunately, Verizon didn't take the opportunity to announce any firm plans for a roll-out to any of the other phones supposedly in line to get the service, with it only going so far as to say that additional devices will be getting it in the "coming months."

We were secretly (or not so secretly) hoping there'd been some crossed signals in the rumors that Telus would be launching a version of the enV2 called the "KEYBO," but no, it's all very true. The Tae Bo Thibault KEYBO checks in at $49.99 CAD (about $48) on a three-year contract, offering EV-DO, GPS, a 2 megapixel camera, and of course the series' claim to fame, a flip top that reveals a second display with a dedicated QWERTY keyboard for extreme texting action. Enjoy trying to say "KEYBO" without giggling, Canadians. We dare you.

[Via MobileSyrup]

Say what you will about PETA's beliefs, but if there's one thing that group proves, it's that there is power in numbers. Verizon Wireless had been fairly adamant that it would continue airing its pit bull ad for the LG Dare -- which shows a pair of the dogs chained up in a junkyard guarding heaps of metal and a misplaced handset -- but after PETA issued an "action alert" that triggered 7,000 emails to the outfit's CEO, its tune changed. For those longing to waste another 30 seconds of their life watching the spot that will never again air on the small screen, click on past the break.

Seems like things are coming along nicely for the launch of Verizon's downloadable visual voicemail service, with some preliminary information briefly hitting VZW's interwebs before seemingly being pulled. As we'd previously heard, a retooled LG Voyager -- creatively named Voyager Refresh -- will be one of the first devices to get access to the service, while current Voyager owners will be able to download the app required to get hooked up. Unlike what we'd previously heard, though, it seems that Verizon has opted to offer the service at no additional monthly service charge (a wise move, may we add). Since the entire lowdown has been taken offline, there's no telling exactly when we're actually supposed to know that VVM exists or when we might be able to sign up for it, but all indications suggest it'll be sooner rather than later.

[Via phoneArena]

Update: We're hearing that the $2.99 / month fee is still in effect. For shame, Verizon!

Lookie here -- LG has a fresh new slider built for making / receiving calls, listening to tunes and not taking up too much space in your front pocket. The KP265 comes with a multimedia player capable of understanding AAC, AAC+, MP3 and WMA file formats, and the FM radio keeps things interesting if your jams get stale. There's also support for Bluetooth stereo headsets, and if the 5MB of internal capacity proves too small (surely not!), the microSD slot is there to alleviate any space constraints. You'll also find a 1.77-inch 160 x 128 resolution display, a 1.3-megapixel camera, 900mAh battery and GSM support. As for when it will leave Russia? That's a good question, friend.

Even the best music phones aren't typically pegged as audiophile-friendly powerhouses -- and actually, they're still not going to be, but the infusion of a little Dolby tech into LG's lineup might grease things up a bit, anyway. LG has announced that it's the very first manufacturer to license Dolby's suite of audio processing products for the mobile world outside of Japan, a suite that includes surround sound, bass and high-frequency enhancement, volume leveling, graphic equalization by content type, and a magical mono-to-stereo converter -- nothing really revolutionary, but the Dolby name carries a lot of weight, and it'll be good to see phone makers consulting with some legit audio experts to help improve the experience. The first Dolby Mobile products from LG should reach the market in the fourth quarter of this year.