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Getting your hopes up ain’t a wise thing to do when it comes to HTC Dream or Magic from Rogers Wireless. Both these gadgets won’t be receiving an official OS update past Android 1.5, according to HTC’s website (Rogers Wireless has confirmed this as well). Android 1.6 upgrades for Rogers HTC Dream or Magic haven’t been planned as it was made only for “Google”- branded devices such as the G1. It isn’t available for the above two HTC-branded handsets that run Android 1.5, being considered a stable and reliable platform delivering an outstanding user experience. Bragging about the device, calling it an open-sourced “Revolution” and then turning down the customers is just plain sad. Did we mention that rival carriers offering Google supported devices have managed to tweak it up with some software upgrades?

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The HTC Leo has been out of sight for a while now, but recent leaks into the world of bloggers have it that the HTC Leo will now officially be the HTC Touch HD2. A leaked document has shown that the HTC Touch HD2 will be heading for T-Mobile soon. Of course there’s no release date, but with Windows Mobile 6.5 out and about, how long could it really be? So who’s holding out for the 1GHz pumping, 5 megapixel beast?

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Best Buy Mobile’s Holiday Playbook got scooped recently and there’s not only some nice tidbits about what to expect in the coming holiday season, but also what a few clues as to how Best Buy will be working to broaden its bottom line, which means some customers are going to be slightly more pampered than others. For starters, Best Buy has found out;

1. The average store sees over 64,000 customers during October and November
2. Out of those customers, only 1% receive an upgrade eligibility check on their accounts
3. Of the 1% who get upgrade checks, around 30% are actually eligible for upgrades
4. If stores increase the amount of customers checked to 2% from 1%, Best Buy Mobile would see an increase in revenue of around $20,000 for those two months, just off upgrading individuals
5. After customers upgrade their handsets at Best Buy Mobile, around 16% of them come back and make other purchases later

Interesting. So this means all you existing customers can expect some extra Best Buy love. As for new releases for the holiday season, you can expect;

1. Nokia Booklet netbook — October 25th launch, and can be activated on AT&T
2. Sprint HTC Hero — launching October 11th with a presale going on now
3. Sprint Palm Pixi — launch date to be decided (TBD)
4. Verizon Storm II — launch date TBD
5. Verizon Android device — launch date TBD
6. T-Mobile CLIQ — launch date TBD (but you know that it will be shipping after October 19th up until general release November 2nd)
7. “New BlackBerry devices across multiple carriers” — launch date TBD
8. There will be a “host of devices launch in late October and November for all carriers.” Multiple Android launches across multiple carriers and “new technology which doesn’t exist today.”

So there you have it, an early gist of the coming holiday spirit from Best Buy mobile.

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The HTC Leo has been out of sight for a while now, but recent leaks into the world of bloggers have it that the HTC Leo will now officially be the HTC Touch HD2. A leaked document has shown that the HTC Touch HD2 will be heading for T-Mobile soon. Of course there’s no release date, but with Windows Mobile 6.5 out and about, how long could it really be? So who’s holding out for the 1GHz pumping, 5 megapixel beast?

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Another carrier that’s listening to that little voice inside its corporate head, the one called common sense is Sprint. The ridiculously high price of the Touch Pro2, a laughable $349, has now been cut down to a standard smartphone price tag size, which is $199 (post mail-in rebate). Yes the Touch Pro2 is an awesome device, but that doesn’t mean it has no competition, there is still the iPhone 3GS to talk people out of buying, and then the many yummy treats that RIM makes for us. Also, Sprint users won’t be the only ones enjoying the benefits of this price cut, let’s see how long T-Mobile is going to hold on to that $350 price tag on its Touch Pro2. With both Sprint and Verizon on the $200 price point, TMo is the odd man out. And for those of you early adopters who paid the outrageously high price, reports are circulating the interweb that if you call up telemarketing and chat real nice with eCare online, there’s a good chance you’ll get a $100 credit. You have our good wishes.

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A certain very official looking leaked document leaked from the halls of Sprint tells of good things to come this September. These good things include the HTC Touch Pro2 and Samsung Dash or Instinct s50. That’s right, if the leaked page is any consolation to the recent Sprint goof-ups and let downs about the Pre, September became the month to hail. While the Touch Pro2 has been spec’d and photographed to no end, the Instinct s50 has had no such official or unofficial appearances. Could this be an Android device since Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has said that Sprint is getting ready to embrace the matured Android. We’ll know soon enough.

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In all truthfulness, the one handset I never tire of looking at is the HTC Touch Pro2, it is simply gorgeous. Beyond the great looks, it’s a power house in its own right. AT&T subscribers have recently had the joy of knowing that the Touch Pro2 is finally coming their way and here we have an image of the Touch Pro2 with the AT&T logo. It also seems like the Touch Pro2 may be released under the name of Tilt 2. So this means the Fuze is not having any more kids? Fine with us, bring on the full touchscreen with a QWERTY!

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Sprint subscribers dying for some Android action are finally nearing victory. Rumor had it that Sprint (who by the way snubbed Google’s baby, Android, before) will bring the hot and happening new OS onboard through the HTC Hero. That’s right Hero. So what brings the Hero closer to the U.S. and Sprint? Merely approval from the FCC. The Hero is said to be bearing a full CDMA/EV-DO radio not to mention the awesome HTC Sense UI that makes Android the best to happen since electricity. So yes, Sprint subscribers are very lucky people.

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According to a recent DigiTimes article, the HTC Mega and HTC Click will see the light of day sometime in Q4. Of course we know that HTC won’t launch them under those names, but the handsets will be the promised mid-range smartphones HTC CEO Peter Chou was talking about and will bear the around-$300 price tag. The Mega is rumored to be a decently made Windows Mobile 6.5 handset featuring a 2.8-inch QVGA (240×320) touchscreen display, a 3 megapixel camera, GPS and a 528 MHz processor. The Click is still a mystery but it may just be an Android phone that would spike up the mid-range offering. According to a Merrill Lynch analyst Laura Chen, mid-range handsets like the Mega and Click will help HTC increase its revenue by 11 percent in Q4 2009 riding on an anticipated 19 percent increase in handset shipments. Well done HTC.

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Okay some hope for HTC Magic users pining after the Sense UI. The HTC Magic will indeed be getting the new and improved UI from HTC.  Of course the Magic’s poor cousin over at T-Mobile, yes we mean myTouch 3G, will not be getting any Sense UI action. We expected as much. In any case, at least somebody gets to see some new improvements on their Android. And a legal agreement with Android signed by T-Mobile is exactly the reason why myTouch users won’t have access to the new interface. Happy Sense Magic owners!

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