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Fresh images of the Motorola Calgary have hit the web. You may remember that the Calgary is Motorola’s Android treat for Verizon, something that’s a sure win with the tween crowd. The mouth-watering live shots are courtesy of a tester who’s had the Calgary for a while now, accompanying the shots are reports that the OS is amazing, smooth and responsive, as it should be. As for Hardware, the Calgary packs three touch-sensitive Android keys on the display, a pretty decent working optical joystick, a solid QWERTY keyboard, and decent phone abilities. Among the usuals is a 3 megapixel camera, 3.5mm headset jack, GPS, digital magnetometer, Wi-Fi, microSD card slot, and spring-assisted slider. All in all, the Calgary will find a place in the hearts and pockets of Verizon users. No release date has been announced yet, but Q4 is looking to be very inviting.

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Alright the news is in, not officially announced, but a pretty sound source has it that Verizon Wireless will feature the Motorola Sholes or Motorola Tao as its first straight-up Android handset. What this means is that, unlike the CLIQ, the Sholes or Tao will not feature the MOTOBLUR UI. Also, sources have it that the handset will most likely be called the Motorola Droid on Verizon. This will also be the first Google Experience handset to offer built-in Adobe Flash support. Other key features include;

• 3.7″ screen
• 854×480 WVGA capacitive screen
• 5 megapixel camera
• ARM Cortex 500MHz CPU
• Facial recognition using the built-in camera (apparently you take a photo of someone and Google will pull in search results based on the image)
• Custom Motorola Interface/UI, no MOTOBLUR, no Verizon UI
• Available in black and titanium colors

There’s also talk that a keyboard-less version is slated for 2010.

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So while we impatiently wait for Windows Mobile 6.5 to show up on October 6th, and pray with all our might that the Storm 2 comes soon, not to mention that delicious BlackBerry 9700, Verizon Wireless is all set to launch a feature phone no one gives a hoot about; the Razzle and the Nokia 2705. The Razzle will be available for sale online on October 6th, while remaining channels will offer the handset once the Blitz inventory is sold out. The Razzle will cost you an affordable $69.99 on a two-year contract. Sharing the spotlight with the Razzle, is the Nokia 2705. Launching online on the same date, this entry-level flip phone will cost you $29.99 on a two-year contract and features; a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, GPS, 1xRTT connectivity, 2.5mm headphone jack and changeable faceplates. So there you have it, while you’ll be celebrating the coming-out party of Windows Mobile 6.5, you needn’t worry about what’s happening on the other side of town, we just told ya!

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Pantech has just given Verizon a handset, which although not the fanciest piece of equipment on the block, is very very useful. The Pantech Escapade is a handset right out of 2002 with a 2 megapixel camera and GPS…and that’s about it. The good thing about this device is that it is the only non-smartphone device on Verizon which can work overseas on GSM networks. If you still don’t like the looks of this budget travel solution, then be prepared to either borrow a smartphone or fork over some hard cash for one of your own. Available as of now, the Escapade will receive an applause from the budget conscious.

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Verizon Wireless subscribers can pick up their travel boots with further ease now. Big Red has just announced the next member of its global-roaming ready mobile broadband USB modem. Apart from the fact that the device takes its color cues from a box of crayons, the specs are pretty good. The ZTE AD3700 USB modem gives you just about every type of connectivity you could possibly need; EV-DO, GSM, GPRS, EDGE and UMTS are all covered in a single, relatively small package. The modem also features a USB connector that swivels to suit any and all laptop designs. As far as pricing and availability, the ZTE AD3700 is up and available for $79.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate on a new 2-year mobile broadband contract.

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Ah the month of September and the back-to-school offers it brings. Most important and probably the most attention bearing of them all is the BlackBerry BOGO offer from Verizon. That’s right, Big Red is rolling them BlackBerrys out again in its ever popular Buy One (BlackBerry) Get One free. Only this time around, you’re not bound to another BlackBerry for the ‘GO’ part of the offer. The new BOGO promo, or BOGA as they’re calling it, includes netbooks and mobile broadband devices as well. You also get your choice of BlackBerry device; Tour, Storm, Pearl Flip or whatever does it for you. Buy one BlackBerry and you can choose any other BlackBerry, netbook, PC card, USB modem or even a MiFi for free (lesser or equal value rule applies). The offer involves a rebate so be prepared to come up with some solid cash up front. The BOGO will last till October 10^th, so you have time to think and decide. And of course we know that this promotion will free up lots of shelf space that could well be taken by some big, anticipated, upgraded, full touchscreen smartphone. Cough. Storm 2. Cough.

WinMo fans out there have cause to celebrate, leaked images and specs have hit the interwebs about two new handsets and a third which is getting an upgrade. Headed for Verizon, the first of these is the CDMA brother of the HTC Touch Diamond2 aka Whitestone. Features include;

• Windows Mobile 6.1
• Qualcomm 7600 processor @ 528MHz
• 512MB ROM/256MB RAM
• 3.6-inch WVGA touchscreen
• 5 megapixel autofocus camera/Anti-handshaking
• gpsOne (aGPS and full GPS)
• GSM/CDMA World phone

The Touch Diamond2 will land on Big Red sometime between September and October. After the Touch Diamond2  we have the HTC Mega. This is the handset in the middle of the image above and, yes, this is the first time an image of the Mega has been seen. Though not the hippest smartphone on the block, it features;

• Windows Mobile 6.5
• Qualcomm 7225 processor @ 528 MHz
• 256MB ROM/256MB RAM
• 2.8-inch QVGA (240×320)
• GSM/GPRS/EDGE/HSDPA
• 3 megapixel fixed-focus camera
• gpsOne

This could be among the more affordable WinMo smartphones HTC sends our way, at least that’s what we expect from anything that bears a 3 MP camera. Finally there is the upgraded HTC Tachi, a handset bound for China. As far as features go it boasts of;

• Windows Mobile 6.1
• Dual CDMA/GSM radio
• 2.8-inch 480×640 pixel display
• WiFi
• Bluetooth 2.0
• 3.1 megapixel camera with auto-focus
• Front facing camera
• MicroSD slot

Alright now that the tech blogs have had a crack at AT&T and its data network speeds, they took their testing kits to Verizon Wireless…which was of course coming. Now these tests were conducted using EV-DO Rev. A handsets. These are not official tests, they were conducted by Verizon users and posted to a popular blogsite, but they are actual usage results so they give a fair idea of what’s going on with Big Red, even if it isn’t all encompassing. So here’s what they’ve uncovered;

• Average download speed, EV-DO Rev. A: 701kbps
• Median download speed, EV-DO Rev. A: 440kbps
• Average upload speed, EV-DO Rev. A: 322kbps
• Median upload speed, EV-DO Rev. A: 286kbps

Time to fess up, Verizon fell short of expectations. Sadly short. With download link speeds almost 33 percent below those of AT&T, which averages at 701Kbps, this really is sad. The median download speed is also below AT&T’s with 440Kbps compared to 840Kbps at Verizon. Of course upload speeds are in a whole new country as Verizon’s raw average of 322kbps trumps AT&T by 142kbps; a massive 79 percent promotion.

So what have we learned, if you eat data for breakfast, Verizon will probably starve you. On the other hand, if you love to upload videos share images of nose hair and such delicacies, you’re going to love Verizon with your EV-DO Rev. A handsets. And in honest absolute terms, both Verizon and AT&T need to up their game, this is the 21^st century after all.

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Alright so the more excited we get about the upcoming Motorola Shules, the more we get too see of it. Sometimes life is fair. The fresh live images of the Motorola Shules tell a bit about possible specifications as well, such as this will not be a spiced up version of the Flash. This is however a full touchscreen handset with a full QWERTY to boot. Of course the images you see here are early prototypes and Motorola may have modified the design so as to keep with the times. (rounded corners would feel less murderous, wouldn’t you say?)

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AT&T and Verizon are in a real western showdown. Looks like AT&T has had all it can stands and it can’t stands no more. Verizon’s ongoing marketing campaign pitting it to be “America’s Most Reliable 3G Network,” hasn’t set will with AT&T and Big Blue has taken the matter to the National Advertising Division of the Council for Better Business Bureaus, with the opinion;

“Verizon’s claim that speed is not a relevant factor to a reliable 3G network is preposterous,” AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said in his statement.”

So there you have it, the carrier big shots are all up in each other’s faces. Let’s wait and see how all this unfolds. (Won’t be pretty no matter how they cut.)

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