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A leaked inventory system screenshot from Best Buy has revealed that Verizon Wireless is well on its way to getting the BlackBerry Storm 2 as early as this month. How do you all feel about an October 25th release date? Additional inside info has it that the retail price for the Strom 2 will be $599 on Best Buy. This also means that an official announcement is near, very near.

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We now bring you a blurry picture of the not so cool Samsung u450 Intensity. The handset is headed for Verizon and will have a place on Best Buy shelves as well. Official word isn’t in yet but seeing as the u450 Intensity features dual keypads, a 1.3 megapixel camera and Bluetooth, there won’t be lines a mile long to grab one. Oh well, this could be exciting if you’ve never held a dual keypad before. Of course we’d rather jump straight to the Omnia 2.

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The latest ‘Berry rumor has it that the BlackBerry Tour is getting an OS update, and soon.  The update will be OS 4.7.1.42 with both Sprint and Verizon getting in on the action. While the rumored update won’t make you Tour fit for space travel, it will hopefully fix a number of glitches (slow boot up, trackball type-lag, etc). That’s all folks.

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.

More rumors have surfaced regarding the first two Android-powered handsets from Motorola. Most of these are talking about the Shules (or Sholes) but the Flash also has a mentioning. Let’s dive in then;

• The Shules will launch with Eclair: Donutis so early-this-year, and Motorola’s upcoming Android slider will reportedly be rocking  Eclair from the get-go. It may even be the “flagship” Eclair handset intended to showcase all of the new features Android will have obtained with Eclair’s release.
• The Shules will be a gaming beast: The handset is optimized for ARMv7 architecture and will be able to gobble up 3D graphics and games like none other. Or atleast that’s what they are saying for now.
• GSM version of the Shules in the works: While Verizon is slated to get the CDMA version of the Motorola Shules this year as an exclusive, there is already a GSM in the making and it should reach  AT&T, or T-Mobile, some time in 2010.
• The Flash is still on track: One of the many handsets we scooped last year, the Flash, is still said to be making its way to Verizon and it should launch in early 2010.

This info is still in major rumor category, but it would be great if it panned out. Here’s keeping our fingers crossed.

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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

Best Buy is certainly making August a month of handsets. Leaked documents have revealed what best Buy plans for the later weeks of August and we have to say, it is gooood. Here’s what you’re looking at;

• Samsung Gravity 2 (berry) — T-Mobile
• Samsung Solstice — AT&T
• LG Xenon (red) — AT&T
• Global AirCard (G2) — Verizon
• Samsung Rogue — Verizon
• LG Chocolate Touch — Verizon
• Samsung u450 Intensity — Verizon
• Samsung Omnia 2 — Verizon
• BlackBerry Tour — (new shipment, Sprint)

There’s also a Samsung M330 coming to Sprint that will be popping up on Best Buy on September 8^th, or at least early September if this is just a tentative date. Oh well, let’s just focus on the treat at hand…LG Chocolate…mmmmmmm.

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For those still getting over the excitement of the freshly announced BlackBerry Curve 8520, the news that there’s also a CDMA version may be a tad bit surprising. The CDMA version, known as the BlackBerry Curve 8530 features;

• 320×240 resolution screen
• 1xRTT, EV-DO
• QWERTY keyboard
• 2 megapixel camera
• OS 5.0
• Bluetooth
• Wi-Fi b,g

This would be among the first handsets to come to Verizon after its announcement that all future handsets will support Wi-Fi. The low-cost BlackBerry Curve 8530 will be an entry device and with Wi-Fi added to the bundle, it’s likely to be very popular.

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