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Back at the CES it was announced that a GSM version of the Palm Pre would also come out and soon. Now with the Pre out on Sprint and Bell for a while, it was a painstaking wait to see if the U.S. 3G bands would be part of the deal or not. And a recent bit of info given out by the Wi-Fi Alliance reveals that indeed U.S. 3G bands are indeed on board the new GSM version of the Palm Pre. Yay! So this means with 850/1900MHz UMTS/HSPA we may hope to see the Pre on AT&T after Sprint\s exclusivity period ends. As for Canada, probably either Rogers or TELUS may get it after Bell’s exclusivity ends. Looking good.

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It’s hardly a state secret that LG has been cooking up a few Android sets and the GW620 may be the first to run the Android OS. This is truly exiting because it means, you guessed it, Unveilings, handset unveilings! Official or otherwise new phone get us all giddy. And what’s backing this adrenaline rush is a handset profile which cites the Android browser. Specs are shady at best but are likely to include an HVGA touchscreen display, full-QWERTY keypad, Wi-Fi and UMTS/HSDPA connectivity. So to LG releasing its first Android handset, “you are unique just like everyone else”.

Now that the Pre is out and about, the next thing on our wonder-list is what will Sprint do to save its neck further. Market analysis from Smart Trend has reported that n unnamed Sprint spokesperson revealed a tri-mode handset coming down the pipeline sometime in 2009/2010. The phone in question will be sporting CDMA, WiFi and WiMAX compatibility, which would provide a healthy mix of CDMA coverage and awesome data speeds where WiMAX is available. Analyst also think that this tri-band handset will be Android-powered, but we’ll currently just stick to the tri-band handset possibility. So while we keep hearing ‘the first wireless 4G network” in all of its commercials, it would be nice to see a 4G handset out in the open.

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A day or so ago we told you that Europe was getting dibbs on the G2 known to them as the HTC Magic. Well now the news all official; Vodafone is going to be the exclusive carrier for UK, Spain, France and Germany. As for Italy, enthusiasts there will be able to purchase the world’s first touchscreen-only Android phone as no-exclusive buyers. Though a definite release date isn’t out yet, Vodafone’s website says the Magic will be “Arriving in April.” As for the United States, let’s just hope we get some Magic sooner than later.

Now the HTC Magic is a definite improvement on the tub of plastic that was the G1, especially on the appearance side. Here are the specs;

1.      Android OS

2.      Quad-band EDGE / dual-band 7.2Mbps HSDPA (900/2100 MHz)

3.      512MHz Qualcomm® MSM7201a

4.      512MB ROM / 192MB RAM

5.      3.2″ HVGA touchscreen display (though the press and Vodafone say QVGA, but we all know Android does not play nice with QVGA displays)

6.      Virtual QWERTY keypad, trackball

7.      3.2 megapixel camear w/ AF (no flash)

8.      WiFi 802.11 b/g

9.      GPS

10.  Bluetooth 2.0

11.  microSD

12.  1340 mAh battery

13.  Talktime: 400 min 3G / 450 min GSM

14.  Standby: 660 hours 3G / 420 hours GSM

15.  113mm x 55mm x 13.65mm, 118.5g

16.  Available in black and/or white depending on market

Yes, you noticed right, no 3.5mm audio jack or LED flash. Major bummer.  And here’s the full press release if you want to gobble up more details.