Tucked away in the Windows Mobile 6.1 Upgrade for the Vodafone v1615 (aka TyTN II). You can now grab it direct from their site and enjoy the new features and improvememnts, such as threaded SMS, improved IE browsing, getting started wizard, easier Bluetooth setup plus battery and performance improvements. Some of you may remember our earlier story on this.

As usual, backup your data, ensure your phone is charged and close all doors before downloading.

Link - Windows Mobile 6.1 Upgrade (Vodafone.co.uk)
Credit - PJSPV

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From what we're hearing it sounds like the HTC Touch Diamond has started appearing in network catalogues. It's popped up already in the Orange brochure, but strangely it's appeared in a Vodafone catalogue sporting a price of £230.... handset only.

Yes, you read that right. £230 for the phone and, we assume, no contract tie-in. We've still got to do some checking into this, especially as most other stores are selling this for around £430. We're guessing it'll be locked into Vodafone somehow, either that or the price is wrong. More to come as we get it.

Read on to see the super-zoom scan.

Credit - Johnny De'Silva

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If you've got an Orange SPV E650 you may have missed a new ROM which appeared sometime in May here at Orange Business.

We're not entirely sure what's been updated here, although the PDF is dated June 12th. If you've installed this, please let us know what's changed or improved for you !

Link - Orange Business
Credit - Johnny De'Silva

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Still thinking of getting a HTC Diamond? Well, devicewire.co.uk have just dropped the price to £433.99. Wehay !

What? What's that you say? You've already bought from them and you paid the higher price? Don't worry, I've stumbled across an offer on the bottom of this page that'll let you claim a free HTC Touch Diamond dock. They'll send it out to you once they get stock.

Link - devicewire.co.uk

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Since doing our special 'Week with the HTC Touch Diamond' video blogs we've seen other sites picking up the handset and commenting on it. Some of you may have seen these sites calling the interface 'slow'. Indeed we had a couple of issues with the early test build, but this wasn't the final version you'll be buying in the shops, so it would be unfair to criticise it.

Today the final boxed version arrived in the Coolsmartphone kitchen, so I whipped it outside and filmed one of those 'unboxing videos' to show you exactly what you'll be getting. The good news from HTC is that these units have a faster and more stable build of the OS than you've seen tested by other sites. You can see from our screenshot here that the OS was built on June 10th 2008, just over a week ago. This phone - this one we have right here - is the official build. No dodgy imports, no early reviews. This is what you'll be buying from the likes of devicewire and the new ROM update has hopefully addressed those concerns. We'll be making sure of this over the next few days of course, but I've already updated our special report with pictures of the retail box and the video you can see below.

Links - Coolsmartphone Special Report - Video Unboxing - Buy one!

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We've covered the HTC Touch Diamond in depth through our special report and all eight videos detailing our 'week with' the handset. Now that magical day has finally arrived - you can buy the official UK model over at devicewire.co.uk.

Selling for £463.99 the HTC Touch Diamond comes completely network-free and is the full UK specification. Head on over here for more details!

Link - devicewire.co.uk

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T-Mobile appears to have announced a new set of charges today. The prices, which will take effect on July 28th, are detailed here. It appears that T-Mobile have chosen to completely ignore an Ofcom ruling which states..

'Ofcom will require mobile and fixed-line providers (including payphones) to charge the same or less for 0870 calls as they do for national-rate calls to geographic numbers (starting 01 or 02).'

However, there is a minor problem with the Ofcom regulation.. it's not compulsory. The ruling also states...

'If providers wish to charge more for 0870 calls they will have to make a free-to-caller price pre-announcement at the start of the call.'

So networks are in fact free to completely ignore Ofcom (again) and do what the hell they like. From now on T-Mobile customers will see calls to 0870, 0871, 0844 and 0845 numbers double in price, with some plans seeing an extra 20p per minute charge.

Perhaps the worst thing about this is that T-Mobile have detailed the price changes on this page by saying...

'To make things clearer for our customers, we have aligned our 08 number charges with local and national calls to follow the latest Ofcom guidelines.'

Now, this is a tad confusing and makes it 'seem' as if Ofcom are responsible for the increases. T-Mobile have instead chosen to match the costs of calling '08' numbers with the costs of calling normal numbers... but.. they're not part of your inclusive price plan.

Links - T-Mobile New Prices - Ofcom regulation
Credit - Jonathan Prior

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One of my essential bits of software has to be MyMobileR. It'll let you remotely control your windows Mobile via an on-screen window or by moving the mouse off your monitor. Version 1.23 has just been released and there's now IP connection (over WiFi etc), drag and drop, connection improvements and a mobile explorer too.

Best of all, it's still completely free. This is a fantastic bit of kit for sending texts using your computer keyboard ('I'm just sending some important emails, Boss') plus you can capture and record the screen too.

Link - MyMobileR

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The credit crunch is hitting everyone right now so saving money is a must. As for me, I'm still feeling the pinch after spending £11 to watch that Sex and the City movie (really, how many minutes did they spend writing and filming that eh?) Anyhow, over at dvd.co.uk there's a link that'll get you a SanDisk 8Gb MicroSDHC card for £16.99 all in - that's £18.98 with the postage. Deal.

This is an SDHC card, so make sure you've got a handset that'll make use of the whole 8Gb first (HTC Touch, HTC Touch Dual, HTC TyTN II, HTC S710 etc).

Link - dvd.co.uk

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It's all been a little quiet of late. To be honest we're all waiting for those recently 'announced' phones to become 'available' phones. The HTC Touch Diamond has, at least, taken a step closer on Vodafone.

Vodafone now joins Orange and T-Mobile in announcing their intention to carry the handset. The handset is sitting proudly on the Vodafone Business section as 'Coming Soon', so let's hope it drops into the 'Personal Customers' area too. It's pencilled in for a July launch with a Voda-red-and-white TouchFlo 3D interface plus, according to the blurb...

'Feature rich Windows Mobile 6.1 device utilising HTC's new Touchflow UI. This device is in a tablet form factor meaning it is touch screen only. The Diamond surpasses the iPhone in all aspects, the key differentiator is the inherent flexibility of the Diamond. It comes loaded with Vodafone Email Plus and the Vodafone Sat Nav program.'

..and so begins the war of the networks - already we've got the mighty Vodafone stating that the Diamond will surpass the iPhone (which will be exclusive in the UK to o2).. ;)

While I'm here, I must say a big congrats to Matt and Tracy over at tracyandmatt.co.uk on the birth of their daughter Chloe. After meeting Matt for the first time at the HTC Touch Diamond launch event I can say that he's a thoroughly nice bloke and I wish him and his new family the best.

Link - Vodafone Business Shop
Credit - Johnny De'Silva

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Being just 21 (ahem) I can't remember anything about the Commodore 64 or Vic 20, however there's now a rather splendid emulator for those that do. It's got a completely re-written core and interface and you can switch between Vic20 / Commodore 64 emulation with one simple button.

The software also features full landscape rotation and three different modes for display. You get full control over the CPU etc and it'll automatically adjust settings for the best gaming experience. There's also cartridge support and remote gaming over TCP/IP.

If you're in the mood for some pure retro-gaming, head on over and try it out or buy for £17.94 ($34.92)

Link - Commodore 64 Plus Vic 20

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Back in early September last year we first heard about a new iPaq 900 handset from HP. Well, following the 'available soon' announcement you should now be able to buy the thing, a full 9 months later. You can find it here in the 'Handhelds and Calculators' section of the HP site (yes, the 'Handhelds and Calculators' section.. errrrr). We just had a look though and it's still showing as 'Coming Soon' on the product page.

Designed for 'professionals on the go' there's Windows Mobile 6.1 (Pro), GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, triband 3G/HSDPA and quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE. Around the back you can find a 3 megapixel camera plus there's the Cyberon Voice Commander or that QWERTY keyboard up front for getting stuff done quick.

Seriously.. if you sold mobile phones would you stick them in the 'calculators' section ?

Links - HP Press Release - Product Page

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We've already heard about the HTC Touch Pro (Raphael) and the T-Mobile incarnation (MDA Vario IV), but Coolsmartphone reader Lawrence has just pointed us to these photos of the upcoming device. No computer graphics here - this is the actual MDA Vario IV handset in the flesh.

Check out that full five-row keyboard and the wafer-thin dimensions in the ultra-huge photos here at mobilmania.cz. There's also a look at the MDA Compact IV too.

Link - mobilmania.cz
Credit - Lawrence

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The Samsung i900 Omnia we mentioned yesterday is certainly looking good. aving.net have got some up-close shots of the device and the 'TouchWiz' navigation system, which seems to offer more than just a fancy GUI. Special video software (Touch Player) is included with support for DivX, Xvid and more, plus it looks like there's more custom-made software too. The TouchWiz system will also let you drag-and-drop and personalize your home screen with unique widgets. For data entry you can also use the an on-screen QWERTY keyboard.

Although this phone will be launching in Korea first, Europe will start seeing it in shops from July. Powered by Windows Mobile 6.1 there's an optical mouse for navigating the 3.2 inch WQVGA finger-friendly touch screen and a 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus and 'face and smile detection' ! There'll be two versions of this phone - just like the iPhone - one with 8Gb of memory and one with 16Gb, plus even more storage can be added via the microSD slot. Oh, and let's not forget the inbuilt GPS, TV-out, Quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE and UMTS/HSDPA, WiFi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, FM radio and a long-life 1440MaH battery.

There's still rumours of a capacitive touch-screen, although there's a few sites stating that this is not the case. Either way, this is shaping up to be an incredible device and another one to add to your summer shopping list. Click the link below for all the photos, or read on for the full press release.

Update - Read on for a video of the i900 in action via MegaWhatTV (Thanks for the tip Olstar!)

Link - aving.net

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The Samsung i900 Omnia we mentioned yesterday is certainly looking good. aving.net have got some up-close shots of the device and the 'TouchWiz' navigation system, which seems to offer more than just a fancy GUI. Special video software (Touch Player) is included with support for DivX, Xvid and more, plus it looks like there's more custom-made software too. The TouchWiz system will also let you drag-and-drop and personalize your home screen with unique widgets. For data entry you can also use the an on-screen QWERTY keyboard.

Although this phone will be launching in Korea first, Europe will start seeing it in shops from July. Powered by Windows Mobile 6.1 there's an optical mouse for navigating the 3.2 inch WQVGA finger-friendly touch screen and a 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus and 'face and smile detection' ! There'll be two versions of this phone - just like the iPhone - one with 8Gb of memory and one with 16Gb, plus even more storage can be added via the microSD slot. Oh, and let's not forget the inbuilt GPS, TV-out, Quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE and UMTS/HSDPA, WiFi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, FM radio and a long-life 1440MaH battery.

There's still rumours of a capacitive touch-screen, although there's a few sites stating that this is not the case. Either way, this is shaping up to be an incredible device and another one to add to your summer shopping list. Click the link below for all the photos, or read on for the full press release.

Link - aving.net

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We cover nothing but Windows Mobile news here at Coolsmartphone.com, however there comes a time when you do have to look at the competition. Today, as expected, the 3G iPhone was launched. The new unit gets 480x320 screen, 3G / HSDPA (850/1900/2100Mhz), GSM / EDGE (850/900/1800/1900Mhz), Bluetooth 2.0 EDR and WiFi. There's also aGPS and the usual accelerometer, proximity sensor and a.. 2 megapixel camera. There'll be 8Gb or 16Gb versions available.

Personally I'm loving the Dailymash coverage..

'Apple boss Steve Jobs last night unveiled the new iPhone, insisting there was 'no way' he would launch a better and cheaper version in three months time.

Jobs said the latest 3G iPhone could never be improved on, and definitely not this year, just before Christmas.

He added: 'This is the final version. It’s got everything on it, including a little apple symbol, so there's no way a better one will be in the shops by Thanksgiving at the latest for $100 less.'

It may be easy to poke fun, but like it or not - this is the major competition for devices like the HTC Touch Diamond and Samsung i900 Omnia.

Link - Apple.com/iPhone

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In just a few days time the Samsung i900 we saw earlier should get it's official unvieling as the 'Omnia' during CommunicAsia taking place from June 17th to June 20th.

Now, we've been banging on for weeks about the HTC Touch Diamond and how it'll be up against the iPhone, but the Samsung Omnia SGH-i900 will also prove more than a match for the new Apple handset. The Samsung device will arrive in both 8Gb and 16Gb versions and has a 240x400 pixel screen. There's also a 624Mhz Marvell CPU, 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with geo-tagging, triband (900/1800/1900GSM) 3G/HSDPA, FM Radio (with RDS), GPS, Bluetooth with A2DP, WiFi and an orientation sensor just like the Diamond.

The Omnia also has TV-out, 128Mb RAM, 256Mb ROM and a microSD slot for additional memory. All this runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 plus there's an interesting Samsung GUI called 'TouchWiz' for navigating the phone - it looks like this will be another handset based on finger navigation and a lot less stylus action.

Read on for a video look at the device.

Links - cnet.com Preview - phonemag.com

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We've been getting more details about the HTC Touch Diamond and when you'll be able to get it. It seems that the devices expansys are selling for £494.95 are indeed imports and not UK stock. These devices also seem to be more expensive than they should, and expansys have just deleted a thread about the grey imports in their forum. The official line from HTC is that any HTC Touch Diamond handsets on sale outside of Hong Kong will be grey market imports from that country. These devices were not ordered directly from HTC or their distributors.

Devicewire have also posted a notice today that the official UK models will be delayed a few weeks, however I've had information that the HTC Touch Diamond is currently rolling off the assembly line for European countries and will be in stores in just a few weeks.

Read on for more info on this - we're a little surprised that expansys are selling grey imports into Europe after being found guilty of selling imported HP handhelds from Malaysia and selling them in the UK in 2005. EU Trademark law treats products imported from outside Europe and sold as UK stock as counterfeits.

Link - Devicewire delivery notice - Special Report

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Well, here it is guys - the official press release for the upcoming 'Diamond-with-QWERTY-keyboard' known previously as the HTC Raphael. It'll be sold by HTC as the HTC Touch Pro. Read on for the full press release with specs.

More to come on this shortly, we're just uploading some extra pictures for you....





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We've had a few emails stating that the boys of expansys.com have already got the first stock of the HTC Touch Diamond in the UK. However, these units appear to be 'grey' imports, which means that UK warranties wouldn't apply. HTC are apparently less than happy about the situation, plus it's being sold unlocked for £509.95 - that's over £40 more than devicewire.co.uk, who will actually be getting the first official UK stock.

Although our HTC Touch Diamond videos are over, you can still see them on the links below. We've also added these links into our special report too, so you won't have to hunt around for them.

Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3 - Day 4 - Day 5 - Day 6 - Day 7 - The Weekend Special

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