Mr. Blurrycam delivers again. The not-at-all-clear shots we saw of a fabled Memoir last week look to be the real deal, as evidenced by the matching shape in the image above and whispers from a nearby gnome. The Samsung SGH-T929 — which will still likely be sold under the aforementioned Memoir label — is apparently making a beeline for T-Mobile, or at least that’s the vibe we get when seeing a 1,700MHz HSDPA band mentioned. Reportedly, the handset is a “slightly different version of the Samsung Pixon,” and it should pack an 8-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0 and aGPS when it arrives. Hold tight, T-Mob faithful — it just can’t be long now.

[Via UnwiredView]

Samsung SGH-T929 (Memoir) shuffles through FCC on its way to T-Mobile originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Good news for South Koreans who love choice; bad news for LG and Samsung… sort of. For those unaware, South Korea is currently under a rule that requires cellphones that connect to the internet to “use domestic software that standardizes network access.” In theory, the regulation makes life easier for local software developers, but in reality, it has enabled locally-based LG and Samsung to combine for around 90% of all handset sales in the nation. Moving forward, however, the Korea Communications Commission intends to modify the barrier (effective next April) so that cellphone operators can use “any type of phone” they choose. We suspect three cheers for competition are in order.

Regulatory revision opens up South Korean handset market originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Say, remember how there was supposed to be a Treo Pro coming to Sprint? Yeah, well, the time is drawing near for that to go down; odds are it could’ve happened sooner, but Sprint probably wanted to give its fairly fresh 800w a little breathing room before getting sunsetted in favor of the significantly more attractive Pro. The carrier is currently targeting January 25 for the model to be available in all channels for $549.99 — which we’re guessing (hoping) will come down to $249.99 or so after rebates, subsidies, and all that jazz. Also launching in January should be the Motorola i365IS — an even more rugged model of the already beefy i365 — and a pink version of the Instinct. If that’s not a veritable potpourri of phones covering every corner of the market, we don’t know what is.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Sprint’s Treo Pro coming in January along with a pink Instinct originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 20:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It still can’t hold a candle to Philips’ Xenium 9@9 line, but 22 days ain’t nothing to scoff at. Reportedly, Samsung is prepping a low-end E1410 candybar that’ll last up to 22 days on standby, and better still, it can support up to 11.5 continuous hours of yappin’ before calling it a night. The stout battery life is joined by a lackluster 128 x 128 display (1.63-inches), a simple phonebook, GSM connectivity and 4MB of inbuilt memory. Clearly Sammy’s not kidding around with “low-end.”

Samsung’s low-end E1410 candybar goes 22 days strong originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re a Verizon loyalist pining after the likes of the LG Lotus and the Samsung Cleo, great news: we think your savior is on its way. We’re hearing rumors that the u440 Cleo will launch as the “Strut” on Big Red’s airwaves before too long, a move that was probably necessitated (or at least expedited) by Sprint’s recent launch of the Lotus. We still think this form factor looks a wee bit odd — especially when closed — but if there are two things Americans like, it’s flips and QWERTY keyboards, so the trend was probably overdue anyway.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Samsung Strut is Verizon’s version of the Cleo? originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Celebrating a storied Hollywood career as illustrious and celebrated as Barb Wire’s Pamela Anderson’s takes more than a lavish party stocked to the nines with fashionable people. Much more, actually — in fact, it takes the release of a special bundle of Samsung’s F480 to properly commemorate the occasion, which is why Pam’s been busy in the Netherlands lately helping Sammy launch the F480 “Jackie Pack” at the annual Millionaire Fair for the filthy rich. The package, named after a magazine that’s also for the filthy rich, includes the aforementioned TouchWiz slate in an all-new color plus some gaudy jewelry you’ll never wear (but Pam might). Pricing isn’t available yet, but the original Baywatch babe already has hers — so if you’re really into it, make her an offer she can’t refuse.

Pamela Anderson celebrates pinnacle of career with Samsung Jackie Pack originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sometimes it’s the unsung workhorses that deserve the lion’s share of the praise, and that might just be the case with the aging Samsung BlackJack II — a phone that you probably wouldn’t expect to top Consumer Reports’ January 2009 ratings of popular smartphones. Sure, it may not be the shiniest device on the market these days, but you’ve got to admit it’s just about as functional as you’d ever need a business-class handset to be with GPS, HSDPA, and WinMo 6.1, which gladly sucks up Exchange accounts until you’re blue in the face. When you factor in the fact that it runs just $80 these days on an AT&T contract in a choice of four colors… okay, yeah, we can kinda see it. The iPhone 3G and T-Mobile G1 don’t play second fiddle terribly often these days (they were way down in the middle of the Consumer Reports pack in this testing cycle, in fact), so let’s just let this old dog have one more moment in the spotlight, shall we?

Samsung BlackJack II tops Consumer Reports’ list of best smartphones originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 08:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We love nothing better than a good blurry photo around here to add a little dose of vague confusion to the rumor mill. These two artistically hazy snaps are purported to be of a US-bound T-Mobile Samsung Behold-style phone with an 8-megapixel camera. Tmo News is also reporting that it’s going to run on Touchwiz, the same UI as the Behold, and that it’s called the Memoir. We don’t have any other details for now, but we’ll let you know as soon as we see a fuzzy scan of a semi-redacted press release.

Blurry pics of T-Mobile branded Samsung “Memoir” cameraphone emerge originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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