Latest News in mobile world

The FCC has approved the HTC S522 smartphone, which is now set for a summer release in the U.S. We dodn't know why they didn't call it Snap, but who cares anyway. The HTC S522 is the second North American version of the same phone with first being the the AWS-eenabled Dash 3G model for T-Mobile USA.

We have some live photos of the Casio Exilim C721 phone for Verizon. According to the source these are images of the actual, working device, as the phone has already arrived at the retail channel. That means the official launch of the Exilim will probably take place on June 10 or in a couple of days.

Amazon has recently moved the date of shipment for the Nokia N97 from June 25th to June 30th. We don't know the cause of the delay, but since first-party preorders aren't expected to ship until July, you'll still be ahead of the crowd when the phone arrives to your doorstep.

Update: Oh, pardon, I guess this is old news. The date has been changed back to June 25th.

Nokia’s Nseries fans rejoice! The North American version (NAM) of the Nokia N97 has been released in the US, and is available now in Nokia’s flagship stores in Chicago and New York for $699 unlocked and contract-free. If you want the White Nokia N97 NAM variant, you’ll have to order it through the Nokia’s website.

N97 features:

• 3.

eXpansys UK came up with a great deal on the BenQ E72. It's definitely not a top of the range handset, but if you're short on money, but want a decent smartphone - look no further. The price is currenly £84.99, but you should hurry up, as this is the eXpansys Deal of the Week, and they end really fast!

Specifications:

• Bands: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz;
• Battery: 900 mAh, Li-on;
• Talk Time: Up to 4 hours;
• Standby Time: Up to 180 hours;
• Operating System: Windows Mobile 6 standard;
• Integrated 2Mpix camera;
• Applications (games and other) : Dedicated key for audio message and voice commander Instant Message integrate 5 different softwares into one platform RSS reader;
• PC Sync: Microsoft ActiveSync4.

The FCC has revealed more details about the upcoming Casio Exilim NX-9250 clamshell for Verizon. According to the draft user manual, the phone comes in a moisture, dust and shock resistant casing, and its features are as follows:

• Dual-band CDMA/EVDO Rev. A;
• Bluetooth;
• 5.1Mpix camera with optical zoom, video capture and flash;
• Dedicated media playback keys;
• microSD cards;
• TV out;
• Support for VZW services, such as V CAST

Neither Verizon nor Casio have announced this handset.

The Acer F900, which was announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is now available in UK and some other countries. It will be selling in the UK for a SRRP of £429 inluding VAT, and will offer the following features:

Acer F900 Specifications:

• Windows Mobile 6.1;
• Samsung S3C 6410 (533 MHz) CPU;
• 128 MB SDRAM;
• 256 MB flash memory;
• 3.

Judging by these photos, the Motorola Rival A455 that was first spotted early last month may be hitting Verizon stores as early as tomorrow in a choice of purple and white colors.
Its specs include:

• Dual-band CDMA connectivity (800/1900 MHz) with 1X/EV-DO;
• Stereo Bluetooth with A2DP;
• GPS;
• VZ Navigator support;
• 3.

Meet another S60-based handset from Samsung, the B5100. It's not bad specwise - it's got a 3Mpix camera and non-US HSDPA  - but pales in the shadow of the mighty i8910 HD. Anyway, this phone hasn't been announced yet, there are just some pictures of it and a user's manual at the FCC.

We'll keep an eye on it.

If you already own a Palm Pre, you can now download and install the official 1.0.2 update and see what the changes are. Supposedly, it makes the system more stable and adds a new alarm clock, as far as we know.

Use the Update option under the programs menu to download the new version of the WebOS (67MB). You may continue using your handset while downloading.