Good old T-Mobile's on a roll these days with new phone plans, and this one seems perfectly catered to stocking stuffers. The quartet of phones start at $59.99, but so far we know of two: BlackBerry Curve 8520 for $299.99 and the Pearl for $149.99, according to the Best Buy stores we contacted. There's no contract commitment, and according to the press release, the first month is included in the bill from the point the phone's out of the box and activated. We don't know the details of that first month of service (data? texting?), but it's still a pretty penny for an unsubsidized handset. After that second month, of course, T-Mo's probably hoping you'll be enticed to keep with the network. If not already, you should start seeing the phones pop up at local Best Buy and select Walmart locales shortly. Press release after the break.

Let's be honest, who here is actually surprised that underpaid and overworked data workers would sell on our details for a few extra quid? Given the number of uninvited calls to our unlisted phone numbers, we know for a fact that somebody has been dishing our personal contacts to those Nigerian princes and caring loan consolidators, so it's no shock to learn that T-Mobile employees have been fingered for committing the deed and are now facing prosecution. We're told that inappropriately leaked information made its way into the hands of brokers, who then "cold-called the customers as their contracts were due to expire" without T-Mob's knowledge. Disappointed by the failure of current fines to discourage such illegal information trade, British Justice Minister Michael Wills has even called for "custodial sentences" to be levied against the poor slobs responsible. So, if you're scoring at home, that's now two black eyes for T-Mobile when it comes to keeping our data safe. For shame.

After a protracted "let's be absolutely certain we're in the clear" period, T-Mobile has gone ahead and lifted its self-imposed moratorium on Sidekick sales following that little meltdown you may have heard about. Oh, and there's a bonus, too: they're a little cheaper this time around. The Sidekick 2008 has dropped to $49.99 on contract while the top-of-the-line LX 2009 has shed $25 down to $149.99 on contract, so if you were looking for an excuse to live dangerously with your precious address book, this might be as good of a reason as any. Then again, what are the odds of lightning striking twice?

Read - Sidekick 2008
Read - Sidekick LX 2009

Right on cue, T-Mobile's newest BlackBerry is now on sale for those who covet. Starting at $199.99 on an Even More plan (which entails a 2-year contract, just so you know), the Bold 9700 can be ordered up from the carrier's website or be snagged in-store if you prefer to roll that way. It's also available for $449.99 on an Even More Plus Plan if you're no fan of attached strings, but something tells us you may want to have a peek at our review before laying down that much cheddar in a moment of weakness.

Anyone looking for the hottest T-Mobile-powered BlackBerry experience that money can buy need only wait a few dozen hours now, because the carrier has just revealed that it'll be launching the latest rendition of the Bold -- the 9700 -- on Monday, November 16 for $200 on contract. Your hard-earned cash reels in T-Mobile's very first 3G BlackBerry underpinned by a 3.2 megapixel camera and 480 x 360 display, beating AT&T's launch by a solid six days. Enjoy, folks.

Dubbing itself the "multimedia powerhouse" for T-Mobile's expansive Android lineup, the Samsung Behold II has just been confirmed for that rumored November 18th launch on T-Mobile (still no word on price, though we're hearing a predictable $200). The slate-style touchscreen handset has a 3.2-inch AMOLED display, and puts it to good use with a hearty skinning job on the part of Samsung, porting in most (but not all) of its TouchWiz UI -- unfortunately for us, that silly cube menu made the cut. Underneath is Android 1.5, and what seems to be a pretty standard processor.

Hardware-wise there's really nothing to complain about on this phone. It's heavy, relatively thin (not iPhone-thin, but just fine), with solid materials and wonderfully tactile face buttons. The screen is everything you'd expect out of an AMOLED display, though high-resolution phones like the Droid dampen that enthusiasm somewhat. One wonderful Samsung addition to the traditional Android experience is a "real" camera button on the side, which can even register half-presses for focus. For someone who doesn't want a physical keyboard, but doesn't want their handset to feel like a toy (sorry, myTouch) there's plenty to love. However, we're more concerned about the software side of things. We're not morally opposed to Samsung adding in TouchWiz, but we are afraid of anything that has the potential to slow down the OS, and on first glance we'd say it's notably less responsive than stock Android. We'll of course be going further in-depth to see just how usable this iteration is, but let us just put this out on the table: a virtual 3D cube to launch media apps is no way "intuitive," "helpful" or "cool." OK, maybe it's kind of cool, but seriously Samsung, stop it. Check out our unboxing below.

Update: We added some video after the break. Behold the cube!

Looking for a cheap full touch handset or a USB stick with 3G capability for T-Mobile? Heck, why not both? The self-branded Tap intro'd last month has now hit retail, bringing a 2 megapixel cam, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, and a choice of two hunger-inducing colors for $79.99 on contract. Coming alongside the Tap is the webConnect Jet USB modem, which can find its way into your shopping cart for as little as zero dollars -- $50 less than the older webConnect it slides next to in the lineup. Drop Android onto that feisty little Tap, sell it for the same price, and we're pretty sure we'd have a winner on our hands -- next year, perhaps?

Read - webConnect Jet
Read - T-Mobile Tap (Berry)
Read - T-Mobile Tap (Midnight Blue)

With the N900 getting AWS support, there's every reason to believe that T-Mobile USA and Nokia want to make beautiful music together -- but in order to do that, they're going to need some quality hardware in the mix. Whether the S60 5th Edition-based 5230 qualifies as "quality hardware" is strictly a matter of personal opinion, but for what it's worth, Cell Phone Signal has raised some very good points about a recent FCC filing suggesting that the model is inbound. First off -- and most importantly -- the SAR report for model code RM-593 indicates that AWS 3G is supported, and overlaying the back of a 5230 with the filing's label document lines up perfectly. A slam dunk? No, it's not -- but considering how long it's been since T-Mobile's sold an S60-based device, the time might be right to get back into the game.

[Via Cell Phone Signal]

T-Mobile is now offering unlimited voice for little enough cash through its Even More promo these days that it's officially bidding myFaves adieu, spelling out the final chapter of one of the better-known plan packages in the US wireless biz. It won't go away completely -- the myFaves app will apparently continue to be offered as a convenient, cutesy way to access five frequent contacts and existing subscribers won't be kicked off their plans -- but for new subscribers, Even More is being billed as the spiritual successor. For the record, unlimited voice through Even More Plus starts at $49.99, so the price is definitely right -- but more importantly will this end up meaning that we lose the beloved silkscreened myFaves logo on the back of virtually every T-Mobile handset sold today?

Say "AWS-compliant Nokia" and the first thing many folks are going to be thinking about right now is the mighty N900, but yeah, that's not what T-Mobile's getting around to launching today. Instead, it's the 3711 that we first met back in early October, offering a QVGA primary display, 2 megapixel camera, GPS, and FM radio in a smooth little clamshell package that'll run $69.99 on an Even More contract after rebate or $159.99 on Even More Plus. It's available now -- just don't expect to be running Maemo on this bad boy and you should be fine.

RIM's successor to the original Bold -- the BlackBerry Bold 9700 -- has finally landed on our doorsteps. The 9000 is in many ways a hard act to follow. Hardware-wise, it lived up to its name, going where most phones never went with its retro, leathery, nearly clunky looks in an age of rounded edges and shiny curves. Don't get us wrong -- we loved the 9000's aesthetics obsessively -- which is why we couldn't wait to get our hands on its newborn child. A few questions we had in mind: would the 9700 live up to its predecessor's notoriously uncompromising fashion sense? Would the new Bold feel as good to hold and use in the hand as its loving parent? How would it stack up against other, new devices from RIM? If these are the kind of questions you think you might want answers to, read on for our impressions.

Reports are coming in, by and large it seems via Android and Me, that T-Mobile's begun its rollout of its 7.2Mbps HSPA network for some extra speedy mobile browsing. We've done some testing in the listed cities, notably Chicago and New York, but so far are coming up with the usual, mundane speeds. It'd certainly make up for yesterday's snafu (almost), but at this point we're classifying as unconfirmed. Anyone else having better luck?

Read - 1MB mobile speed test
Read - Android and Me's report

We're getting reports from sea to shining sea this evening that T-Mobile service is down or intermittent on both voice and data -- particularly bad timing in light of the recent Sidekick drama. We've tested in New York and it's definitely down for us -- both voice and data -- so how's service treating everyone out there?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: We just got an official statement from T-Mobile, and it's confirmed -- service is down. Here's the statement:

"T-Mobile customers may be experiencing service disruptions impacting voice and data. Our rapid response teams have been mobilized to restore service as quickly as possible. We will provide updates as more information is available."

Update 2: All service is now restored, according to the company -- they say about 5 percent of users were affected by the outage, though circumstantial evidence would certainly suggest that the number is higher (especially considering that New York City was one of the dead zones).

Motorola's Android-laden CLIQ has been available to existing T-Mobile USA users for a hot minute now, but not until today has the handset been widely available to all that care to take notice. Of course, the proper launch has been dampened somewhat by the emergence of the DROID (alongside Android 2.0), but hey, MOTOBLUR ain't nuthin' to scoff at, right? Feel free to locate your nearest T-Mob retail location, waltz in with $199.99 and get yours today.

WinMo folks, we wouldn't blame you for getting a bit of Android envy after last week's DROID onslaught, but if there's one thing that could make people pine for your OS it's HTC's HD2, and T-Mobile has just confirmed it's coming on November 9 -- a mere weekend after Moto's new hotness hits Verizon. Mind you, there is some confusion going on here, as the picture on T-Mo's site is of the old Touch HD, not the HD2 we met and loved, and the mention of "loads of applications to download from Android Market" is particularly perplexing. But, we've been told to go ahead and blame a bumbling marketeer rather than to expect some sort of cross-platform app marketplace love fest -- groovy as that may sound.

Update: We've also just learned that HTC is going to officially launch the HD2 on November 4 ahead of a November 11 release elsewhere. We're not entirely sure what there is left to learn about the thing, but we're always game for another press event.

Update 2: Just to clarify things, this is T-Mobile UK. Also, as many have pointed out in comments, we're now thinking the "09" above means 2009, not November 9, which likely points to a November 11 release. Surely you can swallow that DROID envy for another two days, yeah?

[Via WMPoweruser.com]