HTC's definitely been a major name amonst the gadget cognoscenti for a while now, but it looks like the company's gearing up to go mainstream -- this is the first print ad from the new HTC You campaign that's launching today. Considering HTC's recent slew of high-profile handset launches like the Hero, HD2, and Tilt2 and equally-promising upcoming products like the Dragon and Droid Eris, we'd say this marketing push hasn't come a moment too soon. As for the ad itself, while it's not exactly a knockdown punch, it certainly suggests that HTC sees Sense UI as its ace in the hole -- we'll see how that plays out as Android 2.0 phones like the Motorola Droid come out and make stock Android sexy again.

Update: And the commercials have gone live on YouTube as well -- we gotta say, we're pretty into them. Check 'em after the break.

We aren't too sure where a number of outlets overheard that Nokia was planning to pass on customizing its Maemo-based devices, but one of two things has happened: either Nokia is lying to our faces and has secretly had a change of heart, or everyone was just misinformed from the get-go. Regardless of the hows and whys, Nokia has now come clean and stated that those very reports -- you know, the ones that "erroneously suggested that Nokia will not support operator customization for Maemo devices" -- are "simply incorrect." A long winded explanation follows, but the long and short of it is that the suits in Espoo are (at least now) very open to letting operators "tailor future Maemo devices to suit their needs," which may or may not be a positive in your eyes depending on the carrier you're chained to. Now, aren't you glad we had this little talk?

[Thanks, Dallas]

Google and Apple have both managed to wrest a great deal of control over the mobile user experience from carriers over the past couple of years -- cheers to that, by the way -- and now Nokia's decided it wants a piece of that action with the introduction of Maemo 5 and the N900, which it says will be free of the branding that Symbian products frequently get subjected to. It makes total sense that Nokia would be looking to come play in that rarified air that Android, iPhone OS, and webOS are all playing in -- a place where ARPUs are high, UIs are slick and modern, and the apps (and data) flow like water -- but since the majority of customers for these types of devices rely on subsidies to justify the purchase, they'll still need carrier buy-in to pull this off effectively. At least Palm and the gang have all proven that there's precedent for it, and it's definitely a noble fight to wage -- no one wants a bright magenta interface, right?

[Via Phone Scoop]

We all had that "whoa" moment the first time we browsed, streamed, or torrented off a 3G network -- well, okay, many of us didn't have a "whoa" moment, but stay with us here: China Unicom has officially branded its nascent 3G offering as "Wo," which we think is a pretty cool and appropriate name all things considered. For comparison's sake, this lines up with China Telecom's "e-surfing" brand and China Mobile's "G3" -- so yeah, you might be able to argue that Unicom didn't have any serious competition in the marketing department. Wo's trials kick off on May 17 in 55 markets while construction simultaneously begins on the second round of launches, so it looks like China's finally getting really real with this 3G jazz. Cheers to that, we say.

Sheesh, as if the whole Cingular / AT&T / BellSouth / etc. mishmash hasn't been confusing enough for the general populace, here comes yet another change sure to make folks scratch their noggins a bit more. As AT&T looks to launch a new ad campaign that gloats about "Your Seamless World," the carrier will reportedly paint the blue and white globe orange as a "respectful nod to Cingular." Meanwhile, sign changers are thrilled about all the business pouring in from AT&T recently...

[Via PhoneScoop]

Oh, the drama. Just when you thought AT&T may be in the clear to re-brand Jeff Burton's ride, NASCAR throws a $100 million lawsuit in the carrier's direction, and now, a federal appeals court has reportedly "cleared the way" for NASCAR to claim victory. Purportedly, the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals "said Monday in its order that AT&T lacks standing to challenge NASCAR's decision," and subsequently tossed out a lower court's ruling that prevented NASCAR from halting AT&T's plans. Sheesh, all this over a paint job.

Disaster averted! Amid reports yesterday that Orange's well-traveled "SPV" smartphone branding was going the way of the dodo in favor HTC's newer, slicker badges, the carrier has stepped forward to deny the claim. Though its rendition of the HTC Touch won't be blessed with an SPV mark, it turns out there's a good reason: it's not considered a member of Orange's "Signature Series." Only Signature Series devices will be SPVs, and they may not always be HTC sourced. Got it?

We know that there's another grueling week to survive between now and the Coca-Cola 600, but here's a NASCAR tidbit that will hopefully satisfy your Sunday desire for a little roundtrack action. AT&T has been given the green flag to rebrand Jeff Burton's (very orange) #31 race car after Judge Marvin H. Shoob of the US District Court, Northern District of Georgia, "granted AT&T's motion for preliminary injunction in its suit against NASCAR." It was noted that the decision gives AT&T "the immediate right to put its logos and brand marks" on the vehicle, and while we're not certain if we'll see a slightly new look come May 27th, we're sure it won't be long before the blue sphere makes its official debut.

[Via RCRNews]

So wait, why did Dopod just announce two Dopod-branded devices yesterday? Strange timing indeed, but HTC and Dopod have now let it be known that Dopod's name -- well-known only in Asia -- will be phased out in favor of that of its corporate parent. Ultimately, the move makes a lot of sense, allowing HTC to standardize on device self-branding for the entire world (it already sells devices under its own name in Europe and North America). Was just a matter of time, we reckon.

[Via the::unwired]

T-Mobile is dead, long live T-Mobile. October 2006 is looking to mark some major changes for the States' fourth-largest carrier, dropping their corporate branding in favor of what you see above -- a decidedly... well, bubblier font, along with a fresh slogan, "Stick Together." The color scheme (pink, and lots of it) carries over, but the spokesperson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, does not. On a related note T-Mobile is taking the opportunity to launch their myFaves service (reminiscent of Alltel's My Circle) which lets customers place calls airtime-free to five folks of their choice, regardless of carrier. It seems a little sketch that they're restricting the use of myFaves to certain handsets with special firmware -- but with plans starting at $40, we suspect plenty of folks will be willing to pick up new hardware to get in on the action.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]