Microsoft's been pretty cagey with the future of Windows Mobile so far, but apparently the Office Mobile 2010 team just doesn't care -- in addition to leaking a new interface in that confidential slide deck last month, they've now included this screen shot on the Office Mobile 2010 beta website. Here's what's wild: this design language completely matches the first set of Windows Mobile 7 leaks we saw nearly two years ago, so either Microsoft hasn't made any changes in that time, or what we're seeing here is something else entirely. Combine that with rumors that WinMo 7 isn't due to hit until the end of next year, and we're starting to think there's something bigger afoot here -- the only other alternative is that Microsoft has waited nearly three years to launch what's little more than a refresh of its current interface, and even Redmond can't be that slow to execute... can it?

[Via IntoMobile]

Again, we have no idea why Verizon is burying the launch of the HTC Droid Eris alongside the Motorola Droid tomorrow (well, apart from the slow CPU and older Android build) but if you had any doubts that Big Red was going to launch this riff on the Hero, well, these screenshots of the employee training course should put those to rest. Interestingly, the buttons and logo placement are slightly different from the pic that was leaked to gdgt, but this version certainly looks like what Eric Schmidt was holding the other day, so we're thinking this is the final iteration. We'll see what's what tomorrow, we suppose.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

In an almost perfect world, this spy shot would be of the rumored HTC Dragon, reminiscent of the HD2 with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and packing the latest version of Android / Sense UI -- in a more perfect world, this would all have been confirmed last week and in our hands today delivered via unicorn express, but that's obviously not happening. Still, there's something new and exciting about this device, but we're grasping at straws beyond the handful of pics The Unlockr managed to obtain, several more of which can found just beyond the read link.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Still no confirmation on any all-you-can-eat data plans, but Boy Genius Report has some convincing screens that seem to reveal some other precepts of T-Mobile's enigmatic (and purportedly company-saving) Project Dark. Two new plans have emerged, Even More and Even More Plus. The former is the traditional two-year contract, along with options to do data only and get a subsidized phone. Even More Plus doesn't require a contract, going month-to-monthly instead, and subsequently the phone is full price. However, what's gonna be interesting to see is the FlexPay option, which allows you to pay for a device in monthly installments instead of upfront, a plan we've seen before in markets like Germany and Japan. In the example above, a $400 G1 on the non-contractual Even More Plus plan is divvied out to an initial $170 payment and 19 subsequent installments of $12.10, or $33.33 over three months after the related upfront cost. It's no game-changer on its own, but it's certainly an intriguing prospect that's gonna make some (initially) cash-strapped individuals very happy to be able to walk out with a decent Android device.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

We're not expecting the BlackBerry Onyx to hit before November, but at least a few units have hit the wild, and these are the first in-depth photos we've seen. These shots don't reveal much about the new-look Bold with the optical trackball, but it sure is pretty, ain't it? Now if it only had a useful browser and IMAP support, we'd actually care.

[Thanks, Zero]

The HTC Leo has already got hearts-aflutter the world over with its high-end spec sheet and huge capacitive touchscreen, but now that some early benchmarks have hit we might have a full-on fanboy panic on our hands. That 1GHz Snapdragon processor isn't just for show, people -- you're looking at least a 300 percent improvement over the Touch HD on every single 3D graphics benchmark with an astounding 1,822 percent improvement on one test, and raw CPU performance was nearly three times as fast. Yeah, those are some wild numbers -- we'll have to see what battery life is like when this thing ships, but for now we'd recommend hitting the read link and taking in the full set of benchmarks.

We'd heard that Archos had teased an Android-based phone when it launched the new Archos 5 Internet Tablet, and now we have video proof. We don't speak French well enough to translate what's being said here (or, really, translate anything other than "le singe conduit l'autobus") but that spec sheet isn't too hard to figure out: we're looking at a 1GHz ARM Cortex processor under a 4.3-inch 854 x 480 screen in 10mm thin titanium casing with what looks like a front-facing camera. Yeah, not too shabby at all, especially considering Archos has that interesting media layer running on top of Android already -- let's hope we find out even more soon. Video after the break.

[Thanks, Fernando]

The BlackBerry Onyx hasn't exactly kept itself a secret in the past few months, so it's no surprise that we're seeing what looks to be the official press image and release from T-Mobile well before the handset's launch. No big surprises here, really -- it's still a 3G mashup of the Bold and the Curve 8900 with that new optical trackball -- but apparently RIM's preloading it with the Amazon MP3 store, so that's slightly interesting. From what we can tell, it's due in early November, but pricing is still a mystery -- hopefully RIM and T-Mobile have saved the best surprise for last.

Well, well, looks like LG's got more in its Android bag than just that GW880 for China Mobile. Vodafone was casually displaying the Android-based Etna at its IFA booth, and while we don't know too much about the QWERTY slider, we do have some basic specs -- you're looking at 3-inch touchscreen, a five megapixel camera, and what looks like a pretty stock Android install. No word on price or release date, but LG is supposedly launching three Android sets this year, so we're hoping we'll find out more real soon.

Update: LG tells us that the Etna will be available in Germany "before Christmas."

[Via MobileTechWorld; thanks Whois]

Palm might have tried to bottle up that webOS 1.2 leak the other day, but it looks like it was to no avail -- videos of the new build in action have hit YouTube, and the hacking community has already ripped the code apart and found some new features. Just like we'd heard, the browser's been updated and there's revised and improved copy / paste functionality, but the big new feature seems to be email searching, which Pre owners have longed for since day one. Hidden deeper, it seems like the LEDs in the gesture area can be enabled for notifications by tweaking just a few lines of code, and there's also the somewhat disconcerting addition of remote app kill switch for Palm, which would apparently let it delete apps anytime it wants. We're sure this is just a cover-your-ass move as Palm prepares to open up the App Catalog -- and it's not exactly unprecedented -- but it's still a little disconcerting given how closely Palm seems to be monitoring Pre usage to begin with. Oh, but come on, let's turn that frown upside-down -- video of new features after the break.

Read - webOS 1.2 video
Read - LED notifications

Hope you Bold owners out there managed to snag AT&T's BlackBerry Bold visual voicemail software update while it lasted, because an internal memo leaked to BGR says it's been pulled due to compatibility problems with "network enhancements being deployed." That sounds to us like there's an issue with either those 850MHz 3G rollouts or whatever black magic Ma Bell's doing to get iPhone MMS up and running, but either way, it's one more fire for AT&T's engineers to put out while its customers sit around waiting.

Update: AT&T just sent us their official word on the matter -- and they also told us it has nothing to do with MMS or 850. Check it out after the break.

We're sure to see a whole lot more of the Nokia N900 as Nokia World gets underway this week, but in the meantime we're super into this video walkthrough posted up by Kiamanokia.it -- and not just because the Italian narration makes using the N900 seem absolutely delightful. Nope, we're much more into the extremely-responsive interface, the rotary-zoom gesture in the browser, and the overall slickness of Maemo 5. We'll withhold judgment until we spend some time with an actual production N900, but things are looking promising -- head after the break to check the video for yourselves.

[Via The Nokia Blog]

We've heard about a good number of these phones were bound for Verizon Wireless already, but if this leaked doc via Boy Genius Report is to be believed, we now have a much better idea when they should be within reach of consumer hands. First up is Samsung Rogue for sometime this month (we previously heard today, but that's looking very doubtful at this point) for an estimated $370 subsidized. Next on the calendar is the "female centric" Nokia Twist 7705 in late September for $230, which more likely than not is the swiveling device we've seen on two prior occasions. Also due out next month is the Samsung Intensity for $130 (screenshot after the break). LG Chocolate Touch was rumored by Best Buy for today, but here it's listed for an October debut, along with Storm 2, a "low cost QWERTY" HTC Razzle / Blitz 2 (XV6175, perhaps?), and the Motorola Sholes "Google Phone," red D-pad likely in tow, all with TBD price tags. Rounding out the list in late November is the BlackBerry Curve 2, which we wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be the 8530. The first one expected for public is the Rogue, replacing the Alias 2 that just launched back in May. What gives Verizon, no love for e-ink textpads?

We already knew the CDMA HTC Touch Pro2 headed to Telus and Verizon had been upgraded with a 3.5mm headphone jack, so it's not a huge surprise that the Sprint version has one too, but it's still nice to see proof. Still no word on a release date or pricing, but if these things are sneaking out there like this we can't imagine we have long to wait.

[Thanks, Kenny]