We've been saying all along that we'd love nothing more than to see someone throw a 3G chip into Creative's Zii Egg and sell it as a pretty strong smartphone, but so far we've been hit with little to no indication of interested parties making that happen. So when we spot phrases like "Zii Optimized Android Phone platform" and "the line-up of devices on display includes a Mobile Phone platform" on an informational site for the ZiiLABS Showcase happening early December in China, our interested are definitely piqued. The event is geared towards companies who'd like to use the Plaszma platform for their products, and with any luck, some debonair decision-maker will give Zii phone a chance.

[Via myCreative Fansite; thanks, Kyle]

You know what's ridiculous? Modern smartphones without WiFi (why hello there, Pixi and Tour). Looks like Dell's getting the message with the supposed Brazil-bound Mini 3iX, which as far as we can tell is the Mini 3i as it should've been -- same specs, plus WiFi and 3G connectivity. The OPhone-esque user interface also seems to have gone through some changes, at least cosmetically, and Cellular Cafe has the vivid imagery -- so might this be the little guy rumored to be coming to AT&T, or will we get the 2G variant instead? How about we just skip this one altogether and get the Streak?

We'll admit, we're jealous of this Sina Corporation reporter, who appears to have gotten some hands-on time with LG's very sexy Chocolate BL40 and its 21:9 aspect ratio screen. There isn't much said here aside from details we already knew and the occasional compliment on its form factor and display, but it is good to see this in the wild and not just in the FCC's secret lab facilities. Now if only we can get a better idea of its US 3G capabilities...

NVIDIA's Tegra chip has shown itself to be quite a gem, especially in the field of augmented reality zombie destruction. Looks like Samsung agrees with that sentiment, and has confirmed that it's currently developing a smartphone with the powerful processor. That's not a lot to go on, but knowing the capabilities of the CPU, we're excited. It's probably safe to assume an AMOLED touchscreen is a given, as well as a plethora of TouchWiz widgets, but whether or not the phone goes with Windows Mobile or Android is still a mystery. A recent rumor suggested one of the "top five" smartphone makers would be releasing a $199 GSM-based Tegra device by year's end -- no indication if these two reports are one in the same, but we'd love to see what Sammy has in store sooner rather than later.

Verizon's getting very keen on entering the app store industry, but not without some rough decrees to its smartphone partners. According to GigaOm, VP Partner Management Ryan Hughes said in an interview Friday that its shop will house content from all the major platforms under one roof, with purchases being billed through the customer's Verizon account and not requiring a separate signup / credit card entry. Convenient for consumers, and devs are also being promised a more streamlined approval process and a "competitive" revenue-sharing program, but here's where things take a turn for the worse: according to Hughes, non-VZW app stores like BlackBerry App World or Windows Mobile Marketplace won't be bundled with the smartphones out of the box, meaning consumers will have to take the initiative to download those portals for themselves. An incredibly jerk move, and an extra burden on developers who'll be having to submit two approval applications if they want inclusion on Verizon's own store. Of course, that large subscriber base is the reason it can get away with it, but let's hope we hear some better justifications other than "because we can" when the full details are rolled out at the Verizon Developer Community Conference on July 28th.

Better late than never, we suppose. Our friends at Mobile Crunch have it on word from a HTC spokesperson that a "vast majority of devices we launch after Hero" are gonna be including a 3.5mm headphone jack as a standard feature. The rep also added that devices already announced would "not necessarily be part of this change," which while not ruling it out entirely, doesn't get our hopes up. Still, it's refreshing to know the future generations won't be beholden to the adapter-laden shackles of its ancestors -- so Lancaster, where will you fall in all this mess?

[Via Smartphone Thoughts]

It's been a while since we've heard a peep about Adobe's Flash 10 for smartphone initiative, but according to a slide from its Q2 Fiscal Year 2009 earnings presentation, the platform's on track for a beta release this October at the company's MAX conference. Prime mobile OS candidates for the beta include those from Adobe's Open Screen Project, which at last count included Nokia, Palm, Google, and Microsoft -- and unless there's been some behind closed doors meetings, the two glaring omissions on that list are still gonna be bugging you come this Halloween.

If you stop to think, really, about how much we take pleasure in seeing pictures of phones get utterly dismembered, it's quite disturbing. So don't think about it, and instead hit up the read link for a gallery showcase copious amounts of a prototype Nokia E72 innards, ripped apart alongside an E71 (on the right in the image above) for comparative purposes. There's a very brief question-and-answer session just after the photos, but it's definitely not gonna keep you satisfied between now and its third quarter launch window.

Whether you call it OmniaHD, i8910 HD, or even "Timmy Tim" (hey, it could happen), Samsung's AMOLED--infused smartphone is a winner, if the fine lads at Phone Arena are to be believed. Points go to its HD video recording and playback, a surprisingly good battery life, and a form factor that's not too hard on the pocket, measuring in at just a wee bit taller and thicker than the HTC Touch HD. Not everything's sunshine and rainbows, though, as trying to use it in direct sunlight's a lost cause and the phone is a magnet for fingerprints. Still, those are pretty minor in comparison, and this is sounding more and more like a solid smartphone. Hit up the read link for a more thorough review, or after the break for the moving pictures version.

Lazarus be praised! The last time we heard about ASUS' P565 was back in February, when we mourned its sad and supposed demise. Turns out that's not the case, as we've now got a hands-on with the GPS / PDA phone from Polish site ASUSPDA, who claims (at least via machine translation) that it's been on sale for several months. The plethora of product / unboxing / interface pics look mighty legit, and as for the impressions, the reviewer seems very quite fond of it. Compliments are given for its general performance and design, though he does note the Glide interface isn't as seamless as you'd expect with a 816MHz processor inside. If you're interested in finding out for yourself, it looks like you can order the GSM / WCDMA-enabled device from Qbit for around $566.

[Thanks, Jackob]

Read - Unboxing
Read - Product page

While we still don't have an official release date for HTC's Touch Pro2 here in the states, the folks at Russian site Mobile-Review have managed to get some extensive hands-on time with the unit. Props go to the quality of the voice calls and especially the QWERTY keyboard, noted via the machine translation as one of the most user-friendly in modern mobile devices. The same is not said here, however, for the plastic casing and steep pricing. They also don't really touch on TouchFlo 3D 2.0.XX -- that's apparently coming later in another article -- but hit up the read link for a plethora of pictures and a video of the updated UI in action.

[Via WMPoweruser]

The last time we saw the Pre's Classic Palm OS emulator in action, we had a few lingering questions in our mind, chief among them being how well can it game? From the looks of this latest video, released by Motion Apps to answer that very question, pretty well so far. In addition to confirming sound support for the latest build, we also get a brief glimpse of the software handling 3D driver GTS World Racer. Of course, seeing this makes us even more curious about the gaming potential for the native webOS, but alas, we're in the cold there. In the meantime, check out some classic 3D racing in the video after the break.

Combining two pretty great ideas in a way that is all kinds of illegal in the US, the China-produced NokiPhone N3000i looks to be a pretty straightforward iPhone ripoff with bonus N95-esque dual slider capabilities. The GSM smartphone's got 3.2-inch QVGA screen, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, dual SIM support, microSD slot, and video recording capabilities. Price of admission is $129 right now, which according to chinagrabber is a hefty discount from its $400 MSRP. Your move, NOKLA.

[Via PMP Today]

It's always nice to get an update on one of our favorite KIRFs as of late. Lenvo's Android-powered OPhone has popped up in a hands-on video, showing off its mock-iPhone OS interface and all the doppelganger apps / features -- weather, stock, calculator and even a near-identical push notification window. Surprisingly, it's actually pretty well put together and includes some things we wish our legit Apple phone would do, like on-screen widgets and an option to change backgrounds. It'll be a cold day in Hell before we see this serial patent infringer outside of China, so for now you'll have to get your OPhone kicks by checking out the video after the break.

[Thanks, Neerhaj]

Next week's US presidential inauguration of Barack Obama will have one sour note for the Illinois senator. Sure, he's gonna be the leader of the free world, but the notorious BlackBerry addict will have to give up his smartphone -- and frankly, if given the choice, we'd probably choose cellphone over country. There is hope, however, as CNET outlines two Windows Mobile devices that met the NSA's seal of approval for governmental use back in 2007: General Dynamics' Sectera Edge and L-3 Communications' Guardian. Unfortunately, both options look about as dated as the Treo 650, with exceptionally large antennas to boot. Hey NSA, any chance we can get something a bit sexier on the approval list?