Filed under: Handsets, Multimedia, Others, ATT, T-Mobile, Windows Mobile, Android If you want to get HD in your handheld, NVIDIA’s Tegra processor is the hot way to do it at the moment, and we’ve got reasonably concrete sounding rumors from disparate sources that a handset containing one of the chips is currently under development by a “top five” smartphone builder (we’re guessing it’s not Apple), and that it’ll be out sometime before the end of the year, selling at T-Mobile and AT&T for just $199. The details of the device beyond that are scant, with Android being a possibility but Windows Mobile looking more likely, and a continued pledge of battery life of rated for “days and days” of mobile multimedia

Filed under: Handsets, Palm, GSM, EDGE Having the Palm Pre on Sprint might be good for Americans driving their pick ‘em up trucks down the CDMA data highway, but it doesn’t do Europeans (or Palm’s bottom line) any good over in the Old World. Now we’ve got video and images of a GSM-loving Palm Pre on the loose in Vietnam.

Filed under: Culture, Handsets, RIM, Misc Not that we haven’t heard a few miraculous gadgets-saving-lives stories before, but this one is in a league of its own. According to the always-embellishing Sun , one David Fitzherbert is thanking his smartphone after coming entirely too close to falling 700 feet to his death. As the story goes, he got wedged between a pair of rocks after losing control of his skis in the Matterhorn, and while we aren’t quite sure why he chose RIM’s BlackBerry over — say, chap-stick, car keys, his wallet or a fattening breakfast — he credited it with adding just enough width to his person to keep him wedged.

Filed under: Software, Nokia, Symbian There’s no shortage of complaints — some minor, some not-so-minor — about the shipping firmware in the N97s that are already out in the field (our wonky backlight comes immediately to mind), but fortunately, it seems that Nokia’s looking to tackle the issues perhaps more proactively than it’s ever done before. Nokia Conversations’ official Twitter account has announced that the “first variants” of the N97 (which we would take to mean the North American version, since the US got it first) will be blessed with firmware 1.1 starting on July 1, which hopefully will be available over-the-air without any Nokia Software Updater silliness

Filed under: Sprint Screw the Pre — government contracts are where the real action is at, and Sprint’s got to be thrilled to know that it’s the first, the last, and the only carrier to be used by the US Census in its 2010 once-per-decade review of the nation’s denizens. We’ve known for some time that HTC would be supplying custom hardware to data collection folks in the field — a device cleverly codenamed Census — and indeed, Sprint’s press release makes mention of the fact that about 140,000 workers started using the Harris-branded devices with integrated fingerprint readers and GPS back in April of this year. Sprint’s also supplying a bit of infrastructure and about 1,500 wireless data cards, all told making this by far the most wireless Census in history.

Filed under: Handsets, RIM, Verizon Wireless, GSM, EDGE, EV-DO, HSDPA, UMTS, CDMA, BlackBerry OS Only the most buttoned-up, high-security businessfolk still require phones without cameras these days — and seeing how the BlackBerry Tour is destined to become the new de facto choice for buttoned-up, high-security businessfolk, it stands to reason that a cameraless version makes a whole lot of sense. Sure enough, it turns out that Verizon will be offering a non-cam version right alongside the regular Tour when it launches on the 12th, but don’t think of this as a great money-saving opportunity if you don’t snap a lot of photos — Big Red wants to charge the same $199.99 on contract for this one that they’re charging for the regular version. CIA operatives, though, have to be pretty stoked.

Filed under: Handsets, Nokia, Rogers Wireless, GSM, EDGE In North America, Rogers has a reputation for getting the most cool GSM handsets the quickest (that’s not the only reputation it has, but we won’t go there right this second) — but this is one case where T-Mobile USA beat ‘em to the punch by a mile. The Canadian carrier is adding the Nokia 7510 to its TalkSpot-compatible lineup, meaning you’ll be able to offload calls to WiFi when you’re within range of a hotspot and transfer seamlessly to and from GSM. There’s no 3G, but the colorful flip does come with changeable faceplates, a concealed secondary display, 2 megapixel camera with flash, and microSD expansion

Filed under: Misc, Accessories Mushroom Networks has been in the “broadband bonding” business for quite a while now, but we’re guessing they’re going to find a few more fans with their new wireless broadband gear, which promises the fastest cellular-based internet connection to date. Like the company’s previous PortaBella device (pictured above, not exactly to scale), its new rig can combine up to four different cellular data cards into a single high-speed connection, but this one is fully portable (just over a pound) and, perhaps most importantly, it has an optional battery pack that’ll let you be truly mobile with it.

Filed under: Handsets, RIM, Alltel, GSM, EDGE, EV-DO, HSDPA, UMTS, CDMA, BlackBerry OS We’ve got to give the divested markets representing the hollow husk of what was once Alltel a lot of credit — they seem to be doing everything in their power to continue rocking. For proof of that, look no further than this — pretty solid evidence that there’s an Alltel-branded Tour coming down the pike. Assuming they can keep the price within reason, it’d make for a truly epic purchase on these fancy new one-year contracts they’ve moved to, would it not?

If you’ve been biting your nails off anticipating the launch of the Blackberry Tour , you probably want to visit a psychiatrist ASAP. But you can also be happy to know that Verizon Wireless just announced that they’ll be releasing the Tour on July 12th. The Tour provides anyone hell-bent on Verizon (like people who actually want their phone to make and receive calls ) a good multimedia phone in the $200 price range.