Glenn Lurie, formerly the president of National Distribution for AT&T Mobility and in tight with the launch of the iPhone, is sitting in a new corner office today, and the placard outside now reads "President of AT&T Emerging Devices, National Distribution and Resale." In the role, Mr. Lurie will lead the carrier's "strategic initiative to drive the innovation that will bring wireless connectivity to a host of new consumer electronics devices and applications." We're talking PCs, MIDs, UMPCs, cars, navigation systems -- you name it, this is your man for getting AT&T wrapped up in it. One of his first quotes in the new position was that "high-speed wireless broadband service can enhance a huge variety of gadgets," and while some may say that's obvious, we're just glad the man has his sights set in the right direction. More WWAN devices of any kind? Yes, please.

You know what warms our hearts and brings a tear to our weary eye? Opening up the FCC paperwork for a so-called "Nokia RM-350" and being greeted with two things: one, a picture of an N79 just stone-cold chilling on a table, and two, a long-ass table of supported frequencies -- North American 3G stuff included -- with a bunch of "PASSED" remarks next to them. That's the FCC's way of saying "we likey," and you know what? We likey, too.

Not that you really needed any additional instructions on how to operate the BlackBerry Storm, but just in case you're a little slow on the uptake (or just want to be ultra-prepared come launch day), you'll certainly want to direct your attention to the video after the break. Yeah, it's a Vodafone Storm, so those looking for the typical Verizon garb will be a tad disoriented at first, but we're sure it'll be of assistance in the long run. Run along and study, kids -- release day is, um, soon... ish.

AT&T and Option jointly announced the launch of one of the world's smallest HSPA USB devices today, the USBConnect Quicksilver. The latest in the carrier's line of LaptopConnect devices, this mobile broadband unit weighs just 1.2-ounces and can roam (for a price, of course) in more than 150 countries, with 3G available in over 60. Best of all, this USB modem actually looks halfway decent for the fashionistas that care, boasting an "intelligent" protective cap and a mildly curvaceous flair. Oh, and did we mention that it's available today at no cost if you ink your name to a two-year DataConnect plan of $60 or more? 'Cause it is.

So what do you think they take pictures of in an FCC lab when they've got an 8-megapixel cameraphone handy? Oh, come on -- you know the technicians lucky enough to fiddle with fresh gadget after delicious, fresh gadget as they burn through specific absorption rate paperwork engage in a little extracurricular activity from time to time. Our guess, honestly, is that they probably snap that scary apparatus that looks like a human head made out of gelatin and MMS it to their daughter with a message like "look what I found in the ditch, honey!" Of course, that prank only works once before little Julie figures out what daddy's up to, then all hell breaks loose as she tips off the gadget blogs that there's an unannounced Sony Ericsson on the way. Yeah, the C905. Thanks, Julie.

From a corporate standpoint, we can sort of understand the parent company's desire to have the best handset launches all to itself, but it sure would've been kind of it to throw FIDO a proverbial bone. If you'll recall, whispers were in the air that Rogers, FIDO's parent company, would be reserving the Nokia E71 for a fall / winter FIDO launch; now, we're hearing from a number of directions that those plans may have been scrapped. In fact, Rogers could now be hosting the phone all by its lonesome next month in Canada. Of course, we'll have to wait until then to see if hearts change once more, but boy, the tug-of-war between parent and child here is really bringing back some frightening memories.

[Via mobilesyrup]

While the 5310 XpressMusic candybar has first rights to the Comes With Music party, Nokia's old faithful won't be far behind. Mobile operator 3 UK is gearing up to launch a CwM-edition N95 soon, which will give Nokia fanatics that have somehow managed to avoid the heralded handset this long a chance to redeem themselves. Details beyond that are scant, but we are told that the contract-toting N95 will be available from 3 "next month" for an undisclosed amount.

[Via mocoNews]

If you're into that whole SMS craze and you're on AT&T, you're in luck -- four times over. The carrier's gone ahead and announced not one, not two, but four QWERTY-equipped dumphones today, including a dual slider and a Pantech being billed as "the world's thinnest device with a full QWERTY keypad."

First up, the Pantech Matrix is available now in your choice of blue or green, with red being added on Thursday, October 16. It slides two ways -- a conventional vertical slide to reveal a numeric keypad, and a second side slider for the full QWERTY action. It's got 3G, AT&T Navigation, Video Share support, and a 1.3-megapixel cam, running $79.99 on contract with rebate. Next, the Samsung Propel apes the i620's industrial design -- but make no mistake, there's no Windows Mobile to be found here. It also does 3G and features the full host of AT&T services, packs a 1.3-megapixel cam, and will run the same $79.99 as the Matrix when it hits in late October in blue, green, red, and white with red accents. Next, the Pantech Slate is pretty appropriately named -- if its claim of being the thinnest QWERTY device in the world ends up holding water, anyway. It'll be available in late October alongside the Propel for $49.99 on contract with a 1.3-megapixel camera, but there's no high-speed data to be found in this sucker. Finally, the long-rumored Quickfire -- you may know it better as the Knick -- will come in November bearing AT&T branding and a Sidekick-esque style that'll likely appeal to the young'uns among us. It's got a touchscreen in addition to a slide-out QWERTY deal, a 1.3-megapixel camera (notice a trend here?), and 3G in your choice of orange, lime, and silver for $99.99 after you've inked up the dotted line.

Based on what we've learned about LG's KC910 (or the Renoir, as it's affectionately known), we had all ideas it was being reserved for corners of the globe not named USA. But after taking one look at the specifications on the outfit's Global web portal, we're beginning to have second thoughts. Granted, this whole thing could just be a copy and paste blunder, but the 8-megapixel cellie sure shows up as having support for 850/900/1800/1900 GSM bands. Everything else looks par for the course, but we'd be lying if we said we weren't a wee bit excited about the possibilities here. Hold tight -- we'll be keeping an ear to the ground for more details.

[Thanks, Kevin]

Sure enough, the ASUS-built O2 Xda Zest is more than just a figment of someone's imagination, though speaking of imaginations, we simply can't hear this phone's name without thinking about the soap. Sorry, just can't do it. All that aside, the handset has finally made its way onto the carrier's "Coming Soon" page, where we're told that it will include Windows Mobile for opening up Office documents, a 3-megapixel camera, 3G, WiFi, 356MB of internal memory and a microSD expansion slot. Looking for more? Strap yourself down and wait until November, vaquero.

[Via CoolSmartphone]

The 5800 XpressMusic may be delayed for some people, but apparently, the boys and girls at the FCC aren't included in that flatly unlucky group. Nokia has passed a version of its first touchscreen S60 handset by the Fed's watchful eyes, and all's looking good except for one critical detail: this isn't the HSDPA 850 / 1900 version. We're sure it's coming, don't get us wrong -- but for the time being, this does us just about as much good as a Nokia with a resistive touch... ah, wait.

Oh sure, LG has teased us with a faux wood cellphone, and Hulger has actually produced one that four people in existence can afford, but this... this is something else. According to the captions in textlad's Flickr pool, Nokia's own eco-team designed and created the object of desire that you see above: an 8-megapixel "handset" that appears to function just fine. We can already tell you this thing isn't coming to market, but we would absolutely love to be proven wrong.

[Via TreeHugger, thanks shellshock]

Kudos, SE -- you've had our minds fixed on this elusive Cyber-shot candybar of yours for a solid half-month. We've now learned that the handset formerly known as Kate may actually be revealed as the Filippa, but we wouldn't be shocked to hear it referred to as the Kyliowooka next week. According to new images over at SEMC Blog, this here handset will indeed boast a 5-megapixel AF camera, video out, a 2.2-inch QVGA display, M2 card slot, 140MB of built-in memory and the ability to capture QVGA video. You'll also find a Xenon flash, face detection / smile shutter, HSUPA, an active lens cover and YouTube support. Now, if only we knew how legitimate all of this was...

And now a little bit of news out of our "straight out of left field" department: Verizon's apparently getting the Omnia. We've spent so long trying to will a North American HSDPA-equipped version of Samsung's WinMo superphone into existence that we totally failed to consider the possibility of an EV-DO-equipped version materializing first, and sure enough, Verizon's latest rebate form lists an Omnia. We suppose it's possible that this'll somehow be watered down from its international equivalent, but we hope both Samsung and Big Red are smart enough to launch an unfettered, honest-to-goodness CDMA translation of the mighty 5-megapixel original.

Separately, we noticed a Samsung Saga listed on there, did a little Googling, and Wirefly seems convinced that the long-rumored global WinMo QWERTY i770 is going to be called the "Saga." So yeah, that settles that.

[Thanks, Donald H.]

It's been a long time coming (isn't it always with Sony Ericsson and AT&T?), but the January-announced W760 Walkman slider is finally hitting the US on contract. Announced today, the shakeable W760a will be available in AT&T locations, bringing with it 3G support, a 3.2-megapixel camera, AT&T Navigator and "full HTML web browsing." In case you haven't seen already, it'll be available in red, black and silver motifs, with the latter hue being exclusive to RadioShack for a limited time. Check it as early as today for $129.99 (with a 2-year agreement) after mail-in rebate.