If you still haven't decided on what sort of next-gen cellphone to buy, then here's something that could make your choices just a bit more difficult: the latest phone in the BlackBerry line, the BlackBerry Kickstart. Guess what? It's been revealed as a clamshell flip phone. Check out all the details of this very nifty gadget in the full article and see if the need for one doesn't overtake you.

If you're looking for new gadgets that are so new, they aren't even made yet, there's no place to turn to but the trusty US Patent and Trade Office website, right? The latest cool find this time is from Research in Motion: a new BlackBerry device with a sliding keyboard. The gadget looks so sweet, we wish that there will be no patent infringement lawsuits would spring up to mar the possibility of this device getting launched for public consumption. Check out the illustration in the full article.

Here's an update regarding the developments happening with Sony Ericsson. The company has plans of making smartphones based on the Windows Mobile operating system by the end of year 2008.

The company will introduce the world to the XPERIA X1, a touch screen slider phone with a typewriter-style qwerty keyboard. More information in the full article.

Hewlett Packard may be gunning for the big time in the PC gaming enthusiast market, but it hasn't forgotten the markets it's currently participating in. Some information about a new HP smartphone called the HP Silver just hit the news waves, as well as a brochure-grade image and a list of features fit for a modern computer phone. Get all that at the full story.

Fresh in the consumer electronics scene is LG Electronics' concept design for an multi-touch multi-LCD iTouch, with a dock base similar to the never-to-be Foleo from Palm, and touch-type QWERTY keyboard surface, and even touch-screen playback controls. This new concept design is for the LG Touch, and it fuses functionality of an all-in-one mobile companion, a smartphone, and a portable entertainment device.

The concept design, all-sleek in black and neon green LED lighting and decorations, speaks volumes about LG's goals for the ultimate in class and features for the LG Touch. The iPhone concept, encased in a "Prada-ish" shell of shiny, black elegance, gets further glorified with multiple LCD displays dabbed at the edges of the device for displaying miscellaneous status massages...err, messages.

Love the dockable base? Aside from a glow, LED-lit QWERTY keyboard interface, it also serves as the LG Touch's charging station. The CYON headphone's wires also glow,neon green up to the ears, and one of the pair will even come with a hands-free headset microphone. It plugs to a neon, standard issue headphone socket (particulars unannounced) so you couldn't go wrong in plugging it in.

Concept design art courtesy of Yeop Kim.

   

A good old one-two to divert the attention away from the competition would be similar to what Ultimate series creators i-Mate did recently: drop two high-end bombshells. Introducing i-Mate's Ultimate 8502 and 9502, two QWERTY high-end cellphones running on Windows Mobile 6 operating system and sporting a specifications set like other sweet features decked on the competition's bleeding edge mobiles.

The 8502 and 9502 go all out black, though the 9502 (image to your right) sports quad-band GSM, 3.5G connectivity, and tri-band HSUPA powered through Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6 operating system. It also comes with a video out port aside from providing crystal clear, crisp images through its sliding VGA LCD display, and LED flash for still captures.

But yes, it also jogs all the way down to the 2.5 millimeter audio jack, which doesn't quite broaden your headset options.

The 8502 in contrast touts a more simplistic design (no slide-down LCD screen), though its feature set is anything but simplistic. Aside from the usual WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth connectivity, you get 256 MB ROM and 128 MB RAM from the get-go, plus the 9502's 400 MHz Qualcomm processor. The camera slices down to a 2.0 megapixels from the 9502's 3.0 megapixel camera.

There are no details yet on price and retail shipping yet, so we can't tell you how much moolah you'll have to burn for i-Mate's new muscle gizmos. But as soon as they come up, we'll let you know. For now, feel free to visit i-Mate's website to take a gander at these beauties. The link redirects you to the Ultimate 9502 section.

Virgin Mobile now has a winning card in their hands: introducing Virgin Mobile's Wild Card by Kyocera. It's a mobile phone than can stream music through its Headliners streaming audio application. How's that for getting your music on the go?

Kyocera's Wild Card is looking nifty, with its flip open QWERTY keyboard, color LCD screen, and a 1.3 megapixel camera that will become handy should you wish to save some memories you have with your friends.

The going rate isn't bad either. The audio streaming service through Virgin Wireless is only US$ 2.50 per month, and songs on demand are available for a very affordable 25 cent rate. Reports have mentioned that the song-on-demand fee will permit unlimited listening to the song, but Virgin did not clarify exactly how.

It looks like Virgin is definitely on the roll with their audio streaming services, including Virgin Radio for the Wii and PS3, and we're definitely not complaining.

    

It appears Motorola has four new models laid out for the gadget scene in 2008, as details and photos apparently seeped through a presentation conducted by the company in Amsterdam last month. While Motorola unveiled its Christmas line-up of mobile phones, four models were also shown as the company presented its vision of their future line-up.

The four new phones include the Motorola Skarven, the X Pixl, the Texel, and the Genghis - the first two of which are planned as phones aimed for the photo savvy users. The Texel and the Genghis will address users on the music and the business slice of the market, respectively. Note that some of these names are codenames for the devices and may not reflect the final product's name.

The Skarven and the X Pixl are two products that fit into Motorola's Zoom assortment of phones. Their most marketed function is the photo-capture capability, and the Skarven will spearhead the line as the top model. The kick-sliding Skarven will sport an 8-megapixel camera and a 2.8-inch LCD screen rendering images at 16 million colors.

The X Pixl in contrast will enter the 5-megapixel line (the middle market so to speak), already populated by the Nokia N95, the Samsung G600, and the Sony Ericsson K850i. It's speculated that the phone will have little new to offer and may carry the official product name of Motorola Z12.

The Motorola Texel will be a new addition to the music-player ROKR category, though it will carry the Motorola ROKR E8's Morph technology. That would basically mean that each key would execute and display nine underlying functions. It will also bear the universally-accepted 3.5-millimeter headphone jack.

The Motorola Genghis will serve the quasi-business oriented consumer as part of the Multi-Q line. The phone sports a full QWERTY keypad and speculators believe that Motorola has plans to keep the model customizable with different faceplates. It will enter its own line at the entry level with a reasonable price tag.

What's black and white and has GPS? Say hello to the BlackBerry 8820. Stylishly thin at 14mm, this little dynamo weighs in at only 134g and is packed with everything you need - and more - for your lifestyle on the go. Features include:

• Wireless email
• Organiser
• Browser
• Phone
• BlackBerry Maps
• Multi-media player
• Corporate data access
  
• SMS
• MMS
  
• GPS
• Wi-Fi support
• 64 MB internal memory
• MicroSD card
• Bluetooth capability

Plus this little SmartPhone is smart enough to automatically adjust its lights for optimal viewing. It has a QWERTY keyboard with a 320 x 240 display screen. The 8820 is also Research in Motion's first Smartphone to support WiFi and has the standard 802.11 a/b/g and even supports IM and can switch between calls and WiFi networks seamlessly.

It also supports third party applications, giving users access to a whole plethora of available programs. The battery is removable and can support up to 5 hours of talk time and can go up to 22 days if on standby.

RIM will release the BlackBerry in the U.S. through AT&T later this summer, and last heard to be priced at US$ 230.

Nicknamed the Sidekick Slide, the new Motorola Zante is due to come out this October. To tease us with all its wonderful purple power, Motorola has released two new shiny pictures and more technical info. Here are some of the features you can expect from the Zante:

• Full multimedia playback support
• Java
• Game controllers
• Danger OS
• Push email
• Web browser
• QWERTY buttons
• Bluetooth
• MP3 player (AAC, WAV and MIDI)
• 1.3 megapixel cam
• EDGE connection
• 128MB Internal Memory
• Expansion slot for Mini SD cards up to 2GB

Apart from all that, it's said to be able to handle up to 5.9 hours of talk time -- or at least that's what mobile duo Motorola and T-Mobile are aiming for. It could be yours for US$ 269, but probably the best part is how purple and shiny it is.