Looks like Amazon may soon be getting some competition for the hearts of the Kindle-loving literati over at the Algonquin. In a pre-CES interview with Reuters, Verizon's Tony Lewis -- the man in charge of their Open Development program -- doesn't see the current state of the economy as halting production of e-readers or other nonessential consumer electronics. "Competitors to the Kindle are out there and ready," the man said. "In 2009 I'd expect them to come to the market." To date, the company's certified 29 third party devices to run on the carrier, a new attitude that seems to have come about when they realized the bucketfuls of cash they could be raking in if they were a little more... well, open to these sorts of things. If you're a vendor, feel free to peep their booth this week at CES. We're sure you'll be more than welcome.

[Via Moco News]

Gearlog has raised a very interesting (if not predictable) point: since Verizon's "Any Apps, Any Device" initiative went live to bring unlocked hardware onto the network: there isn't much there that Joe Consumer could possibly care about. The official list of devices that has passed Big Red's compatibility testing reveals nothing of end user interest, concentrating on enterprise devices like routers, and -- of course -- electronic tethers for criminals. You know, the kinds of devices that aren't going to put Verizon's direct, branded offerings at any risk of cannibalization. The bottom line is that we're still waiting for the real open network here, but we're not really holding our breath.

So Verizon's still trying to clear out VX8350 inventory, but as soon as it does, we'll all start to see this little gem show up. The VX8360's been rumored for some time now -- heck, it was originally pegged for an October '08 launch -- but there's really no need to get too worked up about the delay, seeing how your $50 on contract after rebate is only going to land you a 1.3-megapixel camera and a positively forgettable design. EV-DO and VZ Navigator support are nice, but frankly, it's starting to get hard to find a Verizon phone that doesn't support nav, so call us when this is free on contract, guys!

Following a good half year of courtship while the regulatory miscellany ran its course, Verizon's finally ready to take the plunge and call this $5.9 billion deal done. The combined juggernaut will amass a staggering 78 million subscribers, putting it roughly 3 million ahead of its closest rival, AT&T, though it'll do so at the cost of assuming some $22.9 billion in Alltel debt. Ultimately, the merger means some positions at Alltel headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas will get axed -- but hey, AT&T Mobility HQ's just a stone's throw away in Atlanta, so Verizon's headcount loss could ultimately be AT&T's gain.

[Via Phone Scoop]

The age of the ultra-cheap (and non-repulsive) smartphone is officially upon us, and Verizon would like to throw its hat into the ring by offering the BlackBerry Pearl 8130 for the ridiculously low price of $19.99 on contract after $100 mail-in rebate "while supplies last." We'd obviously rather be able to slap down twenty right in the store and take the Pearl home with us, but 'round here, rebates are more the rule than the exception, so we're used to it. Keep it up, Verizon -- maybe Storms for $20 next?

[Via Boy Genius Report]

We've got a whopper this week over at Classic's Ask Engadget, and we're soliciting your help. Real simple: what's the best smartphone available for under $200 on contract? And... go!

We had an inkling that Casio and Verizon were up to something when we caught an Exilim-branded phone working its way through the FCC, and it looks like that hunch was right-on -- check out this hot snap of an Exilim NX9250 that just turned up. We're told that the chubby-looking handset features a 5.1 megapixel camera (right, Exilim) and "possibly" a WVGA screen, and those hinges suggest a swivel-flip design -- too bad it doesn't look as slick as that W63CA we were secretly hoping for. We'll see what this one looks like all dolled up -- we've got a feeling we'll find out soon enough. One more shot after the break.

2008 was, to say the least, a banner year for Windows Mobile hardware. Windows Mobile software... well, that's another story; we're still patiently waiting for the same thorough overhaul we'd hoped for years ago, but in the meantime, manufacturers have done an absolutely stellar job of taking the platform to its limits and packaging it in ways that could make any smartphone envious. For this first time, VGA screens (and beyond) have come to market en masse, and -- unlike the 8525s, Tilts, Moguls, and XV6800s of yesteryear, the latest batch of QWERTY sliders look like they've actually got a lick of intelligent industrial design in their DNA.

So these puppies are similar, yes, but they're not the same -- so let's take a quick look at what separates the Sprint Touch Pro, from the Verizon Touch Pro, from the AT&T Fuze, from the Sony Ericsson X1 (whew!).

Desperately in need of a "new" (in terms of a never broken seal only) smartphone? Don't mind tinkering with the last version of Windows Mobile? No need for a QWERTY keyboard? If you were miraculously able to answer "yes" to the aforesaid questions, you're in luck! Verizon Wireless has finally accepted that no one in their right mind wants to pay a decent price for a Pantech PN-820 smartphone that's rockin' WinMo 5.0 and a design that's straight out of 2007 (literally), so instead of just lighting the remaining inventory on fire, it's doing the next best thing: offering it up for $9.99 on contract. The sad part is that this thing isn't even worth ten bucks with that hundred pound agreement tied to it, but we're sure a few suckers will bite. They're born everyday, you know.

[Via RCRWireless]

Way back in autumn of last year, AT&T agreed to give up seven markets in its Dobson Communications buy in order to get the all-important FCC stamp of approval; just a few months ago, Verizon Wireless was forced to sell licenses in six markets in order to improve competition in the Rural Cellular markets that it was acquiring. Now, that whole nightmare of red tape has been all wrapped up, as suits and cube dwellers no doubt frantically tried to tie up loose ends before the New Year that should've been knotted weeks ago. Essentially, the deal means that AT&T Mobility has acquired some former Rural Cellular properties previously acquired by Verizon Wireless, while VZW has acquired from AT&T Mobility some former Dobson Communications properties. All the nitty-gritty details are in the read link below should you care to venture down.

[Via phonescoop]

Why wait for Verizon to do it? As usual, the always-vigilant WinMo community has come through with its own GPS unlock for Verizon's Touch Pro, meaning you're not locked to the VZ Navigator app -- pricey monthly fee and all -- to get your coordinate fix. The unlock's a little hacky, and the trick's author himself says that it should be characterized as a "beta," so we wouldn't recommend doing this if you rely on your Touch Pro to be spot-on perfect day in and day out -- but if you like living on the edge and you just love knowing where you are, this might be worth a shot.

[Via wmpoweruser.com]

We're still no closer to determining just how many BlackBerry Storm sales have been reversed by now, but either way, said handset is reportedly Verizon's "best-selling device." Interestingly, it's up to your best guess as to what that really signifies, as the quantity of Storm devices sold remains tightly under wraps. In other words, you could take that to mean it's the bestselling right now (highly probable) or that it has already outsold all other VZW handsets in two short months (not at all probable). In other, more substantiated news, RIM has proclaimed that it sold 6.9 million smartphones between September and November of this year, which -- coincidentally enough -- is exactly how many iPhone 3Gs that Apple sold through in its Q4. So RIM, whenever you feel like dishing out that exact figure that only everyone, everywhere is waiting for, we'll be listening.

[Via Silicon Alley Insider]

Our first thought when we saw Boy Genius Report's alleged shots of Moto phones that'll find a home on Verizon in 2009 was, "holy cow, these look fake." And yes, granted, they're all renders -- but what really set off the alarms for us was the fact that they look... well, nothing like Motorolas. At all. But then we thought about it for a second and realized that hey, you know, when you're a once-great cellphone manufacturer losing market share hand over fist and you're looking for the Next Big Thing, you probably want to try something a little new, a little fresh, and a little crazy. So on that note, Verizon can apparently expect a "Rush 2" early in the year that continues Moto's contribution to the low-cost messaging phone trend; the "Calgary" (pictured), looking like a high-end Sidekick Slide minus the Sidekick; the "Inferno," presumably succeeding the ZN4 (which was coincidentally codenamed "Blaze"); and finally the gorgeous "Flash," which -- as far as we're concerned -- should just take the A3000's place. So yeah, these could be an elaborate hoax, but for Motorola's sake, we hope they're not.

Okay, so maybe the unlocking of the GPS on Verizon BlackBerrys wasn't an accident after all -- and maybe hell has frozen completely over. WMExperts is reporting an official statement released by the carrier claiming that GPS has remained locked down on many of its models simply because it hasn't met Verizon's "performance goals," which granted, sounds like a crock -- but to Verizon's credit, they're the ones getting the phone calls when things aren't working smoothly, not the phone's manufacturer. Still, when you consider that VZ Navigator runs a pricey $9.99 a month for WinMo devices, the financial motivation was certainly there to keep it locked down, so maybe customer dissatisfaction with the policy has reached a boiling point or Verizon is simply realizing that they're not milking enough money to bother. Specifically, the Touch Pro, Saga, and Omnia have all been mentioned as getting fully unlocked, standalone GPS via firmware updates in the first half of next year.

[Via Brighthand]

Yeah, you read that correctly. Now shipping with a front speaker. If you'll have a look at the original version (after the break) and compare the front to the image you see above, it's easy to spot the difference. With no rhyme, reason or official announcement, Casio has apparently started shipping VZW a refreshed version of the rough and tough G'zOne Boulder. According to the owner of this here mobile, the model number now sits at C711ORXB, though the significance of that is anyone's guess. We know, your "old" Boulder now feels totally inadequate -- shame a simple software update can't bring it up to speed.

[Via phoneArena]