July 3 - 1:35pm EDT   The iPhone is currently the best-selling smartphone in Japan, at least at retail, according to a recent survey. Gathered by research firm BCN, data from 2,300 stores shows the 8GB iPhone 3G as the most popular smartphone, followed by its 16GB sibling. Ranking third in the survey is the NTT DoCoMo Aquos SH-04A, designed by Sharp; RIM's BlackBerry Bold ranks sixth, and a full four slots in the list are occupied by devices from HTC. [full story]

July 2 - 12:40pm EDT   T-Mobile's version of the HTC Touch Pro2 may ship later than originally expected if sources are truthful. Initially assumed to ship on the 22nd, the phone may now not show until August 12th based on TmoNews' information. Why the delay exists isn't known, but the date would follow a week after the expected August 5th ship date for the myTouch 3G and may be tailored to keep the Pro2 from undermining the Android phone's bigger launch. [full story]

July 2 - 12:10pm EDT   HTC's Hero is likely bound for AT&T if an FCC filing is indicative of plans. The test entries show the phone using both the 850MHz and 1,900MHz bands that would be necessary for HSPA-based 3G on AT&T's network and which aren't present in the current version, which only recognizes Asia- and Europe-friendly 900MHz and 2,100MHz frequencies. [full story]

June 30 - 4:05pm EDT   A home-brewed version of the operating system for the Android-powered and recently announced HTC Hero has been released on the web, according to according to info from Italian website Androidiani. Downloading the approximately 85MB file will allows users of the HTC Magic, Dream, Ion and T-Mobile G1 to unofficially upgrade their phones with Flash support and the updated nicknamed Rosie Sense user interface of the upcoming Hero on their Android handsets. [full story]

June 29 - 1:55pm EDT   The Windows Mobile cellular platform is being rechristened as Windows Phone, says Microsoft's French product chief for the software, Audrey Zolghadr. The name change should come with a fall OS update -- formerly known as Windows Mobile 6.5 -- and harmonize the interfaces for updated services including Marketplace, MyPhone and the various Live options, such as Messenger and Hotmail. When it launches the Marketplace should contain some 600 certified applications, a fraction of the approximate 20,000 apps in wide distribution. [full story]

June 29 - 9:30am EDT   Several major cellphone makers today agreed to support a European Union push for a universal charger standard. Apple, LG, Motorola, Nokia, RIM, Samsung and Sony Ericsson have signed a deal with the European Commission that will see micro USB become the default connector for powering cellphones in the continent. Chipset producers like NEC, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments have also agreed to the deal. [full story]

June 26 - 1:35pm EDT   Wireless provider T-Mobile will hold a series of business events in several major US cities to showcase its recently unveiled HTC Dash 3G but will also show the rumored Touch Pro2 smartphone. Those who wish to attend the events need to register, but will apparently receive a Dash 3G handset, due for an official release on July 15th, for free. As previously reported, the Touch Pro2 is due to arrive in stores on July 22nd. The first event is on July 14th in San Francisco. [full story]

June 25 - 4:50pm EDT   Wireless provider Sprint is reportedly currently testing the HTC Hero before its release at the end of the year, as well as a portable WiMAX device from Samsung which could be the touchscreen Mondi. According to a Thursday PhoneNews leak, the WiMAX device will ship with the Android operating system, just like the HTC Hero, instead of a Windows Mobile OS, like reported earlier. [full story]

June 25 - 8:50am EDT   Verizon today undercut the QWERTY smartphone field by launching the low-price HTC Ozone. The adapttion of the HTC Snap already at Sprint brings a different look but more importantly adds world roaming; while at home it uses CDMA and EVDO Rev A for calls and 3G, it has quad-band GSM and EDGE support for calls and 2G data in most parts of the world. Verizon-specific software also gives the phone Visual Voice Mail and support for VZ Navigator. [full story]

June 24 - 8:25am EDT   HTC at a press event this morning launched its third-generation Android phone in less than a year. The Hero is designed as a web- and music-focused phone with a touchscreen-dependent design like the Magic but is even more compact. Its key, however, is a new interface known as Sense: like TouchFLO, it offers quicker access to calendars, contacts, the time and the weather as well as a quick launcher for the phone dialer. These are all accessible as Android-standard widgets. [full story]

June 23 - 1:10pm EDT   Images and specifications have leaked for what is claimed to be the HTC Firestone. A Windows Mobile 6.5 device, the Firestone is believed to use a 3.6-inch WVGA touchscreen, with graphics powered by a 600MHz Qualcomm processor. Memory comes in the form of 256MB of RAM, supplemented by 512MB of ROM and a microSD slot. One of the major features is said to be an eight-megapixel camera, though there is no mention of flash or autofocus so far. [full story]

June 22 - 4:50pm EDT   HTC's first Android phone, the Dream (or T-Mobile G1), was ostensibly pitched as an "iPhone killer" but was really an alternative to a legion of lookalike Windows Mobile phones. The Magic -- called the myTouch 3G in the US -- encroaches much more directly on Apple's territory. It's thinner, sleeker and the first Android device to depend on a touchscreen keyboard. But do the form factor and a host of much-needed software features like video recording manage to unseat Apple from the hearts and minds of at least some prospective customers, or is it arriving too late? We find out in our complete review. [full story]

June 22 - 1:30pm EDT   Verizon's edition of the HTC Snap has had virtually all of its details leaked ahead of its near-term launch. Rebadged as the Ozone, the QWERTY bar phone seen by BGR will be turned into a world phone with both CDMA and EVDO Rev A for Verizon's own network as well as four-band GSM and EDGE for calling and 2G data in other countries. Unlike many Verizon smartphones, the device won't have features disabled and should have both Wi-Fi as well as GPS usable with any app, not just VZ Navigator. [full story]

June 22 - 7:35am EDT   T-Mobile this morning showed its hand in the smartphone competition this summer by officially launching the myTouch 3G as its second Android phone. A near-identical version of the HTC Magic, the device drops the G1's hardware keyboard for a much slimmer design that depends almost exclusively on the 3.2-inch touchscreen and competes more closely with the iPhone both in shape and control. HTC's smartphone expands on this with haptic feedback for its keyboard and a trackball for one-handed use. [full story]

June 19 - 2:45pm EDT   HTC chief Peter Chou told the Taiwan-area commercial paper Commercial Times today that his company expects to sell the millionth Magic by August. Having taken roughly six months to sell the millionth G1, Chou's firm now says it will only take the three months since the Magic's launch in May to reach a similar amount for the second Android phone. It's not clear how many Android phones HTC has sold in total. [full story]