The FCC has revealed FCC approval for the unannounced Dell Mini 5 Android powered MID device with support for AT&T 3G bands along with quadband GSM/EDGE support and Wi-Fi radio.

The next update to RIM’s BlackBerry Internet Service protocol used for data access on the BlackBerry device lineup will feature full Google and GMail sync after years of dependence on third-party tools and applications for incomplete synchronization between device and accounts according to a leaked internal PDF.

BIS 3.0 will allow message status changes made in both Gmail and on the BlackBerry to by synchronized in both directions instead of the one-way sync found in version 2.8 of the protocol. The updated protocol is expected to be rolled out by the manufacturer in March, with no availability timeframe for carrier deployment available at this time.

A new T-Mobile roadmap for employees has surfaced detailing the next wave forthcoming of models for the carrier.

The long awaited HTC HD2 is now expected to be launched on March 24th, the Motorola CLIQ XT, which is a full touch version of the CLIQ without the hardware QWERTY keyboard will launch two weeks earlier on March 10th and the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will be rebranded Nuron and include the Ovi app store when it launches on March 17th.

The wireless industry hasn’t quite got it yet. I’ve penned countless editorials on this site, dating back to 2003, begging the industry to wake up on the importance of a steady stream of firmware updates.

One reason Apple is kicking the industry’s butt is that iPhone keeps getting firmware updates. No, not iPhone 3G, and not iPhone 3GS, but the first iPhone. Apple continues to backport firmware for a device they don’t sell anymore. Does HTC do that? Nope, they’ve already cut support for their first Android phones on most carriers. Does Samsung do that? It took a community white paper to convince them to fix the bugs in their SCH-i8910 Symbian superphone.

No, folks, the industry still doesn’t get it. People expect their phones to last longer than their contracts, and only Apple delivers that. Granted, Apple does a lot of stuff that can only be described as communistic. But, one thing they get right is what average users expect… and they typically beat that.

Case in point is today’s buried failure of the SMT5800. The average eBay value of this phone has fallen below the Motorola RAZR. Why? Because the firmware wasn’t maintained. Had it been maintained, we would have seen EV-DO Rev A, Windows Mobile 6.1, and yes, dare I say, Windows Mobile 6.5 and beyond. GPS should have been there in the first place, no excuses there.

Companies try their quirky tactics, such as forced firmware updates. It doesn’t matter if it’s Palm or Verizon, we nail them for their lame efforts that miss the mark. Palm got our message and stepped up with native code. But where are the carriers stepping up, promising that devices will have to launch with firmware support timeframes? Where are the lifecycles that go beyond the contracts?

In short, I’m angry. The SMT5800 should have been a killer phone. It should have seen a successor. But the industry still has its head stuck in a pre-iPhone mentality. At PhoneNews.com, we’re already in a post-iPhone mentality… and we’ve butted heads with far too many in the industry that just don’t get it.

So, for 2010, we’re going to buck the trend. We’re going to bring consumers through this, and let the chips fall where they may. We’re going to tell consumers how to rise above this mindset that plagues the industry. Hopefully, maybe, just maybe, the industry will wake up in the process.

The SMT5800 was a smartphone that we really hope would have been a success. It had a revolutionary form-factor that gave the device a true edge in the smartphone arena. HTC’s Libra (aka Vox), which was sold on Verizon as the SMT5800, gave the phone a slide-out keyboard, with a traditional dial pad. This made it a great, thin Windows Mobile offering.

Except that it had horrible firmware. Windows Mobile 6.0, EV-DO Rev 0, and the gpsOne chipset in the phone was totally disabled.

Until, oddly enough, a month ago. PCD quietly released an upgrade fixing all this, but it appears PCD and HTC didn’t want anyone to know about it… neither PCD nor HTC alerted anyone to the release.

So, we’re proud to break the news… a month later… that the SMT5800 is now a good phone. Unfortunately, Windows Mobile 6.1 is a little late, despite HTC finally meeting their commitment to update their phones to 6.1, everyone else is talking in terms of 6.5.3… 6.5 doesn’t even seem to cut it these days. It appears HTC decided to bury this update between the HTC Ozone and Touch Pro 2 upgrades… with zero fanfare.

That said, functionality-wise, the SMT5800 now even handles VZ Navigator. No word yet from users as to if that includes GPS utilization in other applications, similar to other neutered Verizon phones in the past.

HTC SMT5800 Updates – PhoneNews.com Phone Encyclopedia

Mobile smart device platform developer Symbian has announced that it has released its latest and forthcoming version of Symbian in Version 3 under the Eclipse Foundation License for open source software and is providing the code today.

Symbian Version 3 is the successor operating system to the aging and venerable Series 60, developed in part by Nokia. More code is expected to be released soon to add additional pieces of code excluded in today’s release.

Following up on the official announcement of the Devour, the recently posted technical specifications page has confirmed Flash Lite support in its build of Android 1.6 with the MOTOblur user interface.

Ths would actually place the Devour ahead of the Motorola DROID regarding Adobe Flash support as it would allow the device to view video streaming sites, while the aforemntioned DROID lacks the capability in its browser.

In an about face, AT&T has approved Sling’s SlingPlayer placeshifting application for use over its 3G data network in an announcement made early this morning.

This effectively ends the saga of AT&T’s constantly shifting position on allowing such applications over its network, which began early last year when the carrier amended its terms of service banning such applications from access to its network while allowing other services such as YouTube on iPhone to operate unrestricted.

The updated application has been in testing since December and has passed AT&T’s tests for use over its 3G network with optimizations made for efficency and increased sensitivity to bandwidth changes deemed necessary by the carrier.  There is currently no timeframe for the release of the updated SlingPlayer Mobile application, but Sling Media has confirmed that it will be free for registered users that have already purchased the Wi-Fi only version.

Once again, some big name competitors have turned off comments on their sites, because they don’t like what they’re hearing.

At Newsroom Network, we just don’t do that. We love your comments… keep ‘em coming.

The increasingly popular MyTether application for the Palm Pre which allows for tethering over USB or Wi-Fi has now been updated to support Verizon’s Pre Plus with the same aforementioned tethering options without needing to pay for Verizon’s Mobile Hotspot monthly fee by utilizing the built-in API calls for the aforementioned service, according to the developer.

The application also includes additional functionality such as network usage graphing, DHCP client list viewing, access control for Wi-Fi tethering along with WEP/WPA2 security settings.

The developer has also seen fit to increase the price from a $10 donation to a forced “donation” of $14.95 in order to access the updated application.