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Other than the sliding QWERTY keyboard you have on the new T-Mobile MDA Vario IV (HTC Rapheal), the PDA phone will also come with a bigger 1340 mAh battery. According to mobilmania.cz, the T-Mobile MDA Compact IV (HTC Victor) has the same 900 mAh battery as HTC Touch Diamond. Here is a few more live photos shot on the Vario IV.

The MDA Vario IV has a 3.1 megapixel camera, about 0.1 megapixel lesser compare to Compact IV. It will have an extra camera flash LED though and it will help you for photo taking in low light condition. Note that the flash LED is not confirmed, the source is not able to confirmed if it is a light sensor or camera flash LED. The retail package will be shipped together with 2 stylus so that you have another one for back up.

• Dimension: 103 x 52 x 18 mm
• Weight: 158 g
• Network: GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz
• UMTS 900/2100 MHz / GPRS / EDGE / HSDPA 7.2 Mb/s
• Display: 2.8-inch TFT touch screen, (480 x 640 pixels), 64k colors
• OS: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
• Processor: Qualcomm MSM, 528 MHz
• Memory: 512 MB ROM, 256 MB RAM, memory card slot for microSD
• Internet: Opera Mobile browser, Internet Explorer Mobile, e-mail client POP3/IMAP4, Microsoft Direct Push e-mail
• Camera: 3.1 megapixel with flash LED
  Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB, GPS
• Battery: 1340 mAh
• Packaging: MDA Vario IV, 2 touch pen, stereo headset, battery, charger, USB cable, case, CD-ROM with software and manual, printed manual

Source [mobilmania.cz]

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Sporting a pretty silly name, the Samsung U800 Soul b brings a number of "Soul" features to a fairly run-of-the-mill mid-market HSDPA phone.

Today Qualcomm announced Plaza, a new framework for creating and delivering widgets to phones using the BREW platform. Plaza will use standard Web-based technologies so carriers and other content providers can create widgets for a wide variety of handsets. ...

“Though China’s government has yet to issue its 3G licenses and telecom restructuring is still ongoing, TD-SCDMA is now live,” reports ABI Research analyst Hwai Lin Khor. “After many years of research and development, and many trials conducted by China Mobile, the 3G service has made a ’soft’ launch in eight cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Shenzhen starting April 2008 on a trial basis.”

To attract subscribers, China Mobile has also opened TD-SCDMA “experience shops” in these major cities to allow the public to experiment with TD-SCDMA handsets and gain confidence with TD-SCDMA’s capabilities.

In order to make TD-SCDMA service an incremental upgrade from existing 2.5G subscriptions, China Mobile is understood to be charging TD-SCDMA subscribers monthly subscription fees of RMB50($7)/month and RMB0.6($0.09)/minute for video calls, while mobile Internet usage will be based on a flat rate with a capped usage plan. Charges for voice calls, SMS, MMS and additional data traffic are maintained at the same rate as existing plans. Value-added services already available for 2.5G subscribers, including a wireless music club, mobile newspaper, and mobile wallet, are also accessible to TD-SCDMA subscribers at the same rate but with an improved user experience.

“China Mobile is planning to roll out 3G-specific services such as mobile TV, video sharing applications, video conferencing, etc. progressively during 2008,” notes Hwai Lin Khor. “ABI Research believes this price plan and service package will attract existing young subscribers to make the switch.”

During this initial launch, 60,000 dual-mode TD-SCDMA/GSM handsets and 15,000 data cards will be on sale in China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA experience shops, from popular brands such Samsung, LG, Hisense, Lenovo, ZTE, and Postcom. These handsets are in the mid- to high-end range with built-in camera, wide screen, and extensive multimedia applications. China Mobile is believed to be selling these phones for subsidized prices of RMB2,000 ($286) - RMB4,000 ($572).

“Now is when the real test kicks in,” concludes Hwai Lin Khor, “gauging TD-SCDMA’s performance under conditions of mass and varied mobility usage.”

Samsung announced the launch of Soulb, “Sprit of Ultra” (Soul) in bar form factor. Just as Soul, Soulb is fully covered in an elegant metallic body which is softly brushed with hairline pattern. Soulb’s trim graceful outline with mere 9.9mm thickness undoubtedly resembles the sleek silhouette of Soul.

Available in five luscious colors, Soul Grey, Platinum Silver, Metallic Black, Soul Pink and Amethyst Violet, Soulb is fully equipped with attractive up-to-date features inside. An embedded 3-megapixel camera with Power LED, office document viewer and editor, full speed internet browser and Bluetooth v.2.0 will fully support convenience users need without compromising style.

Entertainment features such as music player, video editor and recorder and FM radio with RDS are also embedded within Soulb. 1GB internal memory and microSD slot provides sufficient space for users to store all the music and pictures they love.

Soulb will first become available in Germany early June. It will then continue the Soul legend in numerous other countries and regions, including Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia (China), Southwest Asia, Southeast Asia, and South America.

Specification:

• Network: GSM Triband 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
• HSDPA 3.6 Mbps
• Dimension: 111 x 46 x 9.9 mm
• Display: 2-inch QVGA TFT, 16M colors
• Camera: 3 megapixel camera with power LED
• HTML Browser
• FM Radio (RDS)
• Bluetooth
• 3.5mm audio jack
• 1GB internal memory
• microSD card slot