We've thought before how nice it might be to have some powers of magnification on the iPhone's cam... but are we going to go out and mod our unit? Probably not, but that doesn't mean we can't admire someone else's work. Taking various lenses and attaching them to the lid of a jar, the modder quite carefully built a contraption that looks a little "hobo Steampunk" to us, but we're still fairly impressed with this little gadget. Hit the read link for full, detailed instructions and more photos if you'd like to make one of your own.

Remember back in the day when the West was still wild, the gold rush was still in full effect, you owned whatever land you could manage to fence off, and tycoons were being made and broken on a daily basis? No? Well, some of you whippersnappers might be too young to recall it, but trust us, it happened -- and it seems like that's the kind of frontier mentality we're getting again today in the nascent Android landscape. Just a couple weeks after launching, mobile ad clearinghouse AdMob reports that the Motorola Droid is already accounting for a whopping 24 percent of all its Android-based traffic -- no small feat, considering that the then-unreleased device didn't even move the needle in their October report (pictured in the left graph). The HTC Dream -- the world's first retail Android device, you might remember -- still reigns supreme at 36 percent, but it's amazing that the entire Android space is still volatile enough to register nearly a 25 percent shift with the launch of a single new device on a single carrier. For comparison, the CLIQ clocks in with a lowly 6 percent -- proof that Verizon's aggressive advertising has been working some magic. Question is, what'll be the next device to completely screw up this pie chart again?

See that little MTV logo down there on this poorly-facsimiled diagram in the FCC-issued user's manual for ZTE's F870E? Yeah, sure enough, there's some Music Tee Vee functionality in here -- but it's not for everyone. From the manual, it looks like this sucker is destined for use with Vodafone's MTV tie-ins, which would make sense considering that Voda is developing a healthy reputation for farming self-branded designs out to ZTE and Huawei. Historically, MTV's worked with France's SFR and Modelabs -- but who's to say they can't spread the love around? Other than the branding, you've got a landscape QWERTY slide, some sort of forgettable dumbphone UI, and a 3 megapixel cam, so if this thing is cheap -- and we suspect it will be -- it should be an option worth checking out for fans of manufactured teen reality series around the world.

You might've thought that Google was positioning its industry-changing Google Maps Navigation as a value proposition for Android 2.0 and beyond, but yeah, not so much -- instead, they've gone ahead and backported it to 1.6 (alias "Donut") which means that T-Mobile's myTouch 3G and G1 plus other 1.6-equipped devices across the land can get in on the action. In the case of the memory-starved G1, that's especially surprising, and a heartening sign that the world's first retail Android device still has some fight left in it. It's available from the Android Market now, so go ahead -- try to get yourself lost. We dare you.

AT&T is following Verizon's lead today with the introduction of new prepaid broadband plans targeted directly at netbook and laptop users who find themselves out of WiFi range (and in desperate need of email) every once in a while. The so-called DataConnect Pass plans exactly mirror Verizon's pricing, which means you can get 75MB as a "day pass" for $15, 250MB as a weekly deal for $30, or a half gig per month for $50. Like Verizon, you're far better off getting the 5GB postpaid plan if you're a heavy user here -- but if you find yourself needing wireless once in a blue moon, this may very well be the way to go. The packages are available now; follow the break for the full press release.

Now look, we're not saying we know for sure that Apple thinks Verizon's latest round of merciless attack ads on its device and US carrier are worth responding to, but these latest iPhone spots would certainly suggest it. A new campaign launching tonight focuses on the iPhone's ability to carry voice and data simultaneously on AT&T's network, and each of the two new TV spots ends with the line "Can your phone and your network do that?" From where we're sitting, it looks like between this new round and AT&T's Luke Wilson-manned comparison spots, both the phonemaker and carrier are fully stepping into the ring. Way to get their attention, guys. See the full clips after the break.

You know how you can tell Moto's new i410 for iDEN isn't really supposed to be hip, stylish, or ultra-functional? Neither Moto nor launch partner Boost bothered to give it a fresh, funky name, bucking the trend set by the Clutch and Debut. Of course, with an utterly basic black rectangular shell, tiny monochrome secondary display, and lack of even a VGA cam, it's clear that they're going for the bottom-most reaches of the market here -- which means that customers should be able to scoop it up for a song on any of Boost's prepaid plans, happily. It's not up on the carrier's site just yet, but it'll be available before the year's up -- and Motorola says that this officially "completes Boost Mobile's 2009 device roadmap," so we hope you weren't holding out for some mythical Android device in the next couple weeks.

Waterloo's latest weapon of choice is continuing its ruthless quest to eradicate the original Bold around the world this week with an official announcement of availability on Australia's Telstra, where it'll be hitting shops on Tuesday the 24th. The Bold 9700 that you're getting here is the same you'll find elsewhere -- 3.2 megapixel camera, BlackBerry OS 5.0, and a 480 x 360 display -- and will be made available to non-business customers at a whopping AUD $999 (about $917), though that financial blow is softened a good deal by Telstra's Mobile Repayment Option which spreads the outlay over two years. You'd better really be pining for that optical pad, eh?

Guess what, prospective Milestone owners, the Droid's one major advantage over its Euro cousin has just been coded out of existence by those proactive, un-American XDA Developers. The free Google Maps Navigation service, whose US announcement was so shocking as to decimate the stock prices of satnav purveyors Garmin and TomTom, has now been ported to work outside the land of the free as well. Not only that, but you can use the app on other Android devices, meaning your old G1 can get a breath of fresh air for absolutely free. That is if you don't count the time it takes you to learn how to insert all the code properly and the risk of bricking your device in the process. But we know our readers eat iron nails for breakfast and fashion elegantly optimized code before lunch, so we expect all of you to be using this by day's end, you hear?

As expected, Verizon has chosen December 2 as the Samsung Omnia II's date with destiny, bringing an interesting full-touch WinMo alternative to the HTC Imagio that launched back in October alongside Windows Mobile 6.5. Speaking of 6.5, there were some early concerns that Verizon's version of the Omnia II would launch on stale 6.1 code, but fear not -- it's now confirmed that you'll be looking at Microsoft's latest and greatest stuff when you gaze upon that 3.7-inch AMOLED WVGA display. It's also got a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, WiFi, and 8GB of internal storage along with microSD expansion -- good news for anyone who plans on making much use of that cam, especially in video mode. Verizon's site and retail locations both take delivery of the device on the same 12/2 date, pushing it for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate. Considering the pricing, we've gotta ask: Droid or Omnia II?

When it comes to nerd obsessions, the only thing that can trump a fictional tablet developed by battling left-coast legends is the promise of a revolutionary OS from Google that relies upon nothing but a browser and the dreams of a young Larry Ellison. Don't even start with your Korean product waifs as we're trying to keep the discussion in the realm of possibilities. Now, with the weekend over, you've probably experienced the same sense of ennui we've all felt at having downloaded and tested a copy of Chrome OS. To be fair, that meh-ness is kind of what you'd expect from a browser-based OS that's meant to get out of your way. Still, it's hard not to wonder where Android and its growing application base fits into Google's long-term OS strategy especially after seeing several ARM-based smartbook prototypes running Google's smartphone OS. Fortunately, Google co-founder Sergey Brin shed some light on this topic in a candid statement following the Chrome OS event. According to CNET, Brin said that Android and the Chrome OS "will likely converge over time," noting the common Webkit and Linux foundation of both operating systems. It's unclear when this might occur however. In fact, listening to Google CEO Eric Schmidt attempt to explain the difference between Google's operating systems in a recent CNET interview leaves us wondering if Google has a clear idea of its target markets as smartphone and laptop functionality continues to converge across devices. Schmidt concedes that it's too early to tell how the OSes will be used and prefers not to "prejudge the success" of each. "The future will unfold as it does," he says, and the open-source community will determine the natural fit. Check the interview after the break -- the Android vs. Chrome OS waffling begins at the 16:30 remaining mark of the 19 minute and 11 second interview.

[Original image courtesy of Rich Dellinger]

As inevitable as the sun rising in the East and setting in the West, an innocuous iPhone worm has been transformed into a malicious bank details-stealing virus. The second recorded iPhone infection operates on exactly the same principles as the first, as it targets jailbroken handsets with SSH installed, but this time adds the ability for the hacker to remotely control and access the phone. By throwing up a purported ING Direct login page, he (or she, or they) can collect your online banking credentials and, presumably, all the cash they are supposed to protect. Presently isolated within the Netherlands, this outbreak may spread further still, as it is capable of infecting other jailbroken iPhones on the same WiFi network.

As the official Spotify site says, "Symbian is the world's most popular smartphone platform," so it's only proper that it too gets to sip the elixir of on-demand music streaming and offline playlists. Nothing is particularly different from the iPhone or Android offering, you still require a Spotify Premium account in order to access the service on your mobile, but we're sure all those N- and E-series device owners didn't want better, they just wanted in. Lest we forget, the Samsung i8910 HD and Sony Ericsson Satio are also on that freshly minted Symbian support list. If you must know what the app looks like before pulling the trigger, slide past the break for a video demonstration.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Look, South Korea, we know it's been about four decades since a handset without an integrated DMB tuner or two launched in your neck of the woods -- and no, there isn't an app for that -- but just how badly do you want in on this Apple mojo? Following government clearance a couple months back, South Korean operator KT says that it's now ready to offer the iPhone to customers next Saturday, November 28 for prices ranging from 396,000 won ($343) on a 45,000 won plan ($39) for a 32GB 3GS all the way down to absolutely free for an 8GB 3G on a 95,000 won plan ($82). Given that KT and its competitors typically rival Japanese carriers for sheer technological insanity, it'll be interesting to see how the average Korean consumer responds to the late launch.

We were promised a preview of Sony Ericsson's Symbian-sporting Satio sibling, and indeed here we are, looking at the machine-translated Kurara analysis courtesy of Eldar from Mobile Review. He pulls no punches in his introduction by noting that the new handset will offer little in terms of specs to trump the Samsung i8910 HD, and sketching out the tough market it'll have to compete in once the Nokia X6 comes out and starts grabbing market and mindshare alike. As to the phone itself, he describes the 8.1 megapixel camera as an "inexpensive" unit and lets the sample photos and 720p sample video shot with it speak for themselves. Battery life was found to be "lacking," though we congratulate SE on electing to use a 3.5mm headphone jack and MicroSD memory expansion over its own proprietary formats. Overall, the Kurara was "pleasant to use," but lacked the necessary wow factor and its fate, says Eldar, will depend on just how keenly Sony Ericsson wants to price it.

A Europe with a Yahoo-free webOS isn't a Europe we'd ever want to live in -- it's just not right -- and happily we won't have to, because that shiny new version 1.3.1 that dropped in concert with the Pixi launch a few days ago is on the way to the Old World. Palm's official blog reports that customers on the Pre's official carriers in Ireland, Germany, Spain, and the UK can expect 1.3.1 "soon," and thanks to the magic of over-the-air firmware delivery, users should have little more to do than sit on their rears and wait for the goodness to come to them on a wireless silver platter. In fact, we've heard from one German tipster that the update is already available. Let us know how it treats you, won't you?

Although we like to think of the US and European markets as the center of the cellphone universe, there are big (Big!) sales to be had elsewhere behind the unstoppable force of globalization. And when it comes to absolute numbers, markets just don't get any bigger than China with its estimated 700 million subscribers. Rumors of BlackBerry and Palm twist-ups with Chinese carriers are nothing new. In fact, RIM has already been a player in the Chinese market for years. Today, however, we've got a rumored timeline for bringing their handsets to China Telecom: end of 2009 or early 2010, according to a Reuters source. The move would give Telecom its first trendy western mobiles in hopes of improving its third place position behind Unicom and market dominating China Mobile in a battle for the hearts and minds and treasure of China's burgeoning population. And while RIM would certainly be pleased by the additional revenue source, Palm, with its modest marketshare by comparison, would be downright ecstatic at the prospect of tapping into China with its new smartphones.

Sure, HD2 owners probably spend the overwhelming majority of their time staring at that jaw-dropping 4.3-inch WVGA display, but you figure that they're probably going to make use of the 5 megapixel cam every once in a while, too -- and therein lies the rub. It seems that a whole bunch of HD2s in the field are having issues with pink auras around the center of the image, which can simply appear to the casual observer as weird white balance in a busy scene; there are intermittent reports that newer devices have squashed the problem, while older units may need to be swapped out to get it fixed. We'll keep an eye on this to see if firmware can magically make this go away, but in the meantime, is anyone out there noticing this on their unit?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

After so much speculation and rumor, it's hard to believe that Dell's first modern cellphone is ready to launch. And while we've already seen the official press release announcing the Mini 3 for Brazil and China, today we get a followup release with a bit more detail. As expected, the Chinese Mini 3i variant is quadband GSM/EDGE only (no 3G) and packs a 3.5-inch nHD, 640x360 touchscreen display just like that found on Nokia's N97. The 58.35 x 122 x 11.7-mm OPhone will ship in "Red Passion" and "Oiled Bronze" colors packing Bluetooth, a 3 megapixel auto-focus camera with flash and video capture mode, microSD slot, and GPS with pre-loaded maps. And in case you're wondering why China first, that's easy: Dell's going after China Mobile's 500 million subscriber base when its first handset hits authorized stores later this week.

Go figure, right? You get a relatively hot phone out onto more carriers, and just like that, sales increase. It ain't rocket science, buster. As AT&T grins happily while enjoying a death grip on Apple's cash cow here in the States, things are a lot more wide open for consumers across the pond. In both France and the UK, the iPhone has been given the all-clear to be sold on multiple carriers, and according to research from Bernstein, the "widening of the distribution has boosted Apple's value market share to 32 percent in the latest quarter from 21 percent just three months earlier." The notes also mention that Apple's increase is coming at the expense of RIM, with over 600,000 iPhone handsets being sold during Q3 2009 in France alone. The point to all this madness? Oh, not much -- just to tell Sir Jobs that he can count on quite a bit more dough should he decide to sell this elusive "iPhone" device on Verizon in the US of A.