The lowly Moto V365 really can't soldier on forever as AT&T's only "rugged" (and we use that term loosely) clamshell; we'd thought the W760r was coming in to save the day, but sadly, it's yet to materialize. So what's a butterfingered AT&T subscriber to do? With any luck, the answer is to wait just a few more weeks, because Boy Genius Report claims that the Samsung a837 will launch in the mid-September timeframe with HSDPA, Video Share, Bluetooth, GPS, push-to-talk (naturally), and a 1.3-megapixel cam, making it AT&T's first and only beefed-up 3G set. Yes, it could be prettier, but something tells us that's not really the market AT&T's going for here -- then again, with de facto competitor Casio trotting out the Boulder in orange, maybe we're off base on that one.

Well, here's one we didn't see coming: it seems that AT&T has wised up to the fact that Americans like their Symbian (well, at least a few of 'em do, anyway) and wants to keep S60-equipped options on the table. Yes, granted, AT&T is a founding member of the Symbian Foundation, but the proof is in the pudding, and the last Nokia smartphone to land there was the N75 in May of last year -- an eternity by mobile standards. More recently, the N75 grew up, got sexy, picked up some brushed metal, and emerged in Europe as the 6550; now, it's surprisingly and unexpectedly been retooled as the 6650 for North American 3G spectrum. It's got a 2.2-inch QVGA primary display, 160 x 128 secondary, 2-megapixel cam, AT&T Navigator (which means GPS), push-to-talk support, and HSDPA 850 / 1900 to compliment quadband EDGE. We don't know exactly when it's coming, but for S60 fans who cringe at the thought of having to blow several hundred on an unlocked set every time they want some fresh hardware, this should be welcome news.

[Thanks, Al and Oscar M.]

It leaked ages ago, but the Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrade for your beloved Tilt is now ever so slightly more legit now that it's made an official appearance on HTC's support site. The big draws here are Video Share support, reconfigurability for the push-to-talk button, and all the other spoils that come with the WinMo 6.1 we know and love, tolerate, or hate, depending on your disposition.

[Via MobileBurn and WMExperts, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Following new plans geared to the decidedly less fruity phones in AT&T's lineup earlier this month, the carrier has announced a pair of international data packages geared specifically toward the iPhone and iPhone 3G. The bad news is that they still cost more than the average subscriber's entire monthly bill; the good news, though, is that they should still manage to save globetrotters a buck or two (or a thousand) who insist on keeping data roaming enabled while out in the field. 100MB of global data is going to set you back $119.99 on top of your regular package, while 200MB runs $199.99 -- certainly not enough to go crazy in the App Store, but probably enough of a meager allowance to take care of email and stay on the grid. The new plans are available starting tomorrow.

Who knew that AT&T's customer base constituted an "emerging market"? Certainly not us, but Nokia's 2680 slide -- a phone Nokia itself said was targeted at so-called "replacement buyers" in emerging markets -- has just been spotted all up in the FCC's business bearing an AT&T logo front and center (well, actually, it's toward the bottom, but you get our drift). It includes an FM radio, MP3 ringtone support, a low-end cam, and an unsubsidized price of €75 (about $114), so we suspect this'll likely find a home on GoPhone. If it does end up on the postpaid roster, though, expect it be about as close to free as they come.

The secret sauce to extending any phone's shelf life by at least a few months seems to be adding a new color or two into the mix (the Curve comes immediately to mind), and smartphones are no exception to the rule. It falls short of the lime green CDMA version's sheer wackiness, but AT&T's apparently getting ready to re-launch its venerable Motorola Q9h in gray, which is kind of like the original black except... you know, lighter. Seeing how Windows Mobile 6.1 is now official on this one, it comes as no surprise that these gray ones are showing up with the update preloaded; it's always a nice touch when you don't need to christen your new purchase with a hastily-installed update, isn't it? It's unknown what we'll be charged for the pleasure of owning one of these, but we'd assume it'll fall in line with the current version at $100 after rebate.

The Invision is the big news for AT&T today, but there's an unassuming little Sony Ericsson flip that's found its way into widespread availability on the network this week, too. The W350 is a blast from the past for owners of phones like Ericsson's venerable T39 back in the day, offering the rarely-seen traditional flip form factor with a cover that conceals only the keypad -- the screen remains visible at all times. The money feature, though, has to be the cover's shiny music controls, which are offered in a contrasting color to spice things up a bit. You've got a 1.3-megapixel camera hanging out in there, too, and at $29.99 on contract after rebates (except for the Ice Blue version, which is inexplicably free), we can see it as a sleeper hit for anyone who'd projectile vomit at the sight of even one more free clamshell.

[Thanks, rapkiid]

Read - Electric Black
Read - White
Read - Ice Blue

Just as we'd envisioned, the Invision candybar (if a phone this stubby can, in fact, be called a candybar) from LG is now a reality for AT&T. The phone becomes just AT&T's third to support its MediaFLO-based Mobile TV service, taking a similar line to Samsung's Access by stuffing a landscape display, 1.3-megapixel camera, and HSDPA into a squarish case that's sure to make minimalists and traditionalists swoon; what's more, it also takes the honor of being AT&T's smallest Mobile TV-equipped handset to date. It's available today for $99.99 with a $50 rebate and two years' worth of commitment -- just be sure to factor the cost of the Mobile TV add-on into your budget.

We were personally pulling for the "Full Tilt," but WMExperts is citing a tipster that claims AT&T's rendition of the HTC Touch Pro will end up seeing the light of day as the "Fuze." That name would certainly make sense, because, you know, "Fuze" is a word that evokes ultimate productivity without sacrificing the hip style that today's young mobile professional demands. Whoa, did we just channel a marketing guru, or what? The tip goes on to say that we can expect the QWERTY slider to hit "sooner rather than later," so you might want to hold off on that imminent Tilt purchase if you can help it.

[Thanks, Malatesta]

Remember, carriers: you can't stop leaks, nor can you hope to contain them, and therefore any effort you put into dealing with them should be used to spin 'em to your advantage. That's a simple reality that sites like the very one you're presently reading have proven time and time again over the years. Alas, AT&T suddenly (and briefly) decided that most -- but not all -- of its employees shouldn't be clued into what's coming down the pike, blocking Boy Genius Report from its intranet for all but senior-level folks who presumably want to see what sort of scoops du jour have made their way into the public domain. That's really awesome, guys; good plan, because your sales force obviously has no other way to reach the internet, Boy Genius Report's scoops are never reposted elsewhere on unblocked sites, and clearly, it's in the best interest of the company for them to be as uninformed about your roadmap (and those of your competitors) as possible. Fortunately, it seems the decision was reversed almost as quickly as it was made to start with, so no harm, no foul. We guess.

If you're fortunate enough to have access to a Premier (business, that is) account with AT&T, you're now able to forgo the charade of meandering down to your local store to buy -- or place an order for, more likely -- the iPhone 3G. All three varieties of the best cellphone Apple makes are now available directly through the carrier's B2B online store for the usual $199 / $299 pricing scale; if we had to guess, it's just a matter of time before they'll throw the doors open to the riff raff (read: us), too. We'll drink to that.

[Thanks, Vasudev R.]

Update: We touched base with AT&T, and it looks like the real news here is that Premier account holders who pay their own bills now have access to the iPhone 3G online, whereas before, only those whose bills were covered by their companies had access. The more, the merrier!

Sources have whispered into our collective ears that the Sony Ericsson W350a will be showing up on AT&T shelves within the next few days -- "Friday at the latest" in at least some locations. Pricing is crazy reasonable for an EDGE phone with at least a half-assed sense of style and functionality, too: $19.99 on contract after rebate, yours in white or black.

With all the Touch Diamond / Touch Pro news surfacing for these US CDMA carriers, quite a few AT&T subscribers are beginning to get restless. Calm down, folks -- it seems the AT&T Touch Pro is a reality waiting to happen after all. Based on some admittedly dodgy claims and even dodgier photographs, one particular soul has apparently paid $900 for a pre-release Touch Pro with North American 3G. Only time will tell if he got duped, but we're going to believe that AT&T wouldn't let this gem pass it by for too much longer until proven wrong.

[Via wmpoweruser]

Avert your eyes, average consumers, because Opticon's two new Windows Mobile smartphones are aimed squarely at the business fleet market and they've got spec sheets to match. The H16 is a Windows Mobile 5 -- yes, you read that right, Windows Mobile frickin' 5 Pocket PC phone with EDGE data, WiFi, Bluetooth, and an integrated barcode scanner for the princely sum of $1,195. The H19 meanwhile gets a little bit closer to modern era technology with Windows Mobile 6, WiFi, Bluetooth, integrated GPS, and a barcode scanner, though it shares the H16's lame EDGE radio and stratospheric price tag. The big deal here is that AT&T has officially certified the H16 for use on its network and certification for the H19 is expected (hoped) by September; in other words, corporate brass will be able to rest a little easier knowing that their wireless requisitions aren't considered unsupportable rogues by the carrier -- and with most of those types already at their daily Tums limit, any stress reduction is a good thing.

[Via the::unwired]

Read - Opticon H19
Read - Opticon H16

In the wake of Verizon's acquisition of Rural Cellular, something very interesting, unexpected, and delightful happened: AT&T finally found itself a way into Vermont. Long an AT&T-free zone, the merger of Verizon and Rural networks there stands to leave much of the state without any wireless competition, so the FCC's concession requirements demanded that the combined CDMA behemoth spin off a little bandwidth for AT&T's use. Of course, it's going to take a little time to get everything set up, but rest easy, Vermonters: that BlackJack II you've been desperately craving is nearly within reach.

[Via TUAW]