So after much to-ing and fro-ing, it looks like BlackBerry Storms are BlackBerry Thunders ("...and violets are blue, I'm schizophrenic, and so am I" as a schoolyard song used to go.) The same device will bear two names: Storm for Verizon, Thunder for others like Rogers and Vodafone. It seems like there'll be an 8GB microSD card along with the phone, which has a 3.5mm headset jack, and pre-installed SIM card, though the box suggests there's no Wi-Fi. [Engadgetmobile via BoyGeniusReport]

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Oh, deary deary me... Verizon's tactics to combat the JesusPhone 3G now include briefing its employees about the iPhone's failings, so they can answer customer questions about why it doesn't carry the device. There are four big "myths" about the mobile phone apparently, ranging from "twice as fast" to "iPhone data plan covers all data," there's even a dig about the lack of audible turn-by-turn GPS navigation. Hasn't Verizon worked out that that's just an app, and is a facility that may yet be added in the future?

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The WSJ is reporting on a deal that's close to completion between Google and Verizon Wireless, our second-largest mobile carrier, to become the exclusive search tech across all of their phones--potentially bringing a Google search bar to the homescreen of every VZW piece. Aside from the obvious web and local searching, the Google engine would replace Verizon's proprietary content search for ringtones, apps, and the like. Both parties would split ad revenues, which Google is extra excited about for the location-based ad serving capabilities. If the deal reaches completion, look for a decidedly more elegant search on Verizon's phones, from top to bottom. [WSJ]

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Phone Arena got some leaked documents on the HTC Touch Diamond and HTC Touch Pro for Sprint and Verizon, and it looks like Verizon's going to be slightly gimping their version of the Diamond. The general gist is the... Read More »

Eagle-eyed spotters recently took note of a few visual voicemail tidbits inadvertently pushed live on Verizon's site (now removed), most notably that the service will potentially be free. The site is down now so this remains in the rumour department (where are the screenshots, guys?), but if true, the reports go against what we all assumed penny-pinching Verizon would do. The only phone model listed on the leaked site was the refreshed Voyager, which jibes with what we've heard previously. [Verizon (dead) via Phone Arena]

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If you try to get out of your mobile phone contract without paying one of those blasted (and newly illegal in California) early termination fees, you're going to need a meticulously planned and researched counterargument for everything they throw... Read More »

A day before the FCC is expected to slap Comcast's Hellboy-like wrist, FCC Emperor Kevin Martin gave the the NYT his big hairy vision for openness for cable, wireless and the internet: He wants to set a "very high... Read More »

Verizon's New Jersey headquarters is a complicated place. Part bunker, part weirdly Buddhist sanctuary, it housed the original AT&T before the government cut it up into little pieces, half of which became Verizon, and half of which have congealed back together, T-1000 style, into Verizon's biggest competitor. I'm told when Verizon moved in, the exorcism cost millions. That's partly the reason they brought me out: To exorcise the notion that AT&T is winning the race to change the way you watch television. Verizon showed me a new version of FiOS TV that will start rolling out to customers any day now, and hitting everyone by end of the year, with a feature set rivals that AT&T's U-Verse, including interactive content, PC connectivity, RSS feeds, even the ability to see what your neighbours are watching in realtime.

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Casio's G'zOne rugged-arse mobile phone has been updated yet again, and this time it's called the Boulder. The Mil-Spec clamshell got GPS, a 1.3MP camera, an LED lantern, microSD support and a digital compass in its shock-, dust- and water-resistant frame. The Boulder is out now in black or orange for US$130 after 2-year Verizon Wireless contract and US$50 mail-in rebate, full press release down below. [Verizon]

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We mentioned that there were rumors that Verizon was going to be bringing its own version of visual voicemail out sometime, and now there are further rumblings that this will include visual voicemail on the BlackBerry Storm. This makes the touchscreen, haptic-feedback smartphone sound even more like a real iPhone competitor, wouldn't you say? [Electric Pig]

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