Next week Microsoft is set to announce the launch of it’s pink line of social media phones known as “Project Pink”. The new cell phones will first hit Verizon store shelves sometime this Summer, according to rumors.

This will be Microsoft’s first big push into the cell phone hardware business. Currently Microsoft has been focused on mobile software, but with companies such as Google and Dell jumping into the mix it was tough for Microsoft to stay on the sidelines.

The new line of pink phones (not sure if they’re actually going to be pink or not) are focused on social media. This means they will surely come with a touch pad keyboard or virtual keyboard along with a camera. The camera should be high enough quality to take pictures to send out across social media sites and also video. We have seen with the Motorola BLUR that phones are becoming more and more social media driven. I would expect to see a similar idea for the pink phones.

Microsoft is set to make an official announcement next week so stay tuned for more info!

With all the buzz over 3D movies and 3D televisions hitting the market what about cell phones? Well you better believe that the cell phone manufacturers are thinking ahead about creating 3D displays on their handsets. One of the innovators in this space is Sharp.

Sharp plans on creating a 3D display that you will not need special glasses to see. Unlike 3D glasses the display will automatically shoot different images to each eye which produces a 3D look. There is no timeframe for when a mass produced cell phone will have 3D technology, but I would guess sometime by next Summer at the latest.

This is a two part video that Sprint put together showing off the power of the HTC EVO on the Sprint 4G network. If this is the future of mobile and high speed then we are all in for a treat.

It’s long been known that the exclusivity deal AT&T has with Apple is set to expire this year. AT&T has enjoyed a tremendous surge in customers since it has been the only carrier to have the much loved iPhone. Rumor has it AT&T has been trying to extend it’s exclusivity contract with Apple, but most insiders say Apple isn’t going to.

So this opens the doors for all the other carriers out there to get a piece of the action. It’s just like the pharmaceutical industry where when patents run out everyone is allowed to make generics of popular drugs. This should hold true for the iPhone and maybe with it even a reduction in price.

One of the first carriers to sell the iPhone will be Verizon. The original iPhone was built to work on GSM networks and the iPhone will need to be adopted to work on Verizon’s CDMA network. In preparation of the exclusivity deal ending Verizon has been at work engineering the iPhone to work on their network. You can bet that the second the AT&T deal is over Verizon will be selling the phone at their stores nationwide.

Rumor has it Verizon isn’t the only company that wants a piece of the iPhone pie. T-Mobile may be another carrier that will be selling the phone. If you’re not an AT&T customer and have longed for the opportunity to have one this Summer may just be your time!

At this years CTIA in Las Vegas AT&T made a rather striking announcement when they said they plan on expanding into smaller devices such as dog collars. Yes, you read that right dog collars. AT&T will create a wireless dog collar that will allow pet owners to reconnect with their lost animals(s).

The device will actually be made by Apisphere. The device will sends a text message or email to the pet’s owner if the animal strays outside a predefined area. The device also has continuous tracking so owners can find their lost pet from a computer. It doesn’t stop there, Apisphere plans on making other small devices to help in our day-to-day lives.

Other devices  include a pill box that wirelessly reminds people to take their medicine, a device that keeps track of product pallets for shipping companies and an entertainment system for car passengers.

“We see opportunities in dogs, in pallets, in cars and how you take your pills,” said Ralph de la Vega, head of AT&T’s mobile business.

The new devices will run on AT&T’s data network and is forcasted to bring in about $1 billion in annual services revenue over five years. AT&T has been planning to upgrade its 3G network, using an interim technology called HSPA-plus, before moving ahead with its 4G plans.

There are no release dates for these new devices, but AT&T plans on making an announcement later this year.

If you’re reading this for some reason you’ve been checking up on the blog section of trendycellular.com even though I haven’t updated it in months. Thank you for the loyalty. You and only you are probably the only person reading this right now. Even though I haven’t updated the site in some time I’m going to start writing regular blog posts again. Thank you for being loyal and to the others start checking back for regular updates!

For a limited time the T-Mobile MyTouch will be available to new customer for $99. To get this special price type in the promo code KICKOFF24when checking out online. The special price will last until the 24th of September. If you’ve been looking to jump over to T-Mobile and want the MyTouch this is a great opportunity. Remember, this is only for new customers and not existing ones. If you have the original G1 you still will have to pay full price (like me).

Sprint might not have the best cell phones on the market, but they sure do get it when it comes to plans. Sprint was the first to offer a flat rate $99 for texting, surfing the net and minutes. Now Sprint is moving beyond the popular mobile-to-mobile in network and “friends” plans which so many carriers have adopted. Sprint announced today they will let their customers call any mobile phone on any carrier without incurring additional charges. The plan is called Any Mobile, Anytime. Now this is what I’m talking about! Hopefully the other carriers will follow suite. As I’ve said in the past it’s becoming more and more about the phone and less about the carrier. The only way carriers will survive is to allow their customers to break out of in network calling. Here’s what Sprint says about the plan:

“Simply Everything and Ready Now were Sprint innovations to make wireless simpler and more worry-free for our customers,” said Dan Hesse, Sprint’s CEO. “We don’t think our customers want to have to keep track of or only talk to friends, colleagues or family members who make the same choices they do. Any Mobile, Anytime provides unprecedented simplicity and value, so much that many more customers can now consider cutting the cord altogether.”

You can read more about this new plan and the pricing at Sprint Any Mobile, Anytime.

Today Palm announced it’s second smartphone in the past year, the Palm Pixi. The Pixi is smaller than the Pre and runs on the Palm webOS. The Pixi has a full QWERTY keyboard and does not slide open like the Pre.  Here’s what Palm is saying about the phone:

“In addition to linking your information from Google(TM), Facebook and Exchange ActiveSync, Palm Pixi adds Yahoo! and LinkedIn integration to Palm Synergy(TM) and assembles it all in a single view.⁽²⁾ You can get your Yahoo! contacts, calendar and IM, and access to your LinkedIn contacts, including job titles. Synergy on Palm Pixi makes messaging easier by showing you all your conversations with the same person in one chat-style thread, so you can start a conversation on AIM Instant Messenger, Google Talk(TM) or Yahoo! Messenger and continue it by text message later.⁽³⁾

Complementing the phone’s already rich Facebook integration with the contacts, phone, calendar and photo applications, a new Facebook application will be available with Palm Pixi so you can see and comment on all the latest news from your friends, as well as easily update your status. The phone’s full QWERTY keyboard puts it all at your fingertips, and the multi-touch screen lets you move back and forth between open applications using natural gestures.⁽⁴⁾ The unique removable back cover is rubberized, making it scratch-resistant, slip-resistant and durable.”

The Palm Pixi will be available in black, but there will be a number of limited edition custom phones created by today’s hottest artists.  The Palm Pixi will have the following features:

Palm Pixi Features

• High-speed connectivity (EVDO Rev. A)
• 2.63-inch multi-touch screen with a vibrant 18-bit color 320×400 resolution TFT display
• Gesture area, which enables simple, intuitive gestures for navigation
• Exposed QWERTY keyboard for fast messaging
• Robust messaging support (IM, SMS and MMS capabilities), including Google Talk, AIM and Yahoo! IM
• High-performance, desktop-class web browser
• Integrated GPS⁽⁸⁾
• Multimedia options, including pictures, video playback and music, and featuring a 2-megapixel fixed-focus camera with LED flash, and a standard 3.5mm headset jack
• Email, including Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) (for access to corporate Microsoft Exchange servers), as well as personal email support (Google push, Yahoo! push, POP3, IMAP)⁽⁹⁾
• Bluetooth^(R) 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
• 8GB of internal user storage (~7GB user available)⁽¹⁰⁾
• USB mass storage mode
• MicroUSB connector with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
• The first handset to launch with Qualcomm’s high-performance MSM7627(TM) chipset
• Proximity sensor, which automatically disables the touch screen and turns off the display whenever you put the phone up to your ear
• Light sensor, which dims the display if the ambient light is dark, such as at night or in a movie theater, to reduce power usage
• Accelerometer, which automatically orients web pages and photos to your perspective
• Ringer switch, which easily silences the device with one touch
• Removable, rechargeable 1150 mAh battery
• Dimensions: 55mm (W) x 111mm (L) x 10.85mm (D) [2.17 in. (W) x 4.37 in. (L) x 0.43 in. (D)]
• Weight: 99.5 grams (3.51 ounces)
• Sprint services, including Sprint TV(R) and Sprint Radio, Sprint Navigation, Sprint’s exclusive NFL Mobile Live and NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile Live

I guess Palm wanted to get an early “heads-up” out there because the Pixi isn’t set to launch until the holidays. This means it will be several months until the Pixi is available for sale. There is no word yet on the pricing, but my guess is it will be around the $149 price range. Stay tuned for more info.

While we’re waiting for the next generation Xperia, the X2, to hit the market why not jump a few generations to the X5. This is not an official concept from Sony Ericsson, but someone with a “vision” of how the X5 will look. The photos came from a Korean website. The developer envisioned the phone having the following features:

• 3.5-inch touchscreen
• Sliding Full QWERTY Keyboard
• 12MP camera with Auto-Focus and XENON Flash
• HD Video Recording
• Android
• 3 Colors: (Chrome Silver, Ocean Blue, Sunny Orange)
• Sony Ericsson AppStore

Again, we’re still waiting for the X2 to be release so an X5 is years away. Also, how many phone do you know that have made it to fifth generation? Not many, so for now enjoy the concept, but don’t count on it being a reality.