HTC 7 Pro hits O2 Germany, T-Mobile US offers G2 for free

It seems HTC is ready to ship the 7 Pro and O2 Germany users are the first to get it. Meanwhile the US T-Mobile has a limited time offer about the G2 - it's free on a two-year contract.

You can have the QWERTY-fied HTC 7 Pro from O2 Germany for ˆ29 downpayment and ˆ22.50 per month for two years. This of course does not include your tariff monthly subscription. if you don;t want a contract, you can get it for ˆ599 commitment-free. Whatever option you choose, your 7 Pro won't have a carrier lock.

We are sure HTC 7 Pro will hit more countries soon.

On the other side of the pond, T-Mobile US has an interesting offer for you. You can have a completely free T-Mobile G2 as long as you order it with two-year contract online. The offer will end on 20 January, so you should act quickly if you're after this deal.

Samsung announces S5260 Star II with Wi-Fi, we have live photos

Another star is innate – a Samsung S5260 Star II, that only went official, is seeking to attain a best-selling S5230 Star. TouchWiz 3.0, Wi-Fi connectivity as well as low amicable networking  formation  positively give a immature star a progress though those have been large boots to fill.

The Samsung S5260 Star II upgrades a little of a original’s facilities – a capacitive arrangement instead of resistive, Wi-Fi b/g/n connectivity as well as a customary microUSB port. Bluetooth 3.0 is additionally upon board

Samsung S5260 Star II in white

Still, a shade is a 3″ WQVGA (240×400) screen, a camera is a 3MP fixed-focus section with no peep as well as there’s no 3G connectivity, a same specs as a strange Star. And there is that S5230W Star Wi-Fi, of course.

The program has perceived a vital refurbish for an softened user knowledge upon a S5260 Star II. The TouchWiz UI has been bumped to v3.0, a same chronicle as a a single used in Bada OS as well as additionally Samsung’s droids.

The Samsung S5260 Star II additionally boasts endless amicable networking skills – phonebook facilities SNS formation as well as there have been Facebook as well as Twitter apps preinstalled. IM await covers Facebook chat Yahoo Messenger, Gtalk as well as AIM.

Samsung S5260 Star II in black

SNS aside, a Star II aims to stir song fans as well – 3.5mm audio jack, DNSe support, song approval as well as a microSD label container for cards up to 16GB.

Aside from a central product shots, you additionally have a little live photos of a white Samsung S5260 Star II to share.

Samsung S5260 Star II live shots

The Samsung S5260 Star II will launch this Feb in Germany, with alternative European countries, CIS, South AmericaIndia as well as a Middle East to follow. accessible in black as well as white, a Samsung expects a Star II to compare a success of a strange (which has over thirty million sales).

XPERIA Play reviewed again, more specs revealed

XPERIA Play is probably Sony Ericsson's worst kept secret. The gaming phone keeps leaking every week revealing even more of its specs to the public. Today we've got another review for you, complete with more live shots and benchmarks.

  
Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play

The first thing we learn is that the internal free memory of the Gingerbread-running XPERIA Play. The pre-release unit appearing in the shots has 315MB for apps, but Android already allows memory cardinstallations so no biggie here.

   
The XPERIA Play specs

As you already know, the XPERIA Play is based on the same Qualcomm MSM8255 platform as the XPERIA Arc. It's the second-gen Snapdragon with improved graphics performance thanks to the updated Adreno 205 GPU.

  
XPERIA Play benchmarks

According to the two benchmarks listed in the review, the XPERIA Play has similar processing power to the HTC Desire HD. Of course, it is still a pre-release unit, so things might improve even further before it hits the shelves.

There's also the PlayStation Pocket app, which will allow downloading of exclusive games to the phone. So far the service has not launched and there are no games to download so it was not tested. Unfortunately, the reviewer doesn't know the Sony Ericsson plans about those mobile games and also whether there will be a PS simulator.

However a tipster told us that most PSP games from the Playstation Network will be available to to the XPERIA Play as well.

 
Sony's PlayStation Pocket app

The rest of the XPERIA Play UI seems to be the same identical to what we saw on the XPERIA Arc. Timescape and the new Media menu are also on board.

   
XPERIA Play user interface

You can check the source for more pictures and two test videos.

The XPERIA Play should be announced at the upcoming MWC 2011 this February. Rumors have it that it should be in stores by June 2011.

Nokia kills Ovi Music Unlimited, says DRM is the reason

Nokia has just announced that it's pulling the plug on its Ovi Music Unlimited service in most of the markets where it was available. China, India and Indonesia along with Brazil, Turkey and South Africa are the only exceptions, though they will probably follow suit sooner or later.

Apparently the Ovi Music Unlimited service never managed to live up to the expectations Nokia had for it. And that is, despite the fact that music giants like Universal Music, EMI, Warner Music Group and Sony were all a part of the project.

Nokia quotes the DRM-restricted nature of the music downloads and the lack of carrier support, as the main reasons for the fiasco. A Nokia spokesman was quoted by Reuters saying that "The markets clearly want a DRM-free music service."

Still if you have a running subscription to Ovi Music Unlimited, rest assured - you will be able to use the service for the full period of your subscription.