T-Mobile's newest set was officially announced today at a press conference in New York. Set to launch on October 22nd for $179 on T-Mobile in the US on a two-year stint. Starting in early November all you folks in United Kingdom will have access and Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and the Netherlands can expect their release in the first quarter of 2009. The G1 features WiFi and 3G radios, a 3-megapixel camera, and support for the Android Market and Amazon's mobile MP3 store, giving owners apps and tunes on the go. Existing T-Mobile subscribers get first dibs, with orders being accepted starting today. Here's a quick rundown of the specs:

• HSDPA 1700 / 2100 plus quadband EDGE
• WiFi
• 3-megapixel camera
• Android Market for on-device app purchases
• Amazon MP3 app for on-device music purchases
• Push Gmail support with full HTML client
• Bluetooth (but no A2DP)
• Google Maps with Street View
• No Microsoft Exchange support
• No desktop synchronization -- it all happens over the air

Good thing nobody's working on anything right now in the smartphone space, or this could be really bad news for Microsoft, whose current version of Windows Mobile lost the technology and usability edge a while ago, and is being bandaged up by the likes of HTC to keep the OS relevant to consumers. According to CNET, some of Microsoft's partners in the space are claiming that the upcoming Windows Mobile 7 has been pushed back to the second half of 2009, instead of the "early next year" they'd been expecting. Microsoft has yet to make a formal announcement about the release date of the OS or the specific feature set, so we can't exactly point our fingers and laugh, but we'd say crying big, mobile OS tears into our morning cereal is certainly appropriate.

Bad camera, poor battery life, a dodgy d-pad, ugly color -- is there anything good to say about the most well-spec'd glofiish in E-TEN's range? Well, yes: with support for not one, not two, but four mobile TV standards under its belt, you'll have a hard time finding a WinMo set out there that's friendlier to telly on the go. Plus, the V900 rocks a flush VGA display and tri-band HSDPA, which are "good things" last time we checked; you're just going to have to put up with flimsy build quality and a host of software and hardware niggles to get 'em. At $700, it's hard to swallow the thought of buying a device this heavily panned in a review, but if you absolutely must be able to switch between DAB and DVB-T with aplomb... well, your crappy phone has arrived

Nothing is quite official about this ASUS phone just yet, but the current speculation is that it's actually the ASUS P565 and, judging from some newly-detailed specs, it looks like it shouldn't have much trouble attracting its share of interest. Leading the way is a speedy 800MHz Marvell Tavor processor (apparently a first for any phone), and a still relatively uncommon 2.8-inch VGA screen, which should go nicely with the VGA camera for video conferencing (you'll get 3-megapixels for still mages). Otherwise, you can expect European HSDPA connectivity, built-in GPS, a 1300mAh battery that promises 3.5 hours of 3G talk time, and Windows Mobile 6.1 for an OS (with ASUS' Glide software on top of it), of course. No word on a price just yet, but word is this one is on track for a release as soon as October.

Well it seems Samsung and Giorgio Armani weren't happy to see an end to the battle of the designer phone, so here they are again with yet another garishly branded phone. The Samsung Armani 2 Night Effect eschews tech and cool form for a lovely blue wraparound light, quad-band EDGE / HSDPA, 3.2 megapixel camera, FM radio, 120MB of memory with expansion via microSD, and Bluetooth for accessory connectivity. This handset should see the light of day in Europe come November with South East Asia and the Middle East getting their soon after.