While Cingular (er, AT&T, but you know what we mean) couldn't seem prouder of its iPhone exclusivity, apparently Apple's first choice was Verizon, but the two companies couldn't agree on a deal that worked for both companies. "We said no." Said Jim Gerace, a VZW VP. "We have nothing bad to say about the Apple iPhone. We just couldn't reach a deal that was mutually beneficial."

It looks like some folks upgrading to Vista may be in for a bit of surprise when they take a closer look at the installation instructions, with Ars Technica reporting that Microsoft has decided to shake up the upgrade procedure a bit this time around. The main change is that, unlike earlier versions of Windows, you apparently won't be able to simply use a license key from your old OS to install one of the upgrade editions of Vista on your PC, with Vista instead requiring that Windows XP or Windows 2000 already be installed.

Cell phones are an international affair. We get multimedia behemoths from Finland, luxury from Russia, and increasingly slim handsets from Korea. Today, we take a stroll down Ukraine way and find ourselves a new "Super 3G phone from PEOPLEnet." The ZTE D90, with its Fastap keypad, is clearly designed with text messaging. But wait, isn't that a Telus badge?

Nokia and Siemens announced that they would start sharing the proposed product portfolio plan for the future Nokia Siemens Networks with employees and customers starting in early February.  As a result, Nokia and Siemens will immediately begin the process of sharing the proposed future product portfolio information with employee representatives.

Is that the Apple iPhone for Asian markets that I see? Oh no, wait, it's yet another (not so cheaply made?) clone courtesy of Meizu. The Meizu M8 looks just like the iPhone in every way, including the fairly unique set of icons for navigation. In fact, the M8 is more Apple than Apple as they've opted for a glossy white finish instead of a black one. There hasn't been any company confirmation at this point, but it's not unlike Meizu to "borrow iPod styling cues", you could say.

Japanese carrier Softbank has announced a range of new phones, and the one that stands out is the 812SH Pantone series by Sharp, if only because it comes in colours other than Black, Silver or Grey or a special edition Red or perhaps Pink - in fact, it comes in 20 different colours, giving consumers a wide range of choice when it comes to personalising their mobile. It'll have several in different colours...

Just as there are multiple versions of Windows XP (and Vista) for your home PC, there are several variations to the handheld version. As we anxiously await the official launch of Windows Mobile 6 -- codenamed Crossbow during development -- we must get used to the new naming conventions that Billy Gates and his buddies came up with to replace what they used with WinMo5.