Texas Instruments' WiLink 7 chip is extremely capable as it touts to be the first chip of its kind to include a quartet of wireless capabilities, all on a single chip. When we say wireless, we mean Bluetooth connectivity, an FM transceiver, GPS support and 802.11n Wi-Fi. With the merging of all four onto a single design chip, phone designers will be able to play around with the physical size as well as energy requirements. According to Texas Instruments, thie WiLink 7 chip requires just half the space as that of a standard multi-chip approach, consuming 30% less requirements as well. We would like to see just which phone manufacturer takes up the WiLink 7 in their designs first. [Press Release]

Looks like the OS 5.0.0.464 for the BlackBerry Bold 9000 has been officially released, though it’s not by AT&T, rather by another carrier – Zain Kuwait. If you’re really desperate for this update for your BlackBerry Bold 9000, you can pick it up at the official site, though you’ll want to remember to backup all your files and settings before attempting this. Unfortunately there isn’t any official listing of the updated features on this latest OS version, so if you notice anything different after applying the update, drop us a comment.

Search by SMS never really took off, but by referring to a patent that was recently filed by Yahoo, the company seems like it wants to take a crack at the challenge. In the patent, it’s mentioned that users will be able to use the system by sending a search query as a text message to a predetermined number, after which the search query is processed, and the results delivered, along with some advertisements, to the user. The search-related advertising here might be rather interesting, especially if there is widespread adoption of this technology, it would present a nice revenue stream for Yahoo. Currently the technology is targeted at developing countries, where mobile phone penetration is high, but the Internet services are rather low. Sounds like a rather useful service, though it remains to be seen whether it would be well received and used if it were to be rolled out.

AnyDATA has made available a couple of Windows-powered smartphones in the form of the ASP-318 and ASP-518, where the former is easy on your pockets, making it the ideal Windows Mobile smartphone for students and enterprise workers, where it runs on Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional, sporting a 3.2" color touchscreen display, GPS navigation, an accelerometer, dual SIM carriage, a microSD memory card slot, a 3.2-megapixel camera with an integrated flash and autofocus as well as a built-in FM radio. Apart from that, AnyDATA aims to enhance the ASP-318 further with SRS TruMedia from SRS Labs. As for the ASP-518, this 3G dual mode smartphone will also be powered by Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional, sharing many features mentioned earlier with the ASP-319 albeit having dual cameras (a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera and a VGA camera), the Qualcomm MSM7627 3G processor and SRS technology for its audio needs. Meanwhile, we are left scratching our heads as to who would be offering these handsets, and at what price. [Press Release]

We brought you news of a new Super AMOLED handset from Samsung that will debut at Mobile World Congress (MWC), Barcelona, and today there is a new development on this mystery phone. Apparently, it is being promoted as the first Bada-powered Samsung phone, debuting on a day filled with love - Valentine's Day. What do you think of this news - will you be all thrilled about a Bada OS phone, or are you still saving up to make sure you have enough money to purchase an Android or iPhone OS-powered handset?

This Valentine's Day, if you're feeling particularly flush and want to impress your girlfriend with something much more than standard issue bling, why not fork out a handsome amount of dough for the Vertu Constellation Ayxta? After all, this late-2009 release sports the same features alongside coming in pink leather, although we would love to see it get adorned with diamonds and other sorts of precious jewels for that added touch of class.

Sony Ericsson has confirmed that their Android-powered Xperia X10 will be getting a newer version of Android sometime after its launch, although the exact time frame has yet to be announced. It will bolt through the stable doors with Android 1.6, and hopefully we'll see a jump to Android 2.1 sooner rather than later. It does make us wonder why can't it roll out with Android 2.1 in the first place - would you rather wait for the phone to be released later with the updated 2.1 OS, or hold one in your hands sooner only to make the upgrade later on?

The latest iPhone 3.1.3 firmware is not the panacea to fix all of your iPhone's ills, as some folks have already voiced out their concern on Apple's support forums. One of the most critical and nagging issue would be its battery life that ends up pretty wonky for no reason whatsoever, jumping randomly from its current level to on that is extremely low, before returning to what it was before. In worst-case scenarios, one might see their iPhone lose hours of power despite being fully charged just moments ago, or even running at a higher temperature level than normal. Ironically, the 3.1.3 firmware was supposed to fix the battery meter problem on the iPhone 3GS. Are you one of the unfortunate few to be affected by the latest firmware update, and how are you dealing with it?

The Nokia Nuron, also known by its more formal model number, the Nokia 5230, is ready to hit the market come this March 17th, and here are more details concerning its hardware configuration. You will find 3G connectivity thrown into the fray alongside a 3.2” touchscreen display and compatibility with the Ovi Application Store. Guess this is more or less a handset which caters for social networking fans, but we're pretty sure they might find other much better smartphones social network-wise, although the Nokia Nuron will definitely appeal on the price side of things considering this is primed as a mid-range handset.

Dopod's most recently leaked out roadmap does point a finger at the HTC Dragon which will be Android powered as many expected, boasting a 3.6" WVGA display. Apart from that, details of the HTC Dragon are pretty scant or non-existent at all, pretty much the same applies to fossil evidence for those mythical monsters of ancient lore. Well, at least we know this is one Dragon that will emerge from its cave eventually, giving you access to a treasure trove of golden nuggets of gossip when you use the HTC Dragon to talk with a friend.

Samsung has announced its latest handset (we had a look at its unofficial specs here), the S5620 Monte which will come with Wi-Fi connectivity as well as a 3" WQVGA touchscreen display with a movie-friendly 16:9 aspect ratio as expected, and more. With Samsung's TouchWiz 2.0 Plus interface, one will be able to enjoy quick access to apps for social networking services including Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Samsung also threw in a 3.2-megapixel camera with software that is smart enough to capture smile shots, panoramas and face detection. With integrated GPS capability, you will find it a snap to geotag your photos while using Google Latitude to connect with friends. Alas, Samsung has yet to announce the details that most people are looking for - its pricing and availability dates, but at least we don't have to cower behind rumors any more.

One of the smallest touchscreen smartphones from LG would be the recently announced GD880 Mini, where is 3.2" display does its best not to waste space, running nearly straight to the very edge in order to do away with the bulk found in other handsets. Being rather slim and minimalist in terms of design, it still doesn't look fragile thanks to metal accents all over that helps it have that solid look. Underneath the hood, you will find an S-Class user interface alongside 7.2Mbps 3G connectivity, a 5-megapixel camera, GPS navigation and Wi-Fi support. The LG GD880 Mini will arrive in Europe first next month before it appears in other regions throughout the year for a yet undisclosed price.

NEC has unveiled a brand new camera chip which was specially optimized to be used in new cellphones, turning the integrated cameras into performance monsters that are more or less equal to that of DSLRs. We find that hard to believe at first, but we suppose it is only a matter of time before technology advances to such a state that everything inside a DSLR can be shrunk into a tiny chip for use in other mobile devices. Well, the NEC CE151 is capable of recording video in full High Definition, not to mention shooting still images of up to 13-megapixels. Other features include the ability to output full HD video streams, an easy-to-use API, being backwards compatible with earlier NEC CE chips, a noise-reduction function which helps minimize lens distortion and a reduced energy consumption level. No idea on when will be the earliest where we see the NEC CE151 camera chips in action, but the sooner the better as with any other new technology, right?

Vodafone's upcoming Qisda QCM-330 cellphone might have a mere 4" display, but you will be suprised to note that it out-pixels (yes, you heard it here first!) - in other words, has a higher resolution than the yet to be released Apple iPad, boasting 1,280 x 1,024 pixels. Apart from that, connectivity options include HSDPA and Wi-Fi, while an accelerometer shold go some ways in making it a much more engaging user experience, especially with tilt-sensitive games and viewing photos in either landscape or portrait mode. A 3-megapixel camera is there to help you capture those impromptu moments in case you forgot to carry your DSLR. As for eagle-eyed folks, its home button does seem to point towards the Google Android operating system.