FCC to BlackBerry Curve 8520: ‘You’re clear for take-off’

Well, it won’t be too much longer before the BlackBerry Curve 8520 fills the void of BlackBerryians on the T-Mobile network. After Boy Genius reported the July launch at Wal-Mart stores, it looks like the FCC gave it the final “texting thumbs-up.” BGR has it estimated at less than $80 which would be a steal for a phone that boasts an optical trackpad instead of the convenient trackball we’ve grown to love. Your thumbs will be confused at first, but perhaps the sleek feel of a QWERTY keyboard will provide some rejuvenation. With the BlackBerry Tour shaping up for its launch, July’s looking quite nice for RIM.

Rumor Mill: iPhone 3G S Overheating

Complaints of the new iPhone overheating are clogging the Intertubes. Users experiencing overheating say it came about during various activities, but mainly from prolonged application and GPS use. One report came from a user who was merely browsing the Internet over a Wi-Fi connection. Some experts are blaming the battery, some the applications themselves and some are blaming the new devices inability to handle prolonged use over a 3G network. In any case, this is leaving many to wonder if a recall isn’t too far off. Has anyone else been experiencing overheating with their new iPhone 3G S?

HTC Ozone to come to Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless today announced that the HTC Ozone will be the latest addition to its smartphone lineup. For every one who doesn’t want to shell out a couple hundred dollars for a smartphone, the Ozone is a perfect alternative. This Windows Mobile 6.1 device comes with a full QWERTY keyboard, and if you live in the U.S. you also can enjoy Verizon’s 3G network. With Wi-Fi, GPS and a 2.0 megapixel camera the device is pretty standard, but for $50 after the standard mail-in-rebate and contract I’d say it’s a heck of a deal!

Privus Mobile's Nokia E71 giveaway

Privus Mobile is giving away a Nokia E71 device loaded with a year subscription of its Mobile Caller ID service. The winner will be drawn at random and is open to U.S. and Canadian residents, excluding Quebec. All you have to do to enter is go to the Privus Mobile website and fill out the form with your correct contact information – the winner will be notified via email so if you use a fake one and they can’t contact you, obviously you can’t win. You must be 18 years or older and the limit is one entry per person. You have until Aug. 28 to enter, but why wait? You might forget! Who knows, two months from now you could be the lucky winner enjoying real-time Mobile Caller ID on your brand-spankin’ new Symbian S60 smartphone and all of its open-source app goodness.

Most people think they have caller ID on their mobile phone, but a caller name is never displayed unless it is already saved into your contacts. Privus Mobile provides true caller ID to the world’s most popular smartphone operating systems including Windows Mobile, Symbian S60, Android OS and iPrivus brings true caller ID retrieval to Apple iPhones. Want to give Privus Mobile a try? While you’re on the site entering the contest, go ahead and find your device on the site as well and sign up for a free 10-day trial! Happy call-screening!

HTC Hero gets official

I have good news and bad news, so which you do you want first? The good news? Alright, it’s all about the HTC Hero today and for good reason. The Hero’s new Sense UI is sexy enough to make the most devoted G1 user want to upgrade. The new UI will eventually make its way to all HTC Android phones, so G1 users need not become too green with envy. Another cool feature of the Hero is the Sense is Scenes feature which allows users to switch from “work to weekend mode,” organize emails, texts, photos, call logs and social media updates. Personally, I can’t stand smudges on the exterior of my device. The Hero is coated in Teflon making it soft to the touch and smudge-free. While we’re talking about aesthetics, the Hero has the “chin” but HTC has managed to make it far less offensive on this model. The bad news is this oh-so-sexy device will make its way to Europe in July and Asia later this summer. When is it coming to America? Looks like we’re just going to have to wait and see! Of course you want specs, so here they are courtesy of the Boy Genius Report:

• Android with HTC Sense
• 112mm x 56.2mm x 14.35mm, 135g
• Qualcomm MSM7200A 528MHz processor
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, dual-band 7.2Mbps HSPA/WCDMA
• 512 ROM / 288 RAM
• 3.2″ HVGA capacitive touchscreen
• 5.0 megapixel camera with auto-focus
• Gravity sensor
• Digital compass
• WiFi 802.11b/g
• GPS
• Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR + A2DP
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• microSD
• 1350 mh battery
• 420 minutes talktime / 750 hours standby (WCDMA)

**UPDATE: Apparently, licensing issues with Google have prevented the Sense UI from coming to Google branded devices such as T-Mobile’s G1/myTouch 3G and Vodafone’s Magic. An HTC representative also stated "Licensing, logistics and cost" issues could possible prevent some handsets that don’t have the “with Google” branding from receiving the update.