Samsung's SPH-W2500 slider with HSDPA

We're noticing a trend -- anyone think this thing looks like a healthy portion of the sliders Samsung has loosed in recent history? Sure, 13.8 millimeters is nice for a slider and all, but it's by no means groundbreaking; same goes for the 2 megapixel primary and VGA front-facing cameras, microSD slot, and media support. That being said, we're hard-pressed to dis any 3G phone that's managed to make it all the way to the FCC's hallowed halls, so we're going to cut the criticism right here and cross our fingers for an expedient arrival on US shores.

More details on Samsung's u540 for Verizon

Oh, happy day: another midrange clamshell for Verizon! Actually, we already knew about the Samsung u540, but last time we visited it we were a bit slim in the details department; a tipster has since managed to fill out the blanks for us. We don't have a price, but we're guessing that a minimal cash layout (after $50 mail-in rebate) is going to get you tethering capability with an EV-DO radio (albeit Rev. 0), microSD expansion, navigation, 2.1 inch primary display, and all the usual VCAST goodies -- minus VCAST TV, of course. Expect a launch rather soonly.

Apple scores absurd amount of attention with iPhone; in other news, sky is blue

Apple -- not unlike Sony -- occasionally shuns the big industry tradeshows in favor of talking bout its newest wares on its own time in its own venue. Cupertino does that with mastery just about every year (remember the iPod nano hype back in September 2005?), and its latest foray into "see why we are more special" came with the iPhone - Cingular announcement back in January during the heart of the CES tradeshow in Las Vegas. Per protocol, Apple said "bleh" and wanted to get its game on on its own terms, shunning CES for San Francisco's Moscone Center with the world-imploding iPhone announcement that scores of industry watchers had been intently waiting on for years. If there's one thing you have to give Apple credit for, it's marketing finesse and public timing -- not to mention its knack for generating free publicity. For example, Harvard Business School prof David Yoffie now estimates that the iPhone has generated about $400 million in publicity so far -- with none of that cost coming out of Apple's pockets, to boot -- an "unprecedented" level of attention for a new product introduction. We're pretty sure that's exactly what Steve Jobs was looking for.

Palm hires ex-Apple designer, puts iPhone in its sights

Even though Palm's Ed Colligan may not like it, Apple did go and "just walk in" to the mobile phone space when it announced the iPhone last month: fortunately for consumers, the company is starting to change its attitude towards the "Mac guys," thanks in part to the innovative software that makes up a significant proportion of the iPhone's appeal. So what exactly is the company doing to respond to this threat? Well, for one thing, the company recently hired Paul Mercer, a former Apple computer engineer with an extremely impressive resume. An Apple employee whom was the lead designer on the Finder team for Mac OS 7, Mercer also worked on the Samsung Z5 range, and founded Pixo, a company that original iPod owners may remember from the copyright section of that player: Pixo provided tools to develop the iPod's user interface. That sort of CV is exactly the type that Palm needs in order to tackle threats like the iPhone -- not least because of the guy's knowledge of the inner workings of Apple -- although it'll take more than just one clever mind in order to turn Palm around. Not that Palm has any choice in the matter: it either turns itself around or else.