Anyone know anything about Verizon working on a Smartphone?

[ARW]

Just ran across this.

http://www.pdafrance.com/pdarama/al...dscn2770?full=1

It would seem to indicate that Verizon is working on MSN for some sort of Smartphone or another. Could it be the Samsung SCH-i600?

If anyone has any means of confirming the authenticity of this please chime in. This photo is purported to have been taken at Mobius 2003 which was held in Paris last week.

Or if you have any other US Smartphone info that would be great to hear as well.

[mattp]

I was going to refer you to smartphoneforums, but I guess you've already been there, haven't you?

I do know that Verizon has officially announced the i700 (PocketPC Phone) and the Kyocera 7135 (Palm smartphone). Most of what I've seen indicates the 7135 in stores at the end of April, and the i700 probably sometime shortly after that.

If you read some of the posts about the 7135 at places like smartphonesource.com it appears to take an awfully long time for a smartphone to get on Verizon.

[umichboy]

Verizon has had the Thera by Audiovox available for quite some time. This PocketPC phone is nice, but has abysmal battery life.

[ARW]

Thanks all. I'm aware of smartphoneforums and the i700 and 7135, what I'm hoping for is a Microsoft Smartphone, of which there has been speculation about ever since the
Samsung i600 was spotted on the FCC's website last Summer.

Assuming that the 7135 makes it to Verizon by May it will have been about 10 months from public announcement to Verizon offering it, so I'm sure a Smartphone would take just as long, and probably longer.

What I was hoping for was any verifiable news along the Msft Smartphone & Verizon front, perhaps from someone who actually went to Mobius.

Anybody out there?

Thanks again,

[trog]

The Kyocera 7135 is out and available now through the business channel, the i700 will be avaiable 4/24ish. In regards to the MSN/Intel Smartphone, current month PocketPC mag has a blurb. It is still in prototype format and doesn't list a re;ease date.