Newsbrief: Nokia N900 Maemo-powered touchscreen smartphone available in U.S. flagship stores

Nokia's N900 Maemo 5-powered touchscreen smartphone is now available in Nokia U.S. flagship stores.

News: Sony Ericsson selling phones with AT&T service, possibly closing 4 locations globally

It's being reported that Sony Ericsson will layoff 2,000 employees and close four global facilities, including its largest U.S. location. The company has also quietly announced it is selling handsets with AT&T service in Sony Style stores.

Newsbrief: European Union finds 70 percent of ringtone sites breaking rules in investigation

The European Union says 70 percent of ringtone sales websites in Europe break EU rules. An investigation caused 54 of 554 companies investigated to disappear while nine others were fined for a total of 2 million EUR.

News: Analyst: Verizon Wireless likely to get webOS device in 2010, possibly in first six months

Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu says that Verizon Wireless is likely to launch a webOS-powered Palm smartphone in 2010, possibly as early as the first half of the year.

News: T-Mobile UK staff sold millions of customer records to third-party brokers

T-Mobile UK has confirmed that members of its staff sold millions of customer records to third-party brokers who would cold call customers when their contracts were close to expiring. The company says the breach happened without its knowledge.

News: Verizon launches Social Beat, free social networking app for feature phones

Verizon is providing Social Beat free to customers who own any of more than 20 different feature phones. The social networking application gives access to Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and more.

News: Opera Mobile 10 beta available for Windows Mobile

Today a new beta version of Opera Mobile 10 for the Windows Mobile platform was released.

News: Sidekick handsets on sale again at T-Mobile for reduced prices after data failure

T-Mobile has started selling its Sidekick handsets again, and is offering them for a reduced price after a data failure affected customers' contact, calendar, photo and other vital data in October.

News: Google Earth for iPhone and iPod Touch updated to version 2.0

Google has updated its Google Earth software for iPhone and iPod touch devices to version 2.0. The new software features content syncing, an improved user experience, and new languages.

News: Verizon says "the truth hurts" in response to AT&T 3G advertising suit

Verizon Wireless said Monday that AT&T filed suit against its "There's a map for that" ad campaign because the ads are true and "the truth hurts."