Newsbrief: Tony Hawk Sidekick, Music for Windows Mobile, iCall for the iPhone

Tony Hawk T-Mobile Sidekick LX

Tony Hawk T-Mobile Sidekick LX

Tony Hawk T-Mobile Sidekick LX

T-Mobile Launches Sidekick LX Tony Hawk Edition

Yesterday T-Mobile unveiled the new Tony Hawk Edition of the Sidekick LX. This new device features some Tony Hawk inspired paint and graphics, as you would expect, but also includes a few feature upgrades that have not yet been seen on any other Sidekicks. For example, the Tony Hawk Edition has the ability to record video, something that has been long missing from the popular Sidekick line. This limited edition handset will be available first to existing Sidekick users in July, and will be available to the general public sometime "soon" afterwards.

Microsoft to Focus on Music in Windows Mobile Smartphones

Reuters is reporting that Microsoft has plans to focus on improving the music experience that the Windows Mobile Platform offers users. Microsoft's Andy Lees told Reuters:

"One thing that Apple has leveraged on is the music scenario, and I think that that is something the operators and ourselves are partnering on, just to make sure that consumers can use live music in the best way."

Lees said that music on phones is going to be big business since, when compared to the number of iPods shipped, 10 times as many music capable cell phones are bought each year. [via mocoNews]

iCall Provides UMA-Like GSM to WiFi Call Handoffs

Connecticut based iCall has released a beta version of its new iPhone VoIP application. The new app lets iPhone users transfer an existing inbound GSM call over to a WiFi based VoIP connection without interruption. It is not as seamless as a true UMA based system like T-Mobile's Hotspot@Home is, but it does let users easily switch a call from GSM over to WiFi in order to avoid using minutes - and to potentially improve the call audio quality. More information and a video can be found at the iCall website. [via EngadgetMobile]