Windows Phone Mango RTM Build 7720 Leaks Out

Can't wait for Microsoft to release Windows Phone 7's Mango update? The company has finalized its work on the software and prepared a build of the code for release to its manufacturing partners. As they work on preparing their new Mango-running WP7 smartphones, we can also expect carriers to start testing software updates due to bring existing WP7 hardware up to Mango. If the weeks and weeks you'd have to wait to see either of those doesn't sound too appealing, it looks like that final RTM build 7720 of Mango has been leaked, and users are reporting successfully updating their phones.

We'd be wise to remember the problems WP7 handsets have run into when running unauthorized software updates in the past, but if you feel the risk is worth it, the 404MB download is your ticket to Mango's final build.

Users in the XDA-Developers thread where this leak was published report that the software includes language support for German, English, Spanish, French, and Italian. The update process looks long and a bit convoluted; instructions with the leak explain in German how you need to start with Zune software 4.8.2134.0 on your PC, then bring the phone up through a series of updates to build 7712 prior to making the last step to RTM 7720. If you're already on 7712, though, it's a whole lot simpler.

Not everything's working perfectly, though, and some 7720-specific features like connecting to hidden WiFi APs are absent. While that may point to fakery, it could also be a result of requiring additional code updates from the manufacturers of individual smartphones in order to go active. Turn-by-turn navigation, on the other hand, does appear to be intact.

If you feel up to giving it a shot, links to the download and further installation instructions are available in the XDA-Developers source thread.

BlackBerry Curve Touch 9380 Orlando Shows Up On-Camera

There's been a lot of action from RIM lately, with the first of its latest BlackBerrys already for sale in some markets, and more models on the way. While there's been plenty of info available on some of these smartphones, others have been much more elusive. One we haven't seen much of so far is the Curve Touch 9380, spotted on a RIM roadmap back in January. We're still not quite sure exactly when the phone will arrive, but it looks like we're getting close, with the 9380 showing up on film for the first time.

According to that roadmap, codename Malibu would be released sometime right around the end of the year. That's the CDMA version of the Orlando, the GSM-based Curve Touch 9380 we're seeing here. The smartphone appears to match the render we saw attached to a spec sheet, also back in January. That leak made the Curve Touch out to be more of a mid-range BlackBerry (or, at least, what the new mid-range is becoming following the release of these new models), with an 800MHz processor and 512MB RAM. Even if it's no Bold 9900, it should still have some upper-end features, like support for NFC. Hopefully, we'll be learning more of the release plans for the Curve Touch as we approach fall. 

BlackBerry Bold 9930 Spotted For Sprint

Among RIM's new BlackBerrys, the Bold 9900 is easily in the running for being the most desired; being the thinnest BlackBerry to date, we hardly have to wonder why. The 9900 officially hits Canada today, and we're expecting to see it on US carriers later this month. The States will also be seeing its CDMA twin, the Bold 9930, come to carriers like Verizon and Sprint. We've seen a picture of the Bold booting-up with Verizon's logo, and now we can check out what the 9930 will look like on Sprint, starring here in a nice, crisp render.

There's nothing surprising about the Bold we're seeing here, but this is still the first glimpse we've gotten of the 9930 decked-out for operation on Sprint. Back in June we saw a leaked copy of a Sprint roadmap covering the release of many smartphones up through the month of September. Even if we were sure the list was accurate back then, which we're not, those dates could easily have been revised in the two months since. All the same, that leak has the Bold 9930 down for an August 21 release. Until we hear otherwise, be on the lookout for the 9930 to come to Sprint sometime around the end of the month.

HTC Has A "Major Announcement" For Tomorrow; What Could It Be?

What will be the next big thing from HTC? We've seen it bring us its first LTE smartphone, firstWindows Phone 7 hardware, and just today heard about its first NFC-capable device. It looks like we'll be finding out very soon indeed, as thecompany has sent out notices that it intends to make a "major announcement" tomorrow.

All we know for sure is that HTC's CEO, Peter Chou, will be addressing the press via teleconference, beginning at 11:30am eastern time. After he finishes up with his announcement, he'll be taking questions.

The big question is how major is "major". Will this be game-changing, like Nokia's decision to go WP7? Maybe it will be some new hardware; we know that the company has at least half a dozen smartphones planned for release by year's end. We've seen some, like the HTC Ruby which appears destined for T-Mobile, but don't know enough about their hardware and software to make any one seem like it might be up to the label "major". Could HTC have gotten the nod to manufacture the first Ice Cream Sandwich-running Android?

Any guesses? We'll know for sure tomorrow, so check back around noon to see what HTC's big news is.

HTC Droid Incredible To Be Denied Gingerbread Update?

HTC has been telling users of the original DroidIncredible that an upgrade that would bring the smartphone up to Android 2.3 Gingerbread was forthcoming, and it looked like the company was expecting it to be ready for release sometime early this summer. It's already behind on those estimations, but more alarmingly, it now seems like that update may have been canceled altogether, at least according to one HTC rep.

We're still hoping to hear something official from the company, but in an e-mail conversation with one Incredible user who was inquiring about the update's status, a rep wrote, "we only update our phones if it will provide an overall improved user experience as we balance features, performance and usability. Because of this, we will only be updating certain phones to Gingerbread. At this time, the Droid Incredible is not on that list."

If this is true, it seems like it must have been a recent decision, since in-development Gingerbread ROMs have already leaked out. Developers have also released their own custom ROMs that bring Gingerbread to the Incredible, so it's certainly up to the task of running the operating system, making us really question that claim that the Incredible wouldn't benefit from the update. We'd like to think this notice that the Incredible has been removed from the to-get-Gingerbread list is a mistake, but if it's not, at least you haveplenty of other options for bringing your phone's software up-to-date.