Hasta La Gadget!

HTC has unveiled the HTC Tattoo, an Android-powered smartphone that the company is pitching as a blank slate. Essentially, the handset lets users personalize many aspects of the device. That includes its apps, content, and even the hardware, HTC said in a statement, although so far it is being light on specifics.

One thing is for sure: the Tattoo is the second model after the HTC Hero to come with the company’s new HTC Sense touch interface. The Tattoo also integrates Google Maps, Search, Mail, and Android Market, the latter of which lets users download from a catalog of thousands of third-party applications. The device also features a 3.2-megapixel camera with auto-focus, a standard-size 3.5mm headphone jack, and a microSD card sot.

So far, the HTC Tattoo will only be available in Europe beginning in October. But the company said rather mysteriously that it will also roll out in other markets around the world in the coming months. We’ve got a call in now with HTC to find out exactly what that means.

Sony Ericsson has officially unveiled the Xperia X2, the successor to the company’s expensive, unlocked Xperia X1 smartphone.

The X2 will feature an 8.1-megapixel camera, a bundled 4GB microSD card, and yet another refreshed UI for Windows Mobile (though this time, it will be a 6.5 device) including 13 pre-loaded “panels,” according to a company blog post.

There’s also a slide-out, four-row QWERTY keyboard with decidedly computer-like keys, and a vertical strip of icons running along the bottom of the screen in landscape mode. In portrait mode, the band of icons shrinks in width but stays at the bottom.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 will hit “selected markets” later this year. Here’s hoping the UI is more seamless and less buggy this time around. I’d also hope for a much lower price, but if anyone is good at overcharging, it’s Sony.

A powerful Windows Mobile business phone, the HTC Touch Pro2 is destined for all four major carriers here in the US. Sprint became the second carrier to announce it (after T-Mobile) today, and while their model is very similar to the one we reviewed for T-Mobile, it has a few twists.

For one thing, the Sprint Touch Pro2 is a combination CDMA/GSM device which runs on Sprint’s 3G network here in the US, and 2G EDGE networks abroad. The device is also loaded with the usual proprietary Sprint software, including Sprint TV, Sprint’s GPS solution, NFL and NASCAR apps and Sprint Music Store.

The Sprint Touch Pro2 will be available for $349.99 with a two-year contract and $100 rebate, the same as T-Mobile is charging. It will be available on Sept. 8, and we’ll have a review soon.

Finally! Although Clearwire turned their WiMax network on in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Portland earlier this year, Sprint users couldn’t have access to it up until now. That changed today as Sprint said those three cities are ready for Sprint 4G users to jump on board. They join Baltimore, the only city that had official Sprint WiMax service up until now. (We reviewed the service a while ago when it was called Xohm.)

Right now, there’s only one device Sprint is selling for WiMax, the U300 USB modem. Clearwire is selling several different devices for their side of the network, including the Samsung Mondi Windows Mobile handheld and a bunch of modems.

A service plan combining WiMax and Sprint’s national 3G service costs $69.99/month; if you just want to buy a day pass to the WiMax network, it’s $10/day.

According to a Sprint press release, Sprint has several new 4G devices planned for 2009 and 2010, including a single-mode 4G data card, embedded laptops and a 4G phone. Back when Sprint 4G was known as Xohm, they already had a data card from Samsung and a bunch of laptops, but pulled them from the market when Sprint changed their strategy.

Also from the press release: Sprint plans to deploy Sprint 4G service in these additional markets in 2009: Chicago, IL; Dallas, Ft. Worth, Philadelphia, PA; Austin, Texas; Abilene, Texas; Amarillo, Texas; Boise, Idaho; Bellingham, Wash.; Charlotte, N.C.; Corpus Christi, Texas; Greensboro, N.C.; Honolulu, HI; Killeen-Temple, Texas; Lubbock, Texas; Maui, Hawaii; Midland-Odessa, Texas; Raleigh, N.C.; Salem, Ore.; San Antonio, Texas; Seattle, WA: Waco, Texas; and Wichita Falls, Texas. In 2010, Sprint expects to launch service in multiple markets, including Boston, Houston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Is that Palm Pre in your pocket the latest cool new smartphone, or a really expensive tracking device? It’s both! Close inspection of the device’s webOS reveals that the phone uploads user locations (among other things), sending them back to Palm headquarters daily.

Said information is outlined in the company’ Terms and Conditions, which reads, in part,

Palm and its Affiliates may collect, store, access, disclose, transmit, process, and otherwise use your location data (including real time geographic information) in accordance with Palm’s privacy policy.

But, let’s face it, Palm’s not really alone in this. For better and worse, your phone knows where you are at all times–and so does your wireless carrier. Not that such a fact lets any company off the hook, but it certainly seems a fact of modern life–a scary, scary fact.