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According to an article in BusinessWeek, you just might start seeing a lot of generic crap new brands popping up at a wireless store near you. Among them: Alcatel, ZTE, and Haier. Hey, doesn't Haier make rice cookers?

Alcatel, of Alcatel-Lucent fame, is already a huge gun when it comes to expensive networking equipment. But then someone got greedy and decided, hey, let's do a complete 180 and make cell phones for Americans. So now, under a separate company called Cellatel (what a horrible name), Alcatel is doing just that.

Some of the newer Alcatel phones that will be hitting the US market

It turns out that the smaller players have an easier time getting cozy with wireless service providers, most likely because they're small. They can make concessions, and strike up potentially more lucrative deals for the service providers, all while getting their brand out there.

So competition is always good, unless you're holding shares of Motorola or something like that. I for one would love to see some kind of variety in the Cingular store for once, instead of the same 10 crap phones.

Source: "North America's Cell-Phone Land Grab" - Businessweek

With an appearance that looks pretty much like any other Blackberry out there, the combination media smartphone and PDA will still likely brainwash yet even more loyal followers to RIM's cause. Not to mention keeping them from the likes of Apple, Nokia and Motorola (and Samsung).

In terms of features, the Curve is one-part standard enterprise Blackberry fare with the push email and instant messaging and whatnot and one-part consumer smartphone. Unlike most Blackberry models, it has a 2 megapixel camera and Media Player which should handle all of your audio/video needs. The 8300 Curve also includes Blackberry Maps, which looks like a crappier version of Nokia's smart2go.

All in all, I started this preview hoping to find some breakthrough technology or innovative feature that would make the Curve standout as a consumer phone, but unfortunately it looks like YABB: yet another BlackBerry!

The LG Prada KE 850 Phone

It's really hard not to talk about its similarity in looks when it comes to the Prada vs. the iPhone. The only real difference I can see is that LG/Prada opted for a more rectangular look than the curvy iPodish style. Thickness (less than a half-inch) between the two phones is about the same, while it seems that the Prada is shorter (3.9 inches vs the iPhone's 4.5)

The KE 850 also features a touch-screen, 2 megapixel camera, microSD expandable memory, and video/music players.

I would love to see how the KE 850 stacks up against the iPhone, especially when it comes to the user interface. Apple is known for creating some of the best UI's around (so simple that even a caveman could use their products!), but LG certainly isn't. And we're still not sure how much influence Prada actually had on the device, at least other than looks and appearance.

The KE 850 is expected to retail for about $600, which puts it in about 100 bucks more than the smallest capacity iPhone. The GSM (triband 900/1800/1900) version of the Prada is actually available (albeit from ebay) as it has been released in the UK.

There's a good chance that the finished KE 850 for Verizon may be slightly different than the GSM version - the company has been pretty quiet about the entire project. From the article: "In reaction to all the iPhone attention AT&T is getting, Verizon COO Denny Strigl told USAToday Tuesday: 'We do have a very good response in the mill. You'll see that from us in the late summer.'"

Source: "Verizon Plots iPhone Killer" - TheStreet

The high point of Palm's new device is the price - at $99 bucks (with 2-year service agreement), this phone isn't going to be breaking the bank, a fact that the company is counting on.

"Palm Centro has the power of a broadband smartphone at the price of a standard 12-key phone," said Ed Colligan, president and chief executive officer of Palm, Inc. "People looking to have all their contacts and calendar at the touch of a button, plus YouTube streaming videos and the Internet can now get it in a small, cool design with the trademark Palm ease of use. If you're thinking about stepping up to a smartphone, the Palm Centro should be your choice."

Oh yeah, you also get a touch-screen too.

Other features include a full QWERTY keyboard, 3G, instant messaging, some kind of camera, and a choice of two colors: red or black.

The Centro will be exclusive to Sprint Nextel for the first 90 days, after which no one seems to have any clue as to where it's going. Expect it sometime in the middle of October.