It’s been a long, long wait.  Microsoft has been working on the successor to Windows Mobile 6 since 2007. That successor, code-named Photon, was an incremental upgrade to Microsoft’s long-running smartphone OS.

It never saw the light of day. 

In 2009, Microsoft decided to change course in a big way. The next version of the Windows Mobile OS was scrapped, and a new OS – Windows Phone 7 – went into development from the ground up.  It was officially announced early this year. 

Nearly a year later, Windows Phone 7 has been finalized and is being sent to hardware and service partners for real-world release on devices.  The long, long wait is almost over.

We should begin seeing actual devices running the Windows Phone 7 OS – at least in press photos – in the coming weeks.  And at least a few Windows Phone 7 handsets will debut before the end of the year.

Check out our Windows Phone 7 device page for information on the devices we expect to be released running the new mobile OS.

Well, that came out of nowhere. Although we knew the device existed early this year, today’s arrival of the Dell Aero at AT&T Mobility was a total surprise – at least to us.

And also a bit of a mystery. 

Dell’s Aero smartphone runs not Android 2.2, 2.1 or even 2.0.  The Aero runs Android 1.5 which is so, well… HTC Hero.  Even the Dell Streak tablet runs Android 1.6.  Dell doesn’t think a year-old OS is a problem though, noting that the Aero is running  many “Dell user interface enhancements.”  One would hope.

Features include a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen (640×360), UMTS/HSDPA mobile broadband, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, a 624Mhz CPU, a microSDHC card slot (a 2GB card is included, 32GB max), GPS, a 1000mAh Li-Ion battery, and a 5MP camera.

Leaving the disappointing OS version aside, the Aero has a few selling points.  First, it’s only $99 with a two-year agreement, a price which is certain to drop in the coming weeks, at least from third-party retailers.  It’s also a great looking device that’s thin and sleek.  And at only 3.6-ounces, it’s quite light-weight for an Android-powered phone.

You can order the Aero today via Dell.  The handset is slated for direct sale by AT&T “soon.”

No big surprises to report, but today Verizon Wireless and Motorola made the Droid 2 Android smartphone official.  Available for $200 with a two-year contract, the Droid 2 will begin arriving in users’ hands Thursday.

The Droid 2 will ship with Android 2.2 ‘Froyo’ onboard, complete with OS-level mobile Wi-Fi hotpost functionality (this feature will cost $20 per month for 2GB of data).  Other features include a 1GHz TI OMAP 3630 processor (same as the Droid X), a slide-to-hide QWERTY keyboard, a 3.7-inch multitouch display, a 5MP camera, 8GB of onboard memory (plus an 8GB microSDHC memory card, expandable to 32GB), and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi.

An R2-D2 special edition version of the Droid 2 will be sold online in September.  This version will include Star Wars content (details unknown) and an external hardware makeover with the lovable Star Wars droid in mind.

You can find the Droid 2 press release after the jump.

Learn more about the Motorola Droid 2 A955…

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and LIBERTYVILLE, Ill., Aug. 10 /PRNewswire/ — Verizon Wireless, the company with the nation’s largest and most reliable wireless 3G network, and Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), a pioneer in the mobile industry, today announced that DROID™ 2 by Motorola will be available for pre-sale on August 11. Hitting all the right keys, DROID 2 is a feature-packed device that helps manage work and social life with an enhanced QWERTY keyboard, ultra high-speed Web browsing, 3G Mobile HotSpot capabilities, full push corporate e-mail, intuitive social messaging and Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1 for access to the full web – all built on Android 2.2.

Almost a month to the day after it was officially announced, the Samsung Captivate is available for purchase.  This phone is the first high-end Android device to be sold by the carrier. 

The Captivate is a Galaxy S variant, similar to the recently-released T-Mobile Vibrant.  Features include Android OS 2.1, a 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird SoC CPU, 16GB of built-in flash storage, a 4-inch AMOLED touchscreen, and a 5MP camera with 720p HD video recording.

The direct AT&T price is $199 with a two-year service agreement.  Wirefly has it today for $149.

Learn more about the AT&T Samsung Captivate…

Just in case you needed reminding, the Motorola Droid X and T-Mobile Samsung Vibrant are here – today.  The two Android-powered smartphones have been anticipated for months; one, a keyboard-free update to a popular Motorola handset, the other the first of many Galaxy S Samsung smartphones coming to United States wireless carriers.

The retail price for the Droid X with a two-year Verizon Wireless contract is $199; WireFly has it for $179.  The Samsung Vibrant is also $199 at T-Mobile after a $50 mail-in rebate; Amazon has it for $149 shipped.

Android fans – today’s a good day.

Already have one of these new phones?  Let us know how you like it in the comments section.

The first word from AT&T concerning the Samsung Captivate suggested we’d have to wait a few months to get our hands on it. Well, it looks like “the coming months” has been updated to July – July 18th to be exact.  That’s the day that AT&T Mobility will release the Captivate, the carrier’s first top-tier Android phone.

The Samsung Galaxy S variant will sell for $200 with a two-year service agreement, and will require a data plan (DataPlus costs $15 per month for 200MB of data useage); the price is at checkout, no rebate required.

Of course, third party retailers will almost certainly begin offering the Captivate for less shortly after the handset is released, so if you’re looking to spend less on the new AT&T Android phone, we’ll post other retailers’ prices once they’re available.

Learn more about the AT&T Samsung SGH-i897 Captivate…

Palm is buy prepping the Treo Pro, which will begin selling unlocked in a few weeks. Now, for the first time, Palm is accepting pre-orders for the upcoming Treo.  The price is $549.

The Treo Pro will work with AT&T Mobile, T-Mobile or any other GSM/GPRS carrier. 

According to a new report TmoNews, the T-Mobile Shadow II Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard Smartphone will launch on October 15, 2008, with a price of $149 after a two-year service agreement and rebate.

Details are still slim on the Shadow II, but the handset will support T-Mobile’s HotSpot@Home which allows users to use an Internet connection to make calls when within rage of a special wireless router.

We’ve always known the XPERIA X1 would be coming in the second half of 2008, and since we’re in the second half of the year, we were expected to see the new Windows Mobile handset any day now.  But now Engadget is reporting that the XPERIA X1 has been delayed until the end of the year.

The XPERIA X1 is a Windows Mobile Professional device with a VGA touchscreen, an angled curve sliding keyboard design, and a 3.2MP camera.

We get a lot of information about product release dates – some good, some not so good – but a new presentation slide which shows the launch date of the Sprint version of the HTC Touch Diamond (or Sprint Diamond) as September 2, 2008, looks pretty legit:

The slide also shows a final price of $299 after mail-in rebate and 2-year contract.  Not bad.

Image Source: Engadget