We also caught a glimpse of an unboxing of the Samsung Alias 2, which sports an E-ink QWERTY keyboard and a decent price tag of $79.99.

A candybar messaging handset called the Samsung Magnet has hit AT&T for just $19.99, which is bright orange and is super easy to use with SMS, IM and Bluetooth. Plus, yesterday, we heard that the Garmin Nuvifone G60 was being delayed once again and the next expected release date falls in the last months of the year. We also caught a glimpse of a few leaked pictures of the BlackBerry Onyx which looks to be a cross between the 8900 and the Bold.

Finally, a leak from AT&T shows that the BlackBerry 8900 will cost $199.99 on the carrier, and might just be available starting on May 25th. And that’s it for today. There will no doubt be plenty more phone news on the horizon tomorrow.

Other specifications include VZ Navigator compatibility, shortcut buttons for text messaging, camera, voice commands and gaming (among other things) and a speakerphone.  Unfortunately the headphone jack is 2.5mm, not 3.5mm, and connectivity is listed as EVDO rather than the faster EVDO Rev.A.

Of course, most buyers will be keen on the Verizon Samsung Alias 2 because of its messaging prowess, and it comes loaded with mobile email, webmail, IM and chat clients.  It’ll also give access to Verizon’s V CAST Music and Video services, and is compatible with Rhapsody subscriptions.  It measures 4.01 x 2.04 x 0.67 inches and weighs 4.34oz; Verizon quote up to 300 minutes talktime or up to 336hrs standby.

[Thanks Anna!]

Outside of unboxings, we spent some hands-on video time with Sony’s Walkman X with its luscious OLED display, and reviewed the T-Mobile Sidekick LX 2009 with a pretty special LCD screen of its own.  Finally the Pro Cyc MyStudio 20 tabletop photo studio turned up for its own review, and proved an excellent – if not especially cheap – way to take high-quality product images.

The other big news of the week has been the announcement of the Amazon Kindle DX, big 9.7-inch brother to the Kindle 2 and an attempt by the retailer to clean up in the textbook and newspaper markets.  Check out our hands-on video and photos here.

In software, Microsoft set free the Windows 7 Release Client (RC), and spawned a whole new wave of upgrades as users get to grips with the fresh OS.  We were particularly interested to see how Windows 7 RC runs on netbook hardware, and weren’t disappointed; sadly, the same can’t be said for the performance of the Acer Aspire One 751, which manages to chug along miserably even with just XP thanks to an underpowered processor.  Still, at least it looks pretty, though whether that will be enough to stave off the competition from ASUS’ tipped 11.6-inch Eee PC – expected to launch this month – remains to be seen.

In mobile devices, Bell Mobility announced that they’ve snapped up the Palm Pre for its exclusive Canadian launch, though our friends north of the border will have to wait until an unspecified date in the second half of 2009 for its actual release.  Meanwhile we saw a video demo of the Samsung Alias 2 with its unique E Ink keyboard – the phone itself lands in stores on Monday – and leaked shots of what’s purported to be the Nokia 5900 XpressMusic.

Finally, if you thought plasma TV was a dying technology, think again; it still has the power to surprise and impress when it comes to sheer inches.  Samsung took minimalism as their prompt with the 850 PAVV HDTV, going for a set just 29mm thick, while Shinoda went to screen-size extremes with a 145-inch plasma display.  Perhaps not the most sensible of launches in today’s economic times, but as headline grabbers they take some beating.

Video demo of the Alias 2 after the cut

While the Samsung Alias 2 can’t exactly be described as a handsome cellphone, it does have something no other phone can boast: E Ink.  The dual-flipping clamshell can be used in portrait or landscape orientation for single- or two-handed use, with the E Ink keys changing between numeric and QWERTY accordingly.

The screen refresh rate is good, and because you have to physically close and re-open the phone to change orientation there’s no real wait for the E Ink to catch up.  They also look pretty readable even without the backlighting, and since the epaper technology requires no real battery power to maintain the legends, only to change them, it shouldn’t have too much of an impact on overall standby time.

[via Engadget]

The Alias 2 itself is reportedly solid and has good hand-feel, which goes some way to making up for its dreary appearance.  Full specifications are unknown, but the display is believed to be QVGA resolution and the camera 2-megapixels.  Verizon are expected to launch the Samsung Alias2 on May 11th; its tipped to be priced at $79 following rebates.

As for the Motorola Rival a445, that’s said to be a “youthful phone” by which we’re assuming they mean entry-level and cheap.  Despite that, there’s a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard for messaging, and the screen orientation change is reportedly very fast.  A 1.3- or 2-megapixel camera is expected, though there’s no word on release dates.

The nature of E Ink means that using it for the Alias2′s keyboard doesn’t have a huge impact on battery life.  E Ink only draws power when changing, not to maintain the display, and as there’s no backlighting necessary in daylight situations that could actually see the Alias2 using less power than a comparable standard etched keyboard.

Price is tipped to be $79 following rebates both instant and mail-in, though of course as with the date that’s unconfirmed.  Full specifications for the handset are unknown, but the camera is believed to be 2-megapixel resolution and the display QVGA.

[Images via phoneArena]

The exact nature of the dynamic keys hasn’t been explained.  One suggestion is that they could use e-ink, which would only require power when the legends were changed, not to maintain them.  Whatever the technology, the end result is a keyboard that, when held horizontally, shows a QWERTY layout for messaging, and when held vertically shows a numeric keypad and shortcut keys.

The handset itself is a feature-phone rather than a smartphone, and has a predicted budget price.  There’s a possibility that the Verizon Alias2 will be demonstrated at CTIA in the next couple of weeks, so we’ll be bringing you any new details when we’re there. 

[via PHONE Magazine]