Samsung released three new Windows Mobile devices in October and November, and each includes an optical touchpad mouse.  When I first heard of this feature in mid-2008, I poo-pooed it; a mouse on a Windows Mobile device?  No thanks.

But then I began my review of the Samsung Epix (and more recently the Samsung Saga), and saw that the inclusion of a mouse and pointer made a lot of sense for Windows Mobile, at least as it exists today. 

The reason is simple: in the face of touch friendly mobile operating systems from Apple, Google, and most recently RIM, Windows Mobile just can’t compete for those users who want a touch-centric, finger-friendly device.  The WinMo OS was and is designed to be used with a stylus, a keyboard and other hardware controls in addition to a touchscreen interface.  I have high hopes for the future of Windows Mobile in the touch-only navigation department, but the realization of those hopes is likely a year away.

The Pocket PC Central Hands-On Review of the Samsung Epix SGH-i907 Windows Mobile Smartphone has been posted in the Windows Mobile Device Review Center.

Some of our favorite retailers are offering savings this Black Friday and throughout the weekend. Get great prices on holiday gifts from:

Amazon.com

Buy.com

PCMall

The Apple Store

BestBuy.com

But hurry; offers end today, this weekend or Monday.

The HTC Touch Pro has come to Verizon Wireless.

The Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional touchscreen smartphone sells for $349 after a two-year service agreement and a $70 mail-in rebate.

Head over to our Verizon Wireless HTC Touch Pro XV6850 Information Center for more information or visit the Verizon Wireless web store to get one for yourself.

On November 26, 2008, Verizon Wireless will begin selling the Samsung Omnia SCH-i910 in their online store, but users will have to wait until the second week in December to see the Omnia show up in brick-and-mortar stores around the U.S.

This information comes from BGR, as do new details on the Omnia’s price.  According to the report, the Samsung Omnia will have a final sale price of $249 with a two-year service agreement and a $70 mail-in rebate.

The Samsung Omnia is a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional touchscreen smartphone with a touch-centric design.  Features include 8GB of internal flash memory, a 5MP camera, Wi-Fi, GPS, EV-DO Rev. A mobile broadband, and Samsung’s now-standard optical mouse touchpad control system.

Verizon Wireless has posted the BlackBerry Storm, RIM’s first touchscreen smartphone, to their web store.

The BlackBerry Storm is $199 with a two-year service agreement and a $50 mail in rebate in the form of a debit card.

Read more about the BlackBerry Storm…

It’s rare for a new Windows Mobile device to debut with one of the major wireless carriers without much information being known beforehand; but LG and AT&T Mobility have managed to keep a very tight lid on the new LG Incite.

We have known the Incite was coming since mid-October, but we didn’t know much about it or when it would be available.  Now that the LG Incite has launched with AT&T, we finally have all the details.

The Incite runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and features a 3” wQVGA touchscreen display.  Other features include 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, aGPS, 3G mobile broadband, a microSD memory card slot with SDHC support, and a 3MP digital camera.

Head over to the AT&T Mobility web site to order or find out more.

The Pocket PC Central Accessories Center has been updated with accessories for the AT&T Samsung Epix SGH-i907 Windows Mobile touchscreen smartphone.  Here you can find batteries, cases, sync cables, and more for the new Samsung smartphone.

Visit the Pocket PC Central Samsung Epix Accessories Center…

Although a final version of the mobile player won’t ship until mid-to-late 2009, Adobe will show off Flash Player 10 running on Windows Mobile later today. 

At present, the only version of Flash available on a mobile device, Windows Mobile or otherwise, is Flash Lite.  Adobe is looking to expand the functionality of Flash on mobile devices, and today at the Adobe Max developers conference, they’ll demonstrate Adobe AIR and Flash Player for ARM-powered devices.

“The initiative is set to address the challenges of Web browsing on a broad range of screens, and remove the barriers to publish content and applications seamlessly across screens.”

If you have your heart set on the new HTC Touch Diamond, but can’t bring yourself to become a Sprint loyalist for the next two years, you now have an option; Alltel has begun offering its own version of the HTC Touch Diamond.

The two devices are almost identical, though the Alltel version has a dark gray back piece as opposed to the Sprint version’s dark red backing. 

All hardware features remain the same.

You can pick up the Alltel HTC Touch Diamond now online.