TerreStar just announced a new partnership with AT&T Mobility which will bring a hybrid cellular/satellite phone to the U.S. next year.  The handset, the TerreStar Genus, will run the Windows Mobile operating system.

The Genus Windows Phone will:

“combine AT&T’s [3G] wireless connectivity with the ability to use an all-IP satellite network as back up throughout the United States. Using one phone number and one device, users will be able to access voice and data services in the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and offshore coastal waters over either the AT&T cellular network or the TerreStar satellite network.”

Features of the Genus include a 2.6-inch touchscreen, a front-facing QWERTY keyboard (Messenger style), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS.  The design is similar to the HP iPAQ 910 Business Messenger.  While the press release does not state the OS version outright, its release in Q1 of 2010 means Windows Mobile 6.5 will almost certainly be onboard at launch.

Obviously, such a phone will not appeal to a wide range of users.  The TerreStar press release states that the handset will be aimed at “government, emergency responders, enterprises and rural communities.”

No word yet on the price of the handset or how much service for the device will cost.

Spb Mobile Shell is a very popular Today Screen UI replacement for Windows Mobile Professional (touchscreen) smartphones.  This week, Spb Software released version 3.5 of the software.

Mobile Shell 3.5 includes new widgets for Facebook and Twitter, a new email and SMS viewer, accelerometer support for the 3D carousel, updated weather functionality and more.

Other features of Mobile Shell include multi-page home screen, Facebook contacts integration, navigation gestures, photo speed dial, an app launcher, Internet tools and more.

Download Mobile Shell 3.5 Trial

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T-Mobile will add a third Android smartphone to its lineup in November: the Motorola CLIQ.  The social networking focused handset will be available on November 2.

The CLIQ has built in software that keeps it always in sync with the most popular social networking services: Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc.  Motorola calls this software MOTOBLUR.

Pre-sale will begin October 19.

Learn More About the T-Mobile Motorola CLIQ Android Smartphone

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A new ROM update has been posted for the 2008 Sprint HTC Touch Pro Windows Mobile Professional Smartphone.  The update contains the following software components:

1)TouchFlo 3D updated to improve speed and stability

2)Dialer application enhanced to improve the handling of incoming calls

3) Resolves an issue using the “r” and “w” keys on the virtual keypad

4) Improves contact searching performance

5) Includes a variety of minor bug fixes

Download Sprint HTC Touch Pro 9-25-09 ROM Update

The first “Project Pink” murmurings began in 2008.  At the time, there was little consensus regarding this upcoming smartphone (or family of smartphones) other than A) the OS would be based on Windows Mobile and B) there would be some manner of Zune-inspired media software onboard.  In fact, the term “Zune Phone” was, for a short time, synonymous with “Project Pink.”

By early 2009, Pink faded to gray, and after CES 2009 yielded nothing but Zune Phone denials and an interim-version Windows Mobile announcement, there wasn’t much in the way of fresh Project Pink news.

But now, eight months later, the rumor mill is churning again.

Gizmodo recently posted renderings of two phones purportedly being baked in the Project Pink oven.  The phones, code-named “Turtle” (seen above) and “Pure” will supposedly be released under joint Microsoft and Sharp branding (Sharp has built several Sidekick phones for Danger, Inc., which Microsoft acquired in early 2008) and will be aimed at the same target market as T-Mobile’s Sidekick line (younger text, social networking and multimedia-heavy users).

Newly-posted information at MoDaCo gives us more in-depth speculation on Pink.  In a posting entitled “The Truth About Microsoft’s Project ‘Pink’” Turtle and Pure are said to run a variant of Windows Mobile 7, but with a Silverlight-based UI that looks little or nothing like WM.  Media software similar to that which runs on the Zune HD is also said to be included, as is XBox integration.  The post goes on to say that “Turtle” and “Pure” will feature 5MP and 8MP cameras, respectively, and include an unnamed “ground breaking” display that will “blow everyone away.”  Technology recovered from Roswell, perhaps?

None of this information can be confirmed; the newly-released images don’t include any solid evidence that they’re even related to any Microsoft project, though it’s certainly possible.  And if Pink handsets will run a variant of Windows Mobile 7, they will either have to ship in late 2010 or Microsoft plans to have the WM7 core finalized long before the first standard WinMo7 handset ships.

Irrespective of veracity, Pink watching is an interesting pastime, and I truly hope Microsoft has some fantastic mobile products planned for 2010.

They could really use some.