2008 was, to say the least, a banner year for Windows Mobile hardware. Windows Mobile software... well, that's another story; we're still patiently waiting for the same thorough overhaul we'd hoped for years ago, but in the meantime, manufacturers have done an absolutely stellar job of taking the platform to its limits and packaging it in ways that could make any smartphone envious. For this first time, VGA screens (and beyond) have come to market en masse, and -- unlike the 8525s, Tilts, Moguls, and XV6800s of yesteryear, the latest batch of QWERTY sliders look like they've actually got a lick of intelligent industrial design in their DNA.

So these puppies are similar, yes, but they're not the same -- so let's take a quick look at what separates the Sprint Touch Pro, from the Verizon Touch Pro, from the AT&T Fuze, from the Sony Ericsson X1 (whew!).

LG's first ever dual-SIM handset will go down as being the completely forgettable KS660, like it or not. The touchscreen-centric mobile includes a 3-inch 400 x 240 resolution display, an integrated multimedia player, 50MB of inbuilt memory, a microSD expansion slot, FM radio, video recorder, Bluetooth 2.0, USB support and tri-band GSM connectivity. Sadly, you'll only find support for EDGE data, and WiFi is casually omitted as well. Chances are you won't find this one outside of China, Russia and a few nations in Europe when it launches in February, but we get the feeling it won't be sorely missed here in America.

The same wild and wacky Russians that demolished a Motorola ZN5 are showing the same courtesy to Nokia's 5800 XpressMusic. The so-called Crash Test involves putting Nokia's first Comes With Music-enabled handset through a litany of horrible scenes, including a stay in the local freezer, a fall from grace, a ride in the washing machine, a dip in a freshly brewed beer and, of course, a crushing blow from a vehicle. The preview video is hosted up in the read link, and the full results of how it fared are promised in the near future. Let's just say we're betting the farm it doesn't handle unlimited downloads, calls nor texts very well (read: at all) after this hellish experience.

We've yet to hear any definitive plans out of Sprint for getting voice flowing over WiMAX-equipped handsets in the States, but it's bound to happen eventually -- and South Korea, one of the torchbearers of the standard with its long-operating WiBro network, is kicking off the party. The Korea Communication Commission has officially ratified a spec for voice over WiBro with service expected to start next year, though there probably wasn't a heck of a lot to ratify since it's essentially the same principle as any other VoIP tech. We're thinking the next challenge is probably getting enough battery juice to yap for longer than five minutes at a time, so yeah, good luck with that, guys.

Say, remember how there was supposed to be a Treo Pro coming to Sprint? Yeah, well, the time is drawing near for that to go down; odds are it could've happened sooner, but Sprint probably wanted to give its fairly fresh 800w a little breathing room before getting sunsetted in favor of the significantly more attractive Pro. The carrier is currently targeting January 25 for the model to be available in all channels for $549.99 -- which we're guessing (hoping) will come down to $249.99 or so after rebates, subsidies, and all that jazz. Also launching in January should be the Motorola i365IS -- an even more rugged model of the already beefy i365 -- and a pink version of the Instinct. If that's not a veritable potpourri of phones covering every corner of the market, we don't know what is.

Nokia's 5800 XpressMusic (or the Tube, as we prefer to say) has been on sale in certain corners of the globe for a few weeks now, but the touchscreen-heavy handset has just now made itself to US soil. Sadly, it lacks the support necessary for US 3G data, but those who simply cannot wait another day can hop a flight to O'Hare (or Midway, if you please) and snap up one of the Euro versions at the Chicago flagship store. 'Course, you'll get the US warranty and all, and you'll only be asked to hand over $349.99 to take one home. As of now, only the blue variant is in stock, and the NYC store is still waiting for shipment.

After some rumblings this past March, Microsoft has now officially joined the iPhone development community with Seadragon Mobile, a free app that lets you "infinite zoom" gigapixel-sized images. Although Seadragon is available as a Silverlight application on the desktop, Microsoft isn't bringing Silverlight to the iPhone, so don't get your hopes up -- this is probably just a custom implementation. We're itching to see if the company has any more apps in the pipeline -- we'll wish for an Office editor, but expect a Minesweeper variant.

Okay, so he doesn't have a thinner Xbox 360 than the rest of us -- at least, not one that's been captured on camera -- but Paul Thurrott still knows his way around Redmond, so when he utters the phrase "Zune Mobile," the cellphone-using world probably ought to sit up and listen. Rumors of Microsoft's so-called Project Pink have failed to quiet down, but the latest intel seems to suggest that we're looking not at a Microsoft-branded device but an entire software and service platform -- something Danger's pretty good at managing, and something Microsoft had said it liked when it closed the acquisition earlier this year. How does that tie into Zune Mobile, though? It seems that Pink might include Zune support as part of its offering, which could translate into a Zune Mobile software package for Windows Mobile (prior to the mythical version 7, says Thurrott) that would bring far more robust media support than any Microsoft-powered phone before it, and maybe -- just maybe -- a wireless download store. Ballmer's already said Zune support would filter down to Windows Mobile eventually, and for what it's worth, those alleged Windows Mobile 6.5 shots sure look Zune-ish, which would make true Zune support fit right in -- and Danger's in the PMX group alongside the Zune peeps, so that adds some credence to the potential Pink tie-in. Is it enough to resurrect WinMo from the brink of obsolescence in the consumer space? Likely not, but it's a heck of a start, and might just quiet down those endless Zunephone rumors for a wee bit.

Every once in a while we're reminded that Garmin's Nuvifone -- announced nearly a year ago -- still exists, and this time around it's none other than the FCC doing the reminding. The curiously-named "Calf" from ASUS turns out to be the Nuvifone once you click through to the label diagrams, and test documentation reveals that 3G is being tested on both Bands II and V -- that's North America-friendly 1900 and 850MHz, for those who aren't up to snuff on their spectrum terminology. With gub'mint certification under its belt, maybe we can push that 1H 2009 release window to 1Q, eh, Garmin?

We're always down with new shades of old mobiles, and we're particularly find of new ones that bring along something extra. Nokia has just expanded its Supernova range with a Graphite and Passionate Purple Supernova 7610, 7510, 7310 and 7210. Each of the newcomers also brings along "enhanced services" that enable users to "share their images and video with friends through Ovi Share, as well as keep up to date with friends via Nokia Maps and instant messaging with Windows Live Messenger." There's no mention of pricing, so we'll go out a limb and assume they'll remain the same as the colors already available.

Citrix and Apple have been linked before under less positive terms, but word on the street has it that the former will soon be expanding its desktop virtualization software onto the iPhone. If successful, PC and Mac users would be able to access the same desktop session on their iPhone and their desktop, and moving "seamlessly between the two" would be a lesson in simplicity. Reportedly, the capability will be a part of the outfit's App Receiver, which is described as "a software client that would be installed on both a user's computer and mobile phone, and work in conjunction either with Citrix's desktop virtualization software or its XenApp Windows application delivery system." Of course, this type of setup isn't exactly new territory, but it certainly has yet to catch on in a big way. Who knows -- maybe this is the big break virtualization has been waiting for.

Combining huge screens with usable keyboards in a pocketable package is the challenge phone manufacturers are eternally doomed to try to solve, leading to an endless stream of (mostly comical) patent applications for ridiculous form factors that will never see the light of day. That's where we think -- well, we hope -- Nokia's latest app comes into play, combining a portrait-oriented QWERTY keyboard with a wide display that somehow swivels behind the body of the phone when you only need a little bit of screen real estate. Looks cool on paper, but realistically, we think this thing would be the most unwieldy Frankenstein of a handset since the MPx were it ever to be produced. Tilt-slide on the N97 looks fine, guys. Seriously.

Thanks to SpoofCard, AT&T and T-Mobile now owe some cash in the state of California, and the rest of us have been given one more reason to lie awake at night. The service -- of questionable non-illegal value -- reports your Caller ID phone number as anything you like, and injunctions filed in Los Angeles demand that the carriers stop advertising their voicemail services as being secure, considering that they can be set to rely on the calling phone number alone to connect to a specific voicemail box. For their indiscretions, AT&T will be coughing up $59,300 and T-Mobile owes an even 25 grand; meanwhile, SpoofCard's parent company will pay $33,000 for advertising its service as being legal in 50 states even though it's not.

You're bound to face a few hiccups when you're a no-name brand trying to source an Android handset from a no-name ODM buried deep inside a Shenzen industrial park, and it seems Kogan's going through those growing pains right about now. The Australian company still says the Agora and Agora Pro will ship before the end of January (barely), but it looks like they're down to the wire with tweaks to the phone's design. For starters, the soft keys are gone -- not much use for those in Android anyway, last we checked -- replaced with a decidedly WinMo-esque set of home and back keys; the keyboard's been redesigned, too, and the d-pad is looking more usable than it had been before. For the Agora's price point, we're still sold on this thing -- but only if we can get something more than a printout of a pretty render delivered to our doorstep.

Generally speaking, when cable providers offer up "triple-play" packages, that third leg is a digital phone that acts as a standalone landline. Singapore's StarHub has a better idea, and it's calling it Home Zone. Hailed as the first commercial 3G femtocell service, the setup puts a MaxOnline-enabled router (free on loan) in the home "so that users can make voice and video calls and send SMS over StarHub's cable network from their mobile phones." Any 3G phone is compatible, and up to four calls can be made simultaneously on a single box. Moreover, all outgoing local voice calls, video calls and SMS are free, though the Home Zone subscription will run customers $30 per month -- unless they get in prior to the start of '09, which will give them half off for the next twelve months. Better hurry, too, as the whole shebang is only available to the first 200 customers at present time.

Brutal honesty here: on election day this past November, the entire Engadget staff (well, those of us with US passports) collectively agreed that casting our vote via SMS or some other incredibly simple method would be infinitely more awesome than trudging out in the streets and waiting in hour-long lines. Clearly, some higher-ups in Estonia are on board with that concept, as its Parliament has approved a law that will likely make it the first nation on Planet Earth to give citizens the right to vote by phone in something that matters (American Idol notwithstanding). 'Course, those who choose to take advantage must first obtain a free authorization chip for their handset, which sort of kills the whole "not having to leave your house" aspect of all this. Ah well, at least we're moving in the right direction.

Not even 24 hours after discovering the completely befuddling iFone x1 comes this, something entirely more recognizable, yet just as wrong. The iFone 3G is -- so far as we can tell -- the first mass produced KIRF of the iPhone 3G, and if history has anything to prove, it'll be just the first in a long, long linage. The best part? The whole "3G" thing in the model name is not representative of actual data band support, so the best you'll do on this heap of festering rubbish is EDGE. At the $5 to $10 range, we could definitely see picking one up for kicks and giggles, but at $178? Psssh... no thanks, poser.