Weeeell, lookey here gents and ladies. Seems WM6.5 just seems to bring more

and more to the party. Today’s latest ripped .cab file for all to enjoy is a Facebook application derived from the WM6.5 ROM that has been picked apart by the vultures of XDA-Developers. At first I didn’t know if this was a HTC or Microsoft app but looking closely at the graphics and design, It’s HTC for sure.

As with any app that focused on a social website. Tracking your friend’s status, pics, apps areat your fingertips along with the uploading of pictures and the updating in realtime of your profile. Some heavy duty stuff and it looks quite good as well. Thanks to Pocketnow for the heads up. Click here for more info.

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  As an update to our  last article on BAS (the so-called virtual blackberry), it seems RIM has sent this out as a beta to other companies. For those of you who have found Blackberry Connect useful, this blows it out of the water in so many different ways. This speaks to how powerful Windows Mobile is as we’ve seen it have both Andriod and now Blackberry running alongside Windows Mobile. Now let’s get to the nitty gritty.

Blackberry Messenger works (for all of you BM fanatics) along with Blackberry Maps. BES and BIS seem to work as well so this truly a very powerful application. But there are 1 or 2 drawbacks (as Jeremy Clarkson would say). As far as eligible devices go, only the HTC Touch Pro/Fuze and the TyTn II work are compatible as they have the physical keyboards which are needed for BAS is based on OS 4.2 . THAT right there is a big let down as the graphics are based on 4.5 but will have 4.2 underneath.

For those of you that don’t know, OS 4.2 is from the Blackberry Pearl and Blackberry Curve. I personally have found that boring, overly simplistic and their media features to be horrendous. OS 4.5 comes from the Blackberry Bold which I actually did like a lot. So BAS fixes the issue of it looking boring and being simplistic to a fault. For all you CDMA Fans, BAS is not compatible although it works with over 8 different languages. Windows Mobile handles all the texting and calling features so it’s not a full Port. Some may be a bit disappointed with that.

Much love to Boy Genius for the Scoop! Click here for the full article.

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For the most part, most phones manufacturers don’t tend to send their blue chip devices to the U.S. and if they do, it’s usually after they are released in Europe/Asia. The only exception to this rule is Apple, who thanks to a strong relationship with AT&T focuses here in the U.S. and Motorola. LG and Samsung will release their best wares in Europe/Asia and then release it 6 months later in the U.S. on CDMA networks. Nokia takes too long releasing U.S. versions of it’s phones and it does a terrible job of updating it’s software.

HTC was not immune to this theory. The HTC Touch HD is the greatest example of this. A absolutely great device but is sadly not available in the U.S. But it looks like those times are changing. For the first time ever, HTC’s best devices were released on both GSM and CDMA networks in the same year when in the past, this was not the case. The HTC Touch Diamond and Touch Pro have been big successes for HTC in America along with the HTC Fuze.

But now thanks to the news of HTC’s leaked Roadmap for 2009, it seems that the U.S. is a market they will not ignore. 9 devices are on that roadmap specifically for U.S. Carriers not to mention U.S. Friendly versions of their other devices they will release worldwide. Some of the devices that I feel deserve mentioning are the HTC Topaz for AT&T which to mean is a indication that AT&T realizes they need to put their eggs in more then one basket (iPhone) and by having a killer Win Mo device which is touchscreen only and it looks sexy, that it’s a good thing. Also of note is the HTC Barium and HTC Jasper which they say is a refreshing of the HTC Fuze and Sprint Touch Pro respectively. It’s interesting to me because they are getting refreshes of these devices while the HTC Rhodium and HTC Tungsten is the long awaited HTC Touch HD Pro. it seems that these will be high end devices that will end up being a rung below the Rhodium and Tungsten.

I’m glad to see that HTC is releasing so many devices and is truly “covering their bases”. While the software will ultimately decide how good these devices are, there is no denying that the best devices hardware wise come from Windows Mobile and specifically HTC. And the best part is, the U.S. won’t be left out of this Barrage of devices.   

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Even though everything these days is all about Touch, I must say that WM Standard devices have impressed me over the last year. None more so then the HTC S740. Alas, it comes without U.S. 3G so my excitement for it was tempered despite a great form factor and sleek design.

HTC must have a psychic tapped into my head because behold the HTC S743. All the great features like the 528 MHZ Processor, 2.4” QVGA screen, HSDPA 7.2, Wi-Fi and GPS are all here. The only difference between the 2 devices is that the S743 has 850/1900 for HSDPA and it’s missing the video calling camera. Needless to say it’s a slap in the face to all the Latin American nations with 850 3G and Video Calling but I digress. Thanks to Engadget Mobile for the Scoop.

See the full gallery at Engadget here.

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