Sense UI not coming on first wave of WP7 devices? Will never be “fully integrated” due to Microsoft’s restrictions.

Hopefully the Windows Phone 7 folks in the crowd aren’t putting their newfound mobile aspirations on an HTC Sense UI-powered device at launch. In an interview with FierceWireless, HTC’s CEO, Peter Chou had this to say:

“Initially, we don’t have time to bring things on top of that,” he said. “But over time we will innovate on top of that to provide some HTC experience.”

So far, the Sense UI stuff we’ve seen running within Windows Mobile is pretty sweet looking with plenty of eye candy. Speaking of “running within”, we’ve known for some time now that Microsoft will be holding a much firmer grip on Windows Phone 7 in regards to UI customization by third parties in particular. Because of this firmer grip, Chou states that Sense UI will never be able to be fully integrated like it is currently on Windows Mobile and Android.

And you know what? That’s awesome! –>

Verizon R2-D2 Droid2 launch party store list revealed! West coast only…

Fancy one of those snazzy R2-D2 Droid 2 units we’ve been so infatuated with? Good news: Verizon is celebrating the launch with parties scheduled to go down at a slew of Verizon corporate stores across the country. Bad news — according to the launch list, the handful of stores (which is much less than the rumored 100 stores we heard earlier) are all west of the Mississippi. No midwest/south/east coast love. #Fail

If you still care, hop on past to see a larger shot of the list…

AVADirect X7200 is all kinds of awesome: Dual Nvidia GTX480M GPU’s, 12GB DDR3, and 2TB of storage.

Most people who are in the market for a laptop want something relatively small and portable. It is called a laptop for a reason. But there are those niche users who want their “laptop” to pull double duty — being small and incredibly powerful. Such people are looking for desktop replacements. But even then, desktop replacement laptops are getting pretty small.

The AVADirect X7200 is the pinnacle of “desktop” replacement. Configuration options can push this beast to the limits of what is considered mobility with a 6-core Xenon processor, 12GB DDR3 RAM, up to three hard drives totaling 2TB (1TB if you go the SSD route), and dual Nvidia GTX480M GPU’s in SLI. That option will set you back well into the 4-digit numbers. Hell, even taking the base config — “Quad-core desktop processor”, 3GB DDR3, and a single GTX 480M — still costs a cool $2,700. A lot of money for a lot of machine. Too much?

Mini E Scooter users smartphone as ignition key.

Starting your car or other type of mechanical transport machine in 2010 requires some kind of key, numbered code, or simple key fob w/ embedded sensor. The rides of tomorrow — smartphones. This Mini Scooter E concept by BMW has a docking station that allows smartphones to be used not only to start the device, but also navigate it as well. It’s fitting seeing as how a huge number of smartphones come standard with at least some form of basic GPS capabilities. Being a futuristic design, propulsion is of course provided by batteries and electric motors.

If this were available now and I lived somewhere that wasn’t so rural in nature, I’d pick one up. You? Hop on past for a couple of videos breaking it down in nerdy detail…

T-Mobile erects first completely self-sufficient, solar powered cell tower.

T-Mobile has been called a lot of things over the years. Though “Green” isn’t something that immediately comes to mind. But that’s exactly what you could say now that Team Magenta has deployed their first fully self sufficient, solar-powered cell site in Chalfont, Pennsylvania.

With 12 solar panels affixed to the station, power is harnessed directly from the sun…for free. Even more cool is that in times of low network usage, the tower can even give back pent up energy to the utility company who then in turn resells it to customers. Ideally, this is how the US electric grid should operate in the future. For now we’ll have to deal with this single cell site. Speaking of which, this earth-loving style costs upwards of 2x-3x more than your standard tower, so don’t expect uptake and adoption to be quick. Think of it more of a “proof of concept” for now. 20 years in the future, however, I wouldn’t mind seeing quite a few more of these around. You?

Videotron intros 120Mbps internet to lucky Quebec residents.

While Google’s private 1Gbps network may be the talk of the town when it comes to raw internet speeds, expansions of said speed isn’t likely to happen for years if not decades. Something a little more immediate is needed. Here in the States our broadband portfolio is pretty disappointing, with only a few options north of 50Mbps.

The lucky residents of Quebec can toot a different song on their horn, however, as the province’s Videotron has taken the wraps off of their new 120Mbps down/20Mbps up package. The only sticking point that seems kind of sour given the C$160 (C$150 if bundled with phone or TV service) monthly price is the data caps — 170GB down/30GB up. Granted, I can put a hurtin’ on a ISP’s pipes, 170GB is way more than I use in most situations. Going the other way however, 30GB isn’t exactly the roomiest of options.

You win some and you lose some I guess. Fast speeds bring fast caps. So be it. I’d be happy with something other than my lethargic 6Mbps AT&T service at my house, let alone 120Mbps speeds with 170GB caps. I’d do it.

UMA calling finally coming to Android, debuting on T-Mobile’s LG Optimus?

Ever since the ground breaking G1 dropped on T-Mobile back in 2008, many (including myself) have been begging and pleading for UMA support. UMA was a huge selling point for T-Mobile for at least a few months before Android became the talk of the town. But then once the jolly green giant hit, UMA was kind of neglected. We’ve heard rumors of previous Android handsets that were supposed to feature UMA, which ultimately didn’t materialize.

But as you can see on the LG Optimus flyer above, “Native WiFi calling” is a feature that’s listed fairly prominently. Now, “WiFi calling” can be done on a number of services and apps. That doesn’t mean it’s UMA — neither does the “Native” part of it either. The Optimus could simply come bundled with some VoIP app/service. And let’s not overlook the fact that “UMA” is not mentioned anywhere on this material. I’d think if it were something as big as UMA coming to Android that T-Mo would emphasize it a bit more prominently. Still the optimist in me will stand in eager excitement, fingers crossed.

What do you guys think? Is UMA finally coming to Android?