User Agent Profile Outs HTC Thunderbolt Mini?

In love with the HTC Thunderbolt’s sleek lines and blazing LTE speeds but find the size a bit unwieldy? You may just be in luck. A new user agent profile may have just outed the HTC Thunderbolt Mini.

Before we knew much about the original Thunderbolt, it carried the internal name of “Mecha”. In the UAprof above, a similar “Mecha S” is mentioned. The S likely denotes “small”, though we’re not sure of the exact screen size. Judging the rather low 480 x 320 figure, however, we can’t imagine HTC would make this device any larger than 4″. If they did, we can honestly say the display would look terrible as even 800 x 480 4.3″ displays look pixelated after spending time with the qHD and Retina Displays as of late. LTE isn’t mentioned but we can honestly rule that out. High-end devices are currently released without said feature so we can’t see this HVGA phone beating them out.

Would you be interested in a smaller, more pocketable Thunderbolt?

Sony Admits PlayStation 4 Currently Under Development.

Back in 2006 Sony released the PlayStation 3 to much fanfare thanks in small part to the inclusion of Blu-ray technology. While physical formats aren’t quite the moving force they were even a few short years ago, hardware still sells. On that same note, the PS3′s hardware while still capable is growing a bit long in the tooth, leaving many to question when Sony will push out an updated PlayStation 4.

At today’s earnings call in which Sony detailed the company’s current financial health, Chief Financial Officer Masaru Kato admitted (indirectly) that the company is hard at work on the next generation PlayStation 4, citing increases in R&D costs.

For the home equipment the PS3 still has a product life, but this is a platform business, so for the future platform – when we’ll be introducing what product I cannot discuss that – but our development work is already under way, so the costs are incurred there.

While details concerning specs, release, and pricing were obviously not discussed due to the extremely early nature of development, it at least signals to us that a new piece of PlayStation hardware is coming sooner rather than later. And coming from a usually quite secretive company such as Sony, we’ll take anything we can get.

What would you like to see on the PS4?

Sprint Announces Google Wallet Support Coming This Summer, More NFC-Enabled Phones Too!

In accordance with Google’s earlier announcement detailing their new Google Wallet and Google Offers services, Sprint has come forward to announce their official support. Starting this summer when Google Wallet officially goes live for consumers, Sprint customers with a Google Nexus S 4G handset will be able to “tap and go” at a quickly growing list of supported retailers including Subway, The Container Store, and much more. On top of that, Sprint’s Nexus S 4G features WiMAX capabilities meaning speeds should be rather brisk to boot.

Sprint:

“We are pleased to join Google in offering this cutting-edge capability that lets you leave the house with just your phone, and tap and pay to shop, dine out and go to the movies. We are proud that Nexus S 4G is the first smartphone with Google Wallet and pleased that our customers can be the first to experience the service.”

But one NFC/Google Wallet-capable phone isn’t good enough. Sprint also announced partnerships (ThisIsMyNext) with HTC, Motorola, and Samsung to build many more NFC-capable phones in 2011 and beyond. While HTC and Samsung’s upcoming NFC phones are shrouded behind a veil of mystery, we may already know one of Motorola’s new upcoming phones — the Photon 4G.

WP7 Verizon Trophy Already Sold Out Online.

Sad face time for Windows Phone 7 junkies who waited on clicking “buy” for Verizon Wireless’ first WP7 device, the HTC Trophy — it’s sold out online after less than one day of availability.

No confirmation yet as to whether or not brick and mortar stores are depleted of stock as well. Feel free to toss us a tip concerning local supply.

Everything You Need To Know About Google Wallet And Google Offers.

Today at a special event, Google took the wraps off of their new services Google Wallet and Google Offers. In an effort to shake up modern commerce as we know it, Google is asking us to give up the metal, paper, and plastic that has dominated our modern currency for the last several centuries. There’s plenty of goods to dish out, so hop on in…

Apple Officially Sues Seller Of White iPhone 4 Conversion Kits.

What seemed like a brilliant business idea at the time has ended up costing 18 (at the time 17) year old Fei Lam and his parents a trip to the courthouse. Back in November we showcased Lam’s new “business” which involved purchasing stolen pre-release iPhone 4 parts from a Foxconn worker. We now know the source of Lam’s parts to be Chinese business owner Alan Yang. Between the two of them, the “White iPhone 4 Conversion Kits” netted over $130,000 in sales. Naturally, Apple found out. Soon after our previous article above, it was reported that a private investigator came to Lam and told him he could face some hairy legal issues for selling stolen goods. Soon after the conversion kits and the website disappeared.

The story came to an end yesterday with Apple officially filing suit…

Leaked iPhone 5 Back Casing Photo Taken With Another iPhone 5?

Remember that claimed iPhone 5 back casing we showed you back on the 24th? While skepticism is obviously quite high regarding the legitimacy of said photo, iFan readers Kurt178 and Appman spotted something rather interesting. The reflection on the proposed iPhone 5 casing reveals that the very phone taking the picture appears to be another iPhone 5.

With the aid of Photoshop to up the contrast and make the reflection easier to see, the separate lens and camera flash as well as Apple logo can be made out (albeit barely). While there’s still room for error (and fakery) here, it appears that Apple just lost another small bit of surprise for the next generation iPhone unveiling, whenever it is.

Larger image after the break…