One Kyocera, Two HTC, and Three Nokia Phones Revealed

Unannounced smartphones (that aren't Apple products) hit the web in a six pack this week, three of which reportedly belong to Nokia, two to HTC, and one with a keyboard to Kyocera. Yes, there is more speculation about the iPhone 5 chipset, but those rumors had their chance last week. Today is all about the other guys.

According to The Verge, an unnamed source "familiar with [Microsoft and Nokia]" confirmed that the companies would be using their joint event on September 5 to talk about the newest Windows phones (running Windows Phone 8), currently codenamed "Arrow" and "Phi" and reportedly coming to AT&T and T-Mobile stateside. A similar model for Verizon also got the nod from the source, making three total rumored phone announcements for the event.

These devices would sport much the same trappings as the Lumia 800 and 900 phones, including the trademark polycarbonate body and shape. The display on these phones will reportedly be "large curved glass displays". While purported prototypes of the "Phi" model have been making the rounds recently, Microsoft and Nokia are maintaining typical pre-announcement silence.

Even earlier in September, the HTC One V will start showing up in Cricket Wireless stores for $269.99 with no contract. While this release isn't the most salacious bit of news today, HTC did get in on the rumor action today when a picture of the unofficial HTC Proto showed up on The Verge.

According to the tech blog, the codename "Proto" doesn't place the phone in any of HTC's existing series of phones, but the specs are most similar to the One V. A 5 megapixel camera, rounded case, 1 GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, and 4-inch WVGA screen are all the juicy details so far, but it's likely that we'll hear more from HTC at an international conference in Germany next week.

Finally, Kyocera is bringing the slide-out keyboard back to smartphones with the release of the Kyocera Rise into Sprint stores this week. The phone features a full QWERTY pad, a 3.5-inch HVGA touchscreen display, and runs Ice Cream Sandwich. Early reviews peg the phone as a solid return for those looking to get that physical keyboard functionality back into their pockets, but the additional hardware makes the phone a bit bulkier and heavier than most these days.

Be sure to check back in with IGN for all the latest in smartphone tech news.

Dan Crabtree is an I.T. guy and freelance writer with words on IGN, and a league of other gaming news outlets. His dog is considered handsome and well-read. You can find him (the human) on Twitter and IGN.

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Mad Catz Unveils Extravagant Modular Gaming Keyboard

Today at GamesCom in Germany, Mad Catz revealed the S.T.R.I.K.E.7, its new "Professional Gaming Keyboard". While the S7 is presumably targeted at a larger audience than actual career gamers, its profuse feature-set and hefty price tag ($299.99 msrp) are probably excessive for anyone else.

The S7 is one sweet keyboard. On top of LAN party envy, its innovative design promises the kind of over-the-top custom functionality that could finally give you that decisive competitive edge (at least, that's what Mad Catz is banking you'll tell yourself).

Interchangeable rubberized cursor keys and highly adjustable palm rests facilitate maximum comfort and control, and the keyboard's modular components are all removable and reconfigurable. If your keyboard tray's short on space, you can detach the number pad. If you still want to use it, the S7's cable attachments will let you keep it on a different level of the desk (or the left side of the main keyboard).

The S.T.R.I.K.E.7 comes with a few pinky-stretching macro keys, but most of its macro functionality is built into the V.E.N.O.M. display attachment. The S7's touch-capacitive LCD - definitely the keyboard's biggest selling point - supports custom macros, quick-launch for games, apps, and websites, and media controls with program-specific volume options. Inbuilt apps include a clock/timer, a journal for game-specific notes, plus full support for Teamspeak http://www.teamspeak.com/.

As rad as the S7 is, it's hard to recommend any peripheral at this price. For the same chunk of change you could pick up a pretty decent graphics card or five or six brand new games - or, for that matter, a PS3 or Xbox 360. Still, there's no denying the S.T.R.I.K.E.7 would look pretty sweet beside the R.A.T. mouse (approx. $60), which Mad Catz is marketing as the "perfect companion piece" to the new keyboard. And we bet it could type up a mean term paper.

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