Respected Italian newspaper Repubblica is reporting that Telecom Italia will be launching the 3G iPhone in Italy for sale by Summer, unlocked.

According to the paper the Italian release will not follow the roll-out model employed by Apple elsewhere with no revenue sharing partner involved and no term exclusivity.

Is this the beginning of a global 3G iPhone UMTS network launch this summer?

Bound to excite drug traffickers, the elderly and travelers alike, Hop-on Inc has launched a disposable 13 euro cell phone.

The phone features no LCD screen and operates on 900/1800 Mhz frequencies, optional GPS module and is designed so that it can be thrown away or recycled after use.The phone is available in North America, South America, Latin America, Australia and Asia and is being launched in Europe.

LG has launched its LG KF700 multimedia smartphone that combines intuitive user interface and touchscreen.

Claiming to be the first phone to incorporate 3 different input methods, Shortcut dial, alpha-numeric keypad and 3″ touchscreen, the KF700 creates a UI that provides instant access to the tasks that each method is most suited.

When not using the the Shortcut Dial to scroll through your six selected features or zoom in/out on web pages or adjust volume, you can use the touchscreen to access widgets or enjoy the ease of text messaging with your alpha numeric keypad.

The KF700 is not all buttons and dials though - it also features HSDPA, MP3 player and 3 megapixel camera and Bluetooth connectivity.

Leaked photos of the forthcoming Sony Ericsson smartphone, the BeiBei, have pundits excited at what is expected to be a high end feature packed phone running UIQ 3.3.

The much anticipated device could include features such as 3G, GPS, Opera Mobile 9.5, WiFi, Bluetooth and 3.2 megapixel AF camera but this stylish matte black and brown candybar will no doubt cause a stir no matter which features make the cut.

The expectations are high, and given these early shots - why not get excited?

Nokia has warned that their will be no major new products this quarter but with the release of the Nokia 5320 XpressMusic and Nokia 5220 XpressMusic there is still cause for excitement.

The 3G 5320 XpressMusic (pictured left) is a music focus handset with all the trimmings: 24 hours of playback time, dedicated XpressMusic keys, 3.5mm audio jack, audio chip for high quality sound, HS-USB for fast music transfer and microSDHC support for up to 8GB memory expansion. When you’re not using it as an iPod you can enjoy its quad band GSM/EDGE and dual band HSDPA support on its 2″ 16M color screen while running what is suspected to be S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2,

The Nokia 5220 XpressMusic (pictured right) is a lower end entry into the same XpressMusic arena. Still boasting 24 hours playback dedicated music keys, 3.5m audio jack and HiFi audio chipset and FM radio, the 5220 is still a contender. It’s unique asymmetrical design is sue to be one of the talking points on this triband GSM/EDGE, Bluetooth A2DP supporting model.

These XpressMusic music handsets are expected to begin shipping in Q3 2008.