I just got word from Sound Solutions that they’ll be shipping the i-Mate SP3 from their UK office in mid-September and their US office in mid-October. They’re taking first-come, first-serve pre-orders now for US$450 + shipping (your choice of UK or US). With the MPx100 officially cancelled and my strong desire to switch back to T-Mobile — which seemingly plans to offer no Smartphones in the US — I’ve gone ahead and placed a UK order. It seems to have everything that I desire: candy-bar design, Bluetooth, VGA camera, mini-USB connector.
The i-Mate SP3 is also known as the HTC Typoon, Orange SPV C500, Qtek 8010, and Dopod 565.
Reviews: Modaco, MSMobileNews, CoolSmartPhone. Also, MSMobiles has a feature comparison with the MPx220.
Sound Solutions has a spec sheet (PDF) on their site. If you want to order, e-mail Kieran Reilly or call him at +1 (801) 208 8442. If you tell him that I sent you I probably won’t get anything but it’ll make me feel special 
Mini-Rant: The other reason for so few Smartphone posts lately has been that the devices either never ship (MPx100), never reach the US (every previous HTC/SPV model), or are constantly delayed (any Motorola). I’m no longer going to post anything about phones that aren’t already available to US buyers without paying big bucks to an importer. The SP3’s price compares nicely to other unlocked and contract-free phones such as the Motorola V600 (sub-$400) or MPx200 (around $350), and is downright cheap compared import prices on the SP2 / SPV E200 ($600-$700).
