The Verizon HTC Ozone (Cedar) is the answer to the aging Motorola Q9 series and fits in nicely with Verizon's revamped and full-featured Windows Mobile lineup.  The phone is a sister device to the HTC Snap but differs from that model in significant and beneficial ways.

I've had the chance to use the device extensively ever since the quick hands-on report weeks ago.  In short, Verizon customers are very lucky to have such a great WM Standard device. Packing WiFi, EvDO Rev A and a GSM radio with a cozy keyboard, the HTC Ozone sets the bar for non-touchscreen devices and breathes new life into this series.

Read on for the full run down!

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Just a few days ago we gained the ability to flash custom ROMs to the HTC Touch Pro 2 on T-Mobile. Now comes an unlocker for the Verizon Ozone, aka the HTC Cedar.

Note that this DOES NOT work with Maple-based devices such as the Sprint Snap and T-Mobile Dash 3G. In fact, says XDA creator jockyw2001, "Running this sspl on a Dash3G will definitely brick it." So, there. If you do want to flash a Dash 3G, hit up this thread. Sorry, Sprint Snap folks. No flash for you. Yet.

If you're ready to customize your Ozone, check it the thread here, and be sure to read all the instructions first.

So last we checked in we went over the Sprint version of the HTC Snap (hands on; review), which while a pretty solid WM6.1 Standard device, it did have quite a few annoyances (cough, keyboard, cough).

Lo and behold, the Verizon version (called the Ozone for some reason) is like a dream come true. It's as if someone waved their hand and magically fixed all the boneheaded problems with the Sprint model.  Not only is the design better, it has WiFi and is a world phone with a GSM radio — all for $100 less than Sprint is selling . How is that even possible?

Dare we say ... way to go Verizon? Read on for some quick pics, an overview of features and some brief comparisons to the Sprint Snap.

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The HTC Snap can't claim to be the first Windows Mobile Standard phone to announce it'll get the Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrade — that honor goes to the Samsung Jack. But an upgrade is an upgrade is an upgrade, and if the above shot from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group [via wmpoweruser] is any indication, the CDMA version of the HTC Snap also may be rocking 6.5 in the near future. (You'll recall that the codename for the Sprint and Verizon versions of the Snap was the Cedar.)

As for when the Windows Mobile 6.5 update will become available? That's still anyone's guess. But summer's churning by, and we're still expecting 6.5 sometime this fall.

We don't pretend to make heads or tails of most FCC filings, with all the electronic testing hullabaloo and acronym mumbo jumbo, and this is no exception. We've already seen the HTC "Cedar" make its way through the feds under the CEDA200 codename. But Engadget has spied a CEDA100 at our favorite federal agency and notes that it's not at all uncommon for HTC to do this and that it could signal versions coming to Sprint and Verizon.

File it under a extremely vague, but we picked up on an FCC filing via Engadget on what might very well be the HTC Cedar. The filing is from HTC for the CEDA200 smartphone tuned to the CDMA network. In the filing, HTC requests that all internal and external photos, test setup photos, and user manual be held confidential by the FCC until July 30, 2009.

This confidentiality request falls in line with the speculated second quarter release for the Cedar. Still no telling if this is the Cedar, but one thing is for certain: With the leaked Sprint roadmap and leaked spec sheet, it's going to be an interesting year for HTC.

A few weeks we reported on HTC's leaked lineup that included more devices than you could shake a stick at. And one of the devices listed on HTC's lineup has been making a few appearances. The phone codenamed "Cedar" is a front-facing QWERTY keyboard device that by all indications will be a Windows Mobile Standard phone. 

Engadget Mobile is reporting that the Cedar has appeared on Bluetooth.org's certification list. While there is no mention of an official release date, we've also learned from the Boy Genius Report that the Cedar is rumored to hit Sprint's lineup sometime June.  Strong indications are that the Cedar might be the Motorola Q9c's successor on Sprint.

These sightings might be a sign we'll see it at this month's Mobile World Congress and definitely lend credibility to HTC's leaked lineup. Maybe we'll start spotting the Tungsten, Whitestone, and Thoth as well.