posted Nov 11th 2010 2:37PM 
If Windows Phone 7 isn't your thing and the upcoming Venue doesn't interest you -- or hey, if you just live in India -- you might be interested to know that Dell has just introduced a pair of new India-specific (for the moment, anyway) Android phones designed specifically to be sold for a song without getting a carrier subsidy involved. First up, the XCD28 sports a 2.8-inch display (hence the name), a 3.2 megapixel cam, 200MB of internal storage expandable with up to 16GB worth of microSD, and FM radio; it sells for Rs. 10,990 (about $247) devoid of a contract. Moving upmarket a bit, the Rs. 16,990 ($382) XCD35 goes with a 3.5-inch capacitive display. Both devices feature 3G support for India's up-and-coming high-speed networks, WiFi, Bluetooth, and that overwhelming sense of freedom that comes with not signing a contract at the point of purchase. Look for the XCD28 to be available right now, while the 35 follows next month -- no word on when we might see them outside India, but it turns out they're little more than rebranded versions of ZTE's Racer and Blade, so you can just pick 'em up in ZTE livery if you're elsewhere. [Thanks, Pradeep]
If you're the proud owner of a Samsung Focus or Omnia 7, you can scratch a pretty major item off the list of basic features missing from WP7: USB tethering. A couple of sites have come upon a quick and relatively easy hack to enable using your handset as a 3G modem on Microsoft's new platform. You'll need to dial up ##634# to get into a diagnostics menu, switch over to a "Modem, Tethered Call" mode and deal with a few more prompts along the way, but the end result is that you'll have a pretty much automated USB tether setup on your hands. Our own testing on HTC's Trophy and LG's Optimus 7 hasn't been quite so productive, perhaps because those devices require a different route to achieving it, but it seems like Windows Phone 7 is perfectly capable of performing the USB tethering task. Let us know how you get along in the comments below!