Just in time for the holiday rush, Dell is expect to begin offering it’s “wow” hybrid tablet, the Inspiron Duo next week. The 10″ laptop features an inventive flipping screen that allows the unit to switch from tablet to laptop form. The Duo runs Windows 7 powered by a dual core processor. Pre-order information is more »

The Pantech Duo 2 has recently made its FCC appearance and despite not having an official announcement we can tell you that (when released) it is expected to be available with AT&T. The Pantech Duo 2, which is also known as the C820, will be the successor to — you guessed it, the Pantech Duo. more »

They are going to sell bunches of these. Debuting as the world’s thinnest QWERTY phone, the new Pantech Slate is available now on AT&T. This phone is one of many AT&T is launching to address the heavy-messaging market segment. Phones like the Pantech Matrix (a take on the Duo without Windows Mobile), Samsung Propel and now the Slate, AT&T is covering the bases with a variety of styles to fit, well, your style.

The Slate’s claim to fame is its less than 1-centimeter thickness. That is super thin and AT&T claims it can fit into your skinny jeans; though, clearly, they’ve not tested my skinny jeans. Continued after the break.

Products: Samsung Blackjack II; Pantech DuoPrice: $99 from AT&T with contractRatings: Blackjack II 8/10; Pantech Duo 7/10Pros: Blackjack II: Decent update to a good phone. Lavish new finishes, wider and brighter screen. Internal GPS. Duo: Smaller LxW form factor, double sliding keypad and QWERTY is just plain fun. Gaming is fun on wide screenCons: Blackjack II: Software bug turns backlight on, led flasher added to front is uncontrollable. Duo: Slow to type on wide QWERTY slider, Can’t get to messages sometimes?Overall: Two decent phones for different folk. I couldn’t get typing fast on the Duo, and that hurt its performance for me. The Samsung would be the phone I’d reach for first between these two.

For the past month, I’ve had the privilege to get some quality hands-on time with the Samsung Blackjack II and the Pantech Duo, both offered by AT&T right now for just $99 (terms, conditions, first-born rules apply). It is one thing to play with a phone for a minute in the store, it is yet another to live with and rely on one. For me and my usage style, this test comes down to 3 big things: input, battery, livability. The rest, again to me, is all wants – not needs. So how did these two big guns fair?