Now the same company, Vobis Computer, has announced its next attempt at Android called the Highscreen Zeus, which will be launched in Russia at an unknown time for 13,990 rubles ($483 US). Needless to say, the Zeus has a much nicer ring to the name than PP5420 ever did.

Fortunately we were able to find a pic and some specs on this new device.

Some of the Zeus’ specs include:

• Operating System: Google Android OS
• Network: GSM / GPRS / EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) UMTS / HSDPA / HSUPA (2100 MHz)
• Display: TFT, 3.2 inches diagonal, with a resolution of 240 x 400 pixels (WQVGA)
• QWERTY-keyboard
• Camera: 3 megapixel CMOS, Auto Focus
• Navigation: GPS / AGPS
• Processor: Qualcomm MSM 7225 (528 MHz)
• RAM: 256 MB
• ROM: 512 MB
• Expansion Slot: microSD
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, WiFi 802.11 b/g, micro-USB, 3.5 mm headset jack
• Battery: Lithium-Ion 1010 mAh
• GSM Talk time: up to 480 minutes for GSM
• Standby: up to 400 hours for GSM
• Dimensions: 110 x 55 x 15, 1 mm
• Weight: 124.6 grams

Overall, it sounds like another average Android device, especially considering the inclusion of a 528 MHz processor. We also don’t know which version of the OS will be working on the Zeus.

Among the features of the Zeus will be a brand-new navigation service called iDA which will offer voice turn-by-turn navigation courtesy of a Canadian company by the name of Intrinsync. It will also offer detailed Russian city maps from Navteq.

We will keep you posted on any news of a launch date.

via Mobile-Review

• HighScreen PP5420 – Android phone for Russia
• General Mobile DSTL1 dual-SIM Android phone for the US, Turkey
• General Mobile DSTL1 Imaginary – the first dual-SIM Android smartphone?
• Motorola Sholes to Bring Android 2.0 to Verizon
• Acer A1 with Android 2.0 on pre-order

The FCC has just approved the Mini 3iX (850/1900 GSM and UMTS bands included), so now all AT&T and Dell have to do is announce the smartphone.

As mentioned earlier this week, the Dell Mini 3iX features Wi-Fi – unlike the China-bound Mini 3i. The handset could also come with a 3.5 inch touchscreen display with 640 x 360 pixels, A-GPS, Microsoft Exchange support and a 3MP autofocus camera.

No word yet on what Android version Dell Mini 3iX will run. Anyway, this might be the very first Android phone to be launched by AT&T, and if the price is right, there will probably be many customers to buy it.

Via FCC

• Dell Mini 3iX Android phone turns up in Brazil. With tri-band 3G/HSDPA and Wi-Fi
• Dell’s China-bound Android smartphone spec’d, new photos show up
• Dell Mini 3i smartphone finally launches in China
• HTC makes the HD2 (Leo) official
• T-Mobile Pulse (Huawei U8220) to come in October for only €260

There have been enough leaked pics and videos of the Behold II that its overall look and feel are no longer in question, and certainly no longer a mystery. And we’ve already heard nearly-confirmed rumors that the device will officially be on sale beginning November 18. So now all that’s left is an official proclamation that the Behold II exists and really is coming out when we all expect it to.

Behold II. Tell your friends.

Just in case you need a refresher on what it looks like, check this pic out below:

via IntoMobile

• T-Mobile’s Samsung Behold and Samsung Gravity now official
• Blackberry Storm 2 Official Video is Now Out
• HTC S522 approved by FCC with T-Mobile 3G support
• Nokia N900 delayed a bit, will start shipping in November
• T-Mobile Release Date Rumors: Tap, Behold II

This particular one is called the Saygus VPhone V1 and has already cleared the FCC for approval. Saygus is a relatively new player on the market, though this would certainly give immediate name-recognition to the brand.

Besides having EVDO Rev A, how can we be so sure the VPhone is coming to Verizon? Saygus’ own website is confirming it. They mention this to be not only the third Android phone to come to Verizon, but also the first to be approved via Verizon’s own Open Development Program.

We have specs and pics ready to throw at all of you. Specs first:

• 3.5-inch 800 x 480 capacitive touchscreen
• 624 MHz Processor
• 5 MP autofocus camera
• 512 MB ROM, 256 MB RAM
• WiFi/Bluetooth/GPS/Possible MiFi
  
• MicroSD slot
• Front-facing camera (will this be omitted from Verizon’s final version?)
• FM Radio
• No 3.5 mm jack
• Accelerometer/compass

Not bad. The processor could always welcome a nice bump up in speed, though 624 is still quite respectable for current standards.

Here are a few pics from the FCC files.

Likely release timeframe is set to be early 2010 as of now, but is not confirmed and always subject to change.

Are you intrigued?

via FCC File; via Slashgear

• Verizon announces the HTC Droid Eris, launches the LG Chocolate Touch
• Best Buy pre-selling Motorola Droid on October 29, no mail-in rebate
• Motorola Tao Will be Droid on Verizon, to Offer Flash?
• Verizon Motorola Droid announced, comes on Nov. 6 for $199.99
• Rumored HTC Passion Coming to Verizon, is a HD2 With Android?

What the heck’s happening with this Android stuff? All was peachy with the Android 1.0, Android 1.1, Android 1.5 Cupcake, and even Android 1.6 Donut releases.

Google will make OS available, cellphone vendors will take the package and make cool smartphones with it. Everyone gets the same version and releases handsets with it, accordingly.

Then came the announcement of Android 2.0 running Verizon/Motorola Droid, release of Android 2.0 SDK to developers, and things started getting really confusing.

With much more advanced and visually appealing Android 2.0 available, and already running on one phone, one would expect other vendors to jump on the bandwagon, and announce Eclair running handsets as soon as they can.

But no, all others, announcing their Android smartphones, for some mysterious reason, are using the old 1.6 Donut version of the OS.  Even for the high end models, that will ship only next year, like Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, or other Verizon Droid series handsets, like HTC Eris.

And I think,  I know what this reason is.

There simply is no 2.0 version of Android operating system yet. At least in a way, we usually consider a software package to be ready for a version X.0 number.

What we do have as an OS, Google, Motorola and Verizon call Android 2.0 for marketing purposes, is a pre-release/beta version of the software, optimized to run on a single device by a single vendor.

If you think it’s unlikely that Google will give one vendor such a strong preference, to launch a competing device, with a more advanced version of OS, think again.

This is exactly the same thing Google did last year, when they really wanted to get their OS into the market, before the year/holiday season was over. Google worked directly with HTC, optimizing the unfinished operating system to run on a single handset. Then they called it Android 1.0, and launched HTC G1/Dream handset running on it. With tons of unfinished/absent features, bugs and all.

Even Andy Rubin himself admitted, that Android 1.0 wasn’t really a software package worthy of 1.0 tag. Android reached that level only with the release of the Cupcake 1.5/Donut 1.6 updates. That’s when all other vendors felt that the software was actually ready for their phones, and got busy releasing them.

The launch of Motorola Droid, is sort of a deja vu of the things that happened last year.

Close integration work exclusively for a single handset, from a single vendor. Advanced version of the OS, not available to other vendors. The feeling of a rushed job, manifesting in illogically unfinished/absent features (see the dismal multimedia/sync experience, camera issues, universal search limitations, laginess of basic UI elements, etc;  that Gizmodo found on Droid).

All are the mirror thing of the problems the original G1 faced in November 2008.

So, to anyone waiting for another Android 2.0 handset to be released anytime soon, sorry. You won’t be seeing any of them this year. If ever.

My guess is, that Android 2.0 will remain exclusive to Motorola Droid/Milestone. Just like Android 1.0 was exclusive to HTC Dream/G1.

The rest of us, who will not pick up Droid, will have to wait for the release of Android 2.1/Flan, to get our hands on the next generation Android goodness. The handsets with which should be announced in February 2010, and start shipping sometime in March/April.

• Samsung Spica and BigFoot Android 2.0/ Donut phone details leaked
• Motorola Milestone (Droid) officially launched in Europe. Gets multi-touch, loses free navigation
• Verizon and Google officially promise several Android phones
• Verizon’s HTC Desire shows up in the… dark
• GSM Motorola Droid caught on video

As rumored, Verizon will sell the Droid Eris for 99.99 on contract (after a $100 mail-in rebate) starting November 6, the same day when the more expensive Motorola Droid becomes available.

The features of HTC Droid Eris include a 3.2 inch HVGA touchscreen display, HTC Sense UI, Wi-Fi, GPS and digital compass, HTML browser with Flash Lite, Bluetooth, 3.5mm headset jack, 5MP autofocus camera, and an 8GB MicroSD card in the box.

Unlike the Motorola Droid which will come with Android 2.0, HTC Droid Eris runs Android 1.5 (but it might be upgraded to 2.0).

Verizon has also (silently) launched the LG Chocolate Touch VX8575.

Available starting today for $79.99 on contract, the LG Chocolate Touch features EV-DO Rev. 0 connectivity, a 3 inch touchscreen display with 400 x 240 pixels, VZ Navigator, HTML web browser, Dolby Mobile sound, 3.5mm headset jack, FM radio, 3.2MP camera, 1GB of internal memory, and MicroSD card support.

Via Gizmodo

• Verizon Motorola Droid announced, comes on Nov. 6 for $199.99
• Verizon’s HTC Droid Eris shows up in press and hands-on photos
• Verizon’s LG Chocolate Touch VX8575 shows up again
• Best Buy pre-selling Motorola Droid on October 29, no mail-in rebate
• Verizon’s Samsung Rogue and Samsung Intensity appear in official photos

In time for Thanksgiving, the company will be offering its own T-Mobile channel within the Android Market, which will offer recommendations on which content to download, in order to add ease to the customer’s experience in finding new apps and downloads.

But wait, there’s more. T-Mo will also be adding in support for billing the customer’s account as an alternative to using Google Checkout whenever downloading a purchased Android app.

Carrier billing is somewhat unusual in the States for App Stores. Purchases made on the iPhone App Store, for example, are billed to the customer’s iTunes account instead of AT&T directly. Venetia Espinoza, Director of Mobile Applications and Partner Programs explained that:

We are making it very easy to purchase apps. Historically, research has shown that with carrier billing, there’s a big uptick of 30 to 40 percent in app or content downloads….We’ve been working very closely with Google over the last several months to integrate the Android Market with our internal billing gateway.

Any interesting insights to the news? Do you believe the “research” that’s been done to prove carrier billing is more popular?

via MocoNews

• Google to add carrier billing to Android Market
• Paid Android apps confirmed for this month
• Google and Baidu to fight over China’s mobile search market
• Google Analytics now available for mobile apps (Android and iPhone)
• Google Mobile App for BlackBerry now available

If you’re in the UK, you should know that leading mobile operators O2 and T-Mobile will not offer the Milestone at all – or at least that’s what T3 is reporting.

Apparently, T-Mobile UK tested the Droid about six months ago; Nicola Shenton, the operator’s Head of Handset and Device Marketing, confirmed that they chose not to carry it. The exact reason for this is unknown, but it may have something to do with the fact that T-Mo already sells three Android phones in the UK: G1, Hero and Pulse.

So it looks like it’s up to Vodafone, Orange or 3 to bring the Milestone to UK consumers. Let’s hope that at least one of these operators will announce the new Android 2.0 smartphone soon.

• Motorola Milestone (Droid) officially launched in Europe. Gets multi-touch, loses free navigation
• Brazil gets the Motorola Milestone too, multi-touch included
• T-Mobile USA’s second Android phone to come this month, possibly not from HTC
• Verizon’s HTC Droid Eris shows up in press and hands-on photos
• Sony Ericsson to ditch Windows Mobile, prepare Android and Symbian smartphones for 2010

While Motorola didn’t say anything about tethering being available for its latest and greatest smartphone – the Droid – it looks like Verizon will offer the feature, although not this year.

According to Gearlog, the largest US carrier will allow tethering for the Droid in early 2010, thanks to its Broadband Access Connect plan – this will probably add $15 to your Droid monthly plan.

As a reminder, Verizon will sell the Motorola Droid starting November 6, for $199.99 on contract – many of Verizon’s stores will open early in the morning.

• Verizon opens stores early for the Motorola Droid
• Best Buy pre-selling Motorola Droid on October 29, no mail-in rebate
• Verizon’s HTC Droid Eris shows up in press and hands-on photos
• Verizon announces the HTC Droid Eris, launches the LG Chocolate Touch
• Verizon intros GlobalAccess plan, USB1000 Global Modem

Known as Motorola Droid in the US (where Verizon will release it on November 6), the Milestone is clearly one of Moto’s nicest handsets to date.

The highlight features of Milestone / Droid include: 3.7 inch TFT multi-touch display with 854 x 480 pixels, full QWERTY keyboard, HSDPA/HSUPA connectivity, GPS, Wi-Fi, 3.5mm headset jack, and a 1400 mAh battery.

Motorola Milestone will be available in Brazil before the year’s end, via TIM, the third largest Brazilian mobile carrier. The smartphone’s price was not unveiled (however, you should know that in the US it will cost $200 on contract).

Via Press release

• Motorola Milestone (Droid) officially launched in Europe. Gets multi-touch, loses free navigation
• Verizon Motorola Droid announced, comes on Nov. 6 for $199.99
• Verizon opens stores early for the Motorola Droid
• Best Buy pre-selling Motorola Droid on October 29, no mail-in rebate
• Moto Droid / Milestone not coming to O2 and T-Mobile in the UK?

It really shouldn’t be a surprise to too many Android fans, considering the short turnaround time between 1.6 and 2.0. It’s natural to assume Google would already be hard at work getting the next available version ready for developers as soon as possible. This ability to quickly update definitely can be a sign of a healthy mobile OS with a load of potential.

Here’s how it was discovered: Android and Me’s webmasters were tracking the site’s analytics reports and found that 0.04% of its traffic was coming from Android 2.1, instead of any other OS. It seems like such an incredibly simple approach, yet it worked rather well.

There are no reports of any brand-new features in 2.1 as of yet; all that is known for sure is that 2.1 will be a minor update to fix bugs from 2.0 and will be ready by the end of 2009. Still, that’s a rather fast turnaround time for an OS to get all major bugs fixed that soon.

via Android and Me, via PhoneArena

• Google Analytics now available for mobile apps (Android and iPhone)
• Google Chrome for Android in the works?
• Bug in Android phone triggers reboot with 8 keystrokes
• Samsung Spica and BigFoot Android 2.0/ Donut phone details leaked
• WAT: Why there ain’t more phones with Android 2.0. And there won’t be soon, if ever

The data provided by Google Analytics helps app developers find out how users interact with their apps, what features they use more and so on.

To learn more about Google Analytics for Android and iPhone mobile apps, you should read the technical documentation and check out the SDK on Google’s website.

The video below shows how Redfin (an online brokerage for buying and selling homes) uses Google Analytics with their mobile app:

Via the Google Mobile Blog

• Google brings books to Android, iPhone. Boasts about its OCR tech
• Google Product Search now available for iPhone, Android
• Google launches Finance for Android
• Google Mobile products to feature flawless integration with online counterparts in T-Mobile G1
• Paid Android apps confirmed for this month

Those who are eagerly waiting to buy a Droid should visit local stores to check the exact opening hours (note that Verizon’s Mall stores will not open early).

In addition to launching the Motorola Droid, Verizon will “host demonstrations at select locations to help customers get the most” from the new Android smartphone.

Moreover, the largest US mobile carrier announced “Droid Does Times Square” – an interactive experience that will be set up in New York City, allowing callers to control two of Times Square’s largest digital billboards (from NASDAQ and Reuters) via voice commands. Participants will be able to call a toll-free number and search for any location they want – which will then be displayed on the giant boards thanks to Google Maps. “Droid Does Times Square” will take place from November 6 through November 20.

The Droid by Motorola (known as Motorola Milestone in Europe) is not only the world’s first device to come with Android 2.0, but also the first Android phone to have a touchscreen display of 854 x 480 pixels (Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is the second to have such a display). Other features include a full QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3.5mm headset jack, and a 5MP autofocus camera.

Verizon will sell the Motorola Droid for $199.99 with a 2-year contract agreement and after a $100 mail-in rebate. If you don’t want to wait for that rebate, you can buy the Droid from Best Buy.

Via email Press releae

• Verizon Motorola Droid announced, comes on Nov. 6 for $199.99
• Verizon’s Motorola Droid to get tethering in early 2010
• Best Buy pre-selling Motorola Droid on October 29, no mail-in rebate
• Verizon announces the HTC Droid Eris, launches the LG Chocolate Touch
• Brazil gets the Motorola Milestone too, multi-touch included

And they are indeed pretty cool.

But today’s announcement actually gives even more hints, about how Sony Ericsson plans to go bout making new devices that should get it out of the current slump.

One of the first steps in SE plans, is making this *scape user interface, into an open UI platform, across multiple lines of devices.

Sony Ericsson head of portfolio planning has confirmed to Electricpig.co.uk that they do plan to port the new UI to Symbian handsets. And I will not be at all surprised, if their  own high end feature phones will get the same UX  too.

The other thing, revealed in Sony Ericsson communication to developers today, is that they plan to open Mediascape and Timescpe UI apps to third party developers, by releasing SDK sometime in 2010. According to SE:

We are keen to open up the APIs for these applications, and we welcome a dialog with developers to get ideas and feedback, with a view to launching a Sony Ericsson SDK in early 2010.

This common UI across multiple platforms approach, is actually nothing new. All major handset vendors are already doing it, in one way or another. HTC has the Sense UI, LG created “S-Class”, Samsung uses TouchWiz, which even has an SDK for third party widgets, etc;

But it’s good to see Sony Ericsson finally getting in tune with the industry trends with their multi platform user interface initiative and pretty cool devices. Both,  Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and Timescape/Mediascape UX apps, look good, albeit extremely laggy, in presentation and limited demos.

Hope they will iron out the bugs in a couple of months remaining before launch.  Which  was pretty nice.

Now comes the “easy” part. Implementation

• First handsets running Symbian Foundation’s open-source OS out in 2010
• Nokia S60 Devices to get touch interface next year
• Android 0.9 SDK beta released
• Sony Ericsson Rachael’s Android UI demoed on video
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is official, comes with Android 1.6, new UX platform and more

Some of them turn out to be a complete BS, a few happen to be spot on, and quite a few are somewhere in the middle. I’d like to share them to get some input of whether I’m going completely bonkers, or not.

So I’m starting a new category of posts on UV – “Wild arsed theories” or WAT – just for this purpose. These will be a pure speculation on my part, based on some things I see happing in the market.

Today lets start with the Android stuff.  With the release of Motorola Milestone in Europe, two questions have been buggering me.

1. Why there’s no Google’s  free turn-by-turn navigation app in a European version of Droid (Motorola Milestone).

2. What’s happening with the frigging Android OS upgrades? First we get Android 1.6 Donut upgrade. Then, in a few weeks, a phone running Android 2.0/Eclair comes out. However none of the other Android handsets, coming out this year, mention anything about Android 2.0.  All of them, apparently, are still running Android 1.6. Even uber high end Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, announced today, but due only in Q1 2010.

Well, I think, I may have answers to both of these questions. Let’s start with the first today, and get to second tomorrow.

Why there is no free turn-by-turn navigation in Motorola Milestone? And it ain’t comig anytime soon

It all comes down to the mapping data. Take a look at these screenshots:

See the difference? The copyright notice for the area around Kansas City says that map data is owned by Google. The same notice for London says that map data is owned by Tele Atlas.

And it’s the same all over the world. Play a bit with Google maps yourself. What you will see is that the map data anywhere in the United States is owned by Google. Even in remote places like Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

Just cross the border, to Canada or Mexico, and another company name springs up in the map data ownership field.  TeleAtlas, INEGO, Europa Technologies, etc;

What this tells us is, that, for now, Google has collected enough of it’s own mapping  data only for the United States. And since they own the data there, they are free to use it however they like. Including provision of a free turn-by-turn navigation services, that screws the business model for paid nav service and gadget providers like Garmin and TomTom.

But all the mapping data for Western Europe in Google maps, is provided by TeleAtlas, owned by Tom Tom. Do you think Tom Tom is eager to provide Google with the data that could destroy their paid service and the main income source? I am pretty sure, that somewhere in a contract between Tele Atlas and Google, there is a clause, explicitly forbidding Google to offer tbt navigation, using Tele Atlas data.

So now what? Tough luck for us, Europeans? No free navigation from Google here?

Yes. For now.

But don’t think Google is sitting still and won’t be able to collect all that European map data for itself. Those Google Street View  cars are not driving around just for fun.

We know that Google is able to collect it’s own mapping data and they are heavily investing in it. They already did so in the U.S, after all. And as soon as Google has enough of it for Western Europe, the navigation services will come here too.

Thank’s to OScarB and vowe for pointing me in the right derection

• Motorola Milestone (Droid) officially launched in Europe. Gets multi-touch, loses free navigation
• New Google-Tele Atlas deal will give users improved maps, chance to change the world
• Apple patents iPhone Mobile Navigation / Mapping App
• Google intros free Maps Navigation for Android 2.0, Garmin and TomTom stocks plummet
• Motorola V9x RAZR2 Arriving in AT&T Stores

The X10 will run Android 1.6 Donut (why not Android 2.0?), coming with a new UX (user experience) platform that we’ve seen before. This UX platform should provide a unique user experience, as it’s “combining best-in-class entertainment features with signature applications, unrivalled integration of social media services and a rich graphical user interface.”

As previously rumored, the Xperia X10 is based on a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 processor – being the second Android phone to use a Snapdragon platform, after the Acer Liquid A1.

With the X10, users will have access to both Android Market and Play Now Arena. At the same time with the X10, Sony Ericsson will introduce two new features: Sony Ericsson Timescape, which “manages all your communication with one person in one place – you can browse through your conversations the bright way to check out your Facebook, Twitter, photos, emails, and texts all in one go”; and Sony Ericsson Mediascape, which “is the smart way to get all the music, photos and videos you want from your favorite friends and artists. It accesses content from everywhere – your phone, YouTube, PlayNow – and presents everything for you.”

Here are the phone’s main specs and features:

• GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
• UMTS HSPA 900/1700/2100 or UMTS HSPA 800/850/1900/2100
• 4.0 inches scratch-resistant capacitive touchscreen display with 480 x 854 pixels
• Wi-Fi
• Gesture control
• GPS
• Google Maps with Street View
• Wisepilot turn-by-turn navigation (free trial version)
• WebKit web browser
• Gmail
• Google Calendar
• Google Media Uploader
• Google phone-top search
• Google search widget
• Google Talk
• Google Voice Search
• 3.5mm headset jack
• Bluetooth
• MicroUSB
• 8.1MP autofocus camera with touch focus, intelligent face recognition, smile detection, image and video stabilizer, and geotagging (no flash, though)
• 1GB of internal memory
• 8GB MicroSD card included
• 119 x 63 x 13 mm
• 135 grams

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and X10a will be available starting the first quarter of 2010, in two color versions: Sensuous Black and Luster White. The smartphone’s price was not announced.

Sony Ericsson says about the X10 that it’s “the flagship phone in a family of phones coming to market during the first half of 2010”, so we should expect more Android handsets to be announced soon by the Swedish-Japanese company.

An Xperia X10 promo video can be watched below:

Via Press release

• First Sony Ericsson Xperia (X5?) Android phone “Rachael”, and strange “Kiki” with transparent display
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 finally official, ships with WM 6.5 in early Q4 2009
• Sony Ericsson Rachael’s Android UI demoed on video
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 Rachael teaser video shows up
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 Rachael already unboxed

We saw a Wi-Fi and 3G less Dell Mini 3i officially launch in China, and we’ve heard that it may soon come to the United States.

But the U.S may not be the first country in Americas to get the new Dell handset.

Dell Mini 3iX just turned up on a site of a telecoms regulatory authority in Brazil.

And the X branded version comes with those things we missed most  in it’s Chinese sibling – Wi-Fi and 3G UMTS/HSDPA connectivity. With no less then 3 bands of it – 850/1900/2100 MHz.

We are not sure about the rest of the specs,  but if they remain unchanged, Dell Mini 3iX should come equipped with:

• 3.5 inch touchscreen display with 640 x 360 pixels, 262K colors and handwriting recognition
• Multi touch User Interface
• Virtual QWERTY keyboard
• A-GPS
• Microsoft Exchange support
• Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR, USB 2.0
• 3MP autofocus camera with flash and 30fps video recording
• MicroSD card support
• 122 x 58 x 11.7 mm
• 103 grams

• Dell’s China-bound Android smartphone spec’d, new photos show up
• Dell Mini 3iX passes the FCC, AT&T 3G included
• Dell Mini 3i smartphone finally launches in China
• DioTek’s DioPen 7 for Windows Mobile now available
• Samsung W599, a dual CDMA/GSM phone

There were enough trustworthy sources and hints, claiming that this hot Motorola Android 2.0 handset is headed for Europe too.

We just didn’t expect to get it across the pond quite so fast. Motorola Droid was just announced by Verizon last week, and today it already launches as Motorola Milestone in Europe.

Motorola Milestone is is not exactly the same phone as Verizon Droid. In one way it’s better – Motorola Milestone comes with multi-touch pinch&zoom gesture support, which, for some reason, was disabled in Droid.

But it loses free turn-by-turn navigation from Google, probably because this feature is not ready for primetime in Europe yet. Instead Motorola Milestone comes with a trial version of MOTONAV turn-by-turn navigation, which is free for the first 60 days, but then a license fee kicks-in.

Otherwise Motorola Milestone is the same old Droid with:

• WCDMA/900/2100, GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSPA, GPRS connectivity
• Android 2.0 OS
• 3.7″; WVGA (480 x 854 pixels); 16:9 widescreen; PPI 267
• 5 megapixel camera
• Wi-Fi, GPS, Accelerometer
• 1400 mAh battery

And all other goodies original Droid had.

Italy and Germany will be the first markets to get Motorola Milestone,other markets will have to wait for it a bit.

Via: Motorola

• WAT: Why Europeans did not get Google’s free turn-by-turn navigation on Motorola Milestone
• Brazil gets the Motorola Milestone too, multi-touch included
• Verizon opens stores early for the Motorola Droid
• Nokia offers one week free navigation on Maps
• Moto Droid / Milestone not coming to O2 and T-Mobile in the UK?

We knew the Moment was coming on November 1 – and it’s nice to see that Sprint kept its promise and actually released it the day it said it would.

Coming as Sprint’s second Android phone (after the HTC Hero), Samsung Moment features a full QWERTY keyboard, a 3.2 inch HVGA AMOLED touchscreen display, GPS, 3.5mm headset jack, 3.2MP autofocus camera with flash, and an 800MHz processor.

Sprint sells the Samsung Moment for $179.99 on contract (after a $100 mail-in rebate).

Sanyo 3810, the second new phone launched by Sprint today, is an entry-level clamshell with features like: 2.4 inch QVGA internal display, GPS, web browser, Bluetooth and a 1.3MP camera.

The Sanyo 3810 is free on contract, after a $50 mail-in rebate. You can get it in two color versions: Regal Red and Black Onyx.

• Sanyo SCP-2700 and LG Lotus in red announced by Sprint
• Samsung Moment (InstinctQ) with Android announced by Sprint
• Verizon’s Samsung Rogue and Samsung Intensity appear in official photos
• Verizon’s Samsung Rogue and Intensity now available
• Sprint launches Samsung M330, camera-less BlackBerry Tour 9630

The demo here is concentrated on Rachael’s media player, which looks quite different from what we’re used to see on other Android phones.

If we’re to believe the title of the video, the Rachael’s 4 inch touchscreen display has a resolution of 480 x 854 – just like the display of Motorola Droid (which seems to be one of this year’s nicest Android handsets).

November 3 is the date when Sony Ericsson plans to officially announce the Rachael Xperia X3 (or X10) – let’s hope the phone will meet the high expectations everyone has about it.

Via Engadget

• Brazil gets the Motorola Milestone too, multi-touch included
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 Rachael teaser video shows up
• Sony Ericsson Rachael’s Android UI demoed on video
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 confirmed by Skyhook CEO?
• First Sony Ericsson Xperia (X5?) Android phone “Rachael”, and strange “Kiki” with transparent display

The i6500 Saturn has recently received its Wi-Fi interoperability certification (PDF link), so it will surely feature Wi-Fi.

According to Tweakers.net, the rest of the phone’s features should be similar to the ones of Samsung Galaxy i7500, although its processor might be an 800MHz one rather than a 528MHz one. Reportedly, the i6500 runs Android 1.5, but it will probably be launched with Android 2.0.

Unfortunately, we can’t see what the Saturn i6500 looks like, since there are no available photos of it at the moment.

Samsung Saturn i6500 should be released sometime in 2010, for a retail price of around €300 ($442).

• Samsung Galaxy i5700 in press photos, has Android written all over it
• Samsung i5700 Galaxy Lite in live photos, video
• The price of Samsung i7500 Galaxy unlocked: about $800
• Samsung Galaxy Lite i5700 coming soon?
• Samsung Galaxy i7500 in white – coming soon

About ten days ago, The Street quoted analyst Ashok Kumar, who has reportedly talked with unnamed Google partners and said that a Google-branded Android phone is in the making.

Well, according to CNET, Andy Rubin declared the following: “We’re not making hardware. We’re enabling other people to build hardware.” So it looks like, at least for the time being, Google has absolutely no plans to build its own phone.

Rubin also mentioned that such a phone would only compete with Google’s customers. And speaking of Google’s customers, I’ve counted 13 Android phones that were officially announced until now:

• HTC Dream / T-Mobile G1
• HTC Magic / T-Mobile myTouch 3G
• HTC Hero
• HTC Tattoo
• Samsung i7500 Galaxy
• Samsung i5700 Spica
• Samsung Moment
• Samsung Behold II
• Motorola Cliq / Dext
• Motorola Droid
• LG GW620
• Acer Liquid A1
• Huawei T-Mobile Pulse

Many more Android phones will come later this year and in 2010 (including the Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 Rachael), so Android is likely to become hugely popular without the existence of a Googlephone anyway.

• 18 to 20 new Android phones coming this year, says Google
• Motorola Dext / Cliq previewed. Low price apparently confirmed
• Orange UK confirms: Motorola Dext comes in October, free on contract
• INQ to release Android phones starting next year
• Motorola Dext to bring Android to Orange UK in October

Sony Ericsson posted a teaser video with what’s going to be unveiled on this date, and the phone we can see in the video is the white version of X3 / Rachael (spotted several times until now around the Web).

Sadly, the video doesn’t tell us much, so we still have to wait until November 3 to finally take a look at the official Rachael X3 (or X10, or whatever Sony Ericsson will name it in the end).

The Rachael will be Sony Ericsson’s first Android smartphone. Its features should include a 4 inch WVGA touchscreen display, 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, Wi-Fi, GPS, 8MP autofocus camera and a 3.5mm headset jack.

Until all these features get to be confirmed, here’s the promised teaser video:

Via Engadget

• Sony Ericsson Rachael (X3) to be announced on November 3; SE Kurara coming soon too
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 Rachael already unboxed
• Sony Ericsson Rachael’s Android UI demoed on video
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 Rachael specs unveiled
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 Rachael to be called X10?

Considering the general public’s concern on the drain the iPhone’s demand has been on AT&T’s 3G network, Verizon Director of data services for the Illinois-Wisconsin region Arvin Singh is attempting to put those concerns to rest.

He says Verizon expects heavy demand of the Motorola Droid, and it has long architected its EV-DO Revision A network to handle these kinds of capacities.

“We’re anticipating the Droid will be a blockbuster, but we’re not adding any new backhaul or new EV-DO carriers for the launch. We’re not anticipating the network will take a hit on this.”

Obviously Verizon is rather confident in its network. So the big test is coming. They expect a blockbuster phone, and there is a very good chance the Droid will live up to the expectations. Now we sit back and see how right or wrong Verizon was in making those claims.

We know it would be difficult to be any worse than the iPhone’s strain on AT&T’s current data network, but will Verizon be any better off? VZW is almost cocky about its network, but AT&T is usually just as confident about its data capabilities.

via TelephonyOnline

• Motorola Milestone (Droid) officially launched in Europe. Gets multi-touch, loses free navigation
• SFR combines its HSPA and optical fiber networks
• Verizon to Launch Droid, Droid Eris on Nov 6
• Verizon-Motorola Droid event promises “the most desirable phone of 2009″
• Verizon Motorola Droid announced, comes on Nov. 6 for $199.99

At first Sanjay mentioned the number of new smartphones would be in “multiple tens”, before clarifying that at least 20 would be released.

This seems to be a rather good indication that Motorola is back on the right track, and is ready to pull some hefty competition on everyone else.

So here’s the thing: given Motorola’s dumping of virtually every OS but Android, we’re wondering how many of these 20+ smartphones will be Android and how many will be WinMo. We know Moto isn’t interested in 6.5 but most likely is waiting for 7 to come out; will it be a 50/50 split between WM7 and Android?

As you know, I love to speculate and ask questions. Only time will be able to answer those questions, but my hope is to spark conversation in our comments about this. My brain tells me it’s too soon for Motorola to make such a large commitment before posting some good quarterly numbers, but it shows that Moto is very confident in its future, and that should be applauded.

via Gearlog

• Motorola Devour Arrives at the Party, Puts on Nametag
• HTC Confirms its Involvement With Android 2.0
• Motorola to ditch Symbian, bet on Android and outsource WinMo phone production
• Motorola Android phone confirmed for Verizon for Q4 2009?
• GSM Motorola Droid caught on video

Peter Chou conducted an interview with Forbes yesterday and talked about quite a few aspects of the smartphone industry. But what was most interesting to us was his declaration:

Technically, we could make the HD2 an Android phone, but I have to take care of Windows Mobile.

Blammo. Just like that, all hope has been lost. Or has it?

I personally got a couple things from that nugget. He mentioned the HD2 specifically won’t be an Android phone. There will only be one flavor of HD2, and that’s Windows Mobile. But the rumor I mentioned specifically about the HTC Passion, was supposed to be an “equivalent” of the HD2; not actually the HD2 itself.

So my opinion is that the HTC Passion could be very real still, and could easily be on its way to Verizon. Technically it’s not the HD2, just a heck of a lot like it.

I also found it interesting when he said “I have to take care of Windows Mobile”, as if he were in The Godfather. As if he owes Microsoft something. This statement hints at some sort of mandatory contract or agreement HTC has with Microsoft to carry a certain number or percentage of Windows phones in a given year. I wonder if there’s any validity to that.

Thoughts? Feel free to call me out if there are flaws in my logic.

via Forbes

• Rumored HTC Passion Coming to Verizon, is a HD2 With Android?
• Microsoft to limit number of Windows Mobile devices on the way to announcing something major at MWC 2009
• Nokia N73 Godfather Edition comes out
• Windows Mobile 7 will feature Social Networking integration
• T-Mobile moving from WM to Android worldwide?

Well, the third largest US carrier prepares even more surprises for 2010.

According to GearLog, Sprint executive David Owens has just unveiled some of the carrier’s plans for next year.

Reportedly, Sprint plans to launch WiMax phones, plus lots of HTC and BlackBerry smartphones in 2010 – with the mention that the HTC ones will run Android and some BlackBerries will feature Wi-Fi.

Speaking of Android, Sprint says that handsets using Google’s OS “will get less expensive” as soon as more such handsets are released. Next year, the carrier might launch hybrid CDMA/GSM Android phones, and even an “Android phone with a built-in MiFi-type router.”

Sprint has also confirmed that Android updates will come to Samsung Moment and HTC Hero, although it’s not clear yet if we’re talking about Android 2.0.

Despite all this Android talk, Sprint hasn’t forgotten about Windows Mobile. WM 6.5 updates should come in early 2010 to the HTC Touch Pro2 and other WM phones. Moreover, Sprint is eagerly waiting for Windows Mobile 7 devices, although their release obviously depends on Microsoft.

• Android Devices Being Brought in Q4
• HTC Hero with Android to be exclusively sold by Orange
• Andy Rubin says Google won’t make an Android phone of its own
• Sprint to launch WM 6.5 Samsung Intrepid (Ace II), Samsung Moment
• First Samsung Android smartphone to come in June; other two handsets promised for the US

The Droid Eris should be Verizon’s second Android smartphone, after the Motorola Droid – in fact, previous rumors have it that the Eris will actually be available at the same time with the Moto Droid, starting November 6 (but no one can officially confirm this at the moment).

Interestingly, the Eris will not come with Android 2.0 from the beginning, and BGR says that the smartphone is “overall the same as the Sprint Hero but for some reason it seems faster, slightly thinner and taller.”

Here are two hands-on photos of the Droid Eris:

And the handset’s official look (via PhoneArena):

Verizon should sell the HTC Droid Eris for $99.99 with a 2-yr contract agreement.

• Verizon announces the HTC Droid Eris, launches the LG Chocolate Touch
• Rumor: Droid Eris to sell at $99
• CDMA HTC Hero approved by FCC – Sprint launch imminent?
• HTC Hero (Predator?) apparently confirmed for Verizon
• Sprint intros the Android HTC Hero – available starting October 11

The giant American retailer announced that it would pre-sell Verizon’s Moto Droid starting October 29, offering a $100 instant saving instead of a mail-in rebate. This way, you can get the Droid for $199.99 right away (a 2-yr Verizon contract agreement is obviously required).

Of course, even if you pre-buy the Droid on October 29, you’ll still have to wait until November 6 to have it.

In case you don’t know yet, Motorola Droid is the world’s first smartphone to run Android 2.0 (Eclair). Its features include a 3.7 inch WVGA multi-touch display, full QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, 3.5mm headset jack, 5MP autofocus camera with flash, and an ARM Cortex A8 550 MHz processor.

Via Press release

• Brazil gets the Motorola Milestone too, multi-touch included
• Verizon announces the HTC Droid Eris, launches the LG Chocolate Touch
• Verizon announces HTC Imagio, Nokia 2705 Shade, Motorola Barrage and more
• Verizon opens stores early for the Motorola Droid
• Verizon Motorola Droid announced, comes on Nov. 6 for $199.99

Google Mobile App will be launched by Orange across many Orange Signature handsets, including phones running Symbian S60, Windows Mobile and BlackBerry OS. The app will include links to Google News, Google Mail, Google Maps, the Orange mobile portal, and other services.

Orange will also launch a Google Search widget for its Android Signature phones. Moreover, starting this month, Android phones like HTC Tattoo (UK, France, Spain), HTC Hero (France) and LG Eve (France, Spain) get to have specially created services like Orange Email Wizard.

Orange is the first global mobile operator to offer Google Search App on different mobile platform. The company said that internet search on phones increased by 120% over the last year.

Via Press Release

• HTC Hero costs €99 in Spain with an Orange contract
• HTC Hero with Android to be exclusively sold by Orange
• Nokia Messaging by Orange announced
• HTC Tattoo (Click) announced, ships in October
• Orange Android blitz: Sony Ericsson, Motorola Android phones, HTC Hero, Cupcake updates and more

Gdgt has a source on good authority that knows the Droid Eris will be available with contract for $99, compared to the $199 price point of the Droid.

This actually makes a lot of sense. For one, the Eris will be a hard sell if it’s offered at the same cost as its more popular Android cousin. Especially if it isn’t rocking Eclair right from the get-go.

We want to hear from anyone who is planning on buying one of the two new Droid-series handsets. Would the $99/199 pricing make a difference on your decision? Which one are you going to go with?

via Gdgt

• Verizon’s HTC Droid Eris shows up in press and hands-on photos
• Verizon to Launch Droid, Droid Eris on Nov 6
• Verizon announces the HTC Droid Eris, launches the LG Chocolate Touch
• Droid Will be an Entire Series; HTC Desire Becomes Droid Eris
• Best Buy pre-selling Motorola Droid on October 29, no mail-in rebate

The rumors are true! Hero will be getting an Eclair update. We ask for your patience as we update Sense for the fancy new Android OS.

Less than 140 characters long, yet it tells so much more. We just recently learned that HTC has been using Android 2.0 in-house for some time now and would be putting it in models in the near future.

Up until now the only device known to have the Eclair update on it is the Motorola Droid, just announced yesterday. So as far as we know, this will be the second device to have Eclair. That is, unless some other phone comes out with it first.

How will Sense UI fit into Eclair?  And will we now see a huge flood of other Android devices following suit with 2.0 updates?

via HTC Twitter

• HTC Confirms its Involvement With Android 2.0
• Droid Will be an Entire Series; HTC Desire Becomes Droid Eris
• Rumor: Droid Eris to sell at $99
• Verizon’s HTC Desire shows up in the… dark
• Sense UI update for HTC Magic is here. Only in Taiwan for now

Designed from the ground to leverage on your handset’s Internet connection, Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0 offer lots of nice features, including: the latest map and business data, search and search by voice (in English), traffic view, satellite view, Google street view, and car dock mode.

Unlike most of the GPS services offered by major companies (like Garmin and TomTom), Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0 is free.

Probably that’s why, almost immediately after Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0 was announced, the stocks of Garmin and TomTom have plummeted (as Engadget pointed out).

Here’s video presentation of Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0 (and yes, that phone is Verizon’s Motorola Droid – which was also spotted in GSM flavor):

All in all, Android is really becoming a threat to almost all companies that are directly or indirectly related to the mobile industry. And that’s a good thing, since competition eventually means better products for us, the end users.

Via the Official Google Mobile Blog

• WAT: Why Europeans did not get Google’s free turn-by-turn navigation on Motorola Milestone
• Verizon opens stores early for the Motorola Droid
• Motorola Milestone (Droid) officially launched in Europe. Gets multi-touch, loses free navigation
• Google Maps Editor for Android released
• Google optimizes search results pages for iPhone and Android

The GSM Droid looks like the CDMA one, but its nav-pad is not golden and the phone is obviously not Verizon-branded.

Specs-wise, the GSM Droid should be similar to the CDMA version, so we expect it to have a 3.7 inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen display, Android 2.0, Wi-Fi, GPS and a 5MP camera with autofocus and dual-Led flash.

Here’s the video showing the GSM Motorola Droid (Michael Jackson soundtrack included):

At the moment, there are no clear details about a Moto Droid release outside the US, but the video above lets us hope that we’ll soon see the smartphone in Europe and Asia too.

Via Tinh te

• Motorola Milestone (Droid) officially launched in Europe. Gets multi-touch, loses free navigation
• Motorola posts Q3 results, Mobile Devices unit loses $183 million
• Verizon’s HTC Droid Eris shows up in press and hands-on photos
• Motorola Zeppelin with Android shows up in China
• Droid Passes FCC With AT&T 3G

As expected, the Moto Droid will be available from Verizon starting November 6. The price? Well, Verizon asks $199.99 for the Droid, with a 2-yr agreement and after a $100 rebate.

Motorola and Verizon present the Droid as being a “no-fuss, high-tech, location-aware, voice-recognizing, over-the-air updating, multi-tasking machine.”

Most of the smartphone’s features are now confirmed, including the 3.7 inch, 480 x 854 pixels capacitive touchscreen display, EV-DO Rev A connectivity, Wi-Fi, GPS, D1 video playback, stereo Bluetooth, 3.5mm headset jack, Flash 10 ready HTML browser, 5MP autofocus camera with dual-LED flash, 16GB of storage space, MicroSD card support, and 1400 mAh battery.

Funny excerpt from the press release: with a display having “more than 400,000 pixels total, DROID has more than twice that of the leading competitor” – this competitor is most probably the iPhone.

But now the question is: is Verizon’s Droid a better choice than AT&T’s iPhone or not?

Via Press release

• Verizon announces the HTC Droid Eris, launches the LG Chocolate Touch
• Best Buy pre-selling Motorola Droid on October 29, no mail-in rebate
• GSM Motorola Droid caught on video
• Official Motorola Verizon Droid specs, site and what not revealed a week early
• Casio Exilim and Motorola Rival launched by Verizon

The features of Nokia Surge include a 2.4 inch QVGA display, HSDPA, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, GPS, Bluetooth, 2.5mm headset jack, 2MP camera and MicroSD card support.

Rogers sells the Surge for as low as $29.99 with a 3-yr contract agreement. Without a contract, the phone costs $279.99.

According to PhoneModo at the Howard Forums (via Mobile Syrup), Rogers is also getting ready to launch the Nokia N86 8MP (as rumored before), and the LG Eve – which is actually the Android-based LG GW620.

The Nokia N86 should cost $99.99, while the LG Eve will be only $49.99 (both with 3-yr contract agreements).

Rogers will also offer the BlackBerry Bold 9000 in white for $99.99, and the Xperia X1 for a lower price than the current one – $99.99.

Apparently, the Canadian carrier will rebrand its smartphones and call them Webphones.

• Rogers now offering Nokia E71 for $49.99
• Rogers BlackBerry Curve 8520 arrives in stores
• BlackBerry Curve 8900 quietly launched by Rogers?
• Rogers promises a Motorola Android phone for 2010
• Nokia N86, 2730, 6750 and 6350 coming to Canada for the Holidays

Unlike the Pulse, the Huawei G6600 has a full QWERTY keypad, and since we can clearly see a home button above it, this new phone might come with Android too.

Little is known about the features of the G6600. Apparently, the handset only has GSM/GPRS connectivity, which means that it will probably be sold for a low price. Bluetooth and MMS are also featured.

According to the Bluetooth SIG, the Huawei G6600 should be available in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa, although there’s no word on when this will happen.

• Huawei U8220 is indeed the T-Mobile Pulse – FCC says so
• T-Mobile Pulse (Huawei U8220) to come in October for only €260
• Huawei U8220 Android phone coming as T-Mobile Pulse?
• Free of contract T-Mobile Pulse launched in the UK
• Huawei U7510 – another new touchscreen phone

Previously we expected to see two different launch dates on these handsets, with the Droid quite possibly around tomorrow-ish. But we can completely understand a double Droid-launch to start the new Droid series off strong.

How confident is BGR on this rumor? They say it’s the closest they can get without having an official announcement. That is particularly strong. Keep you posted.

via BGR

• Verizon’s HTC Droid Eris shows up in press and hands-on photos
• Rumor: Droid Eris to sell at $99
• Verizon: Our 3G Network Can Handle Large Droid Demand
• Droid Will be an Entire Series; HTC Desire Becomes Droid Eris
• GSM Motorola Droid caught on video

With this said, we learned today that HTC is officially speaking out about its involvement with Eclair, the anticipated Android 2.0 update, that they have had it around for some time now and plan on releasing it on future phones.

Yet we see brand new handsets such as the Samsung Moment currently being released with Android 1.5, while 1.6 is currently out and then devices like the Motorola Droid will come out very soon with version 2.

What the heck is going on? Different carriers are getting different versions of Android, or so it seems.

Gearlog wrote about this very issue today, questioning whether or not Google is playing favorites by letting certain manufacturers have access to Eclair before others. Certainly it’s difficult to confirm because officially Samsung hasn’t come out with any word as to whether or not it currently has Eclair to play with.

At least now we know for sure that it isn’t just Motorola playing around with V2, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions. But one thing’s for sure — if Google isn’t being open with its “open platform”, there will be some serious issues to be addressed soon.

via Gearlog

• Unlocked Android Google phone in the works?
• Verizon picks LiMo Linux instead of Android
• Andy Rubin says Google won’t make an Android phone of its own
• HTC Hero, Android 2.0 to Come Together
• Huawei Android phones confirmed for Q3 2009

Sony Ericsson’s What’s Next webpage lets us know that this is the date of some mysterious announcement. The guys over at the se-blog took a look at the page’s HTML code and found that the word “Rachael” appears two times in it.

So it’s almost certain that Sony Ericsson will finally unveil the Rachael – its first Android smartphone, rumored to feature a 4 inch WVGA display, an 8MP camera and a 1GHz Snapdragon processor.

In other SE news, it looks like the Swedish-Japanese company is also readying a new Symbian S60 smartphone (like the Satio), currently codenamed Sony Ericsson Kurara.

According to the Semc blog, Kurara is a full-touch handset with a large display (possibly a 3.5 inch one) and an 8.1MP camera. The two photos below are the only ones available at the moment:

Sony Ericsson Kurara could be announced in the first half of 2010.

• Sony Ericsson Kurara shows up in new photos, promises HD video capabilities
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 Rachael teaser video shows up
• Rumor: Sony Ericsson Jalou Symbian smartphone
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 Rachael already unboxed
• Sony Ericsson Rachael’s Android UI demoed on video

This time we see patents being filed from HTC; 3 of them, to be precise. But all 3 have something to do with unlocking screens that have been turned off. It’s quite possible that any of these three could make it into a new build of the Sense or TouchFLO UI somewhere down the road.

WMPowerUser suggests these will be implemented in Sense UI and will be sooner rather than later.

Underneath we have provided a pic of one of the patents as well as abstracts for each.

Here are the patents:

1. Unlock the screen by swiping your finger down vertically.

MOBILE ELECTRONIC DEVICE, METHOD FOR ENTERING SCREEN LOCK STATE AND RECORDING MEDIUM THEREOF

Abstract

A mobile electronic device, a method for entering a screen lock state and a recording medium thereof are provided. In the present method, an input signal is received through a touch panel of the mobile electronic device. Then, a movement track of the input signal is obtained if a starting point of the input signal is located in a non-display area of the touch panel, and a vertical displacement of the input signal is calculated if the movement track contains a specific direction. Finally, a screen lock frame is dragged and displayed, and the mobile electronic device is switched to the screen lock state if the displacement reaches a predetermined value. Thereby, an intuitional way for locking the screen is provided, and accordingly, the convenience in operating the mobile electronic device is improved.

2. Method to change wallpaper on the lock screen, without actually unlocking the screen to do so.

METHOD FOR SWITCHING WALLPAPER IN SCREEN LOCK STATE, MOBILE ELECTRONIC DEVICE THEREOF, AND STORAGE MEDIUM THEREOF

Abstract

A method for switching wallpaper in screen lock state, a mobile electronic device thereof, and a storage medium thereof are provided. In the present method, an input signal is received by a touch screen when a mobile electronic device enters a screen lock state. Then, whether the input signal is located in a specific area of the touch screen is determined. A moving track of the input signal is detected if the input signal is located in the specific area. Finally, wallpaper of the screen lock state is switched according to the moving track. As a result, a user can switch wallpaper arbitrarily even if the mobile electronic device is in the screen lock state, so as to increase convenience of switching wallpaper.

3. The typical method of unlocking a screen.

METHOD FOR UNLOCKING SCREEN, MOBILE ELECTRONIC DEVICE USING THE SAME AND STORAGE MEDIUM THEREOF

Abstract

A method for unlocking screen, a mobile electronic device using the same and a storage medium thereof are disclosed. First, at least two signal input areas on a touch screen of the mobile electronic device are defined. When an input signal is detected within at least one signal input areas, a moving range of a trajectory produced by the input signal is calculated. And the touch screen is unlocked when the moving range reaches the predetermined value. Thus, the present invention provides a user with more virtual manner to close the screen locking function so as to promote the usage convenience of the mobile electronic device.

Okay, so the first two I can see being patented because I haven’t actually seen them implemented on any other touchscreen device. But the third one, unless I’m mistaken, sounds exactly like the usual method for unlocking screens. If that’s true, then I would be very surprised if a patent doesn’t already exist by somebody somewhere.

via WMPowerUser

• Better input and bigger screens for cell phones? How about virtual screen from Samsung?
• Touchzel – Apple’s new way to control your handhelds
• HTC is working on next gen “Virtual Book” touch UI
• Nokia patents a dedicated gaming console/phone idea
• Apple’s iPhone. Is it really well protected by patents?

That device is being called the HTC Passion, which is actually the CDMA version of the HTC Dragon and is thought of as the Android equivalent to the HD2.

This past week we found leaked shots of the Dragon — or so we thought. It turns out, after TheUnlockr did some additional digging, this particular leaked handset is really the Passion instead.

What does this mean? It means an Android HTC HD2 (of sorts) with 1GHz Snapdragon processor is coming to Verizon sometime soon. And given the carrier’s urgency in bringing Android devices to market, it could be sooner than we think.

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that TheUnlockr is only 90% sure after its research that this really is the Passion. It’s not a lock yet, but it’s as close as most rumors will get to being one.

via TheUnlockr (via PhoneArena)

• HTC Dragon in Early Stages; Thoth and Omni Still in The Picture
• New HTC Android phone leaked, might be the Dragon
• Droid Will be an Entire Series; HTC Desire Becomes Droid Eris
• Verizon’s HTC Desire shows up in the… dark
• More Android: Saygus VPhone V1 Clears FCC, Headed to Verizon

If any of you in the US are hoping for a version of the Droid on AT&T, you’re in luck. While a GSM version had passed the FCC just a few days ago, it only had 3G support for Europe; fortunately though, another version of the Droid was being pushed through at almost the same time. This particular version is all ready to go for North America.

Now we wait to see if it will be picked up by AT&T and/or Rogers. It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming months.

Below is a sample of the FCC document approving the “Sholes”. As you can see there’s not much to look at, just a couple things confirming the name and frequencies it was approved for.

FCC Link; via MobileCrunch

• Droid Will be an Entire Series; HTC Desire Becomes Droid Eris
• Motorola Tao Will be Droid on Verizon, to Offer Flash?
• More Android: Saygus VPhone V1 Clears FCC, Headed to Verizon
• Motorola Sholes to hit AT&T too, Android 2.0 Eclair included
• Verizon-Motorola Droid event promises “the most desirable phone of 2009″

In the short months since the first pieces of info leaked about the Sholes, we have seen a huge evolution in what exactly it is. The handset known as the Sholes will indeed still be dubbed “Droid”, there will just be a lot more of them down the road.

Shortly down the road is the HTC Desire, which will be branded the Droid Eris. This particular handset will be available on November 6. Beyond that it’s anyone’s guess, though I’m sure we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg here. Will the Droid name be attached to all Verizon Android devices? It seems rather obvious at this point.

So then, if Verizon is going to the length of branding any device that goes with this OS, it must have some rather intense plans on keeping that brand up.

As a sidenote to ponder, Verizon’s commitment to Android may affect future plans it may have with the iPhone. Can Droid and iPhone live in harmony together in the same lineup?

via EngadgetMobile

• HTC Hero (Predator?) apparently confirmed for Verizon
• Verizon-Motorola Droid event promises “the most desirable phone of 2009″
• Verizon Droid. No Idea what it is, but it’s here, on preorder
• Verizon and Google officially promise several Android phones
• Motorola Tao Will be Droid on Verizon, to Offer Flash?

Like Verizon’s Motorola Droid, the Moto Zeppelin runs Android, and apparently it’s the world’s first Android phone to have both GSM and CDMA connectivity – although we’re talking about China-specific CDMA.

The features of Motorola Zeppelin are pretty nice and include: 3.1 inch HVGA touchscreen display, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth 2.1, FM radio, HDMI output, 3.5mm headset jack and a 5MP autofocus camera with flash.

Unfortunately, there’s no photo to show the Zeppelin’s face, so we’ll just have to stare at its back until new images show up:

Motorola Zeppelin should be launched in China in the first quarter of 2010. Details about its price are not known at the moment.

Via QQ and AndroidOS.in

• Motorola Sholes Tablet, Motus and Zeppelin coming soon?
• Motorola Ruby lives, now it’s called V13
• Official pics of Motorola EM326g and the MOTOROKR S7-HD Bluetooth headset emerge
• Motorola ZN200 slider surfaces
• CDMA Motorola W562 surfaces; headed to China

Details are scarce at the moment, but the Desire is probably similar in features with Sprint’s HTC Hero, which is already available (for $179.99 on contract).

It’s said that the Desire is “extremely fast” and it uses HTC’s Sense UI (on top of Android, of course). No word yet on when Verizon will announce the handset, but this should happen pretty soon. Until then, here’s the HTC Desire in all its (darkened) glory:

Together with the Motorola Droid (confirmed by Moto) and Motorola Calgary, Verizon will soon have three brand new Android phones – and that’s great news.

• Verizon’s Motorola Calgary in live photos, MotoBlur confirmed
• Motorola Calgary to run on Android. Motorola Rolex in the making?
• Droid Will be an Entire Series; HTC Desire Becomes Droid Eris
• Motorola Android phone confirmed for Verizon for Q4 2009?
• Motorola Milestone (Droid) officially launched in Europe. Gets multi-touch, loses free navigation

It was Motorola Sholes/Tao/Droid, that was leaked, and leaked and leaked again tons of times.

But, up until now, it was still a rumor, floating among blogs without any real confirmation.

Well, today, if a bit prematurely, we have that official confirmation from Motorola.

Staying with their poor Web’s’manship tradition, and no idea how to keep things behind the firewall, Motorola made their official Droid minisite (linked removed from Motorola site, for now) accessible to anyone.  Almost week before their partners were ready.

So we don’t have to wait until Oct. 28th to know everything there is to know about the mysterious handset.

Here are full specs of Motorola Verizon Droid:

• CDMA 1X 800/1900, EVDO rev. A connectivity
• 550 MHz CPU
  
• Android 2.0 (Eclair) OS
• 3.7″ WVGA (480 x 854 pixels); 16:9 widescreen; PPI 267 touchscreen display
• 5mpx camera with 4x digital zoom, autofocus, image stabilization, dual LED flash and up to 24 fps; D1 (720×480) resolution video capture
• full QWERTY side slide keyboard
  
• Accelerometer, aGPS and sGPS support, proximity and ambient light sensors
• Wi-Fi b/g, Stereo Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR, USB 2.0 high speed with micro USB connector, 3.5 mm headset jack
  
• 16 GB microSD pre-installed; supports up to 32 GB microSD expandable
• Webkit HTML5 support, Flash 10 (available 2010)
• 1400 mAh Li Ion battery with up to 270 hrs. standby and 385 mins talk time
• Dimensions: 2.4 x 4.6 x .5 in.; 60.00 x 115.80 x 13.70 mm
• Weight: 6 oz.; 169 g

And, of course it’s a Google phone, so all the Google services, including GTalk IM are supported.

Amazon MP3 store, as well as Facebook,  Gmail and Exchange integration into a unified contact list is in it. Also  POP3 and IMAP4 e-mail.

On the other hand, Motorola Blur service is nowhere in sight. I guess, they had to drop it at the insistence of Verizon, if they wanted to become one of their flagship devices.

And, despite claiming it to be a multimedia powerhouse, they neglected to include the support for the unconverted Xvid/Avi video file playback. Even though those movies would have looked great on a huge 3.7″ WVGA display.

Oh well, I’ll have to find something in Android Marketplace to do that.

via BGR

• Motorola Tao Will be Droid on Verizon, to Offer Flash?
• GSM Motorola Droid caught on video
• Verizon Motorola Droid announced, comes on Nov. 6 for $199.99
• Motorola Milestone (Droid) officially launched in Europe. Gets multi-touch, loses free navigation
• Best Buy pre-selling Motorola Droid on October 29, no mail-in rebate

Well, the wait might be almost over.

This Android handset has been officially announced today in Russia, as Samsung Galaxy Spica.

I checked all the official Samsung PR sites and haven’t found it mentioned anywhere else, so in other countries it will be annoubced later.

Anyway, here are the press pics of Samsung Galaxy Spica:

The specs/features of Samsung Galaxy Spica include 800 MHz CPU, 128 of RAM, 3.2″ touchscreen display, 3.2 mpx camera, 1500 mAh battery, microSDHC (up to 32GB) support, GPS sensor, compass and ability to play unconverted popular video files.

Samsung Galaxy Spica should ship in Russia in Novemeber for 14 000 rubles ( 320 EUR).

(Hat tip for Technozona.bg for pointing in the right direction)

• Samsung Galaxy i5700 in press photos, has Android written all over it
• Samsung i5700 Spica (Galaxy Lite) in new video preview
• Samsung C5212 officially announced: under $200 dual-SIM phone
• Samsung i5700 Spica and R860 approved by the FCC
• Samsung Galaxy i7500 finally available from O2 UK

The features of T-Mobile Pulse include: 3.5 inch HVGA touchscreen display, Android 1.5, HSDPA/HSUPA connectivity, Wi-Fi, GPS, pre-installed nru mobile application, Bluetooth, 3.2MP camera, 256MB flash memory and a 2GB memory card included in the box.

You can buy the T-Mobile Pulse on Pay As You Go online – it costs £179.99 (about $298).

If you’re not into PAYG, you can get the Pulse on contract – it’s free with a monthly plan of at least £30.

Via Press release

• Huawei’s T-Mobile Pulse with Android 1.5 gets official
• T-Mobile Pulse (Huawei U8220) to come in October for only €260
• Huawei U8220 is indeed the T-Mobile Pulse – FCC says so
• LG GD510 Pop priced at £99.95 on PAYG in the UK
• Orange UK debuts PAYG BlackBerry services

At this event, Verizon will unveil “the most desirable phone of 2009”. Motorola’s logo can be seen on the invitation, so the phone is most probably the Motorola Droid (aka Sholes aka Tao).

As you may already know, Verizon has already kicked off the Droid Does campaign aimed at Apple’s iPhone and its lack of a real keyboard, its inability to take photos in the dark and so on.

Will the Verizon Moto Droid (which obviously runs Android) indeed be more desirable than the iPhone? Let’s wait and see.

Via Engadget

• Verizon Droid. No Idea what it is, but it’s here, on preorder
• Motorola Android phone confirmed for Verizon for Q4 2009?
• Verizon’s HTC Droid Eris shows up in press and hands-on photos
• Best Buy pre-selling Motorola Droid on October 29, no mail-in rebate
• Droid Will be an Entire Series; HTC Desire Becomes Droid Eris