"Open operating systems, for most folks, means that the operating system is essentially free. The average computer user knows that Linux is free, as in beer, while Windows costs money. The case is the same for mobile OSes although, until very recently, the idea of purposely using an open OS has been a fairly nebulous concept. To be clear open mobile OSes have been around for years, starting most prominently with the QTopia project that ran on ARM hardware found in many PDAs and phones. The Linux kernel plays well with almost any platform, making it ideal for small installations." Read more here:
"Google’s latest Android prototype is miles improved over the versions we last saw. Back at CES the GUI was clunky and the whole thing looked relatively primative; Google themselves asked us to keep an open mind and instead concentrate on the OS’ potential. Now, they’ve brought out a device that you could, frankly, mistake for production hardware.As our exclusive demo videos show, the Android team have been putting in some long hours bringing the user interface up to the standard people expect. The iPhone sets the bar high, and leftfield rivals like Samsung’s TouchWiz GUI really pile on the pressure. What they’ve given us is, at first glance, a blend of the successful parts of each of those, together with a dose of Google’s own minimalist aesthetic. Hopefully you’ll agree with us, once you’ve looked through the photos and watched the video, that the design is a winner." Find out more here:
"Enkin" introduces a new handheld navigation concept. It displays location-based content in a unique way that bridges the gap between reality and classic map-like representations. It combines GPS, orientation sensors, 3D graphics, live video, several web services and a novel user interface into an intuitive and light navigation system for mobile devices.This project is a submission for the first round of the Google Android Developer Challenge and should not be considered a final product.Check out our web page enkin.net. Read the interview here:
"Those wild and crazy hackers at XDA-Developers have managed to get a working build of Android running on a TyTN II (basically the same thing as your Tilt). Click the video above for the living proof of Android running on top of a cooked Windows Mobile 6.1 build by the powerhouse of TyTN ROM Cookery: Dutty. The more interesting part is that this isn't some Windows Mobile replacement, you can just load the sucker onto your main memory. Basically you load up linux “like an app” and it loads up Android.This, folks, is going to be a trend. Expect Android to be made semi-available on pretty much every Windows Mobile platform powerful enough to run it. Now being able to do so with anything resembling stability or safety for the average user, that's probably a way's off, so handle with care, folks." via wmexperts.com
"Today Opera Software announced that it has made a version of its Mini browser available to developers of the forthcoming Android mobile platform. The preview of the mobile browser in in pre-beta form, but Opera expects to roll out a beta version in the near future. Opera Mini should support any handset that is released running the Android platform. Android has yet to be finalized by the Open Handset Alliance and Google." via phonescoop.com
"Chalk this one up in the rumor column for now, but it seems like May the 6th could serve as the date where HTC reveals the Dream handheld, the company's first smartphone to be powered by the Google Android operating system. The source of this rumor stems from the fact that HTC is hosting a major event in London on that day and the tagline for the event is "Witness the next wave of HTC Innovation."Up until now, the company has focused its attention on Windows Mobile, so it makes sense that the "next wave" has something to do with a shirt in their focus to Google Android. At the same time, it could just be some sort of el lamo reveal with a slightly modified version of Windows Mobile, maybe with a change to TouchFLO. We certainly hope it has more to do with Android though. HTC has gone on the record to say that an Android-powered handset will be ready for a commercial launch by mid-2008, but they haven't gotten any more specific about the HTC Dream. As you know, HTC supplied many of the reference designs for the Android development team. The Dream, we hear, will get a full touchscreen interface and an onscreen keyboard." via mobilemag.com
"South Korea's LG Telecom Co. may adopt Google Inc.'s Android system for its third-generation mobile data services, its Chief Executive Jung Il-Jae said Thursday. "We're adopting an open-standard software platform for our 3G data services and Google and other companies have already shown interest in us," Jung told Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of a ceremony launching its new data services."We're willing to talk with foreign carriers and content providers to help spread mobile Internet services."Android is an open-standard software platform for mobile phones developed by Google. " via marketwatch.com
"For a man staring down Microsoft, Google, and Apple, Symbian's Nigel Clifford doesn't have the deer-in-the-headlights look as much as you might expect.Perhaps because, at the moment, those three juggernauts are staring up at Symbian. Clifford, CEO of the company since 2005, has a dominant share of the market for smartphone operating systems and a strong backer in Nokia, the world's largest handset maker.Still, Symbian is sitting on top of the market at a time when it appears destined for change. Apple's entry into the market has galvanized the American consumer, who is barely aware of Symbian's dominant presence in Europe and Asia. Google threatens to come at Symbian from underneath, hoping to unify mobile Linux and teasing carriers with the promise of mobile advertising revenue. Research In Motion shows signs it might be able to add consumers to its legion of CrackBerry addicts. And Microsoft is Microsoft; it hasn't replicated its PC success in mobile phones but it continues to steadily improve Windows Mobile and is sitting on a load of cash." Read more here:
"The mobile phone High Tech Computer (HTC) has been developing to run on the Android software from Google will be called "Dream," have a large touchscreen and full QWERTY keypad, a person close to the situation said Thursday.HTC may become the first handset maker in the world to put out a mobile phone developed around Android , but it faces stiff competition from Samsung, a separate source said. Samsung has stepped up its effort to put out a Google phone, the person said.HTC's Google handset is just over 5-inches long and 3-inches wide, with a keypad underneath the screen that either slides out or swivels out. The aim of the keypad is for easy e-mail, note-taking, and writing Web addresses. Internet navigational controls are situated below the screen on the handset.The handset will likely hit the market near the end of this year, the person said.The company officially remained mum on the handset. "We cannot comment on this product," said Maggie Cheng, an HTC representative.Last November, HTC became the first company to admit to developing a mobile phone based on Android , although Samsung, Motorola, and other handset developers are part of the group dedicated to furthering the software, the Open Handset Alliance .Android, an open source software platform that includes an OS, is designed to take advantage of Internet services for mobility. The software could become a potent new rival to Windows Mobile and other handset operating systems . At the launch ceremony, Google announced that over 30 companies had joined the Open Handset Alliance." via news.yahoo.com
"Google has not released sales predictions for devices based on its mobile operating system Android. But that doesn't stop Rich Miner, group manager for mobile platforms at the search giant, from being confident.After his presentation on Thursday at the Emerging Communications Conference at the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley, Miner said he expects Android-based devices to outpace sales of the popular iPhone."Once you have devices out there from Motorola, HTC, Samsung, and so on, there's a much larger potential market on Android than for the iPhone," Miner said. Despite the runaway success of the iPhone, which sold 4 million units in its first seven months of release, "there's a single manufacturer, it's targeted at a particular demographic, and it falls far short of the 1 billion mobile phones sold every year worldwide," added Miner.Opening the iPhone platform to third-party apps, Apple earlier this month released the software development kit for the popular consumer device. Apple said this week that the SDK has already been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Miner, however, pointed out that significant restrictions will still limit the creation of rich and useful applications for the iPhone."There are things I saw people doing with the first version of the Android SDK that it seems like you can't do with the iPhone at least at the moment," he says.Google said last month at the 3GSM conference in Barcelona that the Android SDK has been downloaded 750,000 times. "That's for a device that doesn't even exist yet," remarked Miner.Motorola, Samsung, HTC, and LG all belong to the Open Handset Alliance, which was formed last year by Google to promote open platforms and open networks in the mobile and wireless industry. All four are expected to release devices based on Android in the second half of this year. Miner indicated on Thursday that he expects one of the handset makers (most likely Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, according to industry reports) to reach the market before the other three."It's not a competitive thing -- it's great that people are finally building tools so all of these third-party applications can be built and get out there," Miner said. "[If I were a developer] I'd certainly be looking at the iPhone, and if you believe there will be lots of Android phones out there, as we do, I'd be developing for both platforms." via news.yahoo.com
"The BBC channel has shared a video clip with an unknown Android-based mobile device. This is an early proto released by a Google partner, says the source. The device is controlled via a touchscreen display mainly in addition to several hardware buttons. However the model doesn’t seem to involve multi-touch gestures. Being powered by a low-power 300 MHz processor, the smartphone though runs applications without delays. We’ve got no info whether a real product would be built on this proto. Remember that the pioneer Android models are expected by the end of this year." via mobile-review.com
"On behalf of the entire Android team, I'm happy to let you know that an updated version of the Android SDK — we're calling it m5-rc14 — is now available. Today, we're continuing the early look at the Android SDK that we started back in November by providing updates to the Android APIs and the developer tools based, in part, on the great feedback and suggestions developers have been giving us. We're excited about the progress that we've made and look forward to making additional updates in the future as the platform evolves towards production-readiness. There are a couple of changes in m5-rc14 I'd like to highlight:
New user interface - As I mentioned when we introduced the m3 version of the Android SDK, we're continuing to refine the UI that's available for Android. m5-rc14 replaces the previous placeholder with a new UI, but as before, work on it is still in-progress.
Layout animations - Developers can now create layout animations for their applications using the capabilities introduced in the android.view.animation package. Check out the LayoutAnimation*.java files in the APIDemos sample code for examples of how this works.
Geo-coding - android.location.Geocoder enables developers to forward and reverse geo-code (i.e. translate an address into a coordinate and vice-versa), and also search for businesses.
New media codecs - The MediaPlayer class has added support for the OGG Vorbis, MIDI, XMF, iMelody, RTTL/RTX, and OTA audio file formats.
Updated Eclipse plug-in - A new version of ADT is available and provides improvements to the Android developer experience. In particular, check out the new Android Manifest editor.
You can find more information about what's changed in a couple of documents that we've published. First is an overview of the changes to the Android APIs in API Changes Overview. If you want a more granular view of what's changed, an API diff between m3-rc37 and m5-rc14 is also available. Finally, Upgrading the SDK provides links to the two previously referenced documents and the release notes, as well as instructions on how to upgrade your development environment." More photos here:
"You may not have heard of E28, but they have something particularly rare on show at the Mobile World Congress: a current, off-the-shelf handset that’s running Google’s Android cellphone platform. I stopped by to shoot some video and find out exactly how well the Android OS works, away from reference designs and hardware test-beds; remember, this is basically E28’s E2831 quadband GSM smartphone, with WiFi, a 2.2-inch QVGA touchscreen and 1.3-megapixel camera, entirely stock aside from the OS. The good news? Android works pretty damn well indeed. What makes this particularly interesting is the specs of the E2831: it uses a relatively old OMAP TI 730 chipset, running at just 200MHz, and has a mere 64MB RAM and 64MB ROM. Android runs with no modifications, and the E28 team were even able to download applications coded for the platform from the internet and install them directly to the handset. This, then, is some of that unlocked, open-source simplicity we were promised when the platform was first announced." via phonemag.com
"December of 2007, we have reported on the DoCoMo and Google partnership in the works. More details on the partnership have emerged. According to reports, DoCoMo will be using Google maps for mobiles and will design a new user-interface more user-friendly for exploring Gmail, YouTube, and other Google services. The default search engine will also be Google with keyword-based advertisements present in the search results. DoCoMo has also announced their intention to launch a Google Android phone. Now that's something to look forward to." via mobilewhack.com
"In fact, even bigger than this phone is the stack its running known as CLP or the Convergent Linux Platform. The company backing this stack says that with this stack the time required to bring an Android device to market could be halved.Android, as it is right now, is kind of like Java, you or the company you buy your device from, has to provide all the back-end stuff and Android runs on top of that, allowing it to be multi-platform, well, the way I read it, CLP is kind of a middle man that would make the backend part a lot easier to come up with. I could be reading this wrong though.Regardless, the company is reporting that they already have a device, a Qtek 9090 to be precise, running the suggested CLP/Android combo with several GUI tweaks, messaging software, push email, VoIP, OTA firmware updates, Java, and Adobe Flash. That’s pretty impressive in and of itself and makes me really want an Android phone even more, apparently that’s all thanks to a “Hardware Mobility Engine” which they describe as being a BIOS for your mobile phone." via slashphone.com
"The China-based ODM-maker Wistron has unveiled its GW4 smartphone at the CES 2008 show. This is a candy bar phone with an integrated QWERTY-keyboard and a touch-sensitive display and powered by MontaVista Linux 2.6. The device is peculiar for the support of a new open platform Google Android. The GW4 version based on it will be released in March. Probably it will be the first Google Android smartphone and come out to the market under the brands of biggest vendors, says a Wistron spokesman. Those vendors will set the price of the product.Wistron GW4 features modest specs, according to the company, this hints at Linux effectiveness. The current smartphone version works in GSM networks (tri-band for the US and tri-band for Europe and Asia). The 3G modification is expected late in 2008. The specs of Wistron GW4:
Networks - GSM/GPRS (without EDGE)
Chipset - TI OMAP 1710 216 MHz CPU and 64 MB of memory
Display – 2.5” 320x240 pixels touchscreen
2-megapixel camera
Wi-Fi 802.11g
Built-in SIP VOIP-client
Opera browser
Vidgets, for example, weather forecast of share rating" via mobile-review.com
"Since it's debut in June of this year Apple has sold over 5 million iPhones, it is quite an amazing acheivement being that Apple is totally new to the cell phone industry and being able to shake it up and make such a massive impact in such a shot amount of time in the industry is a phenomenal effort. Apple is one of the most dynamic and smartest companies in the world (Not just in the tech industry, but all industries), they make it in our TOP 5 Most Dynamic Mobile Tech Companies of 2007: 1. Samsung Electronics - (Every gadget you can image, growing fast in the cell phone sector) 2. Apple Inc - (Business of The Year, Announced one of greatest innovations of all time for a 2nd time in the form of iPhone, better Macs, opening heaps of branded stores and doing smart long term business deals with major wireless providers around the world.) 3. Google -(Dominating Ad sector, Youtube, Future Andriod, All worldwide search engines growing fast in mobile sector, doubleclick, spectrum? and completely dominates the top 100 sites in the world list.) 4. Micorsoft - (suit settled, could dominate video games sector soon, new vista, office and more great software, wm 6.0, more great software, making bold moves in cell phone sector and zune, facebook, looking into buying top sites. Unlike Yahoo, Microsoft has taken it up to Apple and Googles challenges this year and in 2008 look for a good year from them.) 5.Research in Motion (Blackberry, Worldwide deals, great looking phones, great operating system, easy to use products, less competition from palm)" via mobilewhack.com
"The default page of the browser is Google.com (surprisingly), but it can be changed hands down. The Android’s browser supports scaling (tap the hardware buttons), history logs and bookmarking. You are allowed to navigate web-pages with the navi-key or by sweeping your fingers across the display (as far as the emulator is concerned, with the mouse pointer) The curious thing about the browser is that it doesn’t render the main page of Google Maps properly, despite employing PC’s resources for this purpose. This way, the only browser that can display Google maps is still the Apple iPhone’s Safari." Read more here:
printer version
"Chalk this one up in the rumor column for now, but it seems like May the 6th could serve as the date where HTC reveals the Dream handheld, the company's first smartphone to be powered by the Google Android operating system. The source of this rumor stems from the fact that HTC is hosting a major event in London on that day and the tagline for the event is "Witness the next wave of HTC Innovation."Up until now, the company has focused its attention on Windows Mobile, so it makes sense that the "next wave" has something to do with a shirt in their focus to Google Android. At the same time, it could just be some sort of el lamo reveal with a slightly modified version of Windows Mobile, maybe with a change to TouchFLO. We certainly hope it has more to do with Android though.
"For a man staring down Microsoft, Google, and Apple, Symbian's Nigel Clifford doesn't have the deer-in-the-headlights look as much as you might expect.Perhaps because, at the moment, those three juggernauts are staring up at Symbian. Clifford, CEO of the company since 2005, has a dominant share of the market for smartphone operating systems and a strong backer in Nokia, the world's largest handset maker.Still, Symbian is sitting on top of the market at a time when it appears destined for change. Apple's entry into the market has galvanized the American consumer, who is barely aware of Symbian's dominant presence in Europe and Asia. Google threatens to come at Symbian from underneath, hoping to unify mobile Linux and teasing carriers with the promise of mobile advertising revenue. Research In Motion shows signs it might be able to add consumers to its legion of CrackBerry addicts. And Microsoft is Microsoft; it hasn't replicated its PC success in mobile phones but it continues to steadily improve Windows Mobile and is sitting on a load of cash." Read more 
"The mobile phone High Tech Computer (HTC) has been developing to run on the Android software from Google will be called "Dream," have a large touchscreen and full QWERTY keypad, a person close to the situation said Thursday.HTC may become the first handset maker in the world to put out a mobile phone developed around Android , but it faces stiff competition from Samsung, a separate source said. Samsung has stepped up its effort to put out a Google phone, the person said.HTC's Google handset is just over 5-inches long and 3-inches wide, with a keypad underneath the screen that either slides out or swivels out. The aim of the keypad is for easy e-mail, note-taking, and writing Web addresses. Internet navigational controls are situated below the screen on the handset.The handset will likely hit the market near the end of this year, the person said.The company officially remained mum on the handset. "We cannot comment on this product," said Maggie Cheng, an HTC representative.Last November, HTC became the first company to admit to developing a mobile phone based on Android , although Samsung, Motorola, and other handset developers are part of the group dedicated to furthering the software, the Open Handset Alliance .Android, an open source software platform that includes an OS, is designed to take advantage of Internet services for mobility. The software could become a potent new rival to Windows Mobile and other handset operating systems . At the launch ceremony, Google announced that over 30 companies had joined the Open Handset Alliance."
"On behalf of the entire Android team, I'm happy to let you know that an updated version of the Android SDK — we're calling it m5-rc14 — is 
"The China-based ODM-maker Wistron has unveiled its GW4 smartphone at the CES 2008 show. This is a candy bar phone with an integrated QWERTY-keyboard and a touch-sensitive display and powered by MontaVista Linux 2.6. The device is peculiar for the support of a new open platform Google Android. The GW4 version based on it will be released in March. Probably it will be the first Google Android smartphone and come out to the market under the brands of biggest vendors, says a Wistron spokesman. Those vendors will set the price of the product.Wistron GW4 features modest specs, according to the company, this hints at Linux effectiveness. The current smartphone version works in GSM networks (tri-band for the US and tri-band for Europe and Asia). The 3G modification is expected late in 2008.
