The first shots of what certainly appears to be Philips' first Android handset have emerged from China.
The V808, as it's called, certainly looks Androidy enough, with a 3.2-inch, HVGA display, and it will supposedly boast a 3.2 megapixel camera and video recording.
In Philips fashion, we can probably expect to see it Xenium branded, but as yet, we have no other details on specs, pricing, or availability, and sadly the phone isn't powered on in any of the photos.
QiGi i6 is probably the only dual OS smartphone in the world, capable of running both Windows Mobile 6.1 and Google Android.
Powered by a Marvell Monohans 624MHz processor, QiGi’s i6 Goal features a 2.8-inch LCD touchscreen display, a 2 Megapixel camera, support for GPS and a microSD card.
It also has WiFi and Bluetooth support. The i6 works with quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE but no 3G. It has been slated for a China-only release at this stage.
At least three Chinese companies have put Google's Android operating system on mobile phones they say will launch in Europe this year.
Beyond Radio Technology, an unknown Chinese handset designer, is the latest to announce such plans. The company's Android phone will go on sale in Europe this year, and later in China and Taiwan, a company engineer surnamed Liu said by phone Friday.
The company has four partners that will brand and sell the Android phone, Liu said, declining to give their names. The partner launching the phone in Europe is a global brand, he said.
Chinese companies Huawei Technologies and Haier have also revealed plans to sell Android handsets in Europe. Huawei has said T-Mobile will launch its Android phone there during the third quarter. It first announced the 3G handset, which resembles the iPhone, early this year.
Haier, best known in China for its air conditioners and refrigerators, will release an Android handset in France around September, a marketing employee at the company said in an e-mail. A mock-up of the 3.2-inch screen phone was on display at a Singapore trade show last month.
The phone from Beyond Radio Technology has a 2.8-inch touchscreen and supports Wi-Fi, but not 3G or EDGE. A future version will support 3G, Liu said.
The phone's designer, based in the southern Chinese manufacturing base of Shenzhen, posted pictures of the phone on its Web site this week.
"We think Android is the future direction for mobile phones," Liu said, citing Android's open-source code and low cost as its strengths.
Manufacturers are putting the Web giant's Android software in home management devices and remote controls.
In a sign that Google's Android mobile platform has a future far beyond cellphones, San Francisco-based start-up Touch Revolution says a string of well-known companies will introduce a range of Android-powered household gadgets before the end of the year.
The devices will fall into three basic categories: home control devices, media control devices and home phones, says Bill Brown, Touch Revolution's vice president of marketing. All the gadgets will feature touch-screens in sizes ranging from 4.3 to 10 inches, support Android as an operating system, and connect to the Web through wi-fi or wired ethernet. Depending on their purpose, they will sport bases (for perching on a desk or kitchen counter) or have a flat, tablet shape for handheld use or for embedding in a wall.
Brown says the new devices capitalize on Android's strength as an open operating system with sophisticated communications features. The home control devices are designed to talk to major household systems, such as lights, locks, security and heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC). The media devices play a similar unifying role in the entertainment realm, allowing users to program their digital video recorders (DVRs), remotely control their stereo systems, and view TV listings directly on the gadget's screen.
Touch Revolution is calling the third category of products, "smart phones for the home." These cordless phones, meant for indoors use only, will communicate via radio waves like typical home phones or through voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) on wi-fi.
Each of these devices could be programmed to do even more. A home phone could act like a digital photo frame, for instance, given the right software. As Android devices, they will be able to access the same applications written for Android cellphones unless the companies marketing them limit that feature.
Expect to see most of the products before the end of the year, in the U.S. and elsewhere. Brown says Touch Revolution is working with "companies with major brands" on upcoming launches. Touch Revolution provides the touch screens and Android features, encapsulated in a module. Its partners then customize the hardware and software, if they choose, and bring the product to market.
Why use Android at all? Brown says its partners liked the operating system's ease of use, openness and touch-centric features. They also regarded it as a bargain since Google ( GOOG - news - people ) is distributing it for free.
Though just 17 months old, Touch Revolution boasts some flashy credentials. Founder and Chief Executive Mark Hamblin spent more than five years at Apple ( AAPL - news - people ), eventually rising to senior product design engineer.
The HTC Hero has received a reasonably extensive review over at Engadget.
Their verdict: Mostly great, a few complaints with the placement of the back button (great for lefties though, which is excellent news for me), an improved camera experience, great industrial design, a little sluggish perhaps as a result of the new HTC UI tweaks.
As rumoured, Motorola's first Android phone appears to be the QWERTY sliding Morrison. No further details at this stage, according to the previously released HTC 2009 roadmap, it's due to land between November 4th and December 31st.
Remember those leaked screenshots of Sony Ericsson's Android interface, rumoured to appear on a product code-named Rachael? Mobile phone retailer Expansys appears to have completely spilled the beans by putting up the said phone for pre-order under the name Sony Ericsson Xperia, complete with pictures.
As previously speculated, it will come with a 1GHz processor and an 8-megapixel camera. What's also interesting is its 10Mbps HSPA support, which is faster than most other smartphones out there. Here's a summary of its specifications:
* 4-inch WVGA (800x480) display * Quad-band GSM and dual-band WCDMA * 8-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED * HSPA (10Mbps uplink/2Mbps downlink) * 3.5mm audio connector * Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, A-GPS
So far, all Android devices come with HVGA (320x480) resolution screens. It will be interesting to see how the Google mobile OS will work with so many more pixels at its disposal. No details on pricing and date of availability were listed, so we'll just have to wait for the company's next move.
HTC has upped its predicted portion of Android phones from 30 to 50 per cent of all devices in 2010.
Following the success of its first three efforts, the G1, Magic and Hero, the Taiwanese phone maker will likely focus less on Windows Mobile and more on the mobile Google OS.
Ok, we reported yesterday that a device apparently known as the HTC Click. Replacing the trackball is a 5 way D-Pad.
Latest is that the Click is expected to use the Qualcomm Brew Mobile Platform and not the HTC Sense UI over the Android platform as was previously reported. That may change again, who knows in these crazy times.
The device is rumoured to emerge in September or October.
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