Author: Phil Nickinson

General Motors this morning announced it is adding even more Android to the upcoming Chevy Volt — and we’ll check it all out this week at Google IO.

We’ve already seen the Chevy Volt app for Android when it debuted at CES in January, and it’ll be upgrated later this year to add Google Maps features, including voice search and Google Maps Navigation, wich we’ve enjoyed on Android 2.0 and up for a while now.

What we’re really itching to see is what OnStar has up its sleeve in regards to Android.

“While OnStar will never lose sight of our core focus on safety and security, this relationship is an example of how we’re evolving our leadership position in connected vehicle technology,” Chris Preuss, OnStar president, said in a news release. “What we’re talking about today is only the beginning.”

Indeed. More this week as we get it. [via GM] Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

Google today purchased Global IP Solutions, a $68 million move that could pave the way for a more native video chat solution (sorry, Qik and Sprint) for Android smartphones, possibly in gmail, or Google Talk, or maybe some new native app.

GIPS recently showed off its VideoEngine software, which you can see above. And between this, the Evo 4G and Qik, and the expected video chat on the next iPhone, we may well be ushering in a new connectivity era for smartphones. Stay tuned. [via Electronista]

Just a reminder, everybody, that we’ll be liveblogging the keynotes Wednesday and Thursday from Google IO in San Francisco. Be sure to check back in if you want the latest in Android news, as it happens.

The latest numbers are in showing how many devices are using a given version of Android, and we’re slowly but surely getting more and more on Android 2.1. Devices on the latest version of Android ticked up to 37.2 percent, from 23.4 percent for the two weeks ending May 3. Android 1.5 (Cupcake) and 1.6 (Donut) were down to 34.1 percent and 28 percent, respectively. That’s about a 3-percentage-point drop for Cupcake and 1-percentage-point for Donut.

Anybody want to guess how long it takes before we start complaining about how many devices are languishing on Android 2.1, with Froyo expected to be announced this week? (And if you really want to get into the nitty gritty, there are now stats for screen sizes and densities.) [Android Developer Blog]

What’s better than one Android tablet on Verizon? How about tablet(s). Big Red CEO Lowell McAdam said as much over the weekend at the Reuters Global Technology Summit in New York. But before we get to that, let’s talk LTE — Verizon’s 4G network that it expects to have ready to rock in the first half of next year. McAdam said three to five LTE-capable phones will be ready by May 2011 (at least one of those has to be Android, right?), with Motorola, HTC, LG and RIM among the manufacturers.

Then there are the tablets. Yes, McAdam said "Android tablets," as in more than one, and Motorola, LG and Samsung were named as the birthers, which would launch late this year as 3G devices but would be upgradeable to LTE later on, most likely. [Reuters] Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

The good news: The Android Market web page has gotten a bit of a freshening up ahead of Google IO this week. The bad news: It’s not that much more useful. Sure, you can browse more apps (and do so in a much more intuitive way). But what we really want to see is some actual connectivity between the site and our phones — much (or exactly) like App Brain. We need to be able to purchase, mark for install and rate apps from a web portal. Not just from our phones, and (definitely) not from a stand-alone program on a computer.

Is this redesign a precursor for things to come? We’ll find out this week, we guess. Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

It’s no great secret that Cox (as in Cox Cable) is working on on its own wireless service. And low and behold, it appears that Cox may have been using at least one Android phone for what likely is network testing, but maybe more.

Behold, an unbranded CDMA HTC Hero (of the Sprint design variety), purchased off Craigslist for $230. It features a Cox boot screen, which isn’t necessarily strange on a test device, though it’s an interesting detail to add for something that’s not public. It’s running on 1xRTT (our source says he couldn’t get EV-DO working), and it the network’s clearly labeled as "Cox."

Yes, we know this is all stuff that’s easily replicated, so we all need to take this with a little grain of salt. There are more pictures and video after the break for your disbelieving eyes. Thanks, S!

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You didn’t think we’d let the Sprint Evo 4G launch without giving one away, did you? Here’s what you have to do to win the biggest, baddest Android smartphone from the biggest, baddest Android blog:

Just reply to this thread in our forums and tell us what feature you’re most excited about in the Evo 4G. Maybe it’s the massive 4.3-inch screen. Maybe it’s the full 1GHz Snapdragon processor. Maybe it’s the 4G WiMax data speeds. Or the 8-device WiFi hotspot capability. Or the HDMI-out. Or the two-way video chat. Or the simultaneous voice and date. Or its ability to overthrow small nations (roaming charges may apply).

Tell us here, and we’ll pick a winner on June 1 — the Evo 4G will be available June 4 — and we’ll make you the coolest kid on your block. Good luck!

Win a Sprint Evo 4G from Android Central

HTC today announced the Wildfire (you might remember that name from a contest HTC ran), essentially the Desire squeezed down into a 3.2-inch screen, with a lower price the end result. (That’s also known as "entry level" these days.)

The screen itself is QVGA, so it’s not as high-resolution as you get on the Desire, Nexus One and the like. But it does have a 5-megapixel camera the new HTC Sense, WiFi, Bluetooth, aGPS, 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD card and Europe’s 3G bands. It also features the same trackpad found on the Desire and Legend.

The Wildfire also features a new widget that lets you recommend an application by e-mail.

Pricing was not announced, but the Wildfire should be available in Europe and Asia in the third quarter. Full presser after the break.

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Android 2.1+ Two weeks ago, Twitter announced it was developing its own official Android app. Today, that client was released. You can find it now in the Android Market. [link] There’s been a bit of gnashing of teeth over whether Twitter is effectively stabbing outside developers in the back. But after just a few minutes with the app, that’s certainly not the case yet, for a couple reasons. One is that the app is open source — Google will release the code. The other is that, so far, the app is pretty simple.

That’s not to say the app is bad. Far from it. But it’s pretty basic. It currently only handles one account at a time (that’s a deal-breaker for me). Tweets are displayed simply but effectively. You won’t have a problem reading them. All of the usual features are there — search, retweet (only native retweets, unfortunately), picture upload, etc. But the bells and whistles that you find on such apps as Seesmic and Twidroid keep them at the top of our must-have Twitter app list for now. Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments. [Twitter] Thanks to everyone who sent this in! Screenshots after the break.

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Want more on the LG Ally for Verizon? We’ve got it. It’s in a commercial for "Iron Man 2," and it’s clearly running Android. That keyboard looks pretty darn usable, but the D-pad could be interesting. We’ve confirmed that in fact it’s Android 2.1 with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and 5MP camera, with all the usual bells and whistles. We’ve heard a mid-May launch window, but that’s still up in the air.

The commercial points us to LG.com/ally, which in turn points to lgim2.com, which says more is coming today. But that’s it so far. Check out the commercial after the break.  Thanks, J Blair!

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Looks like the maintenance update that was being tested on the Cliq XT is now being rolled out to everybody. It’s in two parts, so you’ll need to do both of them. The update brings you fixes to:

• Improves Overall Phone Performance
• Visual Voice Mail Enhancements
• Bluetooth Audio
• Camera Correction
• Screen/Display Performance
• Text Messaging Improvements
• Touch Screen Enhancement

And we’re reminded that, no, it’s not Android 2.1. Gonna have to wait a little longer for that. [T-Mobile]

For you folks in Australia using the HTC Desire on Telstra, know that there’s a software update available that should en your GPS woes. You can download it over the air (either WiFi or network), or directly from HTC, though doing it from the desktop will wipe the device. [HTC]

Adobe responded to Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ attack on Flash yesterday by dropping a fair big (and well-directed) bombshell of its own: A public preview will be given in a few weeks at Google IO (we’ll be there for it), and Flash will see general release for Android in June. Said Adobe CTO Kevin Lunch in his "Moving Forward" post:

We look forward to delivering Flash Player 10.1 for Android smartphones as a public preview at Google I/O in May, and then a general release in June. From that point on, an ever increasing number and variety of powerful, Flash-enabled devices will be arriving which we hope will provide a great landscape of choice.

Now all Adobe has to do is deliver. And it damn well better work well out of the box, or the pitchforks are going to be raised pretty quick. [Adobe] Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

While you slept, Cyanogen released his Android 2.1 ROM for the HTC Hero Dream and Magic (that’s the G1 and myTouch 3G, respectively). Most of the bells and whistles are there, save for the new launcher (app drawer) and stock live wallpapers. And while his ROMs for the Droid and Nexus One are painless (and pretty damn awesome), this one comes with a tad of caution because you have to load the "DangerSPL" to get it to work. And if an SPL flash goes wrong, your phone is pretty much bricked. Full instructions are here.

Meanwhile, it looks like Best Buy Mobile is gearing up for some sort of official update to the Hero. As for exactly what or when? Check back later.

Seems like only yesterday that we were talking about the HP Compaq Airlife 100 Android netbook — oh, wait, it was, both here and on the special Emergency PalmCast Broadcast in the wake of HP buying Palm for $1.2 billion. Anyhoo, we got a good look at the Airlife 100 at Mobile World Congress but had seen neither hide nor hair of it since. But, as expected, it’s now available on Telefonica in Spain, bringing its 10-inch screen and 1 GHz Snapdragon processor for about $300, not counting data plan. [Carrypad via Slashgear]

Oh, you wanted to know about the LG Aloha, did you ? Sorry, alls we have here is the LG Ally — which is what we’re told the Aloha actually will be called — and it’s said to be destined for Verizon in the middle of May. Specs should still be about what we’ve been told for the Aloha (aka the LU2300), with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 3.5-inch AMOLED touchscreen at 480×800 pixels, QWERTY keyboard, Android 2.1, 720p video out, 5MP camera and the kinda-weird round D-pad. More or less par for the course these days. More on the Ally as we get it.

Let’s take a quick look at the new Skyfire 2.0 browser for Android, shall we? Full page rendering? Check. Flash video? Check. Bells and whistles? Check and check. Our quick verdict: So long as you’re not worried about any privacy concerns regarding proxy browsers, this could easily become your main browser.

It’s Verizon’s first commercial for the Droid Incredible. Impressive. Most impressive. [YouTube link]

Here’s Skyfire’s promo video for its new Version 2.0 browser, which should be available for Android any time now. (It’s not appearing in the market, and the manual download link’s not working yet either.)

Anyhoo, check out the video above, and we’ll give Skyfire the what-for just as soon as we can. [Skyfire]