Author: Stephen Tenerowicz

Late last week, the Android 2.1 update for the Motorola Droid was leaked to the XDA Developers forum. Interestingly, within the build was something I found extremely cool: live wallpaper!  Does this mean live wallpaper will be included on the official build? Maybe, but I still wouldn’t put money on it just yet. Check out the video below to see live wallpapers in action.  If you want the ROM, you can get it here.  As always, flash with caution so you don’t brick your device! What do all of you think? Do you want live wallpapers? Tell us your hopes, dreams, and wishes below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Source: Droid-Life

Boy Genius Report is reporting this morning that Verizon Wireless is currently in the process of training some of their employees on the Google Nexus One. Apparently the information BGR has is based on some e-mails which were bouncing around between curious customers and well-informed reps.  If these rumors are true a launch may be imminent. This news also makes me wonder: does this mean the handset will actually be sold in Verizon Wireless retail stores? Possibly, but I wouldn’t put money on it.

Wherever the phone ends up getting sold it will certainly be available through Google’s webstore, so anyone interested will definitely be able to get it there.  How many Verizon customers are interested in this phone? Would you give up your Droid for it? Let us know in the comments.

Source: BGR

Image Source: Engadget

HTC’s two new hottest phones have made an appearance on Amazon UK!  It looks like the HTC Desire and HTC Legend are going on sale April 1st, 2010.  The Legend will run you $600, while the Desire (which I desire) is going for a whopping $800.  Hopefully we will have prices that are a little more affordable when the carriers get a hold of these handsets come Spring! So, any Android fans getting one? Leave your comments below!

Source: Engadget

Attention Nexus One users: do not sit on your Nexus One! The Nexus seen above, owned by Crave UK, just randomly cracked while being charged. According to HTC’s technical support, the damage seen above could not be caused by charging, but by “putting a phone in a tight pair of jeans and sitting down.” HTC is also saying that it will cost around $270 to fix a cracked screen!  Has this happened to any of you out there? If it did, did it happen while charging? Leave comments below.

Source: Gizmodo

While this might not exactly constitute news to everyone, it is certainly something many people will be interested in. Apparently the leaked Android 2.1 Droid Eris Rom we told you about last night has already been ported to the HTC Hero! It didn’t take XDA long at all! If your interested in getting it, you can find it here! It is still pretty buggy, but everything seems to be working. As always, flash with caution so you don’t brick your device!

Source: XDA

Well folks, the kids over at XDA Developers are at it again! According to the team over at Android Central, earlier this evening HTC Sense 2.1 was leaked via XDA for the Droid Eris! From the picture and what I am reading in the forums, it looks to possibly be legit. This one is still pretty hot.  As always we will bring you more news as it develops.  Oh yeah, and if you want it, you can get it here!

Source: Android Central

Image Source: Android Central

It seems those Android home phone rumors that surfaced a few months back just might be coming to fruition. Earlier today it was announced that Motorola will be bringing the Motorola HS1001 Android Cordless Phone to the US this summer.  Made by the company Binatone, the device will be branded with the name Motorola and sell for around $150.00.  The phone will be WIFI equipped, feature a 2.9-inch touch display, and include a browser.  Unfortunately, however, the phone will not have any Marketplace support.

I should note that the handset will come with a speaker-equipped charging station, which will enable you to play your favorite music while docked! Pretty cool! It’s no Nexus One or Desire, but will serve as a fine home calling option (home phones still exist?).  Lucky for us, Engadget got a look at one!  We thank them for these images! So Android people, will you be getting this handset?

Source: Engadget

Image Source: Engadget

We have some good news this morning for Canadians. According to the team over at Boy Genius Report, MOTOBLUR will be coming to all three major Canadian carriers in the form of the Motorola DEXT, the Motorola BACKFLIP, and the Motorola QUENCH tablet. Unfortunately we do not have any news on who gets what, but we do know these devices will be released by the first half of 2010. That is all we have for now, but stay tuned for more information on this one.

Aloha Android and Google Voice fans! Over the last few days, Gizmodo and Lifehacker have featured several posts detailing the adventures of Google Voice Master Chad Smith.

According to the folks over at Lifehacker, Smith was able to synchronize his Google Voice ringing schedule with his GPS Location with little more than a Google Voice account, a web server, and the Locale Android App.  Essentially Smith created a mobile service that knows where you are and knows what phone to ring. For instance when your in your house, your home phone will ring, instead of your cell. For those without a server (including myself) this seemed a little much.  However, now, with the release of Google Voice Locations v0.1, Android fans have much easier solution.

Overall, Google Voice Locations v0.1 is a very simple and easy to use Android app.  After getting, it I loaded it up on my Nexus One and entered what phones to ring when I am located in a certain areas.  This was extremely easy and straightforward. Honestly, that was pretty much it.  The app runs in the background, using the cell towers to determine your location. (GPS will be included in a future update). Unfortunately it is only v0.1 at this time, but even so, it worked great for me! Honestly, I can really see Google incorporating something like this into their own Google Voice service sometime in the future.

Load it up! Let Android Guys know what you think! P.S. This does not work on Android 1.5. Sorry!

Source: Androlib

Attention Canadians: Android Guys has some news regarding the Rogers’ HTC Magic.  Very soon you will notice something different when you go to look at the HTC Magic at your local Rogers’ Store.  Is it a new finish? No.  Sorry.  What about a sleeker look? No again!  Well folks, the handset has been re-branded at the HTC Magic+.  You might be asking what exactly does the + mean?  Well you get all the same features, such as the 3.2-inch touchscreen display (resolution of 320 x 480), 3.2 megapixel camera, and the Android Market (with paid apps soon, hopefully!) Actually, the + seems to be referring to the addition of the HTC Sense UI, which has multi-touch capabilities. Oh, and the Magic+ will be getting it’s very own 2.1 update toward the middle of the year!  I don’t know about you, but 79.99 sure seems like a good price.  If I didn’t have an HTC Hero  already, I would definitely be checking this device out.

Source: Mobile Syrup

For those of you who are interested in buying a My Touch 3G V. 1.2(you know, the one with the 3.5mm headphone jack, ram boost, Swype keyboard, and a 8GB micro-sd card ) you better hurry up and be resourceful.  According to the team over at TmoNews, supplies are dwindling and the popular Android device has been removed from T-Mobile’s handset upgrade program until March. If you can’t wait until mid to late March, T-Mobile suggests you look for other T-Mobile retail locations that might possibly have them.  Good luck!

Source: TmoNews

The HTC Incredible, the supposed Verizon phone which appeared a few weeks ago is back! This time the phone is in Verizon’s inventory system. Is a launch imminent? While nothing is for certain, we can only speculate that it might possibly be coming soon. 

According to Gizmodo, the phone is going to run Android 2.1  with a Snapdragon processor and 256MB of RAM.  Reports are also claiming that it will sport either a 3.5  or 3.7-inch WVGA display. We can only hope this device will be appearing soon. I for one, can’t wait to get my hands on it. Check out the video below if you want to see the device for your self.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Source: Gizmodo

Distimo, a Dutch app store analytics firm, has finally completed their research on the six major mobile app stores: iTunes App Store, BlackBerry App World, Google Android Market, Nokia Ovi Store, Palm App Catalog and Windows Marketplace for Mobile.  Their findings analyzed store size, store growth, most popular applications, and where you can find the best deal.

The good news for Android users, is that Distimo has determined that Android has the highest percentage of free apps (57%) and has an average of 3,005 new apps written each month. Relative to the number of apps, Android actually has the fastest growing app store of all of them!  Interestingly, in terms of the average price of paid apps, Android, Apple, Nokia, and Palm were all in the same range, while RIM and Microsoft were twice as high.  This is good news for Android fans! Let us hope the market continues to grow and apps stay at a reasonable price.

Source: Distimo

Well folks it seems that the relationship between China and Google has gotten even lower.  According to Android Central, Google has reportedly canceled a Nexus One developer event in Beijing.  Apparently Google was set to introduce the Nexus One along with other latest and greatest Android handsets to  Chinese developers.  Reuters is reporting that the event is still going to be happening in Hong Kong and Taiwan, so it is very likely Google canceled this event out of principle.  Overall, it is not immediately clear how the standoff between China and Google will effect Android adoption in China, but I for one am not hopeful.

Source: Android Central and Reuters

The CEO of Sony Ericisson, Burt Nordberg, is raising some eyebrows with a statement he made concerning the Nexus One recently to the Swedish publication Sydsvenskan. According to the folks over at Engadget, Nordberg stated in an interview that Sony Ericsson was originally offered the chance to build the Nexus One for the Big G, but refused.

Nordberg states that Sony Ericsson is committed to building only its own-branded hardware and will not be a subcontractor to anyone. Tough words Burt, tough words. Oh well, it isn’t like Sony Ericsson is losing business, they don’t need anything from Google, or do they? Now it’s time for your thoughts Android fans.  Was this a good decision by Sony Ericsson or not?

Source: Engadget

The news from Mobile World Congress keeps pouring in! We have learned that Adobe is currently in the process of readying a mobile version of Adobe Integrated Runtime for running  both Flash and Web applications outside of a browser.  Adobe expects to make mobile AIR available for Android and RIM BlackBerry devices, and perhaps for other platforms as well, said Adrian Ludwig, Adobe’s marketing director for the Flash platform.  Interestingly, the mobile version will provide users access to content they previously could not reach, Ludwig said. Users, for example, will be able to share screens across systems using the Adobe Acrobat Connect online service via AIR on mobile systems. “Our goal is to provide a consistent runtime that spans devices, inclusive of [mobile and] desktop operating systems,” he said.  For example, someone who uses an Adobe Air application on the desktop should in theory be able to use that application on a mobile platform provided the specs are there!  For those interested, take a look at the AIR demo below!

Click here to view the embedded video.

While this might not exactly constitute news, many Android 1.5 users will be happy to know that the popular News and Weather app(which comes with a widget) in Android 2.1 has been ported to Android 1.5!  Also known as the “Genie Widget,” the News and Weather app has been available unofficially for Android 2.0 and 1.6 for quite some time now.  In fact, my wife is happily using one on her G1 as I write this this. As it is quite popular, many had wondered if it was available for Android phones that operate using 1.5 operating system.  Now, thanks to someone’s good work, we do! For those of you who are unfamiliar with the app,  it is the same Android 2.1 News and Weather app which provides both custom news and weather.  Within the widget users can choose to see just the weather forecast, just the news, or both the news and the weather.  As an HTC Hero owner, I can tell that the 1.5 port is fully functional and works great. Thanks XDA!  For those interested it can be found here!

Source:  XDA Developers

This is purely a rumor for now, but Android Central is getting reports that Sprint will be updating the Samsung Moment to Android 2.1 on February 22nd. The Moment is currently running Android 1.5, so Android 2.1 will be a great addition for users of this phone as they will get all of the goodies that come with the new operating system.  According the team at Android Central the updates are to hit on Feb. 22 and users will have to actually update their handsets at local Sprint store.  As always we will keep you updated to on any other news we hear! Let’s hope this rumor is true!

Source: Android Central

Canalys has announced that the majority of smartphones sold in 2009 were touchscreen phones. Canalys is also reporting that 7.7 million Android handsets made up 4.7% of overall smartphone sales.  For those of you counting that is a 1074% growth from 2008!  That is quite a big step for one year! For those wondering how Android will grow to be the world’s #2 operating system by the year 2013, see below. Any guesses on what the growth will be by 2011?

Via: AndroidAndMe

Dell and Android fans should be happy to see this one.  The Dell Mini 5 has earned FCC approval with 3G bands needed for AT&T, Rogers, Bell, and Telus 3G.  While this has been rumored for a while and Dell officially said they were launching a device for AT&T, this is the first confirmation we have that the device is actually the Dell Mini 5.  RF tests reports this as a “mobile internet device” with support for WiFi plus full HSPA on WCDMA bands II and V (that’s the coverage needed by AT&T, Rogers, Bell, and Telus) plus EDGE on the same frequencies. Hopefully we will be getting our hands on this device very soon.  Personally, I can’t wait.

For now however, we get to live vicariously through Engadget’s  hands-on.  There’s a pair of galleries and short video up online now.  Check back for more as we can get it!