Although it’s not set in stone, we felt it was necessary to go ahead and release some information regarding all of the G2 rumors. Turns out some mentions by HTC indicate the G2 will be ready in the first half of 2009, and possibly another Android phone is in the works as well. All of this, of course, has either been fully denied or confirmed by either HTC or T-Mobile, but it’s very safe to say that it’s a go for the G2 in mid-2009.
Garmin Asia Pacific marketing director Tony An has purportedly stated that a “bunch of new handsets from Garmin powered by Google’s Android platform are set to ship sometime in the second half of 2009″. While this is the only news we have regarding functionality, you can be sure they will include at least as many features as the nuviphone as well as some top-notch GPS functionality. Apparently, the manufacturing process will be contracted out to a compant like HTC, although no specific word on which company is yet available. More news is sure to come on this one.
EDIT: Not so fast, says Garmin. Apparently a statement is being worked on right now to debunk the claims made by DigiTimes this morning. So much for getting our hopes up. We’ll keep you posted when the statement is released.
EDIT 2: Wired seems to have picked up the story as well and is still spinning it as confirmation from Garmin that an Android phone is in the works, although it’s not clear whether they are aware of Garmin’s reaction to DigiTimes’ post. Engadget seems to have the story straight, stating:
The company says that “the story contains a number of inaccuracies in both sales figures and product rollout schedules,” and while it does say it has “an Android-based phone under development,” it also reminds us that Nuvifone won’t be it; instead, Garmin’s first modern entry into the world of telephony will be based on a proprietary build of Linux, as was originally planned.
Samsung’s long-awaited Android phone release now has a relatively set date: Q2 of 2009. The 80 person Android development team at Samsung has been working on the phone for an unknown length of time, but one anonymous member of the team was quoted as saying:
“We will be able to release the Google phone in the second quarter of the next year in the U.S. market.”
The new phone will closely resemble and incorporate design factors from both the Omnia and Instinct, something that is sure to make Samsung + Android fans happy. The phone will either include both a CDMA radio for Sprint users and an HSDPA/UMTS radio for T-Mobile users or have separate versions for each network. No word on price is currently available, but should be available around Q1 of 2009.
A new application called AndNav2 brings free real-time and turn-by-turn navigation capabilities to your favorite handset (the G1, of course). The release is public alpha, so be wary of bugs, but free is free and the developers sure look like they know where they want this project to go. Audible directions are also available with the included Text2Speech library. Apparently, small advertisements embedded in the application facilitate the free nature of the app, but they seem to be relatively non-intrusive. Address search, POI lookup and contact entry are all supported in the alpha. Check out a video below:
Android just announced the release of a new development branch named “cupcake“. Cupcake supposedly includes new application features including ”bug fixes, a video recorder, the ability to save MMS attachments and more.” Other improvements include better bluetooth support, HTTP handling and improved JavaScript functionality. Although this branch is strictly marked as development, these features and likely more are sure to be included in a release in the new future.
Sure there are some great applications in the Android Market for stay up-to-date with sports, but Google once again has to trump them all and release the killer app - Google Scoreboard. Straight from Google, Scoreboard allows you to: “Access daily sports scores for Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, Soccer, and College Sports. Get Live in-game notifications for your favorite teams.” Check it out in the Android Market, it’s totally free.
Just when you thought no phone could look better than the iPhone, here comes the Lenovo Ophone. Intended for use on China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA (Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access) 3G standard, the phone boasts some of the sleakest looks we’ve ever seen. Not much is known about functionality other than included SD card expansion slot and a single hardware button (reminiscent of you-know-what’s single front-facing hardware button). The pictures also show a 5.0 megapixel camera embedded right into the back. Details are sure to come, but for now feast your eyes on what could possibly be the best looking phone ever made.
Though some may doubt Sprint’s commitment to Android, a quip from Sprint featured on InternetNews.com seems to disprove any speculation of Sprint’s infidelity to Android:
Sprint is engaged with Android — no need to question our commitment.
Thanks for the opportunity to share our perspective
Sprint is actively engaged with the Android community; for competitive reasons, we have not been specific about the timing of an Android phone from Sprint.
Sprint is a charter member of the Open Handset Alliance.
Sprint has a long history of leadership in working closely with developers to encourage them to create new content that can be offered on Sprint phones. The Titan platform is an example of Sprint’s work with the developer community. Our participation in the OHA and our work with the Android community is another example.
Though the source from Sprint is unknown, the comment seems very well-worded and confident about an upcoming involvement with Android.
Visa has broken new ground for Android with it’s recent release of the Visa Mobile application. As the first of it’s kind for Android, we’re bound to see some updates and changes in the near future. But for an initial release, the application offers some valuable features for Visa cardholders. These include instant alerts on your handset so you can track charges to your card as they occur and quickly realize if someone is using your card. You’ll also have access to “Offers” which can be redeemed at locations quickly identifiable by the included Store Locator.
The “Offers” and “Locator” features are nice, but of primary importance for most cardholders is the ability track purchases made with your card in realtime. Check the video after the break for a great demo of the application.
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