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A Croatian start-up company called Shout ‘Em has created quite the killer app for Android – the first mobile phone-based social network platform. The Shout ‘Em platform allows quick, low-cost start-up of small social networks for companies, friends and others who do want the power of running on mobiles without the risk associated with such a venture. The goal of Shout ‘Em is to “…provide tools and services so that [a mobile social network] service can be started with minimized risks and investments. It also helps [the] customer to stay focused on branding, promoting and building up a community and not to worry about technical details, scalability and reliability.”

Shout ‘Ems claims to have iPhone, Windows Mobile and Symbian clients also in the works. Guess that leaves out LiMo, eh?

It all sounds very businessy, but they also claim that it’s built for everyone right down to the end-user. They’ve put some money where their mouth is by already creating a user demo for the Android emulator (available in the Android SDK). Jump on over to Shout ‘Em’s download page for an awesome demo video.

As we all know, T-Mobile will have rolled out it’s new 3G network by October 1st in 20 major cities in the US. Allegedly, the flagship phone for the new network will be the evasive Android-based HTC Dream handset. According to the source, the phone will be launched with three other non-Android-based models including the Sony Ericsson Z780 and possibly the Motorola ZINE Z5.

Some of the other cities where T-Mobile is expected to offer its 3G service by the end of the year, include: Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Birmingham, Ala.; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Detroit; Houston; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Memphis,Tenn.; Miami; Minneapolis; Long Island, N.Y.; Orlando, Fla.; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Sacramento, Calif.; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; Tampa, Fla.; and Washington, D.C.

Thanks for bearing with any downtime you may have experienced in the last four hours, AndroidBoards just got moved to a new hosting company – enjoy the new speed!

Some crafty coders over at InternetTableTalk were able to (with more than a bit of effort) get the Android platform up-and-running on the Nokia N810. Seems as though Nokia devices are a bit partial to Android, which comes as a surprise considering Nokia’s new efforts in open handsets. Let’s hope it’s a sign of things to come. Check out the install instructions after the break (they’re super easy).

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The Wall Street Journal decided it would be a good idea to stir up some negative buzz over Android by announcing that it is “delayed” and won’t be released until “Q4 of 2008″. And how is this different from what Google has been telling us? I think not. But, we thought we might as well report it considering there has been so much unnecessary buzz over the issue.

Sure, we’ve seen plenty of Android demos in the last 8 months, but it’s not every day that Andy Rubin steps in to give a demo of the OS. That’s exactly what he did for CNET Asia the other day. Rubin used a device that “had a shape and dimensions very similar to the HTC TyTN II”, but CNET was not allowed to photograph the device. Rubin stated that the OS requires a minimum 200Mhz processor, so we know whatever the device was it ran at or above that speed. Read the rest of the article over at CNET.

Android-lovers, get excited. Google has officially confirmed (or shall we say reconfirmed) that Android-powered phones will be out the door before the end of ‘08. Not particularly anything new here, but certainly a reassuring quip for all of us anxious to get our hands on the HTC Drea… er… the new Android phone, whatever it may be.

The source for the video below is unknown, but that doesn’t keep the rumor mill from grinding away at full speed on this one. Android has been shown displaying Google Maps data and allegedly making a phone call. Of course, this all could just be smoke and mirrors, but assuming it isn’t, this shows the power of Android even on older tech like the N95. Just for reference, the HTC Dream – purportedly Android’s debut handset – has about 3 times the power of the N95 as far as processing is concerned. Check out the video after the break.

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Every now and then, we’ll address some of the questions popping up in the AndroidBoards inbox (admin@androidboards.com) . These can range from silly to serious to satirical – send them in and we’ll get to them… eventually.

Q: When do you expect to see the first mainstream adoption of Android in the consumer market? And what carrier will be the main proponent?
-ohadev

A: As far as the carrier, it’s fairly certain that T-Mobile will be one of the main proponents. Unfortunately, this means that the “Top Three” carriers in the U.S. will be tagging along behind, which could result in a slower consumer adoption of Android handsets.

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Rich Miner, Google’s head of the mobile-platform division,  reveals a few details about Google’s larger plans for Android.

Q: Why get into the phone business?
A: I wouldn’t say we’re getting into the phone business. Our mission is to organize the world’s information and make it accessible. In many parts of the world, people are never going to have computers. They’re going to have mobile phones. We’re just using phones as a way to deliver on our mission.

Q: Aren’t there other open-source phones out there?
A: There’s open-source, and there’s what the industry refers to as open. There are other Linux-based initiatives but all of the other things you need to build a phone, like media codecs [software decoders], Web browsers, phone dialers, databases, security models—all that stuff is built on top of Linux in ways that aren’t necessarily open. Linux ends up being a very small portion. Everything a developer needs to build a phone, we’re releasing open-source.

Q: Have you seen any particularly impressive or original applications?
A: Somebody wrote an application that would notify him when the bus was turning down his street so he wouldn’t have to stand out in the rain.

Q: Will an Android application have a sort of security seal of approval to let users know that they’re not junky or vulnerable to hackers?
A: The Android platform protects the user from buggy applications. Software can’t read your address book or dial your phone without your knowing about it, for example. But we don’t want to put big hurdles in front of a developer to have to go pay and get something certified and stamped for every single handset they want to be on. We think that’s one of the things that limits innovation.

Q: Do you use an Android phone now?
A: Yes, and I have been for a year. It’s called dog-fooding—in our industry, to “eat your own dog food” is the phrase.