If you’re a twittering Android user, you probably already have your preference  of Twitter applications on Android Market. But if you’re still looking for something better, you might want to check out Seesmic which recently landed on Android Market (and BlackBerry devices).

The application features 4 tabs: Timeline, @Replies, Direct Messages, and Profile:

If you press “Menu” you can also refresh, compose or mess around with the applications settings. Check out a few official videos of the app in action:

The folks at CNET tested the application and seemed to like it for the most part, but they pointed out a few quirks. First of all, it only provides support for one user which SHOULD bode fine for the vast majority of users, but for folks who have a personal account and a blog or company account, it presents a problem. The keyboard not automatically popping up when you compose a message is also listed as an irritation – things I’m sure they’ll fix sooner rather than later.

Give Seesmic a Twhirl and lets us know what you think. ( <— See what I has did ova thurr?)

Yesterday, Sony Ericsson held a Press Event in Sweden to demonstrate their upcoming first Android Phone, the Xperia X10. We’ve got video from that event to give you a glimpse of what it was like, but more importantly some juicy details about the device are starting to emerge:

First of all, the Xperia X10 looks poised to arrive at AT&T. The Sony Ericsson X10 page has been updated with more detailed specs and it lists the following:

Networks
GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
UMTS/HSPA 800/850/900/1700/1900/2100

The above shows compatibility with both AT&T and T-Mobile but the following line nixes T-Mobile as it explicitly takes out the necessary 1700 band T-Mobile needs for 3G:

UMTS HSPA 800/850/1900 only available for phones sold in Americas (except Brazil) and Australia. UMTS HSPA 900/1700 not available for phones sold in Americas. UMTS HSPA 1900/2100 available worldwide.

That official product page shares some other interesting tidbits, for example while it notes inclusion of Google Maps in the connectivity section, we also see that the X10 uses Wisepilot™ turn-by-turn navigation. Since the X10 won’t launch with Android 2.0 it would preclude it from having Google Navigation in the first place, but when the update comes will it still have Wisepilot, defer to Google Nav or provide the option of either?

Also shown is “Video Light” that provides “More light when shooting video”. The camera has a flash and I’m assuming this just keeps the flash on while video is recording – a small inclusion but a pretty cool one. Why other phones don’t already offer this? I have no clue… it probably sucks up some much desired battery life but if you want to take a night video, you want to take a night video.

While I can’t find this now, we got a tip from Jordan who wrote in to tell us about the X10 “Gesture Control”. It apparently included the explanation that you can “silence the call or alarm simply by moving your hand across the camera lens.” Pretty cool indeed.

But how much will you pay for pretty cool? If a few online retailers who are taking pre-orders for the unlocked X10 are on target, that $879 price isn’t far off, andhow disappointing that will be. The folks at MobileCityOnline are pre-selling both the black and white X10 for $999 although no expected date is included:

Meanwhile the lucky folks over at Mobilyz.com (translated to English) go a chance to get hands on the device and posted a nice video of the X10 in action on YouTube:

The “Cape Times” they keep mentioning isn’t a popular Swedish newspaper… its Google translate trying to make sense of TimeScape for Sony Ericsson Nexus. Just a friendly heads up!

For the UK’s Acer fans, the wait is almost over! According to UK retailer Clove, the Acer Liquid A1 will launch in the UK later this month.

The Acer Liquid A1 will be sporting a Qualcomm 1GHz Snapdragon processor, which will be underclocked to 768MHz. It also features a 3.5 inch WVGAcapacitive touchscreen, 512 MB of ROM, 256 MB of RAM, a 5 megapixel camera, GPS, WiFi, 3G, and a 1,350 mAH battery. It will also come with a 2 GB micro SD card. All of this is in line with what we’ve heard earlier.

Indeed, it appears that Rob was ahead of the game back in October when he wrote this article back in October. The phone will not be running Android 2.0, but it seems that “Liquid” is the name of Acer’s custom UI. Liquid, as Rob stated earlier is a non-invasive enhancement, a happy medium between MotoBlur’s social focus and HTC Sense’s almost complete overhaul. Acer has designed some new widgets, a new multimedia dashboard, a new dialer, and a task managing app switcher.

So far there is no word on a U.S. release date, but the phone will be launching in the UK at the end of November for £286, or $481. With its sleek design and excellent specs, Acer is sure to make a splash in the realm of Android when the A1 launches!

[Via Geek.com, blog.clove.uk]

Android Market is far from perfect, but perhaps the situation is worse than we thought. According to Reuters, Gameloft and other large companies developing games and apps for Android are pulling back support for the platform, noting a lack in ROI. They say that the iPhone distribution model provides MUCH better visibility, leading to sales, leading to revenue – something that has disappointed them with Android .

The article should serve as a strong warning shot for Google that, while they have a TON of irons in the fire, they need to make Android Market a priority because DEVELOPERS are much of what fuels the success of Android:

BARCELONA (Reuters) – French mobile phone games company Gameloft said it and other software developers were cutting back investment in developing games and other applications for Google’s Android platform.

Android has won attention in the mobile industry lately, with Motorola and Sony Ericsson choosing it for their new top models.

“We have significantly cut our investment in Android platform, just like … many others,” Gameloft finance director Alexandre de Rochefort said at an investor conference.

Rochefort said the company has cut back on investment mostly due to weaknesses of Android’s application store.

“It is not as neatly done as on the iPhone. Google has not been very good to entice customers to actually buy products. On Android nobody is making significant revenue,” Rochefort said.

Games for iPhone generated 13 percent of Gameloft’s revenue in the last quarter. “We are selling 400 times more games on iPhone than on Android,” Rochefort said.

Developers – do you feel the same way? Have recommendations for Google on how to improve the market immediately? What needs to be done?

In the last 48 hours most of our Sprint Hero readers are reporting major performance improvements in Sprint’s latest firmware update.

According to user comments from our firmware report people in general have experienced better picture quality, more function buttons during calls and a faster UI interaction.

James writes, ” I noticed there is now a speaker and mute icon on the touch screen during a call. You had to click the menu button and select the options from there before this update.”

While Pet reported, “the camera lag is shorter,” and “more ring tones.”

Overall, the update was supposed to address issues with:

• Boot caching issues.
• Broken app names.
• SMS draining the battery.
• Not Receiving SMS messages when the Inbox is full or low on memory.
• Memory leak due to connected bluetooth device.
• Stereo headphone sound quality.
• Hero dialer using too many CPU resources.
• Daylight savings time issue.

However, not everyone has enjoyed a pleasant firmware upgrade.

Brooke wrote, “I did the update, then restarted the Hero – now my pictures are constantly blurry, it looks like I’m taking them through a plastic film.”

Adding to the upgrade issues Lucas stated, “I no longer have a connection to the internet. Disabling/Enabling the internet connection does not fix.”

There are still a couple of people who have not received the update. This might be due to their network reception issues or Sprint selecting a few users to see how well the update goes.

The Motorola Motus we’ve been hearing about lately might just be renamed the Motorola Backflip – the company recently trademarked the name and with the form factor we’ve been shown, it would make sense. But there may be more than meets the eye: AndroidAndMe got an anonymous tip of leaked specs that include a “reverse flip keyboard” and “rear directional touchpad”. Yeah… Backflip I think it is.

With WCDMA Band 4 support it appears the Motus will do a Backflip right onto T-Mobile’s lineup. Yesterday we saw the first leaked image, today we get leaked (and rumored) specs:

• 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM7201A
• 512 MB ROM
• 256 MB RAM
• 3.1 inch display 320 x 480 (HVGA)
• 5 megapixel camera with LED flash
• WiFi / Bluetooth 2.0 / GPS
• OS Android 1.5 with Motoblur
• GSM 850/900/1800/1900 W-CDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100
• Reverse flip keyboard
• Rear directional touchpad

Who has this on their radar?

PS: I failed to come up with a pun mixing “radar” with “android” or a  related term. RobotDar? DroiDar? Andar? Robdar? Nearly impossible. So pretend I made a funny and laugh to make me feel like the time was well spent. Thanks.

PPS: Was just talking with Taylor Wimberly who mentioned the word “Motus” actually means “Gesture”… this is like a game of Clue. Motorola killed Mr. Motus in the Billiards Room with a Backflip?

In the  DockRunner video, some of you noticed that my homescreen had a neat little custom clock widget that sported the Phandroid logo. I got a few comments and Emails asking where you – the awesomest readers and subscribers in the world – could get that widget to show your Phandroid love. Wait no longer!

The widget was created as a “just for fun” project by NoOneHereYet who is an AndroidForums.com Moderator. But today, our friend made a post on his blog and published Phandroid Clock Widget on Android Market so you can download it now!

If you’re having trouble, just search Android Market for “Phandroid” and you should be good to go. Also note that if you have Phandroid News downloaded, pressing on the clock will load the Phandroid News Android Application so you can get all the latest posts in super-clean fashion directly on your Android Phone!

Thanks a billion to NoOneHereYet for all his hard work… not only on this widget but for his continued leadership on Android Forums. Round of applause ladies and gentlemen!!!

PS: If you visit NoOneHereYet.com you can download the APK directly and also download an alternative version of the clock that, instead of launching Phandroid News, will launch Phandroid.com in the browser.

It’s been a month since we’ve peeped a word about the Motorola Motus, but since its supposed to launch in the 1st quarter of 2010, its about that time for the rumor mill to start churning. And what we have here is an alleged leaked photo of yours truly:

The keyboard looks super-flat which is one comlaint I have with the Droid – and like the Droid it is only 4 rows. Nonetheless its probably pretty thin, has a 5MP camera and looks like with the keyboard closed it will be pretty attractive. Only a rumor for now, don’t take this as a definite legit picture, but we’ll keep you posted.

[MotoFan.ru via Engadget]

There was a time when mobile carriers would try to distinguish themselves based on the service they provided and their pricing plans.

“The times are a-changin’,” and ever since the iPhone, mobile carriers have tried to make phones the face of their company.

AT&T = iPhone

When most people think of the iPhone they also think of AT&T. The iPhone and its marketing revolutionized the mobile phone industry. Not only did they make an appealing product, but Apple made AT&T part of its brand in a way.

Majority if not all of the iPhone commercials seem to come from Apple. Not only until the end of the commercial do we see or hear about AT&T and their “On the fastest 3G network” slogan.
Though AT&T does have it’s “More Bars” and “Rollover Minutes” commercials they are not as prominent on the air waves.

The venture between these two has merged the Professional with the teen market to create one product that is cool, professional and efficient. Something that was missing, since BlackBerries were not sexy and SideKicks are too teenybopper.

However, come Q1 2010 Dell’s 3iX, which runs Android, will hit AT&T’s stores. It should be interesting to see how AT&T decides to approach and promote the phone and OS.

T-Mobile = Android

T-Mobile was synonymous with Android for a while. Ever since the G1, Android fans embraced T-Mobile and Google’s open source policy. However, T-Mobile did not really make the G1 its face. Instead, they waited until the myTouch 3G to come out this past summer.

They then rolled out the CLIQ and re-invented their pricing plans to be about half off AT&T’s and Verizon’s pricing plans. Oddly enough, T-Mobile hasn’t really made a big promotional push with their new pricing plans.

Sure they rehired Catherine Zeta-Hotness to be the face of T-Mobile once again, and got Oprah and the Black Eyed Peas to make a 1 hour Oprah episode to push mytouch 3G, but they haven’t made their new pricing plans stand out. In fact, they have only released one commercial explaining their new pricing plans and another one saying they are cheaper than the rest.

Instead, their push for Android has gone as far as creating brochures displaying Android based phones and Top Ten paid and free apps.

These pics were taken from TMonews

In Europe they have these sing along commercials.

Why not walk around with the Promo phones and have people call their friends off the T-Mobile network. Change the slogan to “connecting people” or something along those lines. Something that shows off the phone, their network and people getting together having a good time.

Verizon = Droid

In an attempt to take down the iPhone, Verizon has decided to ridicule its carrier, AT&T and Apple.

Verizon is known for expensive plans and the “Can you hear me now?” commercials, but as of late the word Droid has become synonymous with Motorola and Verizon.

Many customers have complained about Verizon’s lack of “cool” phones and the way they handicap their phones by making you pay extra for features others get free.

However, with two Android based system, the Gestapo-like carrier is taking a big step in letting the Motorola DROID define Verizon as a carrier.

Not to mention their push behind the Open Hand Alliance (OHA).

Before the Droid, the most exciting phone in their line up was the HTC Touch Pro 2. A phone that every carrier has. But with Droid, Verizon has the most advanced released Android phone to date.

It’s running Android 2.0. -First.
ARM Cortex 550MHz processor – The most powerful cpu with Android.
3.7″ touch screen. – The largest screen on any Android.
5MP camera with dual LED flash – Best flash of any android.
Google free turn by turn navigation. -First.
And the most 3G coverage in the states.

Based on reviews the Droid is comparable if not more capable than the iPhone. It has all the features except the multitouch function, which is disabled for some daft reason.

Sprint = Palm

Oh Sprint! One of those Goodbye Songs should be written about half of your advertising/marketing department. Though I must confess to liking their Now Network commercials, the lack of “A” product has really back fired on Sprint. The CDMA carrier had pent up all of its pennies on the Palm Pre and its Oompa Loompa sized keyboard. However, expected numbers for Pre sales are said to be less than stellar. Not to mention that Sprint has lost over 50,000 customers in the last year.

Currently, Sprint has two Android based phones, the Sprint Hero and Samsung Moment. None of which Sprint has done commercials for or any type of real advertising. Well, unless you count a press release and this yet to be aired commercial.

The Sprint Hero is one of the best selling phones and was the most talked about Android Phone for a better half of the year.

I can see how low sales on the Pre can make a struggling company think twice about associating itself with a product, but don’t handicap your product by just letting word of mouth be your advertising.

The phone has gathered great reviews. Reviewers have generally praised the Sense UI and the phone’s solid build. Why not jump on your own phone’s bandwagon? Don’t just sell it short by stating the Hero has “a thousand of apps” and that it’s “customizable.” The phone does what the Pre does with less horsepower and more apps.

Call it vanity or excitement, but carriers are realizing that people will pay a ridiculous amount of money for a phone they like. They’ll even pay a $200 early termination fee from one carrier to pay $200 more on a new phone and a more expensive plan.

It seems the light calling the mosquitoes is not the features a carrier provides, but rather how “cool” a phone is represents how profitable a carrier will become.

Writers update:
1. Clearing up the multi-touch statement above. Though the phone itself does allow for multi-touch to be used through 3rd party apps, Google has not integrated the multi-touch functions into their browser and Google like products.

The gPhone is still dead.

Despite two years of fighting off the gphone vs. android phone fallacy, people still didn’t get it. Starting with industry analysts who perpetuated the distant rumors, trickling all the way down to consumers who had no clue what Android was or is but have heard about some sort of Google Phone or gPhone, it was inevitable that we would always arrive at this dead end rumor. And frankly, I grew tiresome of having to re-explain the position every. single. time.

Then I called a couple people idiots.

That’s right – TheStreet.com published an article citing several souces, most notably Ashok Kumar and Michael Cote, both of whom lent their support that an actual Google Phone – the one I had denied for 2 years – was actually coming. Idiots. Not this again. So I did what any irritated blogger would do – I called them idiots.

Suprisingly enough, Michael Cote from The Cote Collaborative himself followed up with me and over the next several weeks we engaged in a number of conversations. I was skeptical/cautious, but I try to keep an open mind… and then he told me a few things in confidence that turned out to be true. He told me that “Droid” would be a family of phones – not just the Motorola Droid. He told me that the HTC Desire would be launching as the “HTC Droid Eris” around the same time as the Motorola Droid. NONE of these things had been published elsewhere yet… and then Engadget broke the news a few days after we spoke.

He was a few days off on the launch date, but unlike other analysts randomly spouting off at the mouth, it was pretty apparent this guy actually knew what he was talking about. We did talk at quite some length about the puported gPhone rumors, and Cote suggested some ideas I had not heard before, but I didn’t feel it appropriate to share them. Not yet at least.

And then yesterday, TechCrunch resurrected the Google Phone.

First let me share you what TechCrunch is saying… and I’ll continue with what I’ve heard and follow up with my own thoughts. The two TechCrunch articles (here is the second) make the following claims:

• Planned for Holidays 2009, but delayed
• Launching January 2010
• Only Google branding… nothing else
• HTC, LG and Samsung could all be the makers… but they think LG is “the one”
• Could be data-only VoIP plans… no voice

So what did Michael Cote think about all of this?

• January is optimistic, “first part of the year” would be more accurate
• HTC is definitely making a Google Phone at Google’s request
• Google is assisting and providing input on hardware decisions, but after acknowledging less than perfect hardware decisions on the G1 (which they did dictate) it’s more of a collaborative conversation… with Google merely insisting on certain ideals.
• He can’t confirm/deny LG and Samsung Google Phones but thinks it unlikely at this point
• Could eventually alter the economics of the industry

Alright we should pause for a minute here. What in the HECK is going on? Didn’t Andy Rubin SPECIFICALLY say that Google was NOT making hardware and would NOT compete with their customers, quoted directly in a CNET article:

“We’re not making hardware…We’re enabling other people to build hardware,” and “Rubin, vice president of engineering for Android at Google, scoffed at the notion that the company would “compete with its customers” by releasing its own phone.”

These don’t X-out the possibility of a Google Phone. Whereas people first viewed Android as an attack on the mobile hierarchy, we’re now seeing companies like Verizon fully embracing the concept. And that might be at the heart of this “Google Phone” confusion. If Google were to make a Google Phone its pretty obvious they would want to tightly integrate Google Voice. But after AT&T banned Google Voice from the iPhone App Store, Google felt like no carrier would allow them entry and the Google Phone wheels started turning a little faster in Mountain View. The Google Phone would be their way of leveraging Google Voice. It wasn’t until AFTER this that Verizon Wireless and Google entered into their agreement – where Verizon mentioned they would allow Google Voice – and Google was already set on releasing a holiday Google Phone.

Perhaps Andy Rubin is looking at the mobile world differently and honestly believes that a Google Phone is bringing even MORE opportunity to its customers/partners by once again changing the way the industry is perceived, operated and valued. Basically, Andy Rubin could be working with HTC to produce a Google Phone (working with other people to build hardware) with the understanding it wouldn’t compete with current customers but instead provide new opportunities (data contracts).

Well, didn’t HTC CEO Peter Chou recently ridicule Google, calling their practices “destructive” in a recent interview:

“HTC’s loyalty also extends to Google, even amid reports that the search giant is developing its own Android handset. “Google tries to do things differently from the rest of the industry,” Chou notes. While some of Google’s actions can be “destructive,” Chou says, HTC still values the partnership. “We’ve worked with Microsoft for 13 years … I also believe we can work with Google for a long time,” he adds.”

That would lend credibility to a possible Google Phone being created but perhaps NOT by HTC. And oh yeah, another “What the heck?” moment – isn’t this “Michael Cote” guy that I’m now quoting as a source also the same guy that I called an idiot”

“It’s a bit of a departure from Google’s strategy, but I think the speculation is valid,” says Michael Cote of the Cote Collaborative. And as for getting the phone to the market quickly, Google “would probably use a partner they are familiar with.”

Yes, indeed. But just as I call people out, people have the ability to call me out… and I admit when I’m wrong. I’m not ready to full on admit that yes – a Google Phone is coming and I definitely won’t stand by a timeframe of January 2010. But at the same time, from my conversations with Mr. Cote I have to retract that “idiot” statement and it appears I may be making good on a little side bet (see the comments of the idiot article) and acknowledging my own idiocy.

But give me a LITTLE credit here – I have always said that for Google to enter the handset market with their own Google Phone, they would have to do something pretty mind blowing. They would have to deviate from the status quo. And I’m not talking about hardware decisions only… I’m talking about software decisions, distribution agreements, the whole shebang. And perhaps the pieces are now in place to make that happen.

According to another source, Google is not working with any particular carrier on the Google Phone but instead will sell the device through retail channels. A carrier negotiation isn’t out of the question but at this point, isn’t in the cards. In addition to Wi-Fi it will likely have either EDVO Rev A or HSDPA which are the data connections for CDMA networks like Verizon and Sprint and GSM networks like AT&T and T-Mobile (respectively). Representatives from the latter already allow customers to enter into data-only agreements that don’t demand a mobile phone service plan, so the idea is that the Google Phone would use these data connections to send and receive calls (VoIP) isn’t outrageous. In fact, several applications on Android Market do that now already… and I’m sure Google will be leveraging their new acquisitions (Gizmo5 and Admob) in this process.

So theoretically speaking, you could buy the Google Phone from a retailer at an electronics store, activate it on any carrier of your choosing (with regional limitations), enter into a drastically reduced monthly plan that is based ONLY on data connections, and use your phone just like you would your current phone. At home it would make/receive calls through Wi-Fi and on the go through a data connection. Yes… that is the kind of game changing move that might be worthy of a Google Phone and I think Peter Chou would be right to call that “destructive”. But hey, to build a much better bridge sometimes you’ve got to knock over the current one and start from scratch.

But it might not stop there… and please understand that this is PURE speculation on my part – but what if Google were able to really leverage their advertising network and the concept of geographic targeting to integrate a search and advertising solution in the Google Phone that would drive LOTS of revenue. The kind of revenue that makes up the bulk of Google’s profits with their Adwords/Adsense advertising system. Don’t you think that Google themselves might be willing to subsidize these phones considering that, without the subsidies of a mobile carrier, these phones would likely be a bit more expensive? Not that it will happen, but its something I’m sure all the players are thinking about.

Remember how AOL would produce seemingly billions of CD-ROMs and blanket the universe with them? They’re in your mailbox everyday, on every store counter, handed out at concerts – you can’t go anywhere without seeing one! And with every single one, AOL was giving away a free XX hour trial. Why? Because by paying for the CD-ROM manufacturing and giving a free trial, AOL was generating new customers, more eyeballs, more ad dollars, more subscriptions, more everything. That model worked brilliantly… and perhaps Google is going after the FREE mobile internet version of AOL. Only a mobile phone is a really expensive version of a CD-ROM!

I’m not ready to put my full stamp of approval on the Google Phone rumors being true. But I can tell you, if I were a betting man, 2 months ago I would have bet against a Google Phone being launched within the next year. Right now? I wouldn’t make that bet at all… and at this point it wouldn’t even surprise me. In fact, I’m kind of hoping I have to admit I was wrong all along and make that dreaded post because, come on people, there is no way Google would release their own phone if it didn’t absolutely rock.

Yesterday we announced that the Samsung Behold 2 finally launched at T-Mobile for $229 and while AF members are reporting they’ve been getting the phone for $199… allow Phandroid to save you $100 bucks. You can now buy the Behold 2 for $99 – a special price in the Phandroid Phone Store! Only new TMO customers can take advantage of this… sowwy.

At $229 the Behold 2 was the most expensive mass market Android out there… making it a bit less attractive. At $199 it was reasonable since thats where many Androids have started their lives. But at $99 the Behold 2 should be a LOT more interesting an option for potential T-Mo customers. Hopefully – if you wanted this phone but couldn’t afford the larger price – we helped you out!

When I first heard that the Xperia X10 would have a custom barcode scanning application and that the folks at Sony Ericsson were demonstrated it live on video I thought “Shop Savvy”. But when I heard the ACTUAL name – Prisjakt – my ears perked up. Not in a good “yummy what’s that” kind of way but more of an “I can’t believe you named it something so weird to pronounce” kind of way.

They reminded me I was an ignorant American (in the video) by explaining that Prisjakt means “Price Hunting”. As you can see, all of the menus are in a Swedish so I would assume when/if this launches in America it won’t be called Prisjakt:

Looks good… but SE will have to do more than this to make up for an expensive piece of middleware.

[Thanks Daniel!]

The promised February launch of the Xperia X10 may be put on hold but that hasn’t stopped information from flowing in elsewhere – a bunch of new information has poured in about the device and Sony Ericsson’s Android initiative in general. First off, what I’m sure you’re seeking most, hands on reviews of the device from Engadget and Gizmodo:

Engadget said their experience with the X10 was merely mediocre, noting a horribly half-decent experience with the UI that would sometimes lag terribly and other times be lightning quick, at seemingly random intervals. It has potential but these guys say it gets bogged down and slow rather quickly  and it needs a LOT of work – especially the software keyboard:

They’ve also got a video on viddler of the X10 in action.

The guys at Gizmodo had a similar experience of mediocrity but whereas others think software tinkering can fix the problem, this hands on suggests its more of an all-around problem:

The X10 is perfectly fine. It’s just that everything outwardly belies the specialness of what’s going on inside. The all plastic-build feels just slightly better than cheap, the shape is kind of awkward unless you have gorilla hands, the design—it all just feels, well, incredibly ordinary.

Not exactly what you want to hear from people craving Xperia Android goodness, but they DID say the camera is awesome which is pretty exciting. A video of them testing the phone out:

Both of these hands on reviews highlight two features of the Sony Ericsson Android experience – MediaScape and TimeScape. Together, they make up what the company is now calling Nexus – essentially their version of HTC Sense or MOTO BLUR. MediaScape is essentially your all-in-one media center and TimeScape is your integrated contacts manager. It’s nice to know that SE doesn’t FORCE you to use their solutions and Android’s default apps for media and contacts are easily accessible. Not that you would WANT to use Android’s built-in media player but hey, the option is all yours.

Developers will now have a chance to build apps in HTML, CSS and Javascript for this new SE Nexus platform with the invention of the company’s WebSDK and you can test your applications in a simulator called “PhoneGap”. Why that name? It doesn’t ONLY work for Android but you can develop apps that will work on Symbian as well. Yippee.

The question on most people’s minds is “how much will this thing cost?” The answer? A lot. The Wall Street Journal is reporting the phone will cost $879 without a contract. Even if a carrier were to offer a ridiculous $500 subsidy for the phone it would STILL be $379 and EASILY the most expensive Android Phone. Not to mention SE hasn’t exactly had the easiest time coaxing carriers into partnerships. If they’re going to be asking this much for the phone they better darn well fix the problems and make it undeniably awesome – which it clearly isn’t at this moment.

If you’re familiar with the electronics company Sharp – it may be because they produce you’re television. But little did you probably know, Sharp is also the largest manufacturer of mobile phones in Japan. But they’ve got plenty of competition, so to keep their edge over the likes of Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Kenwood, Toshiba, NEC, Denso, Pioneer, Sanyo, Kyocera, Hitachi, Casio, and others, Sharp will be launching an Android Phone in early 2010.

While no specifics were included and no carrier promised, company executive Masami Ohbatake did say that NTT DoCoMo “is expected to be first in line.” I don’t see that as anything less than an endorsement with the option to back out if DoCoMo somehow self destructs. Whether the Sharp Android Phone will make it to other Japanese carriers or better yet, other markets around the world, is yet to be determined.

We’ll bring you news as this story develops, but to be blunt, Sharp will likely stick to Japan for Android Phone Round 1.

[Via MarketWatch]

Everyone wants in on the Android Phone action and the latest player is now ZTE, at least according to rumors from Total Telecom. The Chinese manufacturer is thought to be pitching AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon in the United States as well as Vodafone and France Telecom’s Orange abroad, among other possible suitors. Next year we’ll likely see these rumors come to fruition.

Although the Android aspect of ZTE’s smartphone aspirations are a secret (not anymore), the company hasn’t been hiding their overall goal to push mobile devices as a new growth area for the company. At an event in China, the company’s Managing Director of Handset Business had this to say:

“We hope to sell our smartphone to these operators next year,” Dale Ying, ZTE’s managing director of handset business marketing, told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview on the sidelines of the GSMA Mobile Asia Congress in Hong Kong.

“We see big potential in the smartphone market. We are targeting to ship more smartphones in the coming few years which will help to improve our gross margin.”

The Android rumors aren’t surprising – pretty much every company looking to bolster their smartphone share is looking into Android if not already developing and manufacturing for the platform. The more the merrier as far as I’m concerned!