android

We're listening in on the Garmin Press call about the nüvifone G60 that they'll be co-releasing.  They're pretty pumped about their synergistic strategic alignments (or somesuch corporate-speak), the news is that nüvifone will soon expand into a "broad range of devices." The G60 will be shown off, but more imporantly a new model be fully unveiled at MWC09, and apparently more will come later this year.

It looks like they're trying to stay mum about just what OS they're planning on using long-term.  As we said before the G60 is some custom ROM and the next device isn't likely to be Android.  Given one of these partners is Asus, it's still a good possibility that the announced device at MWC09 will run on Windows Mobile.  Later on, though, all bets are off.  Both members are part of the Open Handset Alliance and it will "be part of the strategy moving forward," so WinMo might not be the long-term solution.

If you're interested in the business aspect, it's a straightforward "contractual alliance with profit sharing" and co-branding.  In other words, no mergers or acquisitions here, they're just working together.  Both companies are free to do whatever they'd like with other gadgets, they're just working together on smartphones.

You can try to hunt down more deets at garminasus.com, but it's  pretty slim pickings.

Having trouble deciding between Windows Mobile and Android?  Just can't decide which one to take the leap with?  If you're not a fan of hacking Android onto a pre-existing Windows Mobile device, Israeli computer module developer Compulab may have the solution for you.

Compulab has introduced the Exeda that will run both Android and Windows Mobile 6.1. The box-like smartphone has a 3.5 inch VGA touchscreen, a capacitive touchpad that serves as a mouse, and is powered by a 520MHz Marvell CPU. Loaded with 128mb RAM and 512mb of internal flash memory, the Exeda has built in GPS, Wifi, Bluetooth and a 10/100 Base-T Ethernet port. The networking appears flexible to allow resellers to choose from quadband GSM/GPRS, CDMA, and 3G UMTS. While not the slickest of designs, it's definitely a unique phone. No word on pricing but it is expected to be available sometime in March of this year.

[via Android Central, read: Engadget.com]

Here's a Chinese copy that brings the best of current operating systems. The QiGi i6 is pretty much a knockoff of the HTC Touch, in looks anyway. Under the hood we have the following:

• Marvell 624MHZ processor.
• 256 megs ROM/128 megs RAM.
• 2.8-inch QVGA screen.
• WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth.
• 2MP camera.
• MicroSD.
• And it comes with either Windows Mobile, or Google's Android operating system.

This is an either/or deal. There's no dual-boot. The phone either runs Android, or it runs Windows Mobile. Don't really think the hardware's beefy enough to do both anyway.

But this certainly isn't the first time a device has been offered with more than one operating system. Palm's been doing it for some time with its Garnet OS and Windows Mobile, albeit with subtle differences between devices, as seen in the Treo 700p/700w/700wx and the 750 and 755p.

eprice.com via unwiredview

You may not realize it, but the site you're reading right now is a part of one of the premier networks of smartphone news and review sites. We call it the 'Smartphone Experts Network' and if you haven't heard, we've recently added a new member to our family, Android Central. That brings the number of our smartphone communities up to five sites. You can find links to these sites and to their latest stories either in the sidebar or footer of every SPE site.

I thought now would be a good time to introduce a new weekly blog post I'll be putting up at each of our sites called 'Around SPE,' which will give you a very quick roundup of the biggest stories at each of our sites. Now, 'big stories' are just a tiny part of what we offer, as each of our sites also feature vibrant communities, engaging podcasts, and also accessory stores if you're looking to make your smartphone a little better.

In addition to our new sister site, there's also some other SPE Network news to share, so follow me after the break to learn more!

Let's start with a quick note about Smartphone Experts:

Beyond the launch of Android Central, there's also a couple other things that may interest you. First and foremost, we're going to be launching the 2nd Annual Smartphone Round Robin on November 17th! If you're unfamiliar with the Round Robin, here's how it works. An editor from each of our five sites must, for one full week, give up their smartphone of choice and use a competing smartphone. During the course of that week, each editor will be publishing a review of that new smartphone from their unique perspective. It's a great way to gain insight into how all these different smartphones work.

We have chosen our devices for this year (it was tough!) and everybody's getting ready to give up their own favorite phones to try their hand with the others. We're going to mix things up a bit this year with some multimedia coverage and maybe another surprise or two -- so stay tuned! If you want to get caught up, you can check out all the articles from the 1st Annual Smartphone Round Robin here.

One other quick note -- I'm an RSS fiend and I figure maybe some of you are too. I've created a Combined RSS Feed for the SPE Network that mixes all of our daily postings in a single feed. Heck -- you can even Subscribe to SPE Network by Email. I'm going to go ahead can call the combined feed a “Beta” for now, there are a few kinks to work out in our system. The good news is the URL will always stay the same.

Alright, enough of that, let's get to the news of the week!

-Dieter Bohn, Editor in Chief, Smartphone Experts

The biggest news of the past week in the entire smartphone world is -- without question -- the release of the T-Mobile G1. At Android Central, we've been covering the news from every angle. The most important angle has to be our full reviews of the device.

If you're unfamiliar with Android, our video overview of the platform is a great primer. If you're interested to hear how this first ever 'Google Phone' is from a hardware perspective, our hardware review of the T-Mobile G1 has you covered. Finally, we've also published a full review of Android on the G1. Grab yourself a tasty beverage and dig in. If you have any questions about the G1 or about Android in general, be sure to stop by the new Android Forums.

Over at CrackBerry.com, you'll find there was a lot of news out of the first-ever BlackBerry Developer Conference. While the BlackBerry App Center/App Store news was big, perhaps the most exciting takeaway wasn't made in the form of an announcement at all, but rather that RIM is becoming a much more sociable company as they focus their energy on the consumer market. Day 1 and Day 2 highlights give a good impression of what went down at DevCon.

Who are we kidding? The biggest news of the week was that Kevin has posted his full hands-on review the BlackBerry Storm!

One of the best things about Windows Mobile is the multiplicity of devices available for the platform. This week at WMExperts.com has been a pretty good example of that. We gave one of the first reviews of the Samsung Epix on the web, looked forward to the AT&T Fuze, and celebrated the official launch of the Touch Pro on Sprint.

A story that may have flew under your radar is a roundup of rumors coming from what appears to be an insider at HTC. If you're of a more technical bent -- or just want to see what sorts of crazy hacks are possible on Windows Mobile, check out Registry Edits I Have Loved.

The iPhone Blog has been focusing on how The iPhone made huge financial numbers this week for both Apple and AT&T, with almost 7 million iPhones sold -- (temporarily?) eclipsing both Blackberry and Windows Mobile. Just imagine what an iPhone HD could do! At 5500 Apps and 200,000,000 downloads to date (some of which you can win right now in TiPb's AT WORK contest!), however, questions remain as to whether or not developers for the iPhone's market defining App Store will likewise enjoy the “long tail” of success.

Over at TreoCentral, we read that Access recently unveiled their new version of the Access Linux Platform (ALP). Although not strictly-Treo-related, it is an interesting look at what might-have-been for the Treo. Access is the company that ultimately purchased the rights of Palm's original next generation platform, then called Cobalt, before scuttling it. It will be interesting to see if ALP picks up any traction against Android or Palm's upcoming OS.

We also learned that Sprint is finally joining their competitors in trimming the outrageous fees they charge for early termination of cell phone service contracts. In an interview with the Associated Press this week, Sprint's CEO, Dan Hesse, said Sprint could start lowering the fees as soon as December, pending updates to its billing software.

That's it for this week, folks! Stay tuned for more details on the Smartphone Round Robin and be sure to say hello over at Android Central!

Today's the day, the T-Mobile G1 is coming. Our brand new baby sister site, Android Central, is covering the big news in rapid blog-post-style. If you're fearing that Android is going to take down Windows Mobile, well, we're a little sympathetic. We suppose it's worth noting that Windows Mobile hardware can run Android, actually, it's already been done on the Tilt.

We recommend you check out this quality article at PC Mag by Sascha Segan, which argues fairly convincingly that it's not Windows Mobile that need be afraid, it's feature phones. Android probably won't be feature-competitive with WM (at least for awhile, anyway), but a free and extensible OS is just what the crappy UI on your standard free phone needs. So there's some breathing room there, Microsoft, though we hope you're using it to push Windows Mobile 7 out the door more quickly before it becomes hyper-ventilation room.

Anyhow, welcome is due to our new kid sister blog, Android Central. Go on and give her a noogie.

Never one to be left out of the smartphone rumor mill, Dell now is rumored to be possibly working on a smartphone.

Maybe.

In an interview with Om Malik, founder Michael Dell drops the following bombshell:

"We are certainly looking at the whole smartphone category, but I wouldn’t expect anything anytime soon."

There you have it, folks.

OK, he did talk about five opportunities that Dell is looking into - consumer business, mobile computers, emerging nations, enterprise and medium/small businesses. And he did note that he's not ready to go public on any plans to work with Android or Symbian.

So that's more than enough to get things going. Let the speculation begin!

Read the GigaOM interview (via Engadget Mobile)

It looks like Microsoft might have a little extra time to fine-tune Windows Mobile 7 before Google unleashes Android, its Linux-based open-source platform aimed to directly compete with WinMo and Apple's iPhone.

The Wall Street Journal, largely quoting unnamed sources within U.S. carriers, reports that Android likely won't see the light of day until the second quarter, and that customers won't be able to purchase devices until the fourth quarter, at the earliest.

The report says because T-Mobile is taking up so much of Google's attention scrambling for a fourth-quarter launch, Sprint Nextel is feeling left out - and may scrap its plans for a 3G Android phone in lieu of a "4G" WiMAX device. The WSJ also reports that Sprint's desire to customize the Android OS instead of just slapping its name on the case is adding to the delay.

Or, as Google's Andy Rubin, the man behind the Android curtain, appropriately said, "This is where the pain happens."

So what does this mean for Windows Mobile? Is should allow a little extra time to perfect WM7, and it might even inspire carriers to release a few more WM6.1 upgrades. But we're not holding our breath on that.