Huawei Android smartphone to be showcased at MWC 2009

As you probably already know, Huawei’s foray into the smartphone market will brings us at least one Android handset.

And although this will happen sometime in the second half of 2009, the Shenzhen-based company intends to offer a preview of its first Android smartphone a bit earlier, namely during MWC 2009 (16 – 19 February).

According to Huawei’s official website, the smartphone will be presented together with the “first mobile phone based on one single UMTS chipset”, which seems to be an interesting device too.



Unfortunately, for the moment there are absolutely no details about the features and look of Huawei’s Android handset (the image above is just a mockup, of course).

Anyway, it will be interesting to see if the Chinese company manages to come up with something more attractive than HTC’s G1, or the recently leaked G2.

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Samsung almost confirms an Android smartphone for the first half of this year

Samsung’s first handset to run on Google’s Android platform might be closer than we think.

While until now there have been reports saying the South Korean manufacturer intends to launch an Android smartphone sometime in the third quarter of 2009, it looks like this will happen sooner, namely before mid-2009. 

PC World quotes Chi Young Cho, Samsung’s head of digital media and communications unit, who says that, in the first half of 2009, the company’s smartphones will come with “various OSes to satisfy the diverse needs of our customers.”

Sure, there’s no word ‘bout Android in there, but it’s very likely that Mr. Young Cho had Google’s platform in mind when mentioning those various OSes.



Apart from talking about smartphones, Samsung’s official also said that their touchscreen phones scheduled for H1 2009 will come with upgraded functions (including the UI).

Well, Sammy, we’re waiting to see what’s cooking there in those Korean labs of yours.

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Get your hack on: unofficial multi-touch support released for Android



We've been hearing for months now that both Android and the T-Mobile G1 hardware have some magical, top secret low-level support for multi-touch, but unless we can... you know, do something with it, it really isn't doing anyone any favors. That's where the lovely people in the ever-industrious dev community come into play, throwing together demos on their way to a full release that you -- yes, you -- can finally install on a G1 of your very own. It's still in the proof-of-concept phase, but the load does include a multi-touch version of Android's excellent browser, probably the single app that could use two fingertips more than any other. Needless to say, you should be installing this jazz at your own risk -- but considering the number of hoops you need to jump through to get it up and running (hint: you need to start by gaining root access), the whole process should be enough of a deterrent for the casual types who can't take a hiccup here and there. Video of the included multi-touch map browser app (among others) in action after the break.



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Dual-Sim Android Phone to Debut at Mobile World Congress

General Mobile’s DSTL1 will be shown off at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month, featuring dual SIM slots, a 400 x 240 screen, and running on Android. Apparently the hardware will see a few changes from these shots in order to accommodate the OS, but you get the idea. Full specifications include:

    * Dual-SIM cards with dual-Standby mode
    * 624MHz Marvell PXA 310 processor
    * Tri-band GSM/EDGE support (900/1800/1900MHz)
    * 3-inch WQVGA touchscreen display, 260k colors
    * 802.11b/g WiFi support
    * Bluetooth
    * 135g (4.75oz), 112 x 54 x 16mm (4.4 x 2.1 x .6 inches)
    * 5 megapixel autofocus camera with flash (made by Sharp)

Regardless of specs, that’s a much sexier looking Android device than the G1. We can expect to see this one in Q3 of 2009.

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Lici na Diamond/Touch Pro 

T-Mobile dude promises more 'G series' phones this year



In an interview with FierceWireless, T-Mobile USA's senior VP of engineering and operations (and newly-minted chairman of 3G Americas' board) Neville Ray has slipped a couple juicy morsels in the process of talking up his carrier's ongoing 3G rollout. Besides mentioning that T-Mobile wants to double its 3G footprint in 2009, Ray says that "we will be launching more G series phones and other products... in the coming weeks and months." If we had to guess, this probably (hopefully) has something to do with that HTC Sapphire we've seen floating around lately. What's more, you'll see T-Mobile start to ramp up peripheral support this year -- gotta monetize that multi-billion-dollar network somehow -- with a modem launch. All told, these guys still have a long way to catch up in the 3G race with Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint -- but if you want bleeding-edge Android stuff, looks like they'll continue to be your best bet for a while.

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O2 Germany to launch up to eight Android phones this year?



Look, this quote is one that could easily be blown way, way out of proportion, but here's the story for you to interpret in any way you see fit. Over in Munich at Innovation Days 2009, an O2 product manager was quoted as saying that "by the end of 2009," it wanted to have "six to eight" Android-powered mobiles out. 'Course, we've already heard that Google-based phones would be trekking to Nordic regions in the not too distant future, so we wouldn't be shocked to see a few filter down to Germany as well. But seriously -- six to eight? Most likely, this fellow was speaking in terms of what he would love to see happen and less about what he knew was coming down the pike. But hey, we'd absolutely love to be wrong about that.

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Archos to release Android phone / tablet



We're guessing we'll hear more about this at MWC, but TI just let loose a press release crowing about Archos's use of the OMAP3 processor in an upcoming "Internet Media Tablet" that runs on Android and also doubles as a phone. No pictures yet, but the spec sheet makes it sound like a hotrodded Archos 5: five-inch screen, up to a 500GB hard drive, a battery capable of 7 seven hours of video playback, and Flash support, all in a package just 10mm (.39 inches) thick. The underlying OS will be Android, but Archos plans to really beef up the media features -- there's even mention of HD video playback. That sounds seriously sweet -- if Archos ditches the current mushy resistive screen in the 5 for a capacitive unit, this could be a knockout Android device when it launches in the third quarter.

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Samsung's Android phones delayed, won't show up at MWC



Looks like Samsung will be one of the few companies not to show off an Android device at next week's Mobile World Congress. Head of marketing for mobile device division Younghee Lee told The Guardian that none of their Google-powered handsets would be making it out to the show. As for that June launch on Sprint and T-Mobile we heard about back in December, the new plan is to launch in the second half of this year. Hey, at least we've got the i8910 to look forward to.

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TeleNav launches GPS navigation for the G1



They finally, really did it. Have you been lugging around that G1 and a GPS unit, grunting disdainfully every time you have to bust the latter out? Well it looks like TeleNav has heard your cries of disgust. The company is officially launching its turn-by-turn GPS navigation for the Android-powered device come February 24th. The software will feature full color 3D graphics, speech recognition, one-click rerouting, and traffic alerts, as well as weather updates, gas prices, and restaurant reviews (the PR claims over 10 million business and services). The service will launch with a 30-day free trial, after which it'll run you $9.99 a month. While we can't say we're too stoked on the price, it's still not too terrible of a fee to pay to actually put that GPS chip to use (and save some room in your glove compartment). Convergence: we're almost there.

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