T-Mobile UK today unveiled the latest addition to its market-leading AndroidTM range: the T-Mobile Pulse Mini, which will be available on pay as you go, priced at £99.99. The device is the sixth Android smartphone for the network and follows the Samsung Galaxy Portal (i5700) and LG InTouchMax (GW620) announced last month. The Pulse Mini is a slimmed-down version of the T-Mobile Pulse, which became the world’s first pay as you go Android handset when it launched last October. Manufactured by Huawei, the new version boasts a 2.8 touch screen, 3.2 Mega pixel camera with LED Flash and runs on the latest Android 2.1 software. Unlike its predecessor, it also features a 3.5mm headphone jack, with a memory expandable to 16GB for storing music, photos and movies.

The Pulse Mini, manufactured by Huawei, runs on the newest Android software (Android 2.1). It features a 2.8 touch screen interface, 3.2 Mega pixel camera with LED Flash and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It will be available to pay as you go customers for £99.99.

[via T-mobile UK]

Today AT&T and Motorola announced that the Motorola BACKFLIP ™ with MOTOBLUR™ will be available in AT&T stores nationwide and online at www.wireless.att.com beginning March 7. BACKFLIP features a unique form-factor with an original reverse flip design, spacious keyboard and BACKTRACK™ touch panel, allowing the display to be hands-free while one’s fingers work behind the screen. BACKFLIP runs on the nation’s fastest 3G network and is powered by MOTOBLUR™, Motorola’s Android-powered content delivery service created to make phones more personal and socially smart. Customers can see photos and learn more at www.att.com/backflip.

BACKFLIP is the first Motorola device to feature the new and unique BACKTRACK™ feature which gives AT&T customers the ability to navigate quickly and easily through Web sites, menus and more with a touch panel located behind the screen when the device is folded open. BACKTRACK offers a new way to scroll through the Web, texts, e-mails and news feeds without obscuring the home screen. Flip the keyboard backwards into table-top mode to listen to music, watch videos, view pictures with the digital picture frame or to turn BACKFLIP into a digital, bedside alarm clock.

BACKFLIP comes with a full HTML browser that can be viewed on the 3.1” high-res, touch screen display and makes use of 7.2 HSPA 3G technology on the nation’s fastest 3G network. Android Market™ has access to more than 20,000 apps and widgets, in order to customize the device to fit each consumer’s personal style. Customers can easily shoot photos and video with the BACKFLIP’s 5 MP camera and flash, and upload them to their favorite photo sharing or social media site.

The Motorola BACKFLIP features Wi-Fi connectivity and AT&T customers receive AT&T Wi-Fi access at U.S. hotspots included as part of their unlimited data plan. AT&T’s has the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network with more than 20,000 U.S. hotspots.

Pricing and Availability
The Motorola BACKFLIP will be available March 7 at AT&T retail locations nationwide or at www.wireless.att.com for $99.99 after $100 mail-in rebate. (Pay $199.99 and after mail-in rebate receive $100 AT&T Promotion Card. Two-year agreement and smartphone data plan required.)

For more information on the Motorola BACKFLIP, visit www.att.com/backflip or join the conversation on Facebook at www.facebook.com/att.

HTC Corporation, a global designer of smartphones, today introduced an enhanced HTC Sense experience that will be available on two new smartphones that take Android to the next level, the HTC Legend and HTC Desire. The new HTC Sense experience continues to focus on improving your interactions with your most important people. This begins with a new HTC application and widget called HTC Friend Stream that seamlessly aggregates all of your social communication including Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr into one organised flow of updates. This simple aggregation makes it easier than ever to focus on what friends are doing as well as to view the images and links that they share. In addition to Friend Stream, people can be organised into specific social circles, such as groups of friends, colleagues or any other way that makes sense.

The new HTC Sense experience also introduces broad improvements to applications including the browser, email client and others. In addition, the new version of HTC Sense includes a new newsreader application and widget, as well as a new seven-screen ‘Leap’ thumbnail view for quick and easy access to specific screens.

HTC Legend
Built around a newly enhanced HTC Sense, the HTC Legend boasts a unique design with a smooth, continuous surface, machined from a single aluminum block into a seamless compact frame.  To complement its looks, the HTC Legend includes a stunning 3.2 inch, AMOLED HVGA display.  The traditional trackball has also been replaced with an optical joystick, surrounded by a narrow button to improve usability without interrupting its unique design.

HTC Desire
HTC Desire is the richest way to visually experience news, friends, photos, favourite places and whatever else is important on a mobile phone. With one of the most advanced displays available on a phone today, HTC Desire is designed with a large 3.7 inch AMOLED WVGA display to enhance and maximise content, whether it is pictures and videos, browsing the Web or checking on friends’ status updates. HTC Desire is powered by a one gigahertz Snapdragon processor and is Adobe Flash 10.1 ready. As with the HTC Legend, the HTC Desire also includes an optical joystick.

Release Dates
The new HTC Legend will be available in Europe through Vodafone and in the direct channel beginning in April.  It will roll out to other parts of the world including Asia in early Q2.  HTC Desire will be broadly available to customers across major European and Asian markets in early Q2.  The HTC Desire will be exclusively available in Australia through Telstra. The enhanced HTC Sense experience will also be offered as a free upgrade on the HTC Hero in Europe and Asia.

[via]

TELUS and Motorola today announced the availability of the much-anticipated Motorola Milestone in Canada. Motorola Milestone, powered by Android, delivers a rich mobile web experience, superior messaging and top-of-the-line multi-media features in an innovative design that could only come from Motorola. Milestone features the best of both worlds with a full QWERTY keyboard and touchscreen navigation, as well as the opportunity for users to customize their mobile with widgets and the freedom to run multiple applications at once.

“We are excited to bring the Motorola Milestone to Canada,” said Rick Gadd, vice-president, Motorola Canada Mobile Devices. “Canadians will now have the chance to experience a smartphone with no limits; harnessing the power of the mobile web with the latest version of Android, plus Google Search, simple messaging and extreme multi-media features.”

The Motorola Milestone is available only at TELUS for as little as $199.99 with a three-year commitment. For more information please visit www.telusmobility.com or www.motorola.ca.

Orange today announced it will be launching the much anticipated HTC Desire, the next Android device to be ranged by Orange in the UK. Available this spring across all Orange consumer retail and business channels, the HTC Desire will be free on selected consumer pay monthly and business price plans. Offering a rich, intuitive browsing touch interface and premium design, the 3G+ enabled Desire is the latest device to feature Google’s 2.1 Android operating system, allowing users unrestricted access to thousands of amazing tools and applications which can be downloaded straight to the handset.

Created for those wanting an optimised mobile customer experience, the Desire comes equipped for users to make the most out of the internet. The device features the superfast Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz processor and as part of Orange’s Signature range, users will be able to access great Orange services direct from the home screen, including Orange’s own sat-nav product, Orange Maps, as well as Orange TV, Photography, Games and Orange Windows Live.

The Desire also comes with a choice of specially designed unique user interface options courtesy of HTC Sense and an integrated five mega-pixel, auto-focus camera featuring camcorder capability, a gravity sensor, A-GPS, a digital compass and 512 MB of memory with space for a 32Gb MicroSD card. What’s more, the 3.7 inch WVGA capacitive display features anti-fingerprint screen coating for improved smudge resistance and a longer lasting, clearer display. Orange will be offering the HTC Desire for free to customers on selected pay monthly price plans. The HTC Desire will be available from Orange shops and www.orange.co.uk/shop in April 2010.

The new Huawei U8800 Android smartphone has a need for speed.  Running the latest version of Android (version 2.1) and delivering support for theoretical peak download data speeds of up to 14Mb/s, the U8800 is set to impress.  If that wasn’t enough to spark your interest, the U8800 features a 3.8-inch screen and the device will be released in the third quarter of 2010.  Huawei came to play at this year’s Mobile World Congress, announcing 4 additional Android handsets besides the U8800.  The U8300 is aimed at the youth market and incorporates social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter, and a Qwerty keypad. It will be available in green, yellow and purple.  The U8100/U8110 are entry-level smartphones. They have 2.8 inch wide touchscreens and dual cameras, plus WiFi and bluetooth. They will be launched in Europe in the second quarter of 2010.  The SmaKit S7 tablet was also on show, which enables information-sharing across screens to present the same content simultaneously on computers, mobile phones and TVs. The model has a 7 inch wide screen and can be connected to a home gateway, TV or Android handsets.

Huawei’s strong support of Android at this year’s show follows last year’s unveiling of its first Android device, the U8220 (marketed as the T-Mobile Pulse). It is one of the cheapest Android handsets on the market and was dubbed the world’s first prepay Android device. Separately, Huawei is also demonstrating its LTE-Advanced system this week, with claimed download speeds of up to 600Mb/s. The company claims it is the first vendor to use multi-carrier aggregation and high-order MIMO technology in its LTE-Advanced system, which increases spectrum efficiency up to five times, reducing transmission costs.

Next up in the Verizon Wireless Android takeover is the Motorola Devour – a full QWERTY Android slider featuring Motorola’s MOTOBLUR UI.  The Devour will be available in March and besides being the first Verizon Wireless phone to feature MOTOBLUR, the handset comes with a 8 GB microSD card pre-installed to sweeten the deal.  Notable features include a touch-sensitive navigation pad (like the Droid), 3.1-inch capacitive touch screen, Bluetooth A2DP, the Happenings Widget, Universal Inbox, full QWERTY keyboard.  As with any Verizon Smartphone, the Devour requires a Nationwide Talk or Nationwide Talk & Text plan and a Data package for smartphones.  This means the cheapest you can get your foot in the door is $39.99 for Talk and $29.99 for Unlimited Data, but we’d recommend going with the $59.99 Talk & Text plan if we were calling the shots.  A price point and exact release date were not included in the Press Release, but check back a little later and we’ll see what we can dig up.

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[via Motorola]

With 20 devices on 59 operators in 48 countries using 19 languages, Android has made its mark on the smartphone market. Today Google made the Nexus One official and while we released specs for Google’s Nexus One last week, at Google’s Press Event today they made both the device and the spec chart a reality. If you’ve seen our previous coverage things remain the same with a few additional details on the battery life, display and confirmation that the device will be running Android 2.1 Eclair. Oh yea and we were off by $1 on the prices, it’s actually $179.00 with a 2-year contract on the T-mobile Even More individual 500 Plan and $529.00 without contract.

Here’s what Google had to say about the Nexus One:

Manufactured by HTC, the Nexus One features dynamic noise suppression from Audience, Inc., a large 3.7″ OLED display for deep contrast and brilliant colors and a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ chipset for blazing speeds. Running on Android 2.1, the newest version of Eclair, the software includes innovations like a voice-enabled keyboard so you can speak into any text field, fun Live Wallpapers, a 3D photo gallery for richer media experiences and lots more. Of course, it also comes with a host of popular Google applications, including Gmail, Google Voice and Google Maps Navigation.

Today, the web store allows you to purchase the Nexus One without operator service or with service from T-Mobile USA. We expect to add more operators, more devices and more countries in the future, including Verizon Wireless in the U.S. and Vodafone in Europe. To learn more about the Nexus One, and our new web store, we recommend checking it out for yourself by visiting www.google.com/phone. We look forward to seeing how our new program and the Nexus One contributes to accelerating innovation on mobile products for the benefit of users worldwide.

[via Google]

With the Nexus One and Motorola Droid already available in the US Market, Samsung could be facing quite a challenge with their latest announcement.  According to the manufacturer they will be releasing a US-edition of the Samsung Galaxy Spica, a 800MHz Android smartphone featuring a 3.2-inch touchscreen with HVGA resolution (480 x 320) and a 3-megapixel camera.  By comparison, the Nexus One and Motorola Droid offer superior resolution screens and cameras, but since there are only 20 Android handsets available worldwide, I’ll welcome a new competitor.  However, I can’t imagine too many of you opting for the Galaxy Spica when the Nexus One can be used on any carrier in the US except Sprint.

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[via Mobile Burn]

When you wake up tomorrow many of you will be on your way down to your local Verizon Wireless retail store to pick up the Motorola DRIOD for $199 on a 2-year service agreement.  However, if you were looking to save a little green and wanted to opt for a touchscreen-only alternative you might want to take a look at the DROID ERIS by HTC.  The DROID ERIS is the HTC Hero dressed in Verizon attire, but placed at a price point that makes it the cheapest Android-powered device available in the United States.  What also makes the DROID ERIS a worthy alternative to the Motorola DROID is that it features the Sense UI which brings 7 home screens and much more polished look over the standard Android Interface.

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