Now here’s an interesting piece of news, Chinese-language Commercial Times (via DigiTimes) is reporting that Dell has teamed up with Qisda in the development of their MID product lineup which they hope to launch in 2010 in cooperation with AT&T. One can only guess as to what kind of MID this might be in light of the fact that  the company recently announced their first Android-based handset for the Chinese and Brazilian market in the form of the Mini 3.

And speaking of the Mini 3, DigiTimes also reports that Foxconn Electronics is responsible for the production of these handsets. Foxconn will manufacture a 2.75G version of the handset for China and a 3G version for the Brazilian market.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Dell, Mobile Internet Device, MID, Foxconn, Qisda, Mini 3

Those Android smartphones just keep on coming don’t they? Samsung shows off their latest Android handset today with the announcement of the Galaxy Spica I5700 (where the heck do they come up with these names anyhow??). The Galaxy Spica comes with an impressive 800MHz application processor which should make the handset one of the more powerful Android smartphones out on the market.

Features and specs to the Galaxy Spica include the following:

• HSDPA 3.6Mbps (900/2100) and EDGE/GPRS (850/900/1800/1900) network support
• Android version 1.5
• 3.2” HVGA(320×480) TFT display
• 3 megapixel camera with auto focus
• Video support: MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV, DivX
• Audio support: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA
• Full Web Browser
• Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Talk
• Android Market
• 3.5mm Ear jack
• GPS
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Wi-Fi
• 180 MB of internal memory and microSD slot
• 1500mAh battery
• Measures 115 x 57 x 13.2mm

Looks like the Samsung Galaxy Spica won’t be coming to the U.S. anytime soon though. The handset is currently available in Europe, CIS, and soon the MEA region.

Technorati Tags: Samsung Galaxy Spica I5700

Confirming what most in the mobile industry already knew, Dell announced last week they were entering the smartphone market with the announcement and introduction of the Android-powered Dell Mini 3 smartphone. Dell also announced two mobile carrier partnerships, China Mobile – with a customer base of over 500 million customers, and Claro – a mobile network serving over 42 million customers in Brazil, both of which will carry the new Mini 3 smartphone.

According to a China Mobile spokesperson:

“We are excited for Dell to be among the first manufacturers to introduce new technology based on the OPhone platform. We look forward to working with Dell as it brings innovative new products and services to add value to our customers’ lives.”

Details of the phone models will be announced on a partner-by-partner basis when the devices become available in stores. (Let’s hope the MIni 3’s specs are better than the original rumors). The Mini 3 is expected in late November for China Mobile and by the end of the year for Claro.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Dell Mini 3, Android smartphone, China Mobile, Claro

T-Mobile customers looking for another Android-powered handset to choose from will be happy to hear that the new Samsung Behold II will be available exclusively from the carrier starting on November 18th. The Behold II is the first handset from T-Mobile to feature a 3.2 inch AMOLED display for “crisper colors and wider viewing angles”. You’ll also find an impressive built-in camera with a 5 megapixel resolution and capabilities such as autofocus, zoom, flash, five shooting modes, and video capture.

Other features and specs for the Samsung Behold II include:

• Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface for easy customization of movable widgets and one-touch access to commonly used features and applications
• Three different home screens for multiple workspaces
• Support for Google mobile services including Google Search, Google Maps, YouTube, and Google Talk.
• Support for the Android Market
• Personal and corporate email
• IM, text, picture, and video messaging
• Built-in aGPS
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Visual voicemail
• Support for up to 16GB external memory
• Includes 2GB microSD card
• Support for T-Mobile’s 3G network

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Samsung Behold II, T-Mobile, Android smartphone

From the news desk at Akihabara News comes word that Softbank has announced a new Android handset for 2010. Details are scarce but a couple of high level features are known (courtesy of the news conference). The Softbank handset will feature a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and come with a whopping 3.7 inch EL display. Unfortunately no pics of the handset are available.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Softbank, Android

Sony Ericsson finally jumps on the Android bandwagon with yesterday’s announcement of the upcoming XPERIA X10 handset – their first phone to deliver Sony Ericsson’s new user experience (UX) platform built on top of the Android OS. Sigh.. another Android phone I just might be lusting after.

The introduction of the X10 also brings with it two new “signature” applications – Mediascape and Timescape. Timescape manages all of your communications within a single application – whether its emails, text messages, status updates with Twitter, Facebook etc. Mediascape is a centralized application for music, photos, and videos with access to content on the phone and on the Internet.

Other features and specs of the XPERIA X10 include:

• Supports GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS HSPA 900/1700/2100 and UMTS HSPA 800/850/1900/2100
• 4.0 inch 480 x 854 resolution scratch-resistant display with support for 262K colors
• Android Market support
• ActiveSync for access to Microsoft Exchange
• Built-in aGPS
• HSPA connectivity
• 8.1 megapixel camera with up to 16x digital zoom
• Intelligent face recognition technology; geotagging; image and video stabilizer; photo and video light; smile detection; touch focus; and video recording
• Music features include Album Art, Bluetooth stereo profile support, built-in media player, music tones, PlayNow support, and TrackID
• Built-in web browser
• Alarm clock, calculator, calendar, flight mode, Infinite button, office suite, phone book with dialer, and world clock
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity
• 8GB microSD card
• Measures 4.7 x 2.5 x 0.5 inches and weighs 4.8oz

The XPERIA X10 will be available in Sensuous Black and Luster White and should be available in “selected markets” in Q1 of 2010.

[Check it out]

[Check out the press release]

Technorati Tags: Sony Ericsson, Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10, Android Smartphone

The Motorola CLIQ, the first Android-powered handset to come from Motorola, is now available nationwide from T-Mobile for a price of $199.99 after an instant discount of $200 dollars and a new two year agreement. To celebrate the launch of the new handset, T-Mobile also launched a new T-Mobile Motorola CLIQ Challenge today to build the largest college fan club on Facebook.

For those of you not familiar with the CLIQ, here are the main features and specs:

• MOTOBLUR – Stream your social networking feeds to your handset in real time, providing instant access to the latest happenings and messages from your friends.
• 3.1 inch HVGA full touch-screen display
• Support for Android Market
• 5 megapixel camera
• 3G network and Wi-Fi connectivity
• Visual Voicemail
• Bluetooth support
• Full slide-out QWERTY keyboard
• Built-in GPS
• microSD memory slot
• Built-in music player
• Built-in video capture and playback support
• 3.5 mm headset jack
• 6 hour talk time and 13.5 day standby time
• Measures 4.5 x 2.3 x 0.61 inches
• Available in two colors – Titanium and Winter White

The CLIQ is also available with T-Mobile’s new Even More Plus plans (which are contract-less plans) for a price of $399.99.

To help promote the launch of the new CLIQ, T-Mobile launches the T-Mobile Motorola CLIQ Challenge. The goal? For T-Mobile fans to help create the largest Facebook fan club out there. Fans can simply visit www.facebook.com/tmobile to rally together and vote for the four-year college or university of their choice to win the ultimate grand prize.

The school with the highest # of votes in its clique by Nov. 30th will be awarded with an exclusive free concert by Weezer. In addition, T-Mobile will also award the winning school $1 dollar for every vote up to $25,000 for college enrichment.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Motorola CLIQ, T-Mobile

Those of you that absolutely must have the new Motorola DROID next Friday will want to head over to Best Buy now to pre-order the handset. Best Buy will be selling the DROID for $199.99 along with a new two year agreement from Verizon Wireless.

Why buy from Best Buy you ask?

If you purchase from Verizon Wireless directly, you’ll have to mail in a rebate form for the $100 dollar credit which means the checkout cost will initially be $299.99. Buy the phone from Best Buy and Best Buy will instantly credit you the $100 dollars at the point of sale. No forms or checks to deal with. Sounds like a good deal to me.

Technorati Tags: Best Buy, Motorola DROID, Verizon Wireless

After a week or so of teaser announcements, Verizon Wireless officially unveiled the new DROID smartphone by Motorola – the first smartphone powered by the new Android 2.0 OS (which Google just recently released the SDK for). So let’s get down to the features shall we? According to VW, here’s what you’ll be able to do with the DROID:

• Multi-window browser
• Large touch-screen display  (3.7 inches) with an incredible resolution of 854 x 480
• Access thousands of apps over at the Android Market
• Voice-activated search delivered via Google
• The first device to feature Google Maps Navigation (Beta) which provides turn-by-turn voice guidance as a free feature of Google Maps. Use voice shortcuts and simply say “Navigate to [destination]” and you’ll be on your way. You can see live traffic, street view, or satellite imagery to view your route
• Built-in apps include Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Talk, Android Market, Calendar, Amazon MP3 store, and Verizon Wireless Visual Voice Mail.

The specs to the DROID are as follows (and according to BGR, this is absolutely the fastest Droid-powered handset yet!):

• Arm Cortex A8 processor 550 mHz
• 3.7″; WVGA (480 x 854 pixels); 16:9 widescreen
• 5 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom, dual LED flash and auto focus
• Built-in music player with support for AAC, H.263, H.264, MP3, MPEG-4, WAV, WMA, eAAC+, OGG, AMR WB, AMR NB, AAC+, MIDI file formats
• Audio/video streaming support
• Video capture at DVD quality (720×480 resolution) up to 24 fps capture; up to 30 fps playback
• 1400 mAh Li-Ion battery with 385 minute usage time  and up to 270 hour standby time
• Email support – Corporate (Exchange 2003 and 2007), Gmail, IMAP, POP3, Attachment and browser document viewer (Microsoft Office and pdf)
• MMSG, SMS, IM, voicemail
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR support with HFP, HSP, A2DP, AVRCP, PBAP, and OPP profile support)
• Synchronization support for Corporate calendar, email and contacts (Exchange 2003 and 2007), Google contacts, calendar and Gmail, Facebook contacts
• 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi
• microUSB connector
• aGPS along with Google Maps, Google Maps Navigation Beta, Google Latitude, Google Maps Street View, eCompass
• Built-in web browser
• 3.5 mm headset jack
• Speakerphone
• Advanced speech recognition, Automatic redial, conference calling, emergency dial, noise reduction, speed dial, vibracall, voice dialing, phone book
• Haptic feedback
• Light-responsive display
• QWERTY keyboard
• Measures 2.4 x 4.6 x .5 inches
• Weighs 6 oz
• Built-in accelerometer
• Network support includes: CDMA 1X 800/1900, EVDO rev A
• 16 GB microSD pre-installed; supports up to 32 GB microSD expandable
• Sensors include Proximity, ambient light and eCompass

OK.. enough about features and specs – what about pricing and availability?

The DROID will be available starting next Friday November 6th in the U.S. exclusively at Verizon Wireless Stores and online for $199.99 with a new two-year customer agreement after a $100 mail-in rebate. Customers will receive the rebate in the form of a debit card which they can use as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted.

Customers will need to subscribe to a Nationwide voice plan and an Email and Web for Smartphone plan. Nationwide voice plans begin at $39.99 for monthly access for 450 minutes and an Email and Web for Smartphone plan is $29.99 for monthly access.

Finally, if you want to see a preview of the DROID handset, makes sure to head over to the Boy Genius Report where they’ve got an excellent preview of the handset. Those of you waiting for a solid iPhone competitor to arrive for Verizon Wireless might finally have their handset.

Here’s a video of the DROID handset courtesy of Verizon Wireless:

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Verizon Wireless, Motorola DROID,

Photos and limited details of a second Dell-branded Android device called the “Dell Streak” have managed to leak out onto the Internet via sites Tinhte and SlashGear. Here’s what we know thus far:

• 5 inch WVGA (800 x 480) resolution display
• Android 2.0 Donut MID
• Built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G wireless
• 5 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash
• microSD slot
• 1300 mAh battery

No word on when it might become available.. but it’s certainly an interesting device – especially if it comes with built-in 3G connectivity.

[Check it out via SlashGear]

Technorati Tags: Dell Streak, Android MID