Android Authority

Google Nexus One

Though Google has yet to make any kind of official announcement, a new version of the Google Nexus One Android smartphone that is compatible with AT&T and Rogers 3G networks is now available on the Google website.

You can see it on the order form here.

There’s no option to buy the phone with service at this time, but if you have the US$529 required for the unlocked version’s purchase price, and you need that 850/1900MHz 3G goodness, then here’s your chance.

HTC Legend

The Dutch version of the HTC Legend seems to be experiencing some problems in the Android Market and we’re not sure who is to blame. HTC have come right out and said that the restricted access to applications such as Skype and Layer is not their doing, putting the onus firmly with Google. Google are yet to release a formal statement, but it is probably unlikely that they are blocking these applications on purpose.

The HTC Legend itself is an attractive piece of kit. “The sleek unibody design with a brilliant AMOLED display and a brushed metallic finish, feels great in your hand and stirs admiration from those around. Along with powerful social networking, group communication, and unmatched level of personalization, the HTC Legend is set to impress you.” But with an application store that restricts your access and no one putting up their hands to say, “yes, this is an accident and we’re fixing it for you”, things will be quite frustrating for new HTC Legend users.

If you are interested in learning more about the HTC Legend, head on over to our sister website, MobileBurn, for a complete review including a hands on video review of this attractive unibody device. However, for those that are looking forward to grabbing the HTC in the UK on Vodafone, you may be in for a surprise.

According to Crave/CNET UK, Vodafone will be installing their own proprietary software called Vodafone 360 on this device. We don’t like the sound of this at all!

crowd science

In an interesting blog post over at the Crowd Science blog, it has become clear from their research that a significant number of RIM Blackberry users are lusting after the Android operating system, specifically the Nexus One that runs it. For those that have not heard of Crowd Science, here is a little background about their company to help you assess how legit their findings are.

They “were formed by experts in online market research and audience measurement with a mission to “raise the bar” in the measurement of online populations. Their goal is to help web properties understand all facets of their audience, including the impact of marketing and outreach efforts on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, through rigorous, verifiable interactive research. The company has developed an advanced platform for audience measurement and real-time survey research.”

As it turns out, when asked upfront whether they would exchange their current Blackberry e for Google’s new Android-based Nexus One, 32% of Blackberry users said “yes,” compared with just 9% of iPhone users. According to their blog post, ‘this figure zoomed to 60% for users of smartphones not made by Blackberry or Apple.’ (more…)

Motorola BACKFLIP

I’ve posted my full review of the Motorola BACKFLIP for AT&T on MobileBurn. Oddly enough, I like the device more now than I did originally, which bodes well for how real world users might react to the phone.

I still dislike the large keyboard, and I think the BACKTRACK directional controller’s a bad idea, but the camera is solid, the touchscreen is nice, and the signal reception seemed really good.  MOTOBLUR is good, too, though far from perfect.  But what really bothers me is the fact that you can only install apps that come from the Android Market.  That likely bothers bleeding edge types more than it will the average consumer, but I’m still baffled as to how AT&T thinks that will help anybody.

In the end, I think the BACKFLIP will make Android-craving AT&T users happy enough.  There are better Android phones available from other carriers, but this one is a reasonable enough first effort for AT&T.

You’ll find plenty of live photos of the phone, videos, and photos shot with the BACKFLIP itself on MobileBurn.com.

Motoroi-XT720

According to yonhapnews.co.kr, the South Korean Government is aligning itself to ‘ban’ the Android market. Indeed, “Google Inc. may be barred from operating an Android market place in South Korea, if it continues to circulate game contents without approval from the country’s regulating body, government officials said Thursday.”

“If Google does not take any measures, we may block the Android market here,” said Lee Jong-bae, a board official.

This could have far-reaching consequences for the Android OS as a whole within South Korea. It should be noted that Android smartphones have been available in South Korea since the middle of last year so this comes somewhat as a shock. The Android Market now has around 4,400 types of games that have not been rated in the ratings by South Korea Game Rating Board to establish whether or not these games are suitable to be played by children.

As things stand now, the SKGRB (no, really, I did it) have sent a letter to Google Inc. based in South Korea to effectively ask all companies involved to collaborate on this problem. According to the company’s spokeswoman Park Sun-kyung, at the moment Google’s Korea branch is reviewing and processing the letter.

Dell Mini 5 loves Amazon

The Dell Mini 5 seems to be picking up pace at the moment, and the latest development with this piece of kit includes a host of services from Amazon preinstalled to the hardware. The most interesting of which is a Kindle application. We’re reading inbetween the lines somewhat here as all the picture displays is a bullet point staying “Kindle Book Reader Applications”. Nonetheless, to our ears this can mean only one thing. Of course we are expecting the device to already come with Amazon’s MP3 store preinstalled as this is already the case on a number of other Android powered phones.

To put things into context, there has been an iPhone and Blackberry Kindle application for some time now. It makes sense that Amazon will want to cash in on the fastest growing mobile OS providing the possibility to buy 300,000 popular books.

[Via Android Community]