Motorola's Android Smartphones Are for Real: News and Photos Arriving

by Sam Dean - May. 06, 2009Comments (1)

Recently, we covered Motorola's confirmation that it will deliver several smartphones based on the open source Android operating system later this year. That's good news, because applications have been proliferating for Android--with more than 3,000 available--and Android now has 6 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, even though it has largely been restricted to one handset: the T-Mobile G1 phone. Now, news about and photos of the upcoming Motorola Android phones are making the rounds online. Here are the details.

The Boy Genius Report has been doing a good job of tracking down photos and details on the Motorola smartphones. According to BGR, the first handset will be the Calgary, and is likely to focus on social networking features and applications (Motorola officials have confirmed that they want to emphasize them). BGR isn't confirming that Calgary will ship in the second quarter, but it does look like it will be a Verizon-bound phone with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

According to BGR, the second Android smartphone from Motorola will be the Ironman. According to BGR sources, it will be a higher-end phone than Calgary, with 3G features, Wi-Fi, a high-resolution camera, and more.

It's also worth checking out Phandroid's photo tour of the Samsung i7500--another slick Android smartphone (seen above, via Phandroid). Based on all of this, I have to strongly disagree with the many people who are arguing that Android has already failed. I do think Google should be funding Android development more than it is, but we're about to see much broader choices available in handsets, carriers, service plans and more. Meanwhile, the 6 percent U.S. market share that Android has is impressive given that it was achieved on the back of just one Android smartphone.

Let's see where Android market share sits at the end of this year. I'm betting it will be up significantly.
 


Browse Blog

Jesse Babson uses OStatic to support Open Source, ask and answer questions and stay informed. What about you?



1 Comments
 

Unlike iphone, Android phones can be available all over the world and this is good news for non USA markets!!


0 Votes
Share Your Comments

If you are a member, to have your comment attributed to you. If you are not yet a member, Join OStatic and help the Open Source community by sharing your thoughts, answering user questions and providing reviews and alternatives for projects.