The Android Momentum Continues
In recent weeks, the Android operating system has seen tremendous, encouraging momentum. After the Mobile World Congress show took place earlier this year, with very little Android news of any kind there, some speculated that the open source operating system might be an outright failure. Now, though, there are signs of interest in Android from the number two personal computer manufacturer in the world, new forks of the operating system arriving, and lots of new Android smartphones on deck. GigaOm has a summary of the past week's important Android headlines, including the possibility of a new Android tablet device, and we've been on the Android watch as well.
More phones on the way. While the T-Mobile G1 was, for many months, the only Android smartphone handset available, there are many more choices coming from more manufacturers. After months of talk, photos and news of Motorola's Android smartphones scheduled for later this year are appearing, as well as buzz over Samsung's Android phone.
Android netbooks. Gizmodo has a video up of a Dell netbook running the Cupcake version of Android.There are clear signs that the world's number two personal computer manufacturer intends to deliver Android-based hardware. We had previously reported on strong signs that that was the case.
The Rosie Strain. This video from Mobile Burn is also worth looking at. While the author of the post containing the video warns that he's just speculating about plans from HTC, the video shows a customized version of the Android operating system, dubbed "Rosie." It looks phone-centric in its current iteration, but has a large desktop stocked with lots of widgets. In addition to being the hardware provider for the T-Mobile G1 phone and its successor, HTC makes netbook-class portable computers.You can find more video and news on Rosie here, including talk of its promise as a touch-driven Android variant.
Cupcake delayed. While the momentum behind Android is irrefutable, Android phone owners will have to wait up to two more weeks for their upgrades to the "Cupcake" version of the operating system, as GigaOm reports. The new version 1.5 of the OS will deliver video recording features and much more. Notably, GigaOm also reports that high-end media player maker ARCHOS has announced a June 11th press event at which some expect it will unveil an Android web tablet that "will sport a 5-inch screen and be based on the TI OMAP chipset, which would provide long battery life and instant-on capability." That would be a follow-on to already successful efforts to put Android on tablet-style devices.
Clearly, those declaring Android a failure are jumping the gun.