OStatic

We've reported several times recently on promising hardware and software development for the Android operating system. Over at JKOnTheRun, they've rounded up?a number of new Android applications that anyone with an Android phone will want to get. In the links just provided, you can find their coverage of the official USA Today for Android application for quick doses of news, sports, weather and business information, and their coverage of Flixster, which is currently the top movie-related application on the iPhone, with over 4.6 million downloads. It offers showtimes, movie information, trailers and reviews. They also like the eBuddy multi-IM client application (shown) for Android, which supports AIM, ICQ, Google Talk, Yahoo! and MSN Windows Live Messenger within a single interface. All three apps are free.

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.

We've reported before on Motorola's interest in delivering phones based on the Android operating system. In October, the company was planning to deliver a new Android phone by the second quarter of this year, a deadline it apparently won't make. However, as InfoWorld reports, Motorola is aiming to deliver several Android-based smartphones in time for the holiday season. The company will launch the phones with multiple carriers in several areas around the world, according to chief of Motorola's mobile device division. Isn't it time for Motorola to pick a smartphone platform to concentrate on, though?