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Samsung i7500 – with Google Android…

Samsung’s first Android handset, the i7500, has appeared in O2’s in-house magazine, and a spokesperson for the operator confirmed to ZDNet UK on Monday that the handset will be carried by O2 in the UK.

It is not yet clear how much the OLED-screened handset will cost through O2, whether it will be exclusive to that operator, or precisely when it will be made available. The best O2’s spokesperson could say was that it would appear in the next two months.

If, as expected, O2 announces this week that it will be exclusively carrying the Palm Pre, this means the operator will stock pretty much every hot smartphone platform of the moment: iPhone, Android and webOS.

T-Mobile MyTouch 3G is about to be released!

The wait is finally over. T-Mobile has announced the launch of its T-Mobile myTouch 3G phone. The myTouch 3G is regarded as the successor of T-Mobile G1. The sleek and stylish handset extends several features and functionalities to meet the needs of the customers. Comes with a 3.5” HVGA touch screen display and a virtual keyboard, the T-Mobile device provides a slim, smooth and lightweight factor for the mobile users.

The handset lets customers to access to exclusive, individualized wireless phone services by enabling them to personalize menus, wallpapers and icons. The mobile gadget also enables users to choose a range of applications from the Android Market. With myTouch 3G, you can play with themes and skins. The mobile phone is available in black, white and merlot color. Depending upon your preference, you can opt for any of them.

T-Mobile has teamed up with search giant Google and Geodelic to incorporate a host of useful features in the device, so that users can instantly access to music, movie, web and many more things instantly.

Besides customization features, the device supports Google services and Android platform to enable users to have easy access to innovative applications. One of the prominent applications is Sherpa, incorporates GENIE aka Geodelic Engine for Interest Evaluation.

The application is designed to study users’ preference about retailers, restaurants and attractions. It also provides recommendation engine and location relevant information. Android Market consists of bouquet of applications from games to social networking to shopping.

Designed by HTC, the T-Mobile device does incorporate a 3.2 megapixel camera and better video functionalities. It makes it easier for recording and sharing of pictures, videos through e-mail, MMS. It also enables customers to upload photos and videos to YouTube and Picasa.

The myTouch can be purchased for the price of $199.99 with a two-year agreement. It will hit the market from July 8, 2009.

Android 1.5 on the way

Well what do you know, the next release of the Android platform will not be Android 1.2, but Android 1.5.

An early-look Android 1.5 SDK (software development kit) has just been officially announced, and it’s now ready for all the developers out there who want to try it.

The Android 1.5 SDK is “based on the cupcake branch from the Android Open Source Project” and comes with Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for several features, including soft keyboards, speech recognition, live folders and home screen widgets.

Of course, the APIs you’ll find in this particular Android 1.5 SDK are not finalized (since it’s an early-look version), so you should not release applications based on it.

It’s not clear yet when and how the 1.5 version of the OS will be available for the Android smartphones that are currently on the market.

However, if you want to download the early Android 1.5 SDK, you can get it from here.

Google bringing pay-per-view to YouTube

So far, YouTube has been a free, advertising-supported service, but Google plans to build payment mechanisms into its video-sharing site.

“With respect to how it’ll get monetized, our first priority is on the advertising side. We do expect over time to see micropayments and other forms of subscription models coming as well,” said Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt after the company reported first-quarter profits Thursday. “We’ll be announcing additional things in that area literally very, very soon.”

The change in tactics will mark a new era for Google’s attempt to make money from YouTube. The service is tremendously popular, but also tremendously expensive to operate, and Google has been working hard for months to come up with a more successful financial formula for sharing video.

Schmidt’s words came at the same time Google is signing a partnership to show Sony Pictures’ full-length movies and build a section of YouTube devoted to professionally made content.

Google has had fractious relations with companies that produce video, but that’s changing now, Schmidt said. “We are making very good progress now with small, medium, and even large-scale studios,” he said.

Android set-tops, TVs, VoIP phones are coming

TOKYO — It’s official: The Google-designed Android platform is reaching out beyond the cellphone.

Android set-tops, TVs, VoIP phones, Karaoke boxes and digital photo frames are coming soon to a retailer near you.

The world of Android is rapidly unfolding in Asia. Software developers, chip suppliers and system companies are all racing toward the same goal: enabling the development of lean and mean, efficient consumer products built on Linux, open source and free software.

Non-smartphone, Android-based embedded products may not reach the commercial market here until early 2011. But this fall at CEATEC, Japan’s largest electronics show, displays will include prototype Android set tops, developed by Motorola for KDDI, Japanese telecommunication service provider, according to Masataka Miura, chairman of Open Embedded Software Foundation (OESF).

OESF was established here in February to create a viable Android-based platform for a variety of embedded products. The group, consisting of 25 companies, will launch several working groups, including: set-top boxes; VoIP; network and security; measurement and control; system core; application and services; and marketing and education.

Members include ARM, KDDI, Japan Cable Laboratories, Alpine Electronics and Fujitsu Software Technologies.

Miura said a growing number of semiconductor companies are also interested in participating, including Texas Instruments, Intel, Marvell, Freescale, Qualcomm and Renesas Technology.

OESF plans to open offices in Taiwan and South Korea this summer.

This year “will be a critical year to see if Android will be successful,” said Jim McGregor, chief technology strategist at In-Stat. “So far, it appears to have more market momentum and fewer pitfalls than many of the other Linux-based, open-sourced solutions in the market.” More important, “It has the Google brand behind it, which is very powerful,” he added.

OESF has not received financial backing from Google. Google reportedly welcomes the growing interest among Asian OEMs and ODMs that are spreading Android in various embedded systems.

PC OEMs such as Hewlett-Packard and AsusTeK have made public their interest in using ARM and Linux for their netbooks, expected to be sold at lower prices than mainstream notebooks.

Android is also appearing in E-Ink’s electronic paper kit. Moto Development Group, however, said it’s just a technology demonstration and it is not a shipping a product.

Japan’s OESF underscores how Android momentum is building much faster and broader, extending beyond netbooks. Its initial focus will be set-top boxes. Android will be used in a Motorola set top called “au Box,” according to Miura. The product is essentially KDDI’s multipurpose IP set top, or a home gateway, designed to drive fixed mobile broadcast convergence, he explained.

Miura also noted that Japanese consumer electronics company JVC is also considering development of an Android TV.

HTC Fiesta Is Another Android Phone

More rumors hit the ground running – it seems that the Bluetooth SIG group have just revealed HTC’s 2009 lineup complete with details of certain handsets although they have kept mum on the upcoming HTC Fiesta, which points toward a 2010 release. All we do know about the upcoming Fiesta is it has received Bluetooth SIG approval, will be released across Asia, Europe and North America, and most importantly, run on Android. What do you think are the other specifications that will be included by HTC apart from the standard high-megapixel count camera, push e-mail support, etc?

Acer may release Android smartphone

The Philippine Business Mirror newspaper are today reporting that Acer are planning to launch their first Android powered handset in September of this year.

According to an unknown source from the Taiwanese company, the handset will be known as the ‘A1′ and will be one of four Acer handsets that will make their debut in September.

The A1, equipped with a touch screen, is among four handset models that Acer plans to debut that month, the person said, asking not to be identified because he’s not authorized to comment on the matter. Henry Wang, a spokesman at Taipei-based Acer, declined to comment. Marsha Wang, a spokesman at Google in Beijing, declined to immediately comment.

via businessmirror.com.ph

I must add that this article just landed in my inbox a few minutes ago, and up until that point i’d never heard of the Philippine Business Mirror newspaper. Their about us page does make them seem fairly credible, but faced with news from unknown official sources, who knows?

Android goes Italy

Telecom Italia is introducing the Android-powered HTC Dream mobile phone in Italy. The phone will be available in 2,600 outlets in Telecom Italia’s commercial network, with different service packages. The Dream has been designed to enable web surfing and has a customisable interface, a touch screen, a full keyboard and instant access to internet services. The phone features access to some of Google’s popular services including Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail and YouTube. Another feature of the phone is Android Market, where users can download applications from categories such as entertainment, lifestyle and games. The new phone offers high-speed navigation using HSDPA 7.2 Mbps technology, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, built-in GPS for localisation services and a 3.15 megapixel camera with autofocus. The new Dream terminal will be available to contract and prepay customers at an initial cost ranging from free to EUR 199 depending on the price plan selected. All price plans come with at least 1 GB of inclusive internet traffic per month. Prepay customers can purchase the phone for EUR 429 if they buy the Maxxi Dream10 websurfing service card, which offers access to 50 MB of data traffic per day for EUR 10 a month. Customers purchasing Maxxi Dream10 before 30 April can make use of a special offer and get the first month free.

from Telecompaper

Expandable ads in AdSense

Always in the market for a new way serve up advertisements, Google announced Thursday that it will add expandable advertisements to its AdSense bag of tricks.

The ads will be created by “Google-certified rich media vendors for the top display advertisers in [its] network,” the company said.

The ads can be customized to include media features such as video. They’ll maintain the company’s cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-impression (CPM) monetization rate. Money will not be made every time users expand the ads, however.

At the moment, Google’s new expandable ads will only be made available to advertisers in the U.S. Anyone in the States who has the AdSense code on their site and has enabled image ads will be eligible for the new expanding variety.

Google Mars?

To satisfy the long-standing demands of its Martian user base, Google has further added a number of new features to the recently launched Google Earth 5.0.

The new features will give you a glimpse into the evolution of Mars over the course of history with the help pf maps created by astronomers like Giovanni Schiaparelli and Percival Lowell in the ‘Historical Maps’ layer.

You can also fast-forward more than a century with the ‘Live from Mars’ layer to view the latest images from NASA’s THEMIS camera on board the Mars Odyssey spacecraft, sometimes just hours after NASA receives them. You can also see live satellite orbital tracks, or check out where the HiRISE camera plans to image next.

Another interesting feature added to Google Earth is the ‘Guided Tours’ feature. If you’re not sure where to go on Mars, Google lets Bill Nye and Public Radio’s Ira Flatow, host of Science Friday show you around. You can go to the Mars Gallery layer, and double-click either of their tours for a narrated trip around the Martian surface. Google claims that this is a great way to introduce oneself to some of the most interesting spots on the planet – just sit back, and enjoy the ride. If something catches your eye, you can pause these tours at any time and explore on your own, then hit play to resume your journey.

Apart from these features, there’s a browseable layer of Google’s favorite satellite images, visible and infrared global views, geo-located excerpts from A Traveler’s Guide to Mars, and others. Google has also included 3D models of NASA rovers. Also, you can use the search box to locate famous sites like the ‘face on Mars’, just like surfing Earth.