Britain’s T-Mobile and Virgin branches have recently launched the LG InTouch Max GW620 handset, the handset maker’s first Android smartphone. This Android 1.5 device is pictured below, sporting a sliding QWERTY keyboard and tons of social networking feats.
Its specs list includes a 3 inch HVGA touchscreen display, HSDPA connectivity, GPS and a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus. There’s also push email on board, support for WiFi, a 3.5mm audio jack and a microSD card slot.
LG GW620 will be available in the UK starting this month, with a 2 year T-Mobile contract (minimum £20 per month), or with an 18 month Virgin contract (minimum £22 per month).
Motorola Opus One was a mere leaked device till now, but now we’ve found out that this Android iDEN phone will be available via Sprint Nextel. The source of the info is YouTube user jay84305, who “borrowed” the unreleased handset off the streets of Florida. He posted a couple of vids on YouTube, showing the phone’s features, but sadly they were removed.
What we’ve found out from this unusual source, talking in slang English and claiming he took the phone from the street after some guy from Motorola or Sprint dropped it, is that the handset runs Android 1.5 OS and sports the name “p1_opusone” under the battery cover. This phone could also reach Boost Mobile, not only Nextel.
It’s very possible that Android 2.0 or 2.1 will make it to the iDEN Android phone, depending on when it’s released.
We’re having a look at a Chinese handset again, the GPhone A60, just as we’ve stumbled upon a Motorola OPhone device earlier today. The A60 is an Android phone running the 1.5 OS (upgradeable to any future version it seems) and using a Qualcomm 7227 CPU @ 600 MHz to perform tasks.
GPhone A60 features a 3.2 inch TFT touchscreen display with a 320 x 480 pixels resolution and as far as connectivity is concerned, you get GSM, WCDMA and support for GSM850/900/1800/1900 and WCDMA/HSPA 850/1900/2100 MHz bands. The handset measures 116 x 12.4 x 57mm, packs a built-in camera with a 5 megapixel resolution and autofocus.
USB 2.0 is also on the specs list, together with 256MB Flash memory and 256MB RAM. The 120 grams device is quite light and it tends to feel plasticky in the hands of the user. The design might remember some of you of HTC G2 and, as you can see there’s also a 3.5mm audio jack in the mix, on the upper side.
The front button layout (beneath the screen) is take from HTC Hero, virtual touch function keys included. Handwriting input and Chinese stroke are supported and there’s even some widget action on screen, complete with weather, a cool clock and other such UI elements. For a reasonable price, this Chinese device could be a great HTC replacement.
Motorola Motus was spotted a couple of days ago, as a blurry picture leaked online, together with the Sholes Tablet and Moto Zeppelin. Now, we’ve also got info regarding its specs, that you’ll find after the break.
Just like CLIQ, Moto Motus runs Android 1.5 and uses the Motoblur interface. The handset pictured above supports quad band GSM connectivity, plus 850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz WCDMA bands, so T-Mobile and AT&T will be able to sell it.
The phone’s specs list includes a 3.1 inch touchscreen display (320 x 480 pixels), a full QWERTY keyboard, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth 2.0 and a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash. There’s also a 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM7201A processor on board, together with 512 MB ROM and 256 MB RAM. Expect Motus to be announced in Q1 2010.
If you’re among the people who went out and bought a HTC Magic handset, instead of waiting a few more months for the Hero to surface, you’ve got something cool coming. It turns out that the Magic will be getting ROM upgrades that’ll bring Sense UI to its sweet touchscreen display.
This info comes only a day after we spotted the HTC Sense interface running on the iPhone 3GS, via an emulator of sorts. This time we’re dealing with ROM updates for Magic, although it’s not yet clear what countries will be getting said enhancement.
Meanwhile, we learn that HTC Taiwan released a ROM upgrade for its Magic users, including Android 1.5 (Cupcake) and the Sense UI. Let’s see if the myTouch 3G (US version for Magic) will be getting the same love from HTC.
We got a chance to see General Mobile’s DSTL1 dual SIM Android handset at MWC and it impressed us through its design, autofocus camera and… Android OS. Starting next month, the handset will be available in the US and Turkey for a price around $550 and $750.
For the above-mentioned price, you get Android 1.5, two SIMs with support for EDGE only and WiFi. Turns out that General Mobile decided to name DSTL1 with a more appealing name, “Imaginary”, which might scare some potential buyers into thinking that this is only a concept.
While playing with Samsung’s first official Android phone, the i7500, one might notice that it’s already running Firmware version 1.5 (cupcake), but there’s also another interesting feature to be noted. The model number listed above the Android OS version in the screenshot below is “samsung_capella7200″, which is a bit odd, considering we’ve never heard about a device named like this.
There’s not even a mention of an internal codename for i7500, but what about that 7200? Maybe this is a Samsung i7500 handset destined to reach another carrier under the name of 7200 Capella, or just a simple mistake.
As one of the Phandroid readers points out, Capella is the name of a multiple star system, containing at least 9 stars, so this could mean we’re heading for more Samsung Android launches.
Believe it or not, Asia is not so fond of Android phones, but they’ll be, as soon as they have a taste of HTC’s latest goodies. In 2008 NTT DoCoMo announced that it’ll release such a device this year and now we’re heading for the fulfilment of that promise.
The Japanese carrier will soon be releasing HTC Magic (known in the US as T-Mobile G2 or MyTouch 3G), under the name of HT-03A. This smartphone will the Japan’s first Android-based handset, using the 1.5 OS, that will become available next week to the general public.
We have no info on the phone’s pricing or exact release date, but we’ll let you know as soon as word gets out.
Android is improving as time goes by, but it has a long way to go till it reaches the quality of iPhone’s OS.. Right now, the Android 1.5 release is the newest version and it gets detailed in the video below, before getting released next week:
We learn that the upgrade brings a virtual keyboard that can be set up, so that it provides tactile vibrating feedback as you type, an ideal feature for users who prefer physical keypads. Auto correct is also available, plus suggestions and the virtual keyboard will be available in any app and menu, from SMS, to Gmail and third party software.
The keyboard can even change orientation (portrait/landscape) and if you’re tired of writing, there’s always the voice search, allowing you to input search queries by voice. Video recording, playback and sharing are also available in Android 1.5, the latter being done via Gmail, SMS or YouTube. In case you’re uploading a video on YouTube, this transfer will be done in the background, as you continue your normal activities.
Last, we have a look at the home screen widgets, that are customizable and you can even get new ones from the Android Market. More info about the Android 1.5 release can be found here.
Although we all thought that Samsung S8000 was going to be Samsung’s first Android smartphone, it now turns out that the i7500 will have the honor of introducing the Google OS to the company’s handsets. The Unwired claims that Samsung i7500 will hit Germany in June, exclusively via O2 and that the device will only be 11.9mm thick.
Packing no hardware keypad at all and using Android 1.5 (Cupcake), the smartphone comes with support for quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, dual band UMTS/HSPA connectivity, plus GPS, WiFi and Bluetooth. Samsung i7500 uses a 3.2 inch capacitive touchscreen display with HVGA resolution (480 x 320) and it also packs a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash.
There’s also a 3.5mm headset jack on board, coupled with a 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM7200A CPU, 8GB of internal memory and a microSD card slot. i7500 will retail for approximately $398, which is a very OK price for a smartphone with the above-mentioned features.
