A word is that T-Mobile won’t stop with the G2 and the G1 V2 this year. According to GigaOM, the carrier has plans to launch more Android-powered devices in the second half, coming from three different manufacturers. It looks like we can also expect the Android OS to make its way to the more affordable segment of the market, which sounds great! It will be interesting to see which would be these three manufacturers. Could they be HTC, Motorola, Samsung or maybe someone else?

In his interview with GigaOM, Cole Brodman, T-Mobile USA Chief Technology Officer, has also hinted that the company is “pretty optimistic about Android OS running on netbooks”. Moreover, the official has seen demo versions of Android-powered netbooks from major netbook manufacturers. All this sounds quite “optimistic” indeed and we are really hoping for some more info coming from the carrier itself soon.

source

The guys at BGR seem to have gotten their hands on a leaked copy of T-Mobile’s road map for Wal Mart and as far as Android developments are concerned, there is a lot going on. The G1 v2 will apparently be named after a mythical creature that some claim to have seen in the wild-the “Bigfoot” or the “Morrison” (like in Jim Morrison). The latter name is the one that appears on the road map for the updated G1 model. Right away, you can see from the photos that the handset has taken it on the chin as the fugly looking appendage to the original version is now gone. The phone is expected to get the attention of Wal Mart shoppers in October for $148 with a two year contract.

The T-Mobile G2, also known as the Sapphire, is another Android based touchscreen model expected to be on the shelf at Wal Mart this July, selling at a price of $179 with a two year pact. The T-Mobile USA version of this phone features a 5MP camera, an upgrade from the 3.2MP shooter that comes with the overseas version of the device.

source

After a few false starts, the Android 1.5 OS upgrade has finally made it to the 100,000 G1 owners in the U.K. using T-Mobile. For most of them, they will receive the cupcake upgrade automatically OTA. The G1 owners in the U.S. will get their cupcake upgrade at the end of next week. It will be sent OTA in a random order.

Among the new features is a camcorder that can be activated by touching a film icon in the bottom right corner. With the new video player, you can play back whatever you just recorded as well as uploading it directly to YouTube. Still photos can now be sent to the Google owned Picasa photo sharing web site and a caption can be added to the picture. We have all by now seen the leaked picture of the virtual keyboard for the upgrade. The QWERTY board will work in conjunction with an overhauled texting platform with predictive text options.

The second Android handset, the HTC Magic, is available through Vodafone in some markets overseas and has the 1.5 upgrade on the phone right out of the box. The U.S. version of the handset is expected to be named My Touch 3G and will have the cupcake upgrade installed before being launched.

source: T-Mobile, T3 via EngadgetMobile

And here we are again with good news for all of you, fans of the Android operating system. While Samsung has officially unveiled the I7500, HTC is still keeping some secrets from us. This seems to have not been a serious obstacle for the anonymous reader of CodeAndroid, who has submitted spy shots of what looks like the HTC Hero – an Android smartphone, scheduled for this year’s third quarter. As you can see for yourself, the Hero would not attract the fashion gurus and it is quite similar to the G1, as we were expecting. There is no additional information going with the photos, only that we can see there’s a 3.5mm audio jack on the top, and the trackball is missing. Take a good look at these shots and feel free to share your thoughts with us.

Hold on! There is more coming – an image of what is said to be T-Mobile’s Android roadmap has leaked, revealing the pricing strategies for three handsets. The first one is the far-famed G1, which is already well-known to all of us. It seems that T-Mobile will start offering the G2/Magic as soon as this summer, but what grabbed our attention was the third phone, the Samsung Houdini, which is probably scheduled for this fall. Its price, however, is covered with a black area, so we cannot tell for how much you will be able to get this one. In addition, there are a number of other black areas, obviously covering information about some other Android-powered devices. What do you think? What would these secret handsets look like?

source, more

Based on a leaked spyshot of the T-Mobile inventory system, the follow-up to the G1 Android device-called the HTC Magic overseas-will be called My Touch 3G by the nation’s forth largest carrier. It looks like the device will be made available in the colors of white, black or merlot.

While we have no launch date or pricing information, we have this photograph which, if true, should leave customers of the networker either walking on air, drooling all over themselves, babbling to friends and strangers on the street, or all three.

source: TmoNews, more

Erich Specht runs a business called Android Data Corporation and another one entitled Android Dungeon Inc. In a lawuit that started in an Illinois State Court last week, Mr. Specht is suing Google, the Open Handset Alliance, and 45 other companies including Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and T-Mobile over the use of the Android name. A software developer and Internet Service Provider, Mr. Sprecht had filed to protect the name “Android Data” on June 4, 2000. The request was granted on October 22, 2000. The Patent and Trademark Office required Specht to agree not to file any claims against the “Data” part of his company’s name.

On Halloween Day, 2007, Google filed with the PTO to trademark the name “Android” which was denied because of the possible confusion between Google’s “Android” name and Eric Specht’s “Android Data”. So Google did what many companies do when the government puts the kibosh on a project-they ignored the Agency, going ahead and using the Android name anyway. Specht wants the defendants to be enjoined from using the Android name and he wants damages.

source: TG Daily via EngadgetMobile

Engadget and BGR are reporting that they have received calls on Wednesday evening from G1 owners claiming to have received the updated Android 1.5 OS, the Cupcake. As we reported, among the changes you will find is the virtual QWERTY keyboard, the ability to take videos and play them back, stereo Bluetooth and an accelerometer among other things. Details remain sketchy and we’re not sure if there is a certain order to the upgrade being sent out.

EngadgetMobile also reported that a person who works for the carrier said that T-Mobile would confirm the availability of the Cupcake upgrade for its G1 customers in the near future. Sounds like some of these cell reps have a future in politics. Here is the best way to find out if the G1 upgrade has dropped: Look for it!

If you are a G1 user on T-Mobile, let us know if you received Android OS 1.5 or not.

source: BGR, EngadgetMobile, more