Shortly after Apple CEO Steve Jobs published his thoughts on Flash, stating that Adobe’s platform has too many disadvantages to become part of Apple’s advanced iPhone OS, Adobe has come up with a statement of its own. Even though the software developer admits that some collaboration with the computer giant would only benefit the customers and technology as a whole, it sees no reason to continue to insist on Apple adopting Flash. Apple’s statement has been clear enough, so Adobe is now shifting its focus to the other mobile platforms, such as Windows Phone 7, BlackBerry, Symbian, webOS and Android.

Sure, some high-end Android smartphones are already capable of showing some limited content through Flash Lite, but everyone knows that the real deal is expected to happen once Adobe’s Flash Player 10.1 launches. Fortunately, the developer has announced that it will deliver a public preview of the software at Google I/O, which starts on May 19, and will finally release the product in June. While this sounds like an earlier than expected rollout of full Flash support for Android, keep in mind that it’s still not clear which devices will be getting an update and when. As Google’s Andy Rubin said, full Flash support will come with Android 2.2 Froyo. Let’s hope that as many phones as possible will get a free update to that one, and users won’t need to purchase a brand new handset only a few months after they got themselves a Nexus One or a Droid Incredible.
sources: Adobe, Apple

Back in February, we reported on how SkyFire purchased a company called Kolbysoft which worked hand in hand with the well received Steel mobile web browser for Android. Now we’re starting to experience the results from that acquisition as SkyFire 2.0 for Android is now here and shows off the new talent they absorbed from the purchase of Kolbysoft. The interesting new feature with this latest version can be seen with the SkyBar feature which essentially aids in viewing Flash content on a web page. Instead of usually trying to render videos in the background when you open a page with Flash content, users can click the menu key and access the SkyBar which gives you the option of playing the video. In turn, this would decrease page load times and clears up the page just a bit more to make the experience of surfing a bit more gratifying. All in all, SkyFire is continuing to make ground in the mobile web surfing arena where it’s surely getting more crowded – luckily they’re still on the top of their game.
via SlashPhone

Taking the smartphone market by storm since the beginning of the year, the money train is looking to keep on moving forward for HTC as they expect some records to be broken in Q2 2010. The room for growth continually looks to be sunny as HTC hopes to see record revenues in Q2 with a 50 percent increase on shipments which would tally in at 4.5 million for the quarter. In this quarter alone, the Taiwan based company released 6 devices – one of them being a Windows Mobile powered handset; the HTC HD mini. Joey Cheng Cheng, HTC’s director of investor relations, said that Europeans and Asians are still more familiar with their Windows Mobile phones despite US consumers adopting Google’s Android platform with open arms. The Windows Mobile scene for HTC isn’t looking to back down any time soon as they expect to launch two additional devices – the HTC Tera and the HTC Trophy before the end of June 2010. Looking past the horizon, they’ve reconfirmed the notion that they’ll have a Windows Phone 7 smartphone by the end of the year. Even though HP may have gotten a hold of Palm, they’re still looking to lead the market with their premier offerings.
via WMPoweruser

Touted as being their very first carrier branded Android smartphone, the Vodafone 845 has been officially announced as being an excellent value for customers with its mobile internet offering and superior user experience. The Android 2.1 smartphone is actually manufactured by Chinese maker Huawei and features a 2.8” touchscreen, Wi-Fi, 3-megapixel camera, and comes preloaded with Vodafone 360 services to complete the package. It’s expected to launch in 12 Vodafone markets which includes the UK as well, but it’s not known exactly when it’ll be released nor has pricing been officially confirmed. We’d imagine that Vodafone would aggressively price the handset accordingly seeing that its their very own carrier branded smartphone. One of the biggest draw to the handset is its slim form factor that makes it one of the smallest Android 2.1 handsets in existence.
source: Vodafone via The Unwired

Getting a pre-alpha build of Mozilla’s Fennec browser for Android should obviously top using a hacked version, even though the developer admits that there are some bugs. But in exchange for nothing more than feedback, Mozilla will let you install the browser on your Android powered device, You might recall near the end of February when we showed you some pictures of the Motorola DROID and the Nexus One running the browser. As for the software itself, it has been tested on those two handsets only, and while bugs might not crawl out of your phone, they could require a reboot. Memory usage is not good on this build and a low memory device like the DROID could have problems with large pages. As a quirk of the install process, you might see the browser exit and relaunch when you first start it up, which is a problem that is being worked on. You cannot open links from other apps using Fennec, but this is something that should be resolved on the next build. Android 2.0 or higher is required and the installation must be to internal memory, not to an SD card. To install the pre-alpha version, scan the QR code at the source link, or follow the directions there. You might need to change your phone’s settings to enable non-Market installation of an app. As for feedback, a temporary Google group has been created and a permanent way to get your feedback through to Mozilla will be announced in the future.
source: VladimirVukicevic’sBlog

After the sleek Android-powered Garmin-Asus nuvifone A50 (Garminfone in the U.S.), the joint venture is now introducing its second Android model, the Garmin-Asus A10. As its name suggests, the A10 will be slightly less equipped, mounting a 3.2-inch HVGA touch-sensitive screen, instead of the 3.5-inch panel found on the A50. The Garmin-Asus A10 is said to be a pedestrian-friendly navigation-centric smartphone, so we hope to see some interesting new functionality for those users who enjoy walking.

Anyway, one thing is for sure, and that is the fact that all the map data will be stored on the handset, freeing you from the need to have an active data connection. Other features of the A10 include a GPS (no way!), 1500mAh battery and the Android operating system, probably with the manufacturer’s customized interface on top.

The Garmin-Asus A10 is expected to launch in mid-2010, but its price is still unannounced. Anyone up for a walk?

source: Garmin-Asus

Remember that HTC Facebook poll regarding what name they should side with for their next Android phone that’s being regarded as  “playful and full of youth?” It turns out that the winner was none other than the HTC Wildfire and it might actually be the new handset that was recently approved by the FCC. Going by the model name HTC PC70110, the device looks somewhat youthful with its daringly sharp blue accented slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Looking closer into it, we rarely get to see photos of approved HTC phones from the the FCC – so it makes you really wonder what is the exact reasoning behind it. As for the handset, it looks to support AT&T’s 3G bands (850/1900 MHz), but it could also be bound to some our Canadian friends to the north as well. Below the touchscreen, you can almost make out the same touch sensitive buttons found on the HTC Droid Incredible – leaving little doubt that it will indeed be an Android powered phone. And for the first time ever, we are seeing a trackpad being utilized on an HTC slider phone. The few buttons on the QWERTY that can be clearly seen from the images looks more like the ones found on the HTC Touch Pro2. Whether this is indeed going to end up becoming the HTC Wildfire, one thing is definite about it all – HTC is clearly on a roll and it doesn’t look like they’re slowing down any time soon.
source: FCC via Unwired View

Maybe the wait may has been unbearable for Vodafone customers who have been patiently waiting while US consumers received the first crack at the Nexus One. Since opening up pre-orders yesterday for the venerable Android 2.1 handset, it seems as though there was a surge of demand for the handset because there are now reports of the device being sold out for now. It’s quite surprising to see this happen especially when the HTC Desire is readily available for customers to purchase, but then again, this is the premier offering directly from Google. Customers who are eager in getting a unit will have to wait approximately seven to ten days before stock is replenished. Heading into its second round of sales, we’re betting that Google is now prepared on the back-end when this thing finally launches. At the same time, it’s almost difficult to fathom that the Nexus One is being well received seeing that there are a couple of other decent HTC Android offerings currently available.
via Android and Me

LG’s camp may have been quiet on the high-end Android front, but they’re not sitting around any longer and let the competition get the best of them. After hearing about the peppy specs with the LG LU2300 not too long ago, LG has gone out and officially announced it and another premier Android offering with the LG KU9500/SU950 in the hopes of capturing some interest. Both devices are packing some serious heat under the hood as they feature a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 3.5” WVGA AMOLED touchscreen, Dolby mobile surround sound, Wi-Fi, GPS, and a 5-megapixel camera. On the software side of things, “LG Air Sync” will enable uses to share content with a PC or web server wirelessly while “Scan Search” is an augmented reality app that’ll be preloaded on the handsets. Now the major difference between the two is that the LG SU2300 will offer a QWERTY keyboard, built-on trackpad, and will be running Android 1.6 at first – but it’s expected to receive an update to Android 2.1 some time between July and August. Conversely, the LG SU950/KU9500 will simply be your traditional looking candybar looking handset with Android 2.1 from the onset. Aside from be initially available through KT and SK Telecom in Korea, it’s unknown if LG plans to make the handsets available elsewhere.
source: LG Korea via Unwired View

Yet again there is another reason why Android is becoming a clear leader in the mobile space and gaining a lot of support from developers and consumers. With an increasing amount of people relying on their mobile handsets to access the internet, mobile web browsing is fast becoming crowded and competitive at the same time. Despite all of the advances we have seen with mobile web browsing, some still prefer the desktop experience partly because of the lack of support for certain things on mobile handsets. In an interview with the New York Times, Google’s vice president of engineering, Andy Rubin, offered some interesting expectations with the next major incarnation of Android. Rubin went on to say that Android 2.2 “Froyo” will finally add full support for Adobe Flash content – which would seamlessly offer that well rounded experience desktop users are used to witnessing. With news like this, consumers may be enticed with the depth of offerings that Android packs. However, Rubin did not provide a clear time line of when users can expect to see “Froyo” released, but Adobe has been heard to start shipping out Flash 10.1 on board Android smartphones some time during the second half of the year – which thankfully isn’t too long from now.
source: The NY Times