It’s not to say that the stock web browser found on the Nexus One and Motorola DROID aren’t bad, but the two handsets were recently seen running Mozilla’s Fennec mobile browser. Mozilla has been in the web browser game for quite some time and really knows how to make the experience impressive for its users, but it’s slowly coming together for the Android platform. The Mozilla team provided some teaser photos of the mobile browser at work on both handsets on their Facebook page – still, there is no confirmation regarding the time line of when a public build of the mobile browser will become available. Even if it does take some time to come around, it’s going to have to compete against some other well known browsers on the platform that already proven themselves to meet the needs of handset owners.
source: Facebook via BGR

The guys at Android and Me were talking to people in the know and  were told that every single Android device in the U.S. will be receiving the Android 2.1 upgrade. Processor speeds will prevent all of them from receiving every single feature of what you see on the Nexus One. For example, considering that the Motorola DROID will not be getting the animated wallpaper, we would imagine that this feature will be off limits to all current Android phones. One other piece of bad news is that according to the info received by Android and Me, some of the Android phones will need to get wiped before downloading the 2.1 upgrade. The DROID, currently running Android 2.0.1, might end up being the only model that won’t require a wipe. The site also says that select models will have to do a PC install for the upgrade. Samsung recently did this with the Moment.

The carriers and the manufacturers are currently working out the details of the 2.1 upgrade and deciding whether or not to send out an OTA update or a PC installed one. The advantage of the latter would be the ability to make a proper backup and produce a higher rate of successful upgrades. The disadvantage is that it is a pain in the you know where, compared to an.OTA download.. All of this is set to take place in Q2 of this year with the G1 and the myTouch 3G the initial two first-gen handsets to get Android 2.1.
source: AndroidandMe

On Friday, we reported that the Nexus One had made it past the FCC. As we all know, the next carrier that will have the honor of providing service for the Android 2.1 device is Verizon. According to Neowin, we now have a date when Big Red will start supporting the phone, which is the first CDMA version of the handset. A tipster close to the situation has told the site that March 23rd is the day when Big Red customers can buy the phone from Google’s web site and have it activated over Verizon’s CDMA Ev-Do network. Currently, only T-Mobile supports the N-One. March 23rd happens to be the opening day of the CTIA show in the U.S. and it is not known if Verizon will be holding a press conference to discuss the Nexus One. Pricing also is an unknown. Currently the handset runs unlocked for $529 and costs $179 with a 2 year T-Mobile contract. The Nexus One is manufactured by HTC and is sold by Google at google.com/phone. Right at this moment, it is the only Android phone running the 2.1 OS and Flash 10.1 is expected to be made available as a download to the phone sometime in the first half of the year.
source: Neowin

Myxer is an entertainment company in the business of providing downloads to mobile phones. You know, things like wallpaper, ringtones, videos, etc. They have delivered more than 1 billion such downloads and with 350,000 registered Android users, they decided to get into the metrics business. In their report for January, Myxer has found something very interesting. While it is usually the big, flashy cities like New York and San Francisco where you would expect to find the vanguard of technological change, it seems to be middle America that is embracing Android first. 7 states in America’s heartland-Arizona, Nebraska, New Mexico, Montana, North and South Dakota, and Wyoming-have seen Android usage outnumber that of the iPhone. Maryland is the only East coast state that can claim the same thing. Some are saying that the reason for the results is that in some of the Mid-West states, Verizon is the only carrier with broad 3G coverage. But it could be that in the U.S., change starts in the middle of the country and spreads out to the coasts.

Other interesting things discovered by Myxer is that 3 out of every 4 Nexus One users is Male. On the opposite end of the spectrum, 2 out of every 3 users of the Samsung Behold II and the HTC myTouch are Female. Across every Android handset, more Women than Men downloaded mobile entertainment. The G1 seems to be the handset with the youngest demographics. 57% of downloads  for that device fall into the 18-24 age group. Finally, users of the DROID are the least active, consuming an average of just 4 pieces of mobile entertainment per month.
source: Myxer

People in the UK may have something to jump up for joy because the Telegraph is reporting that the Nexus One will land its way towards Vodafone UK sometime in April – they did not specify where they received their sources from. Intended to go up against Apple’s pride and joy, the price is yet to be finalized – although it’s “likely to be priced very similar to comparable smartphones such as the iPhone.”  With still some time to go in between now and April, it’s looking to become one heated contest, even in Android land, as the Nexus One will compete head-to-head with another HTC handset in the form of the Desire. Of course the Nexus One will follow a different sales strategy as it will only be made available for purchase through Google’s online store – so word of mouth sales would hopefully propel others to go after it. Even though the Nexus One and Desire are closely related – the latter offers the Sense UI on top of Android 2.1 and will feature an optical trackpad as opposed to the N1’s trackball. Despite possibly tangling with one of its brothers, the Nexus One is finally going to be available soon for UK customers.
source: The Telegraph via Engadget

Big Red’s lineup is about to get even more red and green seeing that a CDMA HTC-made smartphone with the model name PB99300 was passed by the FCC. This undoubtedly is the CDMA version of the Nexus One that Google officially announced during the handset’s unveiling back in January because the GSM/HSPA version is the PB99100. Now this may throw some customers in a deep pickle seeing that they’ll have to really sit down and think about their potential future purchase when they take into consideration the vast mix of top Android handsets that the carrier supports. The Nexus One for Verizon will follow suit with the others before it as the smartphone will probably sold directly through Google’s online store and offered at the same price; hopefully. Additionally, there are other rumored HTC Android powered handsets that’s expected to launch soon like the other Android 2.1 smartphone; the HTC Incredible. Considering that the Motorola DROID is still in the competition, customers again will need to weigh down all their options before making a finalized decision – from the looks of it, HTC definitely has a niche on Verizon’s lineup.
source: FCC via Unwired View

The Motorola DEVOUR is now available at Best Buy. With a 2 year Verizon contract, the aluminum clad Android phone is $99.99.  Off contract, you’ll be reaching deep for the $499.99 that the big box retailer is asking. For Big Red, this is the first MOTOBLUR device that they have offered, and it is expected to be available from the carrier starting on March 15th. But if you have got to have the handset today and become the envy of all of your friends, well, Best Buy would be happy to oblige. The DEVOUR’s display is packed with 3.1 inches of updates from your social networking sites, is powered by Android 1.6 and has a Qualcomm 600MHz MSM7627 processor-the same one featured in the Palm Pixi. So far, the reaction from those who have had hands-on experience with the phone say that it is quite zippy. And no, the DEVOUR is not waterproof so if you are planning on copying Meagan Fox, better keep the water off until you’re done with the phone.
source: BestBuy

There isn’t much difference in the number of men vs. women using the iPhone, or the iPod Touch or even webOS devices. But when it comes to Android, things change dramatically. According to analytical company Admob, a whopping 73% of Android users are of the male persuasion. Some of this might have to do with the images seen on TV ads. The DROID, as you might recall, had ads featuring stealth bombers and robots, machines and rockets. The webOS powered Palm Pre Plus, advertised by the same carrier as the DROID, was originally considered a great phone for Mom in its initial ads. The design of the latter device is all square corners, sharp and built sturdy. The former device is rounded and, as one analyst said, looks like a Fishere-Price toy. We’ve seen women with the DROID and men with the Pre so we wouldn’t take these figures so personally. The average age of an Android user is 35, close to the 37 year old average iPhone owner and the 36 year old webOS user. Not surprising, the average iPod Touch user is all of 23 years old.

Another Admob report shows that Android is about to overtake the iPhone for most smartphone traffic in the U.S. As of January, Android users made up 39% of smartphone requests vs. 47% for the iPhone. Android has been really picking up steam vs. Apple’s touchscreen handset and could pass the device by the next quarter. Some other notes from the survey show that Android and iPhone users both download a similar number of apps each month and spend the same amount of time using them. But something must be different when it comes to app buying because 21% of Android owners buy at least 1 app per month vs. 24% for webOS users, 35% for iPod Touch owners and a whopping 50% of those with the iPhone. As far as recommending their current device to pals, 91% of iPhone users would tell a friend to buy one. That figure is 88% for the iPod Touch, 84% for Android amd only 69% for webOS.
source: Admob via AndroidCommunity, AndroidandMe

HTC has two Android models on the way, each with some spectacular specs and both with a legion of fans already, despite not yet having been launched. The Verizon bound Incredible is expected to be released fairly shortly while the Supersonic is the subject of 4G rumors for Sprint’s WiMAX service and is supposed to be launched this summer. The red earphone grille suggests that this is the Incredible as does the navigation pad at the bottom of the phone. That is a feature that the Supersonic does not have. Whichever model it is, the video should continue to raise the fever for these two handsets.
source: YouTube via Engadget

While recent Android models like the Nexus One and the Motorola DROID/MILESTONE are expected to get their Flash 10.1 upgrade before the middle of the year, what about older models? Does an Android phone like the G1 still suffer from performance issues when loaded up with Adobe’s software? The answer came in a statement on the official Adobe blog page from Antonio Flores. Flores said, “You can expect the final release for Android to be available mid-year. All Android devices that meet our minimum s/w and h/w requirements will be supported. Unfortunately, I cannot say a lot more publicly about our port to the Android system at this time. No, the HTC Hero will not be supported b/c it does not have the correct Android OS version and its chipset is not powerful enough. We require a device with an ARM v7 (Cortex) processor. Examples are the Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets and the TI OMAP3 series.” The Nexus One, of course, features the former processor while the Motorola DROID has the latter chip under its hood. As for the G1, forget it. The DROID and N-One are the only models that currently meet the requirements.

Just in case it’s been a long day and the words are just not able to penetrate, here is a list of U.S. Android phones that will not be getting Flash 10.1. They are the Sprint Hero, Sprint Moment, T-Mobile G1, T-Mobile myTouch 3G, T-Mobile CLIQ, T-Mobile Behold II, Verizon DROID ERIS and Verizon DEVOUR. It should be noted that some handsets like the DROID ERIS and the DEVOUR are equipped with Flash Lite that was added by the manufacturer.
source: AdobeForums via Andronica