HTC Legend debuts on Virgin Mobile in Canada, glances furtively southwards

The phone, the myth, the Legend has just become available over in Canada, giving North Americans their first taste of that aluminum unibody construction. It's looking highly likely that this is the same handset we saw gracing the FCC's pages not too long ago, indicating that Yanks should be getting in on the fun relatively soon as well. AT&T already let one HTC cat slip out of the bag today, guess this confirms the Liberty won't be feeling lonely in Ma Bell's Android cupboard whenever it does launch. And hey, Canadian friends, just think of the Legend as consolation for your teams not sniffing the Stanley Cup the past three years.

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Samsung i5801 makes a cameo, script reads 'entry-level Android 2.1 device'

An unseemly Samsung touchscreen device opens the scene, being held by one HOWARD CHUI. Its size is comparable to the Galaxy Spica but something doesn't feel as momentous here. Background is calm, likely the top of a table. He improvises from the script.


What we're looking at is the Samsung i5801, an entry-level Android 2.1 phone sporting a slightly customized UI. The device sports a 240 x 400 (possibly 240 x 480) screen and a 3 megapixel camera. Storage is around 300MB built-in but supports MicroSDHC. Connectivity-wise, there's Wi-Fi, GPS, and possibly Bluetooth 3.0. Pretty run of the mill, no word on price or release, but it's almost certain to target a much more cash-conscious section of the market.

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Motorola Motoroi getting Android 2.1, bound for UK?

There's no word yet on when the Motorola Motoroi will make it to T-Mobile (in the industry we call that "the T-Motoroiola rumor") but there has definitely been a good deal of chatter concerning this handset. The latest has Pocket-lint confirming a UK release with Moto itself. Offering similarities to Taipei's HSPA-lovin' XT701, users in Ol' Blighty (and the rest of the UK) can look forward to an 8-megapixel camera (with a Xenon flash), support for 720p video, mini HDMI, and an unspecified processor boost. In addition, Android 2.1 is likely to be part of the deal. We have neither a timeline nor a price, and the veracity of this rumor is yet to be established (although it does seem like a no-brainer), but if this all goes down as Pocket-lint says it will you can color us Yanks mighty jealous.

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Android 2.1 upgrade for Sprint's HTC Hero leaks out

Okay, so the Moment's Android 2.1 upgrade is official -- great. But what about the Sense-powered Hero? There's no firsthand word just yet other than the promise of a Q2 release, but there is a firsthand ROM (seemingly) floating around that gives us hope we'll here something from Hesse and crew any day now. Oh, yeah, and there is the cool part about being able to just grab the binary now and get your upgrade on without waiting, if you're as brave and impatient as we tend to be around here. Let us know how it goes, folks.

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Milestone gets Android 2.1 update in UK, available to download now

The saga of the Milestone's firmware update to Android 2.1 is finally over for one more territory. The United Kingdom is today awaking to the news that Motorola has made the freshest Eclair available to its loyal British users, with the download already awaiting those eager to be surfing along the cutting edge of Android innovation. What else do you need to know, it's the finest software Google has to offer for your phone and it's downloadable at the source link -- get going!

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Sony Ericsson X10 family to get Android 2.1 in 'Q4 2010'

The Xperia X10, one of the big mindshare-grabbing devices of the smartphone world, made us wait a cool six months between its November announcement and wide retail availability in April. One of the secret hopes while all that waiting was going on was that perhaps SE would surprise us and upgrade the dusty old Android 1.6 base installation to a fresh and creamy Eclair (2.1) or even a frosty Froyo (2.2) treat shortly after launch. Time to lay those dreams to rest, dear friends, as Sony Ericsson has come with an official schedule for upgrading the firmware on the Xperia X10 and its X10 mini and X10 mini pro siblings, which places the Android 2.1 delivery in the fourth quarter of 2010 -- and knowing the company that probably means closer to Christmas than Halloween. All we can say is you'd better really like that UX platform a great deal, because it'll be the only thing you'll be seeing for quite a while on Sony Ericsson's Googlephones.

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Inbrics M1 gets Android 2.1 and CPU bump to 1GHz, insists on being called an MID

It looks like a smartphone, it has a smartphone's form factor, operating system, and an extra-slim slideout QWERTY keyboard, yet Inbrics still insists on calling the M1 a Mobile Internet Device instead. When the company's not busy sinking its own battleships, it appears to be doing actually beneficial stuff, such as cramming a new 1GHz Samsung CPU inside its device. The original 800MHz unit was the thing that worried us most during our otherwise praise-filled hands-on experience with the M1 at CES, so it's a good sign to see it getting a bit of extra brawn ahead of launch. The software has also moved with the times, with Android 2.1 being the current OS on tap, which should look rather nice on that 3.7-inch OLED display. The M1 will have WiFi, but no cellular connectivity is planned just yet. It's all dependent on having a Western vendor pick up the hardware and infuse it with its own requirements. Although at CES we were told to expect the M1 in March, the current timetable is for a July launch in Korea and US availability by the end of the year, provided Inbrics finds a partner for the device. Netbook News have also finally squeezed a price out of the company and have been told to expect it in the "low $200" range. Sounds kinda promising, don't you think?



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LG LU2300 Android handset gets photos, 'April or May' release date?

Actual, honest-to-goodness photos of what is presumably the Korea-only LG LU2300 handset popped up on a site in the SK recently, and like a family pet that plays professional sports (guess who watched Air Bud last night?) it's certainly captured the imagination of the Android-lovin' world at large. The thing is said to sport a 3.5-inch (800 x 480) AMOLED capacitive touch screen, Android 2.1, landscape mode slide keyboard, support for DivX files, a 5 megapixel (720p video) camera with geo-tagging, WiFi, GPS, DMB tuner and -- last but not least -- a 1GHz Snapdragon processor. The stats are consistent with what we've heard before, and now we have a possible release date: April or May. What we don't have, however, is any reason to believe rumors that this is going to be released in the states as the C710 Aloha. Although we might be skeptical, we understand the inherent wish-fulfillment: this is one sexy phone, and we'd certainly like to see it become available here. See another photo for yourself after the break.




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Eclair shocker! Android 2.1 leaked for Samsung Moment

Feeling impatient? Can't wait until Moment gets its Android 2.1 upgrade? The kids at SDX-Developers feel you, with one forum member providing a simple, straightforward download link to a 7z archive containing not one but two leaked builds: ECLAIR.DC23 and ECLAIR.DD03. According to the hub-bub, the latter seems to be giving people the most luck, although some are reporting a "faulty" Marketplace. That said, both builds do seem to work with voice and data. And yes, it will wipe your phone completely -- but if you're looking to get into this sort of action you're probably a risk-taker and a heart-breaker anyways. Good luck, and if you brick your phone don't blame us.

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Motorola Milestone gets 2.1 firmware upgrade in Hong Kong, Europe to follow by 'end of March'

Look away now, Droid owners, as Motorola's finally uploaded the Milestone's Android 2.1 firmware update to its servers. It's only officially sanctioned for users in Hong Kong and Macau for now, but judging by the inclusion of a Dutch language pack in the new firmware, it looks like it's the same stuff that will shortly be rolling out all across Europe as well. In addition to the funky live wallpapers, users will also get a new feature called Motorola Car Home -- a special interface for in-car usage -- along with some speed improvements. Now, we're not exactly sure what the rollout plan is for each nation, but Moto's Facebook page tells us we'll see an end to the Milestone's upgrade saga before March is through. The source contains a direct link to the fresh firmware file, and you can find a straightforward upgrade how-to at Android World below. We'll be right here for your upgrade stories.

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LG's LU2300 set to challenge Samsung's M100S for Korean Android dominance?

Eternal archrivals-to-the-death Samsung and LG have a tendency to match one another tit for tat in virtually every consumer electronic category, but for whatever reason, LG's been far less interested in going for broke with Android over the past year -- though a preoccupation with Windows Phone 7 Series is a solid guess at this point. Things may be changing, though, now that we've got news out of Telecoms Korea that they're prepping a more brutal assault than the weakling GW620 could ever provide in the form of a so-called LU2300 for the domestic market (we're assuming the actual thing will be a little more... well, "designed" than the snow-white mockup above). The site is playing up LG's announcement that the phone will bundle a bunch of popular apps in ROM (awesome?) but the real news is the impressive spec sheet, which is said to include a Nexus One-like 1GHz Snapdragon and WVGA AMOLED display paired with Android 2.1 and a 5 megapixel cam capable of 720p video. It certainly sounds like it's ready to give Samsung's M100S a run for its money, but we'll need to wait until its second quarter release to know for sure.

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