Verizon Wireless – the largest US operator – is rumored to get an Android-powered phone from Motorola next week. Last month the FCC approved a Motorola device known as Sholes, which is expected to be branded ‘Tao’ when commercially available.
The new Android device reportedly supports CDMA Rev A, as well as Wi-Fi 802.11b/g and GPS.
A launch of Verizon’s CDMA Android phone would follow rival T-Mobile’s deal with Motorola’s GSM Android device – the Cliq which will go on sale with T-Mobile USA in the next few weeks for US$199.99 on a two-year contract.
The Cliq features a touchscreen and QWERTY keyboard, a 320 x 480-pixel, 3.1-inch HVGA screen and a five-megapixel camera. The CLIQ is video-capable (play, stream and capture) and runs Android 1.5 (Cupcake). Motorola (MOT) claims a battery life of six hours.
The Cliq was Motorola’s first of what is expected to be a line of devices that run on the Android operating system. Motorola has reorganised its entire handset division around Android as it looks to regain market share following recent declines. Striking a deal with Verizon would give Motorola access to a much greater US customer base than T-Mobile.
Computer World likes these 10 free Android apps:
- GDocs: Allows users to view spreadsheets and to create, edit and view word processor documents from their Google Docs account.
- Imeem Mobile: Play music off your phone’s SD card or stream music over the Internet. Plays in the background.
- Locale: Set up conditions that trigger user-defined actions — for example, texting your friends when you get to a specific location.
- Palringo: Aaccess Yahoo Messenger, AIM, Windows Live Messenger, Facebook and other IM networks
- PicSay: Edit and modify photos on your phone.
- Ringdroid: Create free ringtones from your favorite songs.
- ShopSavvy: Enter a product name or barcode and ShopSavvy identifies the product, searches the Web and local chain stores for the best prices and collects reviews of the item.
- TuneWiki: A replacement for Android’s built-in media player, includes integrated Last.fm and Shoutcast radio streaming, YouTube video search, and community features.
- Twidroid: Integrates with Android’s browser, captures GPS to tweet your location or geotag photos; and offers a selection of URL shortening and photo hosting services.
- Video Player: The only free video player available for Android right now. Plays only H.264 and MPEG-4 videos, and only from an SD card.
According to Gartner, during the second quarter of 2009, the iPhone’s share of the global smart phone market had soared to third place with 13.3 percent, up from 2.8 percent a year earlier. Nokia is the dominant global smartphone leader with 45 percent share while the BlackBerry, with 18.7 percent share, is second.
Microsoft’s share continued to drop year-on-year to account for 9 per cent of the market in the second quarter of 2009. Android’s share was just under 2 per cent of the market but more Android-based devices will come to market in the fourth quarter of 2009, intensifying competition in the smartphone OS market, particularly for Symbian and Windows Mobile, says Gartner.
