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Google employees given HTC-made Google Phones, January launch imminent?
TechCrunch was certain that rumors of a pending honest-to-goodness Google Phone were the real deal, and now according to the site, Google employees are already tweeting with the devices in hand. If you believe what you see on Twitter, Google drones were given the HTC-designed handsets at an all-hands staff event, and the phone is quite a looker. One tweet reads "ZOMG we had fireworks and we all got the new Google phone. It's beautiful." while another says the phone is "Like an iPhone on beautifying steroids." One other, non-Google user on Twitter who's seen the device says that the device is a bit thinner than the iPhone, has a trackball (a la Hero), and has no physical keyboard... which sounds like the Bravo / Passion we've seen a lot of lately (and we hear is coming to the US soon). Apparently the device is running Android 2.1, is unlocked and AT&T-ready (no word on 3G status, but this could line up with our speculation about this being the carrier's first Android phone), and will be due sometime in January. We're guessing if that last bit is true, it will coincide with a CES announcement, but anything could happen at this point. If the device is out in the wild in such a big way, an end of the year press release wouldn't shock us either; of course, it's entirely possible that this is going to end up becoming the Android Dev Phone 1's true successor or an elaborate prank on Google's part in response to the rumors that have been building steam over the past couple weeks (they're crafty and they have a sense of humor -- it could happen). Anyhow, check out one of the tweet-tears after the break, and stay tuned for more info! Update: Google all but confirms that devices are floating around on campus in a post on its blog: We recently came up with the concept of a mobile lab, which is a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities, and we shared this device with Google employees across the globe. This means they get to test out a new technology and help improve it. Not only that, but TechCrunch has more details on the device, claiming it will be a Google controlled, HTC-built model actually dubbed the "Google Phone," and will feature a "super high resolution OLED display," a Snapdragon CPU, a mic on the back of the phone that helps to eliminate background noise, is "really, really fast," and most importantly, will be sold unlocked. Essentially, TC claims that the phone will function on any GSM network you throw at it -- we assume that means an extremely rare pairing of both T-Mobile and AT&T 3G bands in the radio. Of course right now this is all speculation and hearsay -- until we get some solid facts (and maybe a device or two on camera), don't pull out the credit card just yet. Update 2: Jon Gruber over at Daring Fireball says that the Google Phone is identifying itself as "Nexus One" (a Blade Runner reference) in its user agent string, though apparently Sony is calling its Android UI "Nexus" as well. Furthermore, a tweet from the man claims that he's heard the phone sports 3G for T-Mobile only, thus seriously dashing hopes that this would play nice all over the US of A. Again, grain of salt everyone.
HTC Bravo pictured more lucidly (Update: coming to US in January as HTC Passion)
We realize we might have overfed you a little with that plentiful leak of HTC's 2010 plans, so here's a chance to better ogle and digest HTC's "Performance" flagship to be: the Bravo. Pairing Android with Qualcomm's 1GHz Snapdragon and presenting a 3.7-inch AMOLED facade, this certainly ticks the headline boxes, and the addition of a five megapixel AF cam capable of 720p video capture gives it an extra sheen of 2010 newness. The picture above is accompanied by less solid info indicating a 1,400mAh battery, which will be joined by the mandatory WiFi, Bluetooth and MicroUSB connectivity, plus MicroSD expansion, FM radio tuner, digital compass, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Then again, the source is the same bunch of heroes responsible for our extra early -- and accurate -- info on the HD2, so those specs may be considered pretty reliable. Oh, if you're wondering about the touchscreen, it's capacitive, like it should be. Update: If you were wondering about the difference between the Bravo and the recently leaked Passion, there is none other than the branding apparently. We're also hearing that the above handset will be available in the US in January, a cool three months ahead of the expected European release.
HTC confirms it has Android 2.0 handsets in the works
Of course nobody expects Motorola and Verizon to be the sole benefactors of Android 2.0's Donut-ey goodness in the long run, but in an age of increasing Android ubiquity it seemed odd to see them as the only ones with a more-or-less-confirmed Android 2.0 handset on the way. Well, Sascha Segan over at Gearlog did some digging and while Samsung wouldn't confirm any Android 2.0 work, HTC was forthcoming in saying that it's had Android 2.0 around for a while, and is working on it for future phones. Perhaps the HTC Desire (dubbed Droid Eris) or the Passion will be one of those phones? It would be odd to see Verizon introduce a 2.0 handset from Motorola and only 1.5 or 1.6 handsets from HTC, but we'll just have to see how it all goes down next month -- Motorola sure seems buddy buddy with Google on this one. But if Dell could track down a copy, we don't see how far behind HTC could be on this one. [Via SlashGear]
HTC Dragon coming to Verizon as the Passion?
We've been hearing about a 1GHz Snapdragon-based Android handset called the HTC Dragon ever since the HD2 came out, but now it looks like some pieces are falling into place -- apparently this mystery HTC set we spotted over the weekend is a CDMA version of the Dragon headed for Verizon as the HTC Passion sometime in Q4. Apparently Verizon's trying to unify the hardware UI of its Droid lineup, which is why the Motorola Droid, the HTC Droid Eris, and the Passion share a set of buttons along the bottom edge of the screen, and some people are also claiming that the white notification bar is further sign of similarity. As for us, well, we'll wait to hear more before we start to get too excited -- and we can't help but wonder if this thing will run Sense or stock Android 2.0 when it hits, as HTC's big new ad push is all about personalization. Still, it's looking like a hell of a year for Android (and Verizon), no?
