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 HTC handset will still be on sale after all
High Tech Computer Corporation’s Nexus One handset that’s made for the Internet search engine giant will still be purchasable from Google, only it’s now their new staple reference phone for developing and testing applications upon.
Nexus One will not be entirely scrapped by Google as previously thought, instead it will be sold only as a development mobile phone running Froyo with the purchase price of $529 (£333) through the Android development website to coders.
Previous development phones have been the HTC Dream or T-Mobile G1, as the Android Dev Phone 1, which was then replaced by the HTC Magic that was then known as Android Dev Phone 2.
News of this announcement came in the form of a posting to the Android development blog, with details of exactly how to obtain the unlocked Nexus One as a developer - which will be a welcomed addition to a coders arsenal, seeing as the Magic won’t support new versions of the OS.
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Switching from Samsung to Sony displays
HTC has announced it will stop using AMOLED screens on their mobile phones, in favour of the Super LCD displays in upcoming handsets and also on the HTC Desires and future Nexus Ones. This news comes a week after Google stopped selling the Nexus One phones directly, which could mean the mobiles will still continue to be made by HTC only for other vendors and mobile phone networks.
AMOLED displays that are currently within the more recent HTC handsets are manufactured by Samsung where rumour has it the demand is high and the supplies are running low, where the AMOLED screens are also plagued with poor visibility in sunlight as we’ve seen on One Mobile Ring.
The Super LCD (SLCD) displays are manufactured by Sony, where they are on a similar par to the AMOLED screens only LCD doesn’t traditionally suffer from the same sunlight-washout issues.
Super LCD’s will improve on battery life, as they don’t have the same drain on power resources as the AMOLED currently do in the HTC Desire. HTC also believe the viewing experience is comparable to that of an AMOLED display, with better possible viewing angles.
This new display technology is due to appear in handsets arriving on the shelves later this year, within the new models in addition to the updating the current range of phones which will be unknown to the end user.
On-line store closed for good
Google has sold out of their own branded Nexus One Android handsets, where the webstore selling the mobile phone has also closed up shop.
Earlier this week we brought you news that Google will no longer be retailing its own SIM free and unlocked mobile phone, after the current shipment arriving this week runs out - well, now that has happened.
The HTC handset made for the Internet search engine giant is no more, with no more being ordered or requested by Google.
Vodafone in the UK is still selling the handset on a contract, but when those supplies run out they will be in the same proverbial boat as Google’s own webstore and will close up shop on retailing the phone too.
Google has made it clear they will continue to support the Nexus One, along with its partner mobile phone companies that have sold the handset but for how long, and through how many generations of Android is unclear.
Either way the first ever Google branded handset was seen as a success by the company, where its own CEO called it just that and they were pleased with the way things have gone.
Perhaps there will be another Google phone on the horizon, although we will have to waiting until Las Vegas’ CES in January or Barcelona’s Mobile World congress 2011 to find out.
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Froyo comes to the HTC rebranded handset
Vodafone in the UK has confirmed in an email they will soon be rolling out the update to Android for their Nexus Ones, according to the technology website Android Central.
The update that brings in the ability to natively view flash video content on the Nexus One, which has been with the USA Google handset owners for some time could be arriving in the UK anytime now.
However, it appears some of the States side version of Froyo on the HTC phone made for Google won’t be available. Stripped from the UK roll out of Android 2.2 is access to the Amazon MP3 store, along with Google Goggles that allows users to take pictures with their phone and then search the web with those images.
The letter goes on to mention updating over WIFI would be the best way forward, even though customers will be notified over the air (OTA) of its arrival. Seeing as the download could be on the large size, this is preferable as the data plan sold with the Nexus One will certainly be eaten away if downloaded any other way.
No mentioned of whether WIFI or USB tethering have been taken out, but we suspect they will be in tact along with the Flash video ability which effectively brings the handset on par with the HTC Desire.
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End of an era for the Android mobile phone
Google has announced the HTC handset made specifically for the Internet search giant which runs their own OS will no longer be available, after the current shipment arriving this week runs out. The Google website that sells the mobile phone will close up shop when this final stock clears, with no more mobile phones arriving and no more being requested.
Google has stated recently the Nexus One venture for them was a success, where they will continue to support the handset. They will also continue to sell the current stock of these handsets elsewhere in the world too, with their partners such as Vodafone in the UK.
The Android based handset was the first to be updated to Froyo, or version 2.2 of the Google mobile platform and is still a much sort after handset where it’s popular by developers who will still be able to source the handset only through different means.
If you still wish to buy the handset time is distinctly running out, as there won’t be any more manufactured soon although the HTC Desire is still a good alternative and it is more or less the same handset.
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New Android versions for Hero and Nexus 
HTC has begun to roll out updates to their handsets running the Google OS, these are on the HTC Hero and the HTC phone made for Google – the Nexus One. These firmware updates bring the mobile phones up to Android 2.1 and also ‘Froyo’, or version 2.2 on the Nexus.
The HTC Hero initially shipped with version 1.5 of Android, where the Over The Air update will bring the current version of 2.1 to the device. However, the update only appears to be for unlocked or SIM free handsets at present, with the individual mobile phone networks rolling out the new Android version over the next few weeks.
HTC’s mobile phone made for the Internet search engine giant Google will be the first mobile to be updated to the very latest 2.2 ‘Froyo’ version of Android. The Google Nexus One will also receive an Over The Air update message, although running the update over WIFI would be preferable due to the firmware’s size just as it would be with the Hero.
Other HTC handsets such as the Legend, Desire and Wildfire are due to receive the 2.2 update at the start of July we’ve been informed, with the HTC Sense overlay to Android being credited for the slight delay as it’s heavily wrapped around Android.
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Gphone on the way
 Numerous reports have surfaced over the weekend, including an article in the Wall Street Journal, confirming the launch of a phone direct from Google Inc. Named as the Nexus One, market analysts predict the Gphone will be sold directly to consumers, bypassing network operators and untangled from handset subsidies. Google will be able to moderate the cost by embedding advertising within the onboard applications and functions.
Manufactured by HTC, the phone seems to be materialising with a 1GHz Snapdragon chip, a capacitive OLED touchscreen, Android 2.1 and to be thinner than the iPhone.
A number of blogs and media sources are touting the Nexus One as available from January. Stories have been told and rumours spread about a Gphone appearing for more than a year, yet with no official announcement so far, next month feels too soon to be ready for sales.
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