Android fragmentation was inevitable. This is the nature of open source projects that have lax guidelines and include manufacturers from so many different nations. Unlike stern Windows Phone 7, Android’s hardware specifications are much wider, and because of this, smartphones bearing Google’s logo have widely varying features and technical abilities; ergo, app fragmentation was always going to happen. Flash 10.1 will not run on any North American machine not named the Droid or Nexus One (though the Incredible and Evo 4G will join that prestigious class). Android App Market splits were also unavoidable due to the number of nations involved. Vodafone has announced that it is opening its own App Store in select European countries. More »

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No other smartphone manufacturer has sown its seeds as broadly as HTC. Motorola is banking solely on Android. Samsung, Sony (though with plenty of Symbian history), and LG are fairly new entrants to the smartphone OS market. Apple, Palm, RIM, and Nokia (though not for long, when Symbian becomes fully open source) are closed systems with their own proprietary software. All this time, HTC has been backing Windows Mobile and Google Android like no one else. With Palm’s devastating fiscal revelations serving as the backdrop, new speculation has surfaced that HTC might be interested in buying Palm and thereby gaining a third smartphone OS to its stable. More »

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Has the iPad met its match? Stuff.TV takes us on an exclusive hands-on fondling of ICD’s Gemini Android tablet, a sibling to the Vega that was demoed at CES. The Gemini is not just a large tablet, but it is also a smartphone too, with a SIM card slot. More »

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The mega expensive and luxurious Chairman smartphone from high-end Swiss watchmaker Ulysse Nardin is priced from $12,800 to $49,500 but is far more than just an anachronistic contraption made to sap money from suckers. Running a customized version of Google’s Android OS, the Chairman launches with an optional subscription fee by which owners can send their units in annually and have the software and hardware upgraded, the mechanical pieces inside serviced just like a regular watch, and the exterior refinished. Owners will even get a loaner while theirs is in the shop. More »

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I would like to see Apple try to censor “Android” during the Superbowl ad blitz. Although Google’s mysterious television commercial, which is expected to air “in the 3rd quarter” tomorrow might not be for Android or the Nexus One, Eric Schmidt is excited. More »

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Just announced today by surging South Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung, the M100S is a high-end Android smartphone, running Eclair 2.1 and featuring an AMOLED display. In March, Koreans will be able to pick them up from SK Telecom. The Nexus One is presently the only smartphone in the world that has Eclair 2.1, so the M100S is the first non-Google branded unit to receive the latest Android build. More »

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The whimsical and artistic people over at Dyzplastic are releasing a series of collectible vinyl figures featuring 12 different Google Android robots. Each case will contain 16 random boxes of plastic Android toys 3″ tall. More »

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