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It looks like things are on the upside for the Open Alliance and their Android OS. Not only did the HTC Dream, the supposed flag-bearer of the Android, receive the seal of approval of the FCC; version 0.9 of the Android SDK is also now available which suggests that it probably won't be long before we see version 1.0 released, not only to developers, but importantly, to the public as well. There's more screen shots available at Engadget's Android photo gallery, but if you want further analysis, Gizmodo has a blow-by-blow account of the video and what this new iteration brings to the table. With these positive turn of events, the reported September release date might not be a far fetched idea after all. Aside from the steep prices of Globe, is this reason enough for you to forego purchasing an iPhone anytime soon?

It’s been a while since we last heard anything concerning the Android OS, and we’re already at that point wherein we’ve pretty given up on the notion that it’ll be released anytime soon. However, a video suddenly sprouted out of nowhere giving Android hopefuls a glimmer of hope. It’s posted in Boy Genius Reports and is supposedly footage of what could be the HTC Dream. It’s a dual input mobile phone that features a slide-out keypad and touch screen interface. More importantly, it also appears to be a real-time video of the Android OS at work. We’re not too sure of how authentic it is and it could just be an attempt to fan the dying flames of Android anticipation burning alive once again. I’ll let you be the judge on this one; is it the real deal, or is it just a marketing strategy to keep the Android talk going for another couple of months or so?

  It looks like the Open Handset Alliance’s pilot project has hit a snag on the road to its final conception. Ars Technica reports that many programmers are experiencing problems with bugs in the Android and is further hampered with the lack of a public issue-tracking system which allows for easy monitoring of reported bugs and resolutions that have be done to address it. A comprehensive documentation of the OS is also sorely missing which leaves room for a lot of guess work and wasted time.  However, the Android does have its strong points and the author still believes that it is a viable and effective platform for application development. So don't go thinking that it's a complete waste because it's not. Remember, it's still a developing OS. Unfortunately, despite this welcome optimism, one can't deny the fact that these problems are surely making a mess out of the over-all timetable of the Android’s final release. I guess the Alliance, more specifically the Android Team, has got their work cut out for them. Don't worry, you can do it!

As promised, the Open Alliance has released the SDK for its Android platform. It’s a good thing it came with an emulator so as early as now, we can already have an idea of what this gPhone software looks like and if it’s worth waiting another 6 months. The guys at Gizmodo give a quick rundown of what’s included in the emulator and SDK, but you can actually check it out for yourself since the SDK is after all free of charge. Here's a ton of screenshots of what Android is all about. So far, based on what we you'll see, it’s loaded with a lot of eye candy and seems like a pretty decent piece of software. However, the bigger hurdle Android will have to overcome is its real-world application. Will it be an easy-to-use and reliable OS that the people will embraced with open arms or will it be another good concept project that will go down in history as a dud? Only time will tell, but so far; Google, the Open Alliance and Android is on a pretty good start.   

  Looks like Google is rounding up the troops for their latest venture into the mobile phone industry. The Open Handset Alliance currently has 34 members which include Nvidia, Intel, Motorola, Samsung, LG and HTC to name some, and one of their first joint projects and will be the core product of their group is Android, an open system for handset development which is built on Linux and will be made available via the Apache v2 license. Interestingly enough, mobile phone giants Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Blackberry/RIM are not part of the group as well as Apple and Microsoft. November 12 is the set date for the release of the first version of the Android SDK. Handset availability from partner companies will be in the second half of 2008. That's a mighty long wait if I may say so myself. So for now, the gPhone is just an open-source platform until a handset model becomes available. Insiders, however, are already hinting on a project headed by HTC code-named Dream as the first gPhone prototype that looks not-surprisingly enough like the iPhone. Of course, this is just another rumor for now until it’s officially unveiled during the 2^nd half of next year.

Another innovation you can add to the list of functions your handy-dandy Wiimote can perform is the ability to control games on your S60-running mobile phone. Well, not actually all games, just one for now. The WiiRider is a motorcycle game that comes bundled with the WiiConnect, a driver that allows your S60 device to recognize the Wiimote which you can download for free. It might seem quite odd if you’re playing on a mobile phone's small screen, but for phones like the Nokia N95 that comes with TV-out, using the Wiimote will seem more normal. With the WiiConnect, your N95 is what game consoles have become. The WiiConnect is compatible with mobile phones running on the S60 3^rd Edition platform. So far, the WiiRider is the only game available that takes advantage of the Wiimote, but it wouldn’t surprise me if one day mobile phone games supporting the Wiimote start sprouting out of the woodwork.

For those interested in the Linux Platform for mobile devices, Access has released a website with tons of screenshots for its forthcoming Access Linux Platform. Click on User Experience to see how the different screens such as Contacts, Dialer, Incoming Call screens, and Launcher would look like on a device. If the menu and icons look somewhat similar to those used in the Treo, that’s because Access is the same company behind the Garnet OS, the backbone of the Palm OS 5. Through the built-in Access Garnet VM layer found in the Linux Platform, current applications running on the Garnet OS can likewise operate on the Linux version. Rumor has it that it can very well be the next OS for the Treo Smartphone in 2008. Hardware requirements include at least 200 MHz ARM 9, but for better performance 400 MHz is recommended. A minimum of 64 MB memory capacity is also required. The platform supports a variety of input methods ranging from the full QWERTY keypad to touch screen entry.

My group at the office had a rather early Christmas Party last weekend and I was able to snag a 128 MB thumb drive as a gift (the limit on the amount on the exchange gift prevented the giver of the gift from giving me one with a larger capacity) . Anyway, since I don't usually store my files outside of my notebook, I decided to just create my own "mobile toolkit" on that thumb drive.

So, the first thing I did was to download John T. Haller's PortableApps Suite Base Edition to give me some leeway on what to install on the drive. Then with the Suite in place, I installed the following apps on the thumbdrive:

7-Zip Portable -- an open source file compressor decompressor
Angry IP Scanner -- an IP address scanner
ClamWin Portable -- an open source virus scanning utility
GIMP Portable -- the open source equivalent of Adobe Photoshop (only better)
HoverSnap -- a screen capture software
PIN -- a password manager
Portable Firefox -- best web browser bar none
Portable VLC -- open source media player
TrueCrypt -- open source encryption software extraordinaire

All the programs I have on my thumb drive are either freeware or free and open source (FOSS) and they allow me to work wherever I need to go. Most of them are available free at PortableApps.com

How about the m-ph.com readers... I wonder what they have on their thumb drives?

note: this piece was originally posted at my blog Talkin' Tech.

We’re lucky to be living in a time where we get to watch how a phone hardware company remakes itself. From the old Startac models, Motorola has made leaps in coming up well made phones with a strong brand recall, thanks to their “zero syllable minus the A