Another Android Mod for China
Just announced at The 2010 CES: The Lenovo LePhone A Mash-up of Android, Palm & iPhone, to hit the Chinese market.

Just like many of the phones we have seen go off to China, the Lenovo LePhone is based on the Android 2.1 OS. It will, however, be a modified version in order have the ability to offer up the 3G and WiFi services on the Chinese WCDMA band. Any phones wishing to offer these advanced services must allow the modifications to the OS so it is compatible with the Chinese network because of a long standing ban on the services.

Unfortunately, allowing the modifications means one huge Android based service will not be present when the LePhone is finally released… The Android Market. As a matter of fact, the LePhone is restricted greatly in this area as the phone is not compatible at all for applications of any kind.

What LePhone DOES Have
Well, like I mentioned, it is a watered down adapted version of the Android 2.1 OS, made compatible for use with the WCDMA network in China. Because LePhone follows the Chinese rules, it will offer 3G and WiFi services. It is also compatible with on-screen widgets instead of applications.

On the inside it will have the much talked about Qualcomm 1Gb Snapdragon Processor along with all the rest of the usual smartphone offerings such as Bluetooth, GPS, Camera, and more. In fact, this phone sports two cameras, one on the front for Video and one on the back for still shots. The Photo cam is a 3 megapixel with LED flash. This dual cam setup is nothing new to China, as it is seen on all the knock-offs that come out of the country. Maybe other countries will catch on…

The Physical aspects of the phone : It is only 12 mm thick and 60mm wide, making it for one of the thinnest phones around. It also has a 3.5mm jack and no buttons at all. Not even touch sensitive keys but instead relies on a Palm WebOS like touch sensitive interface. And it also has a Palm inspired card view task manager and an iPhone inspired on-screen menu. The display size is 3.7″ and is an AMOLED display with am impressive 800×480 resolution, great for the Video and the Camera.

And the Verdict Is?
I think some of the best phones make it to China. It’s a shame, though, the Android and any other OS must be modified just to run certain modern and much used services. This modification limits greatly what a pone can do on the Chinese network. Oh well, did we really think a communist country would allow all the great things we have without making it their own? Of course they are going to limit what the products they offer can do, they don’t want their people knowing there is a better world out here…

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**UPDATE 3:08 AM EST 12/13/09: Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Google Phone will be called the Nexus One**
Coming to Any Sore Near you
That’s right folks, you heard right. The Google Phone is CONFIRMED! It exists. Period. It is made by HTC and will be unlocked, just like all the rumors said it was going to be. SO I guess that means for all you Google Phone Haters out there, you must be having a pretty hard time fessing up getting smacked down with the fact that you were wrong, aren’t you?

Ok, so here’s the deal…
So, as of December 11 2009, employees of Google started tweeting the news that Google has handed out probably hundreds of these phones to their employees. They call this practice “dogfooding.” The official Google Mobile blog stated that it did in fact hand out some devices to their employees, but because

“…dogfooding is a process exclusively for Google employees, we cannot share specific product details. We hope to share more after our dogfood diet.”

What’s Under the Hood?
Not very much is known about the device, but TechCrunch was able to confirm a few details and Unlocker.com was able to get heir hands on some pics of it and it appears as if it is a version of the HTC Passion, a close cousin of the Hero. It will supposedly be released in January of 2010.

The Google Phone will run Android 2.1 and it will be as the Google Gods intended it to be with no splintering off of it, meaning it will runt eh way ti was intended to run… Apps and all. And of course it is an Unlocked GSM phone meaning that AT&T or T-Mobile will probably run with it, it has an ungodly camera for a smartphone, and a beautiful touchscreen with an on screen QWERTY. But for those who don’t like the on-screen keypad, the phone supposedly will come equipped with voice to text, meaning you can talk and the software will convert it to email or a text message and send it for you. The Google is said to be really fast too, and that is because it is running a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor-1Ghz. It also has two mics to limit any unwanted background noise, which is perfect for the talk to text feature.

And the Verdict Is?
I honestly wonder why anyone doubted that Google would come out with a phone al their own. I understand why some people might think it will hurt sales because being as the Google Phone is unlocked, it might do a bit better than any of the other “Google phones,” or the phones with other companies running the Android OS in one form or another.

But I really don’t think it will be a problem. I mean, these people are locked into contracts so the ones who have phones can’t go anywhere unless they pay those horrifying fees, and the people who don’t have an Android based phone yet might not want to spring for the Google phone based on price, as unlocked phones tend to be twice as expensive than their locked counterparts without a contract. So it could really go either way. I m just glad it is finally here, aren’t you?

I mean at least when Google says they are going to do something, they do. Not like some “bad apples” I know of…

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