HTC

Digitimes is reporting that HTC CEO Peter Chou recently told analysts that the company will be delivering 2-3 Android handsets this year, an estimate which just ambiguous enough to qualify as interesting tech news.

The Techland Fortune/CNN Blog has an interview up with Android deity Andy Rubin (is ANDroid named that 'cause of him?) straight from the back-room dealings at CES. There are some great bits of info in there...

...On HTC producing the first Android phone:

Well I’m not sure if we said they would be first, but second half of 2008 is what we’re targeting for phones.

...On SDK bug-tracking:

In a couple of weeks we’ll have an online mechanism. We thought it was more important to get the SDK out there in developers hands first.

...On Android's lofty goals:

Software takes a lot of time to develop, and the software cost of a cell phone is about 20 percent. That is impacting consumers and making cell phones more expensive. The trickle-down effect is that it’s actually making data plans more expensive. By building a complete stack and having it be more open where there’s not a single vendor that’s selling it - we’re actually giving it away for free - we feel that it opens up the market in a way that benefits the consumers. It will make cell phones and data plans cheaper.

...On the issue of fragmentation:

If we’re worried about not fragmenting and not creating anything new then we’d still be using tubes in our radios and you’d have to warm up the TV.

It's a short interview, but action-packed.

So it seems like the first big Android-related news to come out of CES is this Wistron NeWeb GW4 linux-rocking smartphone that Slashgear was all over a couple of days ago.

The feature list sounds close to what I've been waiting for: WiFi, touchscreen, bluetooth, full QWERTY. No word on GPS or what kind of expansion memory it accepts, however, and it doesn't even offer EDGE (hurtin'). Honestly, I don't find it as ugly as a lot of other commentators do, especially not the white version which has a clean, spare, sharp-edged kinda look (like a nice SUSE desktop). It looks quite like my beloved HTC S621.

The hype is around the fact that it's running a Linux 2.6 kernel, which makes it ideal for a little Android action down the road.

But who is Wistron NeWeb Corporation? Where did these guys come from? Well, Taiwan, apparently. I've never heard of them, but a year ago I'd never heard of HTC, either. As their website proclaims, they ake all kinds of stuff. In fact, the list includes basically every variety of electronic device yet conceived by God or man. And, if you're looking for a good time, check out their about page, which reads like the bizarre love-child of an undergrad business paper and the back of an instant noodle package.

[via AndroidGuys]

A round-up of the salient news I missed due to the effects of alcohol:

Dec 26: Two Google-booked stands at the Mobile World Congress expo and an APCMag article get everyone in a tizzy with the prospect of possible Android handset revealings in February.
Dec 28: HTC earnings in trouble? [via AndroidGuys]
Dec 29: HTC perhaps impatient with the lack of polish on Android? Are handset manufacturers, like developers, just whiny bitches? [via AndroidGuys]
Jan 1: First video of Android running Amarok is released.
Jan 2: In a brilliant show of technical prowess obviously designed to quell persistent grumbling from the peanut gallery about the quality, or lack-thereof, of the Android project, the Android Developer Challenge submission site just doesn't work.
Jan 2: A ruling is issued in the Qualcomm vs. Broadcom thing. [via Google Phone]
Jan 7: CES starts.

A Gizmodo reader has sent them this here image of Android running on what appears to be a development/demo platform (HTC made?). It ain't a terribly pretty phone, but no matter.

Our source, a Giz reader, had some feedback to add to the prototype, which he used for a day: Even in early form, it's light and fast, much faster than the desktop emulator at times. And as a longtime programmer, he thinks it's a lot more put together than Window Mobile 5 on the back side of things.

Note the Gmail-ish icon in the top left corner. Dude's got mail.

Engadget has an interview up with the Peter Chou, CEO of your favourite handset maker and mine, HTC.

The highlights:

--HTC has been working with Google on Android for over two years.
--Mr Chou doesn't see Android entering the Enterprise...yet.
--Currently existing WinMo hardware won't be recycled to run Android.

Mr. Chou seems a little guarded in his enthusiasm for Android vs. Windows Mobile, which I can understand; the HTC-WinMo alliance has been very good to HTC. It is clear, however, that he regards Android as a new opportunity not just for his company, but mobile handsets in general.

Head on over and check out the full interview.

In a move that convinces that certain OHA members are collaborating to create the fabled gPhone, Qualcomm has announced the RTR6570 tranceiver, which "...delivers support for the 700 MHz band to CDMA2000 and WCDMA (UMTS) devices"

Qualcomm, OHA member, creator of the MSM7200A chipset for which the first linux kernel released by than Android team is compiled, chip supplier to OHA cohort HTC whom rumour has oft associated with the gPhone, is building a chipset to run on the 700mhz band which Google has recently confirmed it is going after.

Whew. This is more evidence than your average 911 conspiracy theorist can produce.

Or maybe not. Maybe Qualcomm is just a company chasing profit who knows that whoever wins big in the 700mhz spectrum is gonna need a chipset.

The Sydney Morning Herald has an article up about whether or not HTC's first Android-running phones will incorporate the snazzy-ass TouchFLO interface that the handset maker debuted on the Windows-Mobile-6-running Touch earlier this year.

Apparently HTC managing director John Featherstone indicated there might be a port of the swirly-wooshy goodness to the Android platform. Which would be cool, 'cause I really, really like my flow without a W.

UPDATE - No longer imminent. See below.

Helloandroid.com has spotted the location of a linux kernel on git.android.com, "
part of the Open Handset Alliance."

The repo is listed as "Linux support for the Qualcomm MSM7K family of devices", an impressive little chipset that does, well, pretty much everything.

Now what runs an MSM7K chipset? Well, our good friends HTC have the Kaiser (AKA TYTN II)...

My guess is the hacker community will have Android ported to the Kaiser within a week. Which means I'll have to buy one...

UPDATE: This kernel apparently will not work on the Kaiser. This kernel is for the MSM7200A chipset, whereas the Kaiser runs the MSM7200. I can find no available handset with the MSM7200A. (If anyone knows of any -- jordan[at]fandroid.net).

Also, apparently the existence of this repository was announced on Nov 8, here, by Android Kernel Lead Brian Swetland.

What happened to the day when Microsoft would rip your heart out and then kill your children (so as to wipe your seed from the earth) for even considering another OS?

HTC's European VP Florian Seiche is confirming that, although it's in the OHA and anticipating a second-half-2008 release for its first Android-based offering, it's still “...keen to confirm [its] commitment to the Windows Mobile platform on which it has built much of its business.” Too bad.

I own an HTC smartphone, and I love the hell out of it despite the Microsoft ichor that drips from its seams. I was kinda hoping that with HTC's inclusion in the OHA it would take the opportunity to tell Redmond to kiss its Taiwanese ass, but alas it seems to be not so.