Clonedroidphone.com

The New Wave of Android Phones

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:33:00 -0400

It seems like the devices that didn’t materialize last holiday season will be here for this one. Offerings from Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Dell are on the way.

Most sport physical keyboards and the Android 2.0 operating system. PC World has a comprehensive overview of the wave of phones, with highlights and pictures.

Acer launching Android phone by September

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:34:31 -0400

via Digitimes:

Acer plans to launch four smartphones, the A1, C1/E1, F1 and L1… The A1 is an Android-powered model, while the other three are based on Windows Mobile platform, the sources noted.

You can find more coverage and a photo of the A1 at Engadget. Acer joined the Open Handset Alliance early last month.

Google on the go? A (decent) guide to using an Android-powered phone

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:50:00 -0400

Google on the Go: Using an Android-powered Mobile Phone

I found it interesting that such a comprehensive, easy to read guide was out on the market, and prevalently advertised on the web. Definitely worth checking out for those of you interested in learning more about the benefits and usability of the Google Android.

Anyways, check it out if it tickles your fancy. More exciting updates to come.

Qigi i6 Goal Reseller Spotted

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:20:00 -0400

It looks like a company called Cellstar MobileNet is starting to sell the Qigi i6, the smartphone we learned about late last year that’s shipping in both Windows Mobile and Android variants. The Windows Mobile version is called the “win” and the Android version is called the “goal.” The price listed is 2380 yuan, or roughly USD $348. No word yet on European or US distributors. I’m keeping an eye out, but if you spot this for sale somewhere, please let me know.

The original version of the article is kind of hard to me to fully understand, so Chinese readers, if you can clarify, that would be great!

Kogan Agora Launch Delayed Indefinitely

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:31:00 -0500

From The Age:

The Melbourne consumer electronics maker who promised to release the first Google phone in Australia by the end of this month has delayed the launch indefinitely, citing “potential future interoperability issues”.

“The Agora reached a very late stage of development, manufacturing had commenced and we were within days of shipping the product to customers. But it now seems certain the current Agora specifications will limit its compatibility or interoperability in the near future,” Kogan, 25, said.

This is incredibly unfortunate - the Agora looked like a winner.

The Kogan Agora, on pre-sale now and set to ship on the 29th of...

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:43:36 -0500

The Kogan Agora, on pre-sale now and set to ship on the 29th of this month.

HKC Pearl - Clone of a Clone?

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:21:56 -0500

There are pictures on the Chinese engadget site of a new phone called the HKC Pearl. There’s also a pretty negative blog post about it, and a YouTube video of the phone in action.

Like the Qigi i6, the manufacturer claims the phone is capable of running both Android and Windows Mobile.

Preliminary specifications look like this:

2.8″ QVGA touchscreen display
trackball for navigation
624MHz CPU
256MB of ROM
128MB of RAM.
quad-band GSM/EDGE
Wifi
GPS
1250mAh battery
weighs 128g
109.1mm x 59mm x 15.5mm

Thanks for the tip Aditya!

Lenovo "oPhone" makes an appearance

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 08:00:32 -0500

The Lenovo oPhone has made an appearance over at the modmygphone.com forums.

I’m not sure of the source, but this was quoted in the forum post also:

“With its own operating system, China Mobile will be able to commission customized phones from handset makers and keep its hand strong in negotiations over profit sharing. There is even the possibility that China Mobile may move into manufacturing handsets itself.””

It looks pretty sexy.

Huawei Android Phone, Q3 2009

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:02:52 -0500

From CNET:

Huawei entered the Android open handset alliance earlier this week, announcing plans to launch smartphones running Google’s new mobile operating system next year.

Announcing the Clonedroidphone.com Forums!

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 12:20:46 -0500

I’m happy to announce the addition of a phpBB-powered forum to Clonedroidphone.com. I’ve set up a general forum, as well as forums relevant to the various manufacturers mentioned in my previous post. So, head over to the forum and join in the Android clone phone discussion!

Clonedroidphone.com Roundup

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 12:18:00 -0500

Here’s a list of manufacturers reportedly developing Android-powered handsets along with name of the phone, if known, and release dates:

Kogan Agora delayed indefinitely
Sciphone Dream G2 December 2008
Qigi i6-Goal Released, distributors unknown (do you know where to buy these?)
Lenovo Q1 2009
TechFaith Q1 2009
Wistron NeWeb Unveiled at CES 2008, release date unknown.
Asustek 1H 2009
Huawei Q3 2009

So we’ve got eight phones total, three of which are known to physically exist (at least in prototype form) and one of which can be bought internationally and had in January (the Agora).

Sciphone Dream G2 Release This Month

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:59:00 -0500

From JLM Pacific Epoch on December 2nd:

“Several Chinese handset distributors, including Shenzhen Qunphone Technology, have received trial versions of Android phone “Sciphone Dream G2,” reports 21st Century Business Herald. The dressed-down G1 is soliciting sales channels and may be released for RMB 1,200 (USD $174.59) or less within 10-15 days, said a Shenzhen Qunphone Technology employee surnamed is Li.”

So the G2 hasn’t made its November 28th release date, but we’re looking at a release this month. The Sciphone Dream G2 will be the first Chinese Android-powered phone to market, but early reports and reviews of the phone are less than favorable.

The Sciphone Dream G2

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:30:00 -0500

Here’s some news I missed: apparently Sciphone (read as: CECT) does indeed have an Android-based phone in production, dubbed the “Dream G2.” Engadget’s cursory review of the phone is less than favorable; the general concern is that with no QWERTY keyboard, and with no known on-screen keyboard input in Android, it’s impossible to type anything into the phone.

What most reviewers have neglected, but what was pointed out on the modmygphone.com’s forums, is that nothing stands between any given manufacturer adding a virtual keyboard to Android. So, if and when we see G2s emerging, we can guess that they’ll have some kind of software keyboard.

I found a G2 on sale over at a place called solomobi for $210. Not all that competitive, considering the Kogan Agora is priced at a little under $300 for what will decidedly be a higher quality product.

Thanks to Aditya for giving me the heads up about the Dream G2

The Qigi i6: Android or Windows Mobile

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:35:00 -0500

From AndroidCommunity.com:

The new i6 smartphone will be coming in two versions, one that runs Google’s Android and the other that runs Windows Mobile 6.1. Both versions will be sporting a 2.8-inch 65k color LCD touchscreen and Marvell Monohans 624MHz processor. Other specifications include a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, microSD card slot integrated GPS and Wi-Fi.

Here’s a Google translation of ePrice’s page on the new phone.

Kogan Agora, Android 3g handset, on sale

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:24:00 -0500

Kogan Technologies, an Australian electronics retailer, released pictures and began offering pre-orders for its Agora 3G Android-driven handset.

The Agora will cost AU$299, and the Agora Pro will be AU$399. Both are on sale now and will ship to you on January 29th 2009.

This is the first handset release in a series we’ll see as we head into Q1 2009 - very exciting.

2009 - The Coming Android Explosion

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:50:00 -0500

With an Australian Android handset and several Chinese Android phones set for release towards the end of this year and into 2009, I think it’s safe to say we’re looking at an incredible increase in global Android market penetration, particularly in Asian markets.

The concurrent announcement from China Mobile that they will be opening a Chinese “app store” means that not only are Asian and other global markets likely to be flooded with homegrown handsets, but, at least in China, there will also be a telco support system and application distribution mechanism ready to roll when these devices hit the market.

For those of us waiting for an affordable, unlocked Android handset it’s looking like early 2009 will be the time to buy, pending CECT and other gray-market Chinese manufacturers coming up with something sooner.

If anyone has any information about Android running on the current breed of clone phones, please shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment.

Market Researcher: Google Phones Will Overtake iPhone

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:55:14 -0500

A fascinating post from this past July, over at googleandblog.com:

“Bill Hughes, from the market research firm In-Stat, predicts in 2009 Google Android phones will have 17.1 million units sold which is almost twice the predicted amount of iPhones at 9.5 million - with the help of China.”

Frequent comparison of the iPhone and Android is a media favorite. Does the scale of Android’s impact make the iPhone a footnote?

Smuggled G1 Phones Flooding Beijing

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:41:00 -0500

Some interesting news via JLM Pacific Epoch:

“U.S.-ordered G1 handsets have been pouring into China illegally since October 26, and are currently selling for about RMB 3,999 (USD$585.04) in Beijing’s Zhongguancun”

Perhaps this kind of demand in China itself will kickstart third party manufacture of alternative Android platform handsets for the rest of us elsewhere?

China's TechFaith making an Android handset in 2009

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:28:00 -0500

By way of talkandroid.com, originally from Interfaxchina (subscription):

“The development of a prototype Android phone has basically been completed. However, the launch of commercial products is unlikely to happen before the end of this year,” Ji Changxi, a senior vice president of TechFaith, told Interfax.

TechFaith manufactures a wide variety of GSM and CDMA “dual-sim” and smartphones. Per the Wikipedia entry, TechFaith posted over USD$140 million in revenues in 2007.

Android on Openmoko Phones

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 13:56:00 -0500

David J, a reader, points out today: An Openmoko project hacker named Benno seems to have Google Android running on a Neo 1973. The Neo 1973 was the first phone produced by the Openmoko project, an effort to produce a fully open source phone running Linux.

It ain’t exactly running fast yet, and not everything it working 100%, but I think most of the tricky bits are done.

There’s also an ongoing effort to get Android running on Openmoko’s latest phone, the Freerunner.

Openmoko phones are fairly expensive, but are also powerful, featureful platforms that should suit Android nicely.