Google is reportedly working on a virtual-reality version of Android

Android is moving from mobile devices to virtual-reality headsets, according to a new report. The Wall Street Journal, citing two unnamed sources, reported Friday that Google has tasked a group of engineers with developing a version of Android to can power VR applications. "Tens of engineers" are working on the project, according to the Journal, which will be freely distributed like its cousins for smartphones, tablets, and wearables.

Google declined to comment on the report, which included few details about how Android VR will look or when it might become available. The move comes in the wake of Facebook's $2 billion purchase of Oculus, and Oculus' subsequent move to develop new forms of storytelling powered by VR. VR dominated this week's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, where a new headset from Valve and progress on Sony's Project Morpheus were among the biggest developments.

The Journal reports that Android VR is being led by Clay Bavor and Jeremy Doig. Bavor is partly responsible for Google Cardboard, a low-cost, do-it-yourself alternative to expensive headsets that turns your smartphone into a viewer. The Cardboard app has been downloaded more than 1 million times since it became available last summer.

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Microsoft collect fees from Android! 50% of Android devices

Google’s complaints about patent-based attacks against Android don’t seem to be doing the company any good. We all know Steve Jobs pledged to destroy Android, claiming it stole its ideas from Apple’s iOS. Yet what is likely an even bigger threat comes from Microsoft, which claims that more than half of all Android devices are now subject to patent licensing agreements.

What does that mean? When you buy an Android phone, there’s a good chance either the vendor whose name is on the device or one of the manufacturers who contributed hardware to it is paying Microsoft a fee for each sale. Today, Microsoft announced an agreement with Compal, an original design manufacturer that produces smartphones and tablets for third parties and takes in $28 billion in annual revenue. This was the “tenth license agreement providing coverage under our patent portfolio for Android mobile phones and tablets,” and the ninth in the last four months, Microsoft lawyers Brad Smith and Horacio Gutierrez write in a blog post.

“More important, today’s announcement means that companies accounting for over half of all Android devices have now entered into patent license agreements with Microsoft,” they claim. 

According to charts in the blog post, 55 percent of Android devices by worldwide revenue are subject to patent license agreements between Microsoft and original design manufacturers, such as Compal. Moreover, 53 percent of Android smartphones by unit share in the United States are subject to patent license agreements between Microsoft and original equipment manufacturers, such as Samsung and HTC.

In any case, it’s a lot. Some have concluded that Microsoft makes more money from Android than from its own Windows Phones, and HTC reportedly pays Microsoft $5 for each Android phone it sells. Google, meanwhile, distributes Android (at least the smartphone version) as open source software.

Google lashed out at Microsoft and other rivals in a recent blog post called “When patents attack Android,” claiming to be the victim of “a hostile, organized campaign... waged through bogus patents.”

Microsoft didn’t specifically reference that post, but today said “For those who continue to protest that the smartphone patent thicket is too difficult to navigate, it’s past time to wake up.” Microsoft doesn’t just collect money from other companies, it also pays out plenty to protect itself, Microsoft’s legal team notes.

“Over the past decade we’ve spent roughly $4.5 billion to license in patents from other companies,” Microsoft said. “These have given us the opportunity to build on the innovations of others in a responsible manner that respects their IP rights. Equally important, we've stood by our customers and partners with countless agreements that contain the strongest patent indemnification provisions in our industry. These ensure that if our software infringes someone else's patents, we'll address the problem rather than leave it to others.”

Across all types of computing systems, Microsoft has entered into 1,133 agreements to license its patents to other companies. Regarding Android specifically, Microsoft has sued vendors that haven’t paid up, including Motorola, whose mobile division is in the process of being purchased by Google.

You are probably wondering which Microsoft patents have allowed Microsoft to sign up all these vendors to license deals. While all the details of licensing agreements aren’t made public, Microsoft’s Android-related patents have been revealed in lawsuits. Examples include patents related to “implementing both long and short file names in the same file system,” a monitoring system that determines when to erase memory from flash memory devices, and patents related to managing contact databases and meeting requests.

That’s just a sampling, and Android is also subject to litigation from Oracle, which asserts that Android infringes Java-related patents. For all its success with consumers, Android faces a bumpy road ahead in the legal department.

List of Android Devices

Appliances

Model	Release Date	Version	Availability
inbrics SoIP Homestation
SnS Design Ikan	March 2010

E-Readers

Model	Release Date	Version	Availability
1 Cross Tech MIDhybrid	None available	1.6
Barnes & Noble nook	June 21, 2010	Custom version
Barns & Noble nook 3G	November 30, 2009	Custom version
Delyca Digital Reader	February 2009	1.6 (2.2 Expected)
Delyca S600k	February 2009	1.6 (2.2 Expected)
enTourage eDGe	February 2010	1.6
Gigabyte EB10	None available	1.5
LiSeng VBook Astri MyID	Future 2010	1.6
Pandigital Novel	June 2010	2.0
PocketBook ProBook 602	September 2010	2.0
PocketBook ProBook 603	September 2010	2.0
PocketBook ProBook 902	September 2010	2.0
PocketBook ProBook 903	September 2010	2.0
Spring Design Alex DS-10	April 14, 2010	1.5 (1.6 – Q3 2010)
Spring Design Alex DS-11	Q3 2010	1.5 (1.6 – Q3 2010)
Spring Design Alex DS-12	Q3 2010	1.5 (1.6 – Q3 2010)
Velocity Micro Cruz Reader	September 2010
Velocity Micro Cruz StoryPad	August 2010

Gaming Devices

Model	Release Date	Current Version	Availability
Hardkernel ODROID-S	December 2009	2.1

Google TV Devices

Model	Release Date	Current Version	Future Version
Logitech Revue	September 29, 2010

GPS Receivers

Model	Release Date	Version	Availability
Mio MiBuddy	Future 2010

Home Audio

Model	Release Date	Current Version	Availability
Bonux Media Player	Q4 2010	2.1

Home Phones

Model	Release Date	Version	Availability
Binatone iHome Phone
Cloud Computers Glass		2.0 (2.2 – Q4 2010)
DSP Group Multimedia Handset
Motorola HS1001
Touch Revolution NIMble

Media Players

Model	Release Date	Version	Availability
Archos 28	September 2010	2.2
Archos 32	September 2010	2.2
Creative Zii Egg	July 2009	1.6
Philips GoGear Connect	September 2010	2.2	EuropeUSA
RAmos Blue Magic T8
Samsung YP-MB2		2.1	Korea
Teclast T58	2009
Viliv P3

Netbooks

Model	Release Date	Version	Availability
Acer AspireOne D250-1613	October 2009	1.6 (No further upgrades)
Acer ASpireOne D255
Acer AspireOne D260	July 2010
Augen 10.2-inch Netbook PC Powered by Android	September 15, 2010	2.1
Augen Genbook74	July 2010	1.6
Cherrypal Asia 7″	May 2010	1.7.2 (2.1 – August 2010)
Cherrypal Asia 10.1″	May 2010	1.7.2 (2.1 – August 2010)
Hivision PWS700A
Hivision PWS700CA	None available
HP Compaq Airlife 100	Q3 2010
Lenovo U1		3.0
Skytone Alpha-680	2009

Phones

Check out our small list of U.S. based chart of Android Phones by OS Version.

Model	Release Date	Version	Availability
Aava Mobile
Acer beTouch E110	March 2010	2.1	India
Acer beTouch E130	August 2010
Acer beTouch E400	April 2010	2.1
Acer Liquid A1	November 28, 2009	1.6
Acer Liquid E	June 2010	2.1	Canada – Rogers Wireless
Acer Liquid E Ferrari	June 2010	2.1
Acer Liquid Stream	August 9, 2010	2.1 (2.2 Confirmed)
Alcatel OT-980	May 2010
Altek Leo	Q4 2010	2.1	China
Apanda A60	None available		China
BoostMobile i1	June 15, 2010	1.5	USA – Boost Mobile
Chinavision The Robot Superphone CVNC-M80	January 2010
Commtiva Z71	May 2010
Compulab Exceda
Dell Aero	August 24, 2010	1.5 (2.1 Confirmed)	USA – AT&T
Dell Benzine
Dell Blaze		1.5
Dell Flash	Q1 2011	2.2	USA – AT&T
Dell OPhone Mini 3i	November 2009	OPhone – China Mobile	Brazil – ClaroChina – China Mobile USA – AT&T
Dell Smoke	Q2 2010	2.2	USA – AT&T
Dell Thunder	Q4 2010	2.1	USA – AT&T
Dopod A6288	November 2009	1.5
Era G1	2009	1.6	Poland
Facebook ?
Fly-ying Cool F910	January 2010
Foxda FC8901	None available
Fujitsu ?	2011		Japan – NTT DoCoMo
Garmin A10	Q3 2010		Australia
Garmin Garminfone	June 9, 2010	1.6	USA – T-Mobile
Geeks’Phone One	February 2010	2.2
General Mobile Brava	None available
General Mobile Cosmos	March 2010
General Mobile Cosmos 2	June 2010
General Mobile DSTL1 Imaginary	August 2009	1.6
General Mobile Touch Stone	Q4 2010
Gigabyte G1305	None available
Gigabyte GSmart	February 2010
Gigabyte GSmart Codfish	None available
Gigabyte S1305	February 2010	1.6
Google Ion	None available
Google Nexus One	January 5, 2010 – USAMarch 16, 2010 – Canada April 30, 2010 – UK May 18, 2010 – France May 28, 2010 – Italy June , 2010 – Korea July 2010 – Australia Q3 2010 – Europe	2.2	Australia – VodafoneCanada – AT&T / Bell / Rogers Wireless / Telus / Wind Mobile France – SFR Italy – Vodafone Korea – KT New Zealand – Vodafone UK – Vodafone USA – AT&T / T-Mobile
Haier H7	September 2009
Haier Tapas	October 2010	Custom Tapas
Highscreen PP5420	July 11, 2009	1.5
Highscreen Zeus
Hisense HS-E90	January 2010
HKC Imobile v413
HKC Pearl	December 2008
HTC Aria (Formerly HTC Liberty)	June 20, 2010	2.1 (2.2 Expected)	USA – AT&T
HTC Bahamas	None available
HTC Bee		2.2
HTC Blitz
HTC Desire (Formerly HTC Bravo)	March 26, 2010April 2010 – Japan May 2010 – South Korea May 14, 2010 – Singapore July 2010 – New Zealand August 27, 2010 – Canada / US August – India	2.2	Australia - TelstraAustria – T-Mobile Canada – Telus Mobility China India – Tata DoCoMo Ireland – Meteor / Vodafone Japan – Softbank Mobile New Zealand – Vodafone Singapore South Korea – SK Telecom UK – O2 / Orange / T-Mobile / Virgin Mobile / Vodafone USA – Cellular South / US Cellular
HTC Desire 2			UK
HTC Desire HD (Formerly HTC Ace)	October 2010	2.2	AsiaUK USA – Verizon Wireless
HTC Desire Z	October 11, 2010	2.2	AsiaEurope North America
HTC Dream	October 30, 2008 – UK2009 – Austria / Czech Republic / Netherlands February 2009 – Germany February 5, 2009 – Australia February 21, 2009 – Singapore March 2009 – France April 20, 2009 – Spain June 2, 2009 – Canada	1.6	Australia – OptusAustria Canada – Rogers Wireless Czech Republic France Germany Netherlands Singapore – Singtel Spain – Telefonica UK
HTC Droid Eris	November 6, 2009	2.1 (No further upgrades)	USA – Verizon Wireless
HTC Droid Incredible	April 29, 2010	2.2	USA – Verizon Wireless
HTC Droid Incredible HD		2.2	USA – Verizon Wireless
HTC Emerald	November 2010	3.0	USA – T-Mobile
HTC EVO 4G (Formerly HTC Supersonic)	June 4, 2010	2.2	USA – Sprint Nextel
HTC Fiesta	October 19, 2009	1.6
HTC Glacier			USA – T-Mobile
HTC Halo	None available
HTC Hero	July 2009October 2009	1.5 (Canada)2.1 (No further upgrades)	AsiaAustralia Canada – Telus Europe UK – 3 / Orange / T-Mobile USA – Cellcom / Cellular South / Sprint Nextel
HTC Hero 2			USA – Sprint Nextel
HTC HSPA+ Android	September 2010		USA – T-Mobile
HTC Huangshan	None available
HTC Lancaster	None available
HTC Legend	March 16, 2010	2.1 (2.2 – Q3 2010)	AustraliaCanada – Virgin Mobile Malaysia – Celcom / Digi / Maxis
HTC Lexicon		2.2	USA – Verizon Wireless
HTC Liberty	None available
HTC Magic	April 27, 2009 – SpainMay 2009 – Taiwan / UK June 2009 – Hong Kong / Netherlands / Singapore June 2, 2009 – Canada	1.5  - Canada (2.1 – July 2010)1.6 (2.0 Confirmed – No further upgrades)	Australia – VodafoneCanada – Rogers Wireless Egypt – Vodafone France – SFR Germany – Vodafone Hong Kong – Vodafone India – Airtel Italy – Telecom Italia Mobile / Vodafone Netherlands – Vodafone New Zealand - Vodafone Philippines - SMART Communications Poland – Orange Portugal – TMN / Vodafone Saudi Arabia – STC Singapore – Sigtel / Vodafone South Africa – Vodacom Spain – Vodafone Sweden Taiwan – Vodafone UK – Vodafone
HTC Memphis	None available
HTC Merge	November 2010	2.2	USA – Verizon Wireless
HTC Paradise	None available
HTC Predator	None available
HTC Salsa	June 2010
HTC Sapphire	April 27, 2009 – July 28, 2009	1.5 – Canada1.6
HTC Schubert	November 17, 2010		USA – T-Mobile
HTC Scorpion	Q4 2010	2.2	USA – Verizon Wireless
HTC Speedy		2.2	USA – Sprint Nextel
HTC Tattoo (Formerly HTC Click)	October 19, 2009	1.6	AustraliaPortugal – Vodafone UK – Orange / Vodafone
HTC Tianyi	September 2010	2.2	China – China Mobile
HTC Vanguard	September 2010		USA – T-Mobile
HTC Vision	2010	2.2	USA – T-Mobile
HTC Wildfire	June 2010July 2010 – India Q4 2010 – Australia	2.2	Australia – TelstraChina Europe India UK – Virgin Media
Huawei Ideos U8150	September 2, 2010	2.2	Hong Kong – SmarTone-VodafoneKenya USA – T-Mobile
Huawei CHT8000		1.5	Taiwan
Huawei Movistar IVY	June 2010
Huawei RBM2 Der Allrounder	November 2009		Austria – Red Bull Mobile
Huawei U8100	Q2 2010
Huawei U8110	Q2 2010
Huawei U8220	October 2009	1.52.1 – Germany	GermanyKenya
Huawei U8226
Huawei U8230	December 2009	1.5	France – Bouygues Telecom
Huawei U8300	None available
Huawei U8800	Q3 2010
i-mobile 8500	Q2 2010
Innocomm Skate	Suspended
Innocomm Shark
INQ^1	Q4 2010
INQ Chat 3G
INQ Mini 3G
Koolu Freerunner
Kyocera ZIO M6000	August 26, 2010	1.6	USA – Cricket Wireless
Lenovo LePhone	May 2010
Lenovo OPhone	September 2009	OPhone – China Mobile	China – China Mobile
LG Ally	May 2010	2.1 (2.2 Confirmed)	South KoreaUSA – Verizon Wireless
LG Andro-1	None available
LG enV Touch 2	Q4 2010	2.1	USA – Verizon Wireless
LG GT540 Optimus	May 31, 2010July 2010 – New Zealand	1.6 – New Zealand2.0 (2.1 Expected)	New Zealand – VodafoneUK – Orange
LG GT540 Swift	May 31, 2010	1.6
LG GW620 Eve	November 5, 2009	1.5	AustraliaCanada – Rogers Wireless / T-Mobile
LG GW620 Linkme	November 5, 2009	1.5	IndiaItaly – Vodafone
LG GW880 Amundsen	September 2009
LG GW880 Etna	September 2009
LG InTouch Max
LG KH5200	None available
LG KU9500 Optimus Z	Q4 2010	2.2
LG Loop		1.6	Canada – Rogers Wireless
LG LU2300 Eclipse	May 2010	2.1
LG Optimus Chic	November 2010	2.2	Asia-PacificEurope
LG Optimus One with Google	Q4 2010	2.2
LG Optimus Q			South Korea
LG Optimus Z	July 29, 2010	2.1 (2.2 – Q4 2010)	South Korea – KT / SK Telecom
LG Prada 3	None available
LG SU950
LG Vortex	Q4 2010	2.2	USA – Verizon Wireless
Lumigon E1	None available
Lumigon S1	June 2010
Lumigon T1	October 20, 2010	2.2
Meizu M9	August 2010
Motorola Backflip MB501 (Formerly Motorola Motus)	March 7, 2010  - Canada / USAMarch 2010 – China June 22, 2010 – Taiwan	1.5 (2.1 – September)Canada / Europe / Latin America / Mexico – No further upgrades	AustraliaCanada – Optus / Telus Mobility China Europe Latin America Mexico Taiwan USA – AT&T
Motorola Charm MB502 (Formerly Motorola Basil)	August 25, 2010	2.1 (2.2 – September 2010)	Canada – TelusUSA – T-Mobile
Motorola Citus WX445	September 2010	2.1	USA – Verizon Wireless
Motorola CLIQ MB200 (Formerly Motorola Morrison)	November 2, 2009 – USA	1.5 (2.1 – Q4 2010)	USA – T-Mobile
Motorola CLIQ XT MB300 (Formerly Motorola Zeppelin)	March 17, 2010	1.5 (2.1 – Q4 2010)	Canada – Rogers Wireless / Optus / T-MobileUSA – T-Mobile
Motorola Defy	Q4 2010	2.1	EuropeUSA – T-Mobile
Motorola Devour A555 (Formerly Motorola Calgary)	March 25, 2010	1.6 (No further upgrades)	USA – Verizon Wireless
Motorola DEXT	October 7, 2009 – UKJanuary 23, 2010 – Singapore	1.5 (No further upgrades)	AustraliaCanada France – Orange Singapore – Singtel Latin America Mexico UK – Orange
Motorola Droid A855 (Formerly Motorola Sholes)	November 6, 2009	2.2	USA – Verizon Wireless
Motorola Droid 2 MB810 (Formerly Motorola Shadow)	August 12, 2010	2.2	USA – Verizon Wireless
Motorola Droid 2 R2-D2 Edition	September 30, 2010	2.2	USA – Verizon Wireless
Motorola Droid 2 World Edition A956	September 2010	2.2	USA – Verizon Wireless
Motorola Droid Pro A957	November 2010	2.2	USA – Verizon Wireless
Motorola Droid X	July 15, 2010	2.1 (2.2 – September 2010)	USA – Verizon Wireless
Motorola Flipout MB511 (Formerly Motorola Ruth)	June 2010	2.1
Motorola Heron	None available
Motorola i1 (Formerly Motorola Opus)	July 25, 2010	1.5	USA – Sprint Nextel
Motorola Jordan	November 2010		USA – T-Mobile
Motorola LaJolla	None available
Motorola Milestone XT720	November 9, 2009 – Argentina / Germany / ItalyDecember 10, 2009 – UK December 21, 2009 – Hong Kong February 2010 – Canada March 30, 2010 – India July 1, 2010 – New Zealand	2.1 (2.2 – Q4 2010)	ArgentinaAustralia – Optus Austria – T-Mobile Canada – Telus Germany – O2 Hong Kong India Italy New Zealand – Telecom South Korea – SK Telecom UK
Motorola Milestone 2	Q4 2010	2.2	Europe
Motorola Ming A1680	Q3 2010	1.6	China – China Unicom
Motorola Ming MT810	Q3 2010	Custom China Mobile OPhone 2.0	China – China Mobile
Motorola Ming XT806	Q3 2010	2.1	China – China Telecom
Motorola Mirage	None available
Motorola MOTO Milestone XT701	May 11, 2010	2.1 (2.2 – Under evaluation)	Taiwan
Motorola MOTO MT710	December 2009	OPhone 1.5	China – China Mobile
Motorola MOTO XT800	February 2010	2.0	China – China Telecom
Motorola Motoglam		2.1 (2.2 – Q1 2011)	Korea
Motorola Motoqrty		2.1 (2.2 – Q1 2011)	Korea
Motorola Motoroi	February 2010	2.1 (2.2 – Q4 2010)	South Korea – SK Telecom
Motorola Quench	2010	1.5	AustraliaCanada Latin America Mexico
Motorola Sage (Formerly known as the Asena and Gallardo)	Q4 2010	2.1	USA – AT&T
Motorola XT610	October 2010		USA – Verizon Wirless
NTT DoCoMo ?	July 28, 2010		Japan
Openmoko GTA02	2008	1.5
Oppo ?	2010
Orange Boston		1.6	Spain – Orange
Orange Project JAL		2.1	UK – Orange
Orange San Franciso
Orange Tactile Internet			France – Orange
Pantech IWA600S Sirius
Pantech Sirius Sky	May 1, 2010	2.1	South Korea – SK Telecom
Philips V808	October 2009
Philips V900	October 2009
Qigi i6	December 2008
Russian Technologies ?	May 2011
Samsung Acclaim	July 9, 2010	2.1	USA – US Cellular
Samsung Apollo		2.1	UK
Samsung Beam i8520	Q3 2010	2.1
Samsung Behold	November 2008		USA
Samsung Behold II	November 18, 2009	1.6 (Will not be upgraded further)	USA – T-Mobile
Samsung Bigfoot
Samsung Captivate	July 18, 2010	2.1 (2.2 – Q4 2010)	USA – AT&T
Samsung Continum I400	October 2010		USA – Verizon Wireless
Samsung Corby	June 2010	2.1	Italy
Samsung Epic 4G	August 31, 2010	2.1 (2.2 – Q4 2010)	USA – Sprint Nextel
Samsung Fascinate SGH-I500	September 9, 2010	2.1 (2.2 – Q4 2010)	USA – Verizon Wireless
Samsung Galaxy	June 2009	1.6	AustraliaCanada – Bell Mobility / Rogers Wireless France – Bouygues Telecom
Samsung Galaxy 3 i5801	July 2010	2.1	GermanyIndia
Samsung Galaxy 5 i5503	Q3 2010	2.1	IndiaUK – 3 / O2 / Orange / T-Mobile / Virgin Media / Vodafone
Samsung Galaxy A	April 29, 2010	2.1	South Korea – SK Telecom
Samsung Galaxy Apollo i5800	August 2010	2.1	Canada – TelusUK – Orange / T-Mobile
Samsung Galaxy Beam i8520 (Formerly Samsung Halo)	July 17, 2010	2.1	Singapore – StarHubb
Samsung Galaxy i5510	2010	2.2	UK – Vodafone
Samsung Galaxy Lite	November 2009
Samsung Galaxy Mini
Samsung Galaxy Naos		2.1	UK – Orange
Samsung Galaxy Portal	November 2009	2.1
Samsung Galaxy Q		2.2
Samsung Galaxy S	June 4, 2010 – SingaporeJune 15, 2010 – UK June 23, 2010 – Australia July 2010 – Philippines August 2010 – South Africa October 2010 – USA	2.1 (2.2 – September 2010)	Australia – OptusFrance Philippines – Globe Singapore – Singtel South Africa South Korea UK – Vodafone USA – Cellular South / US Cellular
Samsung Galaxy S2 I9200	Q1 2011	3.0
Samsung Galaxy S Pro	None available	2.2
Samsung Galaxy Teos		2.1	UK – Orange
Samsung Galaxy U			South Korea
Samsung Gem	October 2010		USA – Verizon Wireless
Samsung Houdini	None available
Samsung i899	December 2009
Samsung i5500	June 2010
Samsung i5700	November 2009December 2009 – Turkey	2.1	AsiaCanada – Rogers Wireless Europe India Indonesia Ireland – O2 Turkey
Samsung i6500
Samsung i7500	June 2009 – Austria / Germany / Israel / ItalyAugust 2009 – Poland / Serbia / Slovenia August 29, 2009 – UK September 14, 2009 – Turkey October 2009 – Brazil November 2009 – Ireland	1.6	AustriaBrazil – TIM China Germany Hong Kong India – Tata DoCoMo Ireland – O2 Israel Italy Poland – Play Mobile Serbia – Telenor Slovenia – Mobitel Taiwan Turkey – Turkcell UK – O2
Samsung InstincQ m900	November 2009
Samsung Intercept	July 11, 2010	2.1 (2.2 Confirmed)	USA – Sprint Nextel
Samsung M100S
Samsung Moment	November 1, 2009	2.1 (No further upgrades)	BrazilFrance – Bouygues Telecom Germany – O2 Israel – Cellcom Italy – Telecom Italia Mobile UK – O2 USA – Sprint Nextel
Samsung Saturn
Samsung Spica	November 2009	1.62.1
Samsung Vibrant	July 15, 2010	2.1 (2.2 – Q4 2010)	USA – T-Mobile
Sanyo ZIO by Kyocera	Q3 2010	2.1	USA – Cricket Wireless
Saygus VPhone V1	Future 2010
SciPhone N12
SciPhone N16
SciPhone N17
SciPhone N19	November 2009	1.5
SciPhone N21	November 2009	1.6
Sharp IS01
Sharp LYNX SH-10B
Sharp Tapas	October 2010	Custom Tapas
Sony Ericsson Infinity
Sony Ericsson PSP ?	October 2010	3.0
Sony Ericsson Robyn
Sony Ericsson Sunny	None available
Sony Ericsson Susan	None available
Sony Ericsson Xperia X8	September 2010	1.6 (2.1 – October 2010)	India
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10	March 22, 2010 – UKApril 1, 2010 – Japan Q2 2010 – Canada	1.6 (2.1 – September 2010)	AustraliaAustria – T-Mobile Canada – Rogers Wireless Japan – NTT DoCoMo Korea New Zealand – Vodafone UK – 3 USA – AT&T
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini	February 2010August – Australia	1.6 (2.1 – Q3 2010)	Australia – TelstraAustria – T-Mobile Canada – Rogers Wireless UK – 3
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro	June 2010July 2010 – New Zealand	1.6 (2.1 – Q3 2010)	Australia – TelstraIndia New Zealand – Vodafone
Sony Ericsson Yendo	September 2010		India
Sunno S880
T-Mobile G1	October 22, 2008	1.6 (No further upgrades)	Austria – T-MobileUSA – T-Mobile
T-Mobile G1 Blaze	Q3 2010		USA – T-Mobile
T-Mobile G2	September 29, 2010	2.2	USA – T-Mobile
T-Mobile G2 Touch	August 2009 – October 2009	2.1
T-Mobile myTouch 2	May 17, 2010	(2.2 – 2010)
T-Mobile myTouch 3G	August 5, 2009	1.6 (2.2 – Q4 2010)	USA – T-Mobile
T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide	June 2, 2010	2.1 (2.2 – 2010)	USA – T-Mobile
T-Mobile myTouch HD		2.2
T-Mobile Pulse		1.52.1 (Germany)	Austria – T-MobileGermany – T-Mobile Netherlands – T-Mobile UK – T-Mobile
T-Mobile Pulse Mini	Q2 2010	2.1	Austria – T-MobileUK
T-Mobile Sidekick
Tianyu Tapas	October 2010	Custom Tapas
Tiger G3	September 2009	1.5
TWM T1	March 2010		Taiwan – Taiwan Mobile
Ulysse Nardin Chairman
Vibo A688
Vodaphone 845	May 2010	2.1
Yuhua Tel X2
ZTE Black	None available
ZTE Racer	July 16, 2010	2.1	UK – 3
ZTE Smooth	Q3 2010	1.6

Photo Frames

Model	Release Date	Current Version	Availability
Parrot Speccio DPF

Platforms

Model	Release Date	Current Version	Availability
Innovation Works Wonderpod	July 2010
MediaTek ?	Q3 2010		China
MOTO AMP 5″	November 2009
Qualcomm ?	Q4 2010

Printers

Model	Release Date	Current Version	Availability
HP PhotoSmart eStation C510	September 20, 2010	2.1

Smartbooks

Model	Release Date	Version	Availability
Mobinnova Beam	Q2 2010
Toshiba AC100	Q3 2010	2.1

Tablets

Model	Release Date	Version	Availability
? Sakshat	2011		India
Acer ? 5″	Q4 2010	3.0
Acer ? 7″	Q4 2010	3.0
Acer ? 10″	Q4 2010	3.0
aigo E500	May 2010	1.6
aigo E700	May 2010	1.6
aigo M700
Amazon ?
Archos 3 Vision	None available
Archos 5 Internet Tablet	September 15, 2009	1.6
Archos 7	June 2010	1.5
Archos 8	May 2010
Archos 43	September 2010	2.2
Archos 70 8GB	October 2010	2.2
Archos 70 250GB	October 2010	2.2
Archos 101 8GB	October 2010	2.2
Archos 101 16GB	October 2010	2.2
Asus Eee Pad EP101TC
Asus Eee Pad EP121	March 2011	3.0
Augen Gentouch 78	July 2010	2.1
Avaya Flare Experience
Camangi WebStation	December 2009	1.5
Cisco Cius	Q1 2011	2.2
Creative Zii Trinity
Dell ?	Q4 – 2010
Dell Looking Glass	November 2010	2.1	USA – AT&T
Dell Mini5	June 4, 2010	2.1 (2.2 – Q4 2010)
Dell Streak	June 4, 2010 – UKJuly 28, 2010 – USA	1.6 (2.2 – September 2010)	UK – O2USA – AT&T
Delyca miniCOON SERIES-F		2.0
Delyca miniCOON SERIES-S		2.0
E-Noa Interpad	December 2010	2.1
EAFT MagicTile	Q3 2010
Eken M001	March 24, 2010	1.5
Eken M003	May 2010	1.6
Eken TP701	March 24, 2010	1.6
eLocity A7		2.2
Enzo zenPad	March 20, 2010	1.5
Eston N97 MID
eviGroup Wallet MID	May 2010	1.5
FirstView PC607V MID
Flat Computing FlatPad A10	July 30, 2010	2.1 (2.2 – August 2010)	USA
GiiNii Movit Maxx
GiiNii Movit Mini
Google ?	Q4 2010	3.0	USA – Verizon Wireless
Hannspree ?	November 2010	2.2	Germany
HardKernel ODROID	June 2010	2.1
HardKernel ODROID-T	2010	2.1
Hivision SpeedPad	2010	1.6
Hott MD500
HP Zeen C510		2.1
HTC ?	Q4 2010
Huawei SmaKit S7	2010	2.1
ICD Gemini	2010	2.2
ICD Ultra Tegra 2 Tablet	Q4 2010	2.0
ICD Vega	2010	2.0
Inbrics M1	Q4 2010	2.1
Joyplus M508	June 2010
Joyplus M701	June 2010
Joyplus M702	June 2010
Joyplus M703	June 2010
KT Identity TAB
Lenovo LePad	December 2010		China
LG Optimus Tablet	Q4 2010	3.0
Marvell Moby
Mastone Lifepad 3G I850	Future 2010	2.1
MoonSE E7001	May 2010	1.5
Motorola Stingray MOTMZ600	February 2011	3.0	USA – Verizon Wireless
MSI Harmony Tablet	Q3 2010
MSI Windpad 110		2.1
NEC LifeTouch	October 2010	2.1
Neofonie WeTab	August 2010
NFS N-Pad
Notion Ink Adam	November 2010
One Laptop Per Child ?
OpenPeak ?	Q4 2010	2.2	USA – AT&T
Pasen MID5	April 2010
RAmos T11
RAmos W7	May 2010	1.6
Rockchip Supernova x1
Rocketfish ?	Q4 2010	2.2
Rydeen Mobile gPad	November 2010
Samsung Galaxy Pad P1000 7″	September 2, 2010	2.2	Canada – Rogers WirelessGermany South Korea – SK Telecom UK – 3 USA – AT&T / Sprint Nextel / T-Mobile / Verizon Wireless
Samsung Galaxy Pad 10″	September 3, 2010	2.2	South Korea
Samsung I800	November 2010		USA – Verizon Wireless
Science and Technology Advisory Group mTube
Sharp IS01	October 2010	1.6	Japan
Shenzen SMiT Android MID-560
Smart Devices SmartQ MID 1080P Player
Smart Devices SmartQ-V5	January 2010
Smart Devices SmartQ-V7	November 2009
Stream TV eLocity A7	September 2010	2.1 (2.2 – October 2010)
Sungworld M7003		1.6
Sungworld M70006R		1.5
Tattu Mobile ?	Q4 2010
Toshiba Folio 100	September 2010	2.2
Velocity Micro Cruz	August 2010	2.1
ViewSonic G		2.2
ViewSonic ViewPad 100	October 2010	1.6 (2.1 Confirmed)	UK
Zenithink ZT-180	June 2010
ZTE V9	2010		Asia-PacificEurope Latin America

TVs

Model	Release Date	Version	Availability
NCPG	Q4 2010	1.5
People of Lava Scandinavia 42″		1.5 (Upgradeable in future via internet)
People of Lava Scandinavia 47″		1.5 (Upgradeable in future via internet)
People of Lava Scandinavia 52″		1.5 (Upgradeable in future via internet)
Samsung ?
Sony Dragonpoint	December 2010	2.1

Ultra Mobile PCs

Model	Release Date	Version	Availability
aigo MID	May 2010
Bluebird Pidion BIP-6000		2.1 (Possible paid upgrade to 2.2)
Eston ET-M4301	August 2009
Inbrics M1

Rooting (Android OS)

Rooting is a process allowing users of mobile phones, tablet PCs, and other devices running the Android operating system to attain privileged control (known as "root access") within Android's subsystem. Rooting is often performed with the goal of overcoming limitations that carriers and hardware manufacturers put on some devices, resulting in the ability to alter or replace system applications and settings, run specialized apps that require administrator-level permissions, or perform other operations that are otherwise inaccessible to a normal Android user. Rooting is analogous to jailbreaking devices running the Apple iOS operating system or the Sony PlayStation 3. On Android, rooting can also facilitate the complete removal and replacement of the device's operating system.

As Android was derived from the Linux kernel, rooting an Android device is similar in practice to accessing administrative permissions on Linux or any other Unix-like computer such as FreeBSD or OS X.

Description

Most devices running Android must be rooted in order to install custom versions of the Android system such as CyanogenMod. The stock configuration (unrooted), user-installed applications do not have direct access to the flash memory chip on the device and are not able to replace or modify the operating system itself. Rooting is also necessary for certain applications and widgets that require additional system and hardware rights such as rebooting the phone, certain backup utilities, and other access to other hardware such as status LEDs. Rooting is also needed to disable or remove manufacturer-installed applications such as City ID. Rooting the phone typically also includes installing an application called Superuser that supervises which applications are granted root rights.

In contrast to iOS jailbreaking, rooting is not needed to run applications not distributed by the official Android Market (sometimes referred to as "sideloading"). However some carriers, like AT&T, prevent the installation of applications not on the Android Market in firmware although the new Samsung Infuse 4G from AT&T allows running applications not downloaded from the market.

As of 2012 the Amazon Kindle Fire is locked to the Amazon app store instead of the Android market, and other vendors of Android devices may lock to other sources in the future. Access to alternate apps may require rooting but is not always necessary. As an example, for the Kindle fire it is possible to load the "easy installer" app from the Amazon app store and then use it to "sideload" apps from any source.

Risks

One of the potential downsides to rooting is some phone makers consider it to be "modifying" the phone, which may void the warranty. However, if the phone is un-rooted before the user tries to use his or her warranty, there is no easy way for the warranty provider to know that the phone was previously rooted. There is also the potential risk of bricking the device while attempting to root the device. The term "bricking" is used to describe a device which has had its software modified improperly to the point where it is no longer functioning. This term gets its name from the fact that, once bricked, a device will assume the functionality of a brick. Some humorously refer to this as "Paperweight Mode."

Process

The process of rooting varies widely by device. It usually includes exploiting a security weakness in the firmware shipped from the factory. For example, shortly after the T-Mobile G1 was released it was quickly discovered that anything typed using the keyboard was being interpreted as a command in a privileged (root) shell. Although Google quickly released a patch to fix this, a signed image of the old firmware was leaked giving people the ability to downgrade and use the original exploit to gain root access. Once this exploit is found, a custom recovery image that does not check the digital signature of a firmware update package can be flashed. In turn, using the custom recovery, a modified firmware update can be installed that typically includes the utilities (for example the Superuser app) needed to run apps as root.

The Google-branded Android devices, the Nexus One, Nexus S and the Galaxy Nexus, can have their boot-loaders unlocked by simply running the command "fastboot oem unlock" from a computer connected to the device while it is in boot-loader mode. After accepting a warning the boot-loader will be unlocked so that a new system image can be written directly to flash without the need for an exploit.

Recently, Motorola, LG Electronics and HTC Corporation have added security features to their devices at the hardware level in an attempt to prevent retail Android devices from being rooted. For instance, the Motorola Droid X has a security boot-loader that will put the phone in "recovery mode" if unsigned firmware is loaded onto the device.

Industry reaction

Until recently, the response of tablet and smartphone manufacturers and mobile carriers has typically been unsupported of third-party firmware development. Manufacturers had expressed concern about improper functioning of devices running unofficial software and related support costs. Moreover, firmware such as Cyanogen Mod sometimes offers features for which carriers would otherwise charge a premium (e.g., tethering). As a result, technical obstacles such as locked bootloaders and restricted access to root permissions have commonly been introduced in many devices. For example, in late December 2011, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com, Inc. began pushing automatic, over-the-air firmware updates, 1.4.1 to Nook Tablets and 6.2.1 to Kindle Fires, that removed users' ability to gain root access to the devices. The Nook Tablet 1.4.1 update also removed users' ability to sideload apps from sources other than the official Barnes and Noble app store (without modding).

However, as community-developed software has grown popular, and following a statement by the Librarian of Congress (US) that permits the use of "jailbreaking" mobile devices, manufacturers and carriers have softened their position regarding CyanogenMod and other unofficial firmware distributions, with some, including HTC, Samsung, Motorola and Sony Ericsson, even actively providing support and encouraging development.

In 2011, the need to circumvent hardware restrictions to install unofficial firmware lessened as an increasing number of devices shipped with unlocked or unlockable bootloaders, similar to the Nexus series of phones. Device manufacturer HTC has announced that it would support aftermarket software developers by making the bootloaders of all new devices unlockable.

Iphone 4s Vs Samsung Galaxy S2

Steve Jobs last launched product in the form of iPhone 4S with the Android best mobile phone, Galaxy S II

Form Factor

Samsung Galaxy S II – 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm
iPhone 4S – 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm
In comparing phones, most of the users check out the make of the mobile phone and its weight is what that matters. Galaxy S II has the dimension of 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm with a weight of 116 grams and Apple iPhone 4S has the dimensions of 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm with a weight of 140 grams.

Processor

Samsung Galaxy S II – Dual Core 1.2 or 1.5 Ghz processor
iPhone 4S – A5 dual core processor
The Samsung Galaxy S II phones has Exynos 4210 SoC processor clocked at a frequency of1.2 Ghz Cortex A9 dual core processor with GPU acceleration that is supported by ARM Mali 400 MP. The iPhone 4S is powered with A5 SoC consisting of Cortex A9 dual core processor and a powerful PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU.
The iPhone 4S has not specified the frequency of its dual core processor hence it would be absurd in comparing it so early until its launch. But considering Samsung Galaxy S II phone the processor is much faster providing an amazing experience. On the other hand the iPhone 4S wins the battle in graphical acceleration.

Operating System

Samsung Galaxy S II – Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread
iPhone 4S – iOS 5 operating system
The main deviation comes in the operating system provided by both the phones. While Android is flying high and Samsung doesn’t leave the Galaxy Series handset, the Galaxy S II phone with TouchWIZ 4.0 has broken the records and it’s the best Android mobile phone to possess. Android OS is liked by everyone because of its open source and easy customization. It’s pretty straight comparison, the iPhone 4S locks you with iOS 5 which is completely revamped with message notifications, new camera app and other changes. The Android 2.3 looks stale when compared to iOS 5 . However a clear-cut comparison between the best operating system depends on the preference of the users whether to go for open source or be with iOS.

Display Screen

Samsung Galaxy S II – 4.3 inches Super AMOLED Plus display
iPhone 4S – 3.5 inches IPS LCD display
The Galaxy S II phone has WVGA 4.3 inches Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen display with a maximum resolution of 800 x 480 pixels while its competitor iPhone 4S has 3.5 inches IPS LCD touchscreen display with 640 x 960 pixels resolution. The iPhone 4S beats the Galaxy S II phone in terms of pixels and resolution but Galaxy S II emerges as the winner  with 4.3 inches large screen and amazing SuperAMOLED display providing higher colors and contrast ratio.

Camera

Samsung Galaxy S II – 8 mega pixel rear and 2 MP front facing
iPhone 4S – 8 mega pixel rear and basic VGA camera on front
Both Apple iPhone 4S and Galaxy S II phone comes with 8 mega pixel rear camera with LED flash. The major difference occurs with the front camera where Galaxy S II leads with 2 mega pixel camera as that of VGA camera on iPhone. This in turn doesn’t mean that iPhone camera is unsuitable, not to forget that iPhone 4S has a custom ISP design which has the feature like Face recognition using Facetime, Hybrid IR filter and auto white balance.
Both the phones are able to record HD video at 1080p at a resolution of 30fps but iPhone records much better videos than its competitor. In turn, it doesn’t mean that Galaxy S II camera is crap; it has one of the best cameras among  all the Android handsets in the market.
Winner : iPhone 4S

Memory

When it comes to Apple they always go for fixed memory which determines its price. iPhone 4S is available in 16 GB, 32 GB & 64 GB models with no external storage. On the other hand, Galaxy S II provides 16 GB of internal memory and it can be expanded further up to 32 GB in size using the microSD card slot.

Network & Speed

Accordingly the specifications Galaxy S II clearly emerges as the winner as it has 4G WiMax capabilities. Along with that the HSPA+ connectivity provides you a top speed of 21 Mbps. You would be disappointed if  iPhone 4S is just providing 3G HSPA speed of 14.4 Mbps only.

Usability

The iPhone 4S has a dedicated camera button, which is absent in Galaxy S2. However, Galaxy S2 comes with rechargeable battery where iPhone 4S doesn’t and it is also clear that iPhone 4S weights 0.6 oz higher than its competitor.

Battery

Though battery life is not an important issue to talk about, we just thought of providing you a brief insight of phone batteries.With 1650 mAh battery on Galaxy S II, it can provide you 8 hours of talk time and same could be found on iPhone 4S with undisclosed battery specifications.
The above picture clearly shows the battery of Galaxy S II phone.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S II

Price

No matter how good your phone is, pricing is what matters finally. Samsung Galaxy S2 is sold from $ 199 to $ 229 in contract with US carriers and unlocked device is priced at over $ 600. The iPhone 4S continues its trends and is available in various storage options, 16 GB at $ 199, 32 GB at $ 299, 64 GB priced at $ 399.



The Verdict This is for the first time that a product from Apple has faced its downfall compared to any other phone at its launch. The iPhone 4S goes with a small screen compared to other handsets in the market though its evolutionary hardware is a hit. Moreover, iPhone 4S compared with its predecessor models, looks just the same but hardware is evolved. One would be thinking what Apple was cooking out at the back for 14 months since the inception of iPhone 4 but statistics speaks, iPhone 4S creates history by booking 0.6 million on its release day.
So who is the ultimate winner? It would be quite unfair to say iPhone 4S is not good smartphone as the craze for Apple products is still on high. People still get attracted to Galaxy S II as it has a greater advantage  of possessing the best Android operating system. Though I feel that Galaxy S2 has slighter advantage, I would like to leave this decision to our Android Advices readers. The best way for you to let us know who the ultimate winner is through the comment section here.