Android App Market is announced, still waiting for the first device

Google clearly haven't been wasting their time recently - they have prepared a new online platform for delivering third-party applications to Android-based handsets, called Android Market. And this new Android Market seems to be just around the corner.

Much like the Apple AppStore, the Android Market is a native application that runs on the handset but connects to the new online Google service. It will be used as download manager and installer for third-party applications for the Android OS.

The Android Market will offer a very simple three-step interface for collecting applications. All it takes for the developer is to register and than describe and upload the app. Unlike the AppStore, there will be no need for approval from Google before that. The Android market will also feature a rating and comment system similar to the one of YouTube.

The first Android device that's supposed to roll out is the HTC Dream. No details about the device specs are known, and there are no leaked photos either. Even its release date is not carved in stone yet, if you know what we mean.

The one thing that's known however is that this first device will be shipped with a beta version of the Market application, which will include only free applications. There is obviously some more i-dotting and t-crossing to be done before the paid applications hit the road.

Meanwhile Google also announced the winners in the first Android developer challenge. From 50 developer teams to reach the finals 10 received a hefty 275,000 US dollar checks and 10 more walked away with the modest 100,000 US dollar awards. You can check the winning apps here. Those aren't really spectacular so we guess the main purpose of the prizes is to encourage more developers to enter the next round.

i-mate Ultimate 8502

GENERAL	2G NETWORK	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G NETWORK	HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100
	ANNOUNCED	2007, OCTOBER
	STATUS	COMING SOON
SIZE	DIMENSIONS	116 X 55 X 15 MM
	WEIGHT	140 G
DISPLAY	TYPE	TFT TOUCHSCREEN, 256K COLORS (65K EFFECTIVE)
	SIZE	320 X 240 PIXELS, 2.6 INCHES
		- QWERTY KEYBOARD
RINGTONES	TYPE	POLYPHONIC (64 CHANNELS), MP3
	CUSTOMIZATION	DOWNLOAD
	VIBRATION	YES
MEMORY	PHONEBOOK	PRACTICALLY UNLIMITED ENTRIES AND FIELDS, PHOTOCALL
	CALL RECORDS	PRACTICALLY UNLIMITED
	CARD SLOT	MICROSD (TRANSFLASH)
		- QUALCOMM MSM 7200 400 MHZ PROCESSOR - 256 MB ROM, 128 MB RAM
DATA	GPRS	CLASS 10 (4+1/3+2 SLOTS), 32 - 48 KBPS
	HSCSD	NO
	EDGE	CLASS 10, 236.8 KBPS
	3G	HSDPA
	WLAN	WI-FI 802.11 B/G
	BLUETOOTH	YES, V2.0 WITH A2DP
	INFRARED PORT	NO
	USB	YES
FEATURES	OS	MICROSOFT WINDOWS MOBILE 6.0 PROFESSIONAL
	MESSAGING	SMS, MMS, EMAIL, PUSH EMAIL, INSTANT MESSAGING
	BROWSER	WAP 2.0/XHTML, HTML (POCKETIE)
	GAMES	YES
	COLORS	BLACK
	CAMERA	2 MP, 1600X1200 PIXELS, VIDEO, FLASH
		- BUILT-IN GPS RECEIVER - POCKET OFFICE (WORD, EXCEL, POWERPOINT, PDF VIEWER) - JAVA MIDP 2.0 - VOICE MEMO - WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER 10 - VIDEO/AUDIO ALBUM - FILE MANAGER - BUILT-IN HANDSFREE - TV/AUDIO OUTPUT - I-MATE GPRS CONFIGURATOR(WAP, MMS) - 360° JOG WHEEL
BATTERY	STANDARD BATTERY	LI-ION 1530 MAH
	STAND-BY	UP TO 180 H
	TALK TIME	UP TO 4 H 30 MIN

i-mate 9502

GENERAL	2G NETWORK	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G NETWORK	HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100
	ANNOUNCED	2007, OCTOBER
	STATUS	AVAILABLE. RELEASED 2008, MARCH
SIZE	DIMENSIONS	116 X 60 X 17.8 MM
	WEIGHT	200 G
DISPLAY	TYPE	TFT TOUCHSCREEN, 256K COLORS (65K EFFECTIVE)
	SIZE	640 X 480 PIXELS, 2.8 INCHES
		- QWERTY KEYBOARD
RINGTONES	TYPE	POLYPHONIC (64 CHANNELS), MP3
	CUSTOMIZATION	DOWNLOAD,
	VIBRATION	YES
MEMORY	PHONEBOOK	PRACTICALLY UNLIMITED ENTRIES AND FIELDS, PHOTOCALL
	CALL RECORDS	PRACTICALLY UNLIMITED
	CARD SLOT	MICROSD (TRANSFLASH), BUY MEMORY
		- QUALCOMM MSM 7200 400 MHZ PROCESSOR - 256 MB ROM, 128 MB RAM
DATA	GPRS	CLASS 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 SLOTS), 32 - 48 KBPS
	HSCSD	NO
	EDGE	CLASS 12
	3G	HSDPA
	WLAN	WI-FI 802.11 B/G
	BLUETOOTH	YES, V2.0 WITH A2DP
	INFRARED PORT	NO
	USB	YES
FEATURES	OS	MICROSOFT WINDOWS MOBILE 6.0 PROFESSIONAL
	MESSAGING	SMS, MMS, EMAIL, PUSH EMAIL, INSTANT MESSAGING
	BROWSER	WAP 2.0/XHTML, HTML (POCKETIE)
	GAMES	YES
	COLORS	BLACK
	CAMERA	3.15 MP, 2048X1536 PIXELS, AUTOFOCUS, VIDEO, LED FLASH, SECONDARY VGA VIDEOCALL CAMERA
		- BUILT-IN GPS RECEIVER - POCKET OFFICE (WORD, EXCEL, POWERPOINT, PDF VIEWER) - JAVA MIDP 2.0 - VOICE MEMO - WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER 10 - VIDEO/AUDIO ALBUM - FILE MANAGER - BUILT-IN HANDSFREE - TV/AUDIO OUTPUT - I-MATE GPRS CONFIGURATOR(WAP, MMS)
BATTERY	STANDARD BATTERY	LI-PO 1620 MAH
	STAND-BY	UP TO 180 H
	TALK TIME	UP TO 4 H 20 MIN

Apple iPhone

GENERAL	2G NETWORK	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	ANNOUNCED	2007, JANUARY
	STATUS	AVAILABLE. RELEASED 2007, JUNE
SIZE	DIMENSIONS	115 X 61 X 11.6 MM
	WEIGHT	135 G
DISPLAY	TYPE	TOUCHSCREEN, 16M COLORS
	SIZE	320 X 480 PIXELS, 3.5 INCHES
		- MULTI-TOUCH INPUT METHOD - ACCELEROMETER SENSOR FOR AUTO-ROTATE - PROXIMITY SENSOR FOR AUTO TURN-OFF
RINGTONES	TYPE	POLYPHONIC, MP3
	CUSTOMIZATION	DOWNLOAD
	VIBRATION	YES
		- 3.5 MM HEADSET JACK
MEMORY	PHONEBOOK	PRACTICALLY UNLIMITED ENTRIES AND FIELDS, PHOTOCALL
	CALL RECORDS	100 RECEIVED, DIALED AND MISSED CALLS
	CARD SLOT	NO
		- 4/8/16 GB SHARED MEMORY
DATA	GPRS	YES
	HSCSD	NO
	EDGE	YES
	3G	NO
	WLAN	WI-FI 802.11B/G
	BLUETOOTH	YES, V2.0, HEADSET SUPPORT ONLY
	INFRARED PORT	NO
	USB	YES, V2.0
FEATURES	OS	MAC OS X V10.4.8
	MESSAGING	SMS, EMAIL
	BROWSER	HTML (SAFARI)
	GAMES	DOWNLOADABLE (FIRMWARE 2.0)
	COLORS	BLACK
	CAMERA	2 MP, 1600X1200 PIXELS
		- GOOGLE MAPS - IPOD AUDIO/VIDEO PLAYER - PIM INCLUDING CALENDAR, TO-DO LIST - TV OUTPUT (FIRMWARE 1.1.1) - PHOTO BROWSER/EDITOR - VOICE MEMO - INTEGRATED HANDSFREE
BATTERY	STANDARD BATTERY	LI-ION
	STAND-BY	UP TO 250 H
	TALK TIME	UP TO 8 H

Nokia N85 and N79 official, no surprises

Nokia N85

Nokia N85 is a quad-band GSM and tri-band UMTS dual slider, inspired by the controversial design of the Nokia N81. It's also got HSDPA support to improve network data transfer speed even further. Undoubtedly, the most exiting feature about the N85 is the display - a 2.6" 16M color AMOLED unit of QVGA resolution. There is a built-in accelerometer for automatic rotation of the UI and dedicated gaming keys for improving the N-gage gaming expirience.

Some of the other features of the Nokia N85 include microUSB slot, 3.5mm standard audio jack and GPS. The handset running of the Symbian OS with S60 UI and Feature Pack 2 preinstalled will also have WLAN and Bluetooth among its connectivity options. A 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, dual-LED flash and autofocus assist light is mounted at the back of the device. It can manage the sweet VGA video recording at up to 30 fps. A secondary CIF camera is at the front to take care of the video calls.

The built-in memory of the Nokia N85 is 74MB and there is a microSD card slot to extend that. An 8GB card (the largest currently available on the market) will be included in the retail package. The final multimedia touches to the Nokia N85 are the FM radio and FM transmitter.

Nokia N85 will be available in Copper color in October for an estimated retail price of 450 euro (660 US dollars) before taxes or subsides.

Nokia N79

The bar-shaped Nokia N79 has a bit more modest feature list but has better (or so it seems to us) looks and a more compact boy. It still supports all the four GSM bands but the 3G works only on the 900 and 2100 MHz bands. The display on the N79 is a 2.4" QVGA one, capable of showing up to 16M colors. Wi-Fi, GPS and a 5 megapixel camera are some of its other more important features.

Nokia N79 also sports FM radio and FM transmitter, allowing you to broadcast your favorite tracks within a short range over radio waves. Quite as expected, it too runs on the Symbian OS with S60 v3.2 UI. Nokia N79, much like the N85, features the interesting Navi wheel navigation solution which we first came to know in the Nokia N81. The 3.5mm standard audio jack, the Bluetooth connectivity and the microUSB slot are hardly a surprise to anyone. The internal memory of the N79 is 50MB and it will be expandable through the microSD card slot (a 4GB memory card will be included in the retail package).

The other upgrade of the Nokia N79 over the N78 (in addition to the improved camera and video recording) is its easily customizable exterior. The handset will come with two extra Xpress-on covers in the retail package and additional ones can also be purchased.

Nokia N79 will hit the shelves in Canvas White and Seal Grey color versions in October and will cost 350 euro (515 US dollars) before taxes or subsides.