If you are an Android fan and looking for a SmartPhone similar to that of Google Nexusone, well here is a good news. The answer is HTC Desire and it is available in Europe and other areas of the world in GSM form but now it has been launched in US with CDMA support by U.S Cellular. The form factor is similar to that of Google nexus as I mentioned earlier, and its shape and feeling of this smartphone is fantastic. Checkout the specifications inside with video hands on review.

All Google Android Smart phone owners will be delighted to know that Barnes & Noble Nook content can be downloaded and read on their devices, as Nook for Android is available in the Android Market for FREE. It will provide you full access to your existing Barnes & Noble eBooks with additional support of LendME loan feature. In short it is a free & full featured eBook Reader.

Indian government shows of a prototype computer, which is an iPad like tablet at amazing cheap price of just 35$ or 23£. Production of these touch screen tablets will start in 2011. It supports features like word processing, web browsing and videoconferencing. The tablet doesn’t have a hard disk, but instead uses a 2 GB memory card, much like a mobile phone. Underlying OS will either be Linux or Android, and it will be able to connect to the internet over WiFi, open PDFs, and even play YouTube videos. Along with battery it will sport solar power charging feature.

According to human resource development minister Kapil Sibal initially the price will be $35 but he hopes to get the cost down to $10 eventually. Check out the video inside.

If you are a SmartPhone enthusiast and following the latest trends, you would know that current high end Smart Phone beasts sport usually 1 Ghz snapdragon mobile processor from Qualcomm or similar specifications. Word is that Qualcomm has already started testing their brand new dual core 800 Mhz mobile processors.

HTC Vision is rumored to sport this 800 ghz dual core mobile processor and will have a 3.7-inch multi touchscreen high res display, Android 2.2 Froyo and a 8 MP camera with full QWERTY keyboard.It is probably safe to assume that features like an HDMI-out port and front-facing camera may be on board as well because of dual core processor. HTC Vision is expected for this holiday season, where HTC will also unveil a new screen technology we have never seen before.

 HTC Vision quick Specifications 

• Support for innovative 3D/2D user interfaces and console-quality gaming via dedicated, high-performance graphics engines
• 8megapixel camera
• Full 1080p HD video playback and recording
• Support for DTS/Dolby 5.1 surround sound
• Integrated Assisted-GPS, including support for Glonass satellite services
• 45nm process technology for ultra-low power consumption

Sometime back I wrote about Sony Ericsson’s plans to launch an Android device the XPERIA X10. Well it has finally been launched and is available online as well, unlocked that is! It’s Quad band device that is GSM and 3G both as most mobile phones are today. Noteworthy features are:

• Touch screen, 480 x 854 pixels WVGA 65,536-color TFT
• 4.0” screen!
• 8 MP camera
• A-GPS
• WLAN
• BT
• Android
• micro SDTM up to 16GB, 8GB included
• Facial Recognition
• Social Networks supported
• Apps from Android Marketplace can be installed
• Accelerometer

As usual Amazon is the first online seller and X10 is retailing at $850. A host of accessories can also be added. The details are available at the Sony Ericsson website.

Skype has finally made available Skype Mobile for Verizon on Android via Android Marketplace, it must be noted that it is available for only Verizon devices. The caveat is that to run Skype mobile users will have to turn off WIFI.

Clearly Verizon wants to protect their main revenue stream and this is why  Skype mobile will be using Verizon voice network for making all calls within US, VOIP will only be available when making calls internationally via 3G network using Skypeout credit. If you are making call to another Skype user then 3G data network will also be used .

What does it mean for you, if you are making a Skype call to a domestic number it will utilize your Verizon plan minutes, simple as that, but if you want to call your friends, family and co workers who are using Skype you will be able to connect them using 3G connection for free, but the 3G data plan still costs money and WIFI is no longer available.

Sometime back I wrote about TravelSIM, a GSM SIM that works in over 170 countries. This was for frequent travelers who trot the global on a monthly basis or even more frequently. It seems that the trend is catching on. Now truphone has launched a new SIM that lets subscribers to be local literally anywhere in the world. Moreover, they won’t even have to buy a new SIM card every time they travel out of country. This also means cheap calling anywhere to the tune of 90% as compared to standard calling rates!

Initially it has been launched for the UK, US and more countries will be added in 2010. The list includes South Africa, Hong Kong, Australia and some European countries as well. There are three different kinds of plans being offered the Starter, UK Holiday Pack and the US/UK Pro Pack. The Starter Pack offers local number and local rates for home country including low cost international calling and global roaming. The Starter pack can be upgraded to the Holiday and Pro bundle for more savings and advantages.

Users can also add a local country rate to their SIMs and pay as the locals. Besides all this the company also has a set of customized apps for the iPhone, Nokia and Android phones (including the Google Nexus One) using which users can make free VOIP calls to truphone, Skype and Google Talk users. Check out the truphone website for more information.

Opera Mini was launched about a year back for the Android. It was called Opera 4 then, now we have Opera Mini 5 (Beta) available for download which has some very impressive features. The guys at Opera say that this browser “makes your mobile browsing experience as close as it can be to your desktop experience.” The new features introduced are:

• Tabbed Browsing: Needs no explaining, but this is feature is a must for smart phones.
• Speed Dial: On opening a new Tab, users are presented with a list of small icons, a click takes them to the desired page.
• Opera Link: With this feature users can synchronize their bookmarks and Speed Dial between their Mobile Phones and Desktop Computers.
• Download Manager: OMG, manage downloads form your smart device. This options lets users Pause and Resume downloads at will.
• Page Compression by about 90% ensures that browsing speed are greatly increased.
• Page Zoom.
• Password Manager: Users won’t have to remember those countless passwords instead the manager will store them on the Phone.
• Landscape Mode.

Download from the Opera Mini Page and better still watch the Demo via a neatly designed Simulator that will leave you dazed.

PocketGear has acquired Handango, the announcement was made just a few days back. This might come as a surprise but the benefits are truly amazing, at least for PocketGear, quite simply because this lone move now gives it access to some 140,000 apps of various categories. This includes paid as well as free titles. This might as well be termed as  the creation of so far the largest cross platform, open app store on planet Earth.

The two stores are known to have generated over $ 400 million in revenue resulting from sale of mobile apps. This they say is spread across 175 countries, and the variety of mobile devices supported is well over 2000 in number.

PocketGear’s developer base alone has expanded to some 32,000 strong giving it more variety and reach. This will help improve its stats further as the company has already worked in conjunction with Samsung, Microsoft, LG, Sony Ericsson, RIM, Verizon and AT&T. Simply put more developers and more companies mean more variety and hence more revenue. And remember this is for a variety of devices unlike Apple.

PocketGear supports supposedly all brands less the “i” category Some of the brands under its belt are Java, Linux, Microsoft Windows, Android, Palm, Blackberry and the ever present Symbian.    

PockerGear’s strength comes form its business model which supports developers more than other competitors. PocketGear’s developers get to keep up to 90% of the share as against 70% in case of other models. Besides this the company CEO Jud Bowman says it has perfected its systems in a big way and Handset manufacturers or carriers can now launch their own customized stores in weeks.

Not a day passes by when I am not amazed and dazed at how technology is evolving and innovation is shaping things. I blogged about the Airnergy Wi-Fi signals harvesting device a couple of days back, and just now happened to chance upon some very impressive gadgets that are totally out of this world, they really are impressive. I won’t bore you with more adjectives just read on…

SLIMDATA is a USB 2.0 storage device that is easy to carry around. It is not fat and ugly, in fact it is the size of a Credit card and can therefore sit in one’s wallet. To use it simply fold one side to reveal the USB port and insert in your laptop/PC. Currently it is available in 4 GB capacity and comes in five colors. Works with Windows, Linux and Mac. If you place a big order the company will print a customized message or logo. Check out the website for more info.

Washable Mice, Keyboards and TV Remotes. Now eat this, keyboards, mice and remotes that are washable! But why, I mean why not just use a vacuum cleaner instead or may be use a lint free cloth with some liquid? Well the developers of these smart products say that it is good for the health since the product they are made of repels bacteria. Moreover, since these things can be washed just like clothes in a dishwasher, kitchen sink or whatever so there are lesser chances of people infecting each other. This brings us to another problem, when can we see a keyboard, mouse or TV remote washing machine? Just kidding, check out the company’s website.

Mobile TV. This is a portable device that lets users view TV via a Notebook, Netbook and  smart-phone. It can be charged from Mini USB port, has WLAN and weighs just 71 grams. It will work with Symbian, Android and Windows Mobile based devices. Check out the website for more in depth information.