Google on Wednesday released the latest numbers for the software versions that are powering Android smartphones and tablets. Ice Cream Sandwich appears on the list for the first time, with Android 4.0 through Android 4.0.3 now found on a combined 0.6% of devices. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus S is in the process of receiving Android 4.0.3, sort of, while the Galaxy Nexus already has 4.0.2. Google’s tablet-centric Honeycomb operating system is found on just 3.3% of Android devices and Gingerbread currently installed on 55.5% of devices — a clear majority. Froyo (Android 2.2) and Eclair (Android 2.1) have dropped to 30.4% and 8.5% respectively, with Donut (Android 1.6) and Cupcake (Android 1.5) hitting lows of 1.1% and 0.6%. Google collected its latest Android version data during the 14-day period that ended January 3rd.

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While it’s more like the Toyota of Android smartphones as opposed to the Cadillac, Canadians who want to take Google’s mobile OS for a spin should look no further than the Motorola QUENCH. Available today from Rogers, the QUENCH is simply T-Mobile CLIQ XT with an even more questionable name. Of course this means that all of its specs — 3.1″ capacitive HVGA display, 5 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, GPS, HSDPA and MOTOBLUR atop of Android 1.5 — are the same, and can be yours for as little as $49.99 on contract. Anyone biting?

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Being the carrier that first brought Android to Canada, Rogers’ current Android line-up is extremely weak. Looking to change this, Rogers will soon be launching the Acer Liquid e and the Motorola QUENCH. Similar in that they both run Android, have 5 megapixel cameras, support 7.2Mbps 3G and have a candybar form, the two devices are quite different almost anywhere else you look. The Liquid e, which has Android 2.1, roars along with Snapdragon processor underclocked to 768MHz, while the QUENCH with Android 1.5 with MOTOBLUR chugs along with a MSM7200A that clocks in at 528MHz. When it comes to displays, the Liquid e’s 3.5″ WVGA screen handily trumps the 3.1″ HVGA affair found on the Motorola. Look for the Liquid e next month for $79.99 on contract, preceded by the QUENCH next week for $49.99.

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And so the rollout of MOTOBLUR handsets begins in the True North Strong and Free as TELUS today announced the immediate availability of the Motorola BACKFLIP. Featuring a unique reverse-hinge QWERTY keypad design with a BACKTRACK navigation pad on the reverse, the BACKFLIP also boasts a 3.1″ HVGA capacitive display, 5 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack, 512MB of internal memory, microSD support, and MOTOBLUR atop Android 1.5. Now, you’d think this phone would be priced along the lines of AT&T’s $99.99 on contract but you’d be wrong — it’s currently listed on TELUS’ website for $249.99 on a 3-year plan. If this isn’t a typo… Yeah.

UPDATE: Looks like TELUS made a typo on their website. $249.99 is the contract price without a data plan. With data it’s $99.99. Thank heavens.

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What you see above might just be the entire spec sheet for that mysterious Android slider from Motorola we caught a glimpse of the other day. Allegedly known as the Twist, the strange smartphone is said to measure in at 67mm-squared and 15.8mm thick, and possess a rather underwhelming feature set which includes a 2.8″ QVGA multitouch display, 3 megapixel camera, aGPS, Wi-Fi, dual-band HSPA (850/1900MHz), 700MHz OMAP 3410 processor and 512MB ROM / 256MB RAM. The slide mentions the Twist as running Android 1.5, so unless the information is badly outdated, it looks like those rumors of the device running Android 2.1 in conjunction with MOTOBLUR were wishful thinking. That is if any of this is even real.

[Via Android Central]

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Big news today for iDEN fans who have been jonesing for the Opus One that we scooped and spec’d way back when in December as today it has been formally announced Motorola. Officially known as the Motorola i1, the device is the world’s first Android Push-To-Talk smartphone and it will be offered “this summer” by Sprint. While pricing is currently unknown, we do know practically everything else about the phone and its specs which include a 3.1″ HVGA display, 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus and dual-LED flash, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 and stupidly a 2.5mm headphone jack. Running Android 1.5 with a custom UI overlay — possibly a less social version of MOTOBLUR — Motorola has also decided to replace the stock Android browser with Opera Mini 5 plus Flash Lite as well as include the amazing Swype virtual keyboard. Yay or nay, folks?

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So much for yesterday’s pricing revelation as today T-Mobile released the Motorola CLIQ XT with a price tag that is $30 higher than expected. Available on Even More plans for $129.99 and Even More Plus for $329.99, the CLIQ XT is still attractively priced considering some the rather positive early reviews it received. Of course, there are naturally going to be some stragglers who hold out on the CLIQ XT until Motorola delivers the Android 2.1 update it promised for all MOTOBLUR handsets back in January (the CLIQ XT ships with Android 1.5), but that can’t be too far away now… Or can it?

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As was widely expected, Rogers today announced the immediate availability of the Samsung Galaxy Spica. The carrier’s fourth Android smartphone, the Galaxy Spica offers a 3.2″ AMOLED HVGA capacitive display, 3.2 megapixel camera, GPS, Wi-Fi, 3.6Mbps HSDPA/UMTS, 800MHz processor and up to 7 hours of talk time and 10 days of standby for $79.99 on a standard 3-year deal. Anyone that was hoping it would come pre-loaded with anything past Android 1.5 aka “Cupcake” will be sorely disappointed, although we’ve received official word from Rogers that an update to Android 2.1 is in the works, there are “no details on timing to share at the moment.” C’est la vie.

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Remember the Opus One, the Android-powered iDEN handset from Motorola we scooped and then spec’d just before Christmas? Well apparently it’s going to be made official sometime in the next few weeks (hello, CTIA!) and will feature one added but obvious goodie: MOTOBLUR. Since we know most of you don’t have encyclopedic memories, here’s a bit of a refresher on what we’ve been told this phone is all about:

• 3.1″ hVGA 320×480 capacitive touchscreen display
• 3 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash
• Accelerometer
• Proximity sensor
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
• Bluetooth
• microSD card slot
• 2.5mm headset jack
• Home, Menu, Back, Speaker buttons are capacitive buttons with haptic feedback
• iDEN PTT & PTX
• Android LBS which is integrated into the iDEN GPS engine
• “Enterprise email”
• Plastic-molded housing with some rubberized texture finishes
• 58mm in width, 118mm in length
• 100g weight
• 512MB Flash / 256MB of RAM
• 64k and 128k iDEN SIM card support
• A-GPS
• Motorola dual-mic technology noise-canceling for noisy environments
• Flash Lite v3.1.x
• Some of the preloaded apps include: corporate email client with ActiveSync support, MOTONAV navigation app, barcode scanner, and document viewer.

Obviously without being official it’s not possible to confirm carriers, but naturally Sprint’s Nextel and Boost are going to get on board while TELUS’s Mike is said to be getting it in Q3.

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When we say we have specifications, boy, do we mean it. One of our connects has sent us the full rundown on Motorla’s Opus One (their first iDEN Android handset) that we revealed a little while back. The features on the device are actually pretty reasonable, and we’d imagine it to sell for a reasonable attractive price-point at release. The Motorola Opus One will run Android 1.5 with iDEN service enhancements, make use of a “Zeus” CPU, and will feature a 3 megapixel autofocus camera.

Detailed list of full specs after the breakage!

• 3.1″ hVGA 320×480 capacitative touchscreen display
• 3 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash
• Accelerometer
• Proximity sensor
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
• Bluetooth
• microSD card slot
• 2.5mm headset jack
• Home, Menu, Back, Speaker buttons are capacitive buttons with haptic feedback
• iDEN PTT & PTX
• Android LBS which is integrated into the iDEN GPS engine
• “Enterprise email”
• Plastic-molded housing with some rubberized texture finishes
• 58mm in width, 118mm in length
• 100g weight
• 512MB Flash / 256MB of RAM
• 64k and 128k iDEN SIM card support
• A-GPS
• Motorola dual-mic technology noise-canceling for noisy enviroments
• Flash Lite v3.1.x
• Some of the preloaded apps include: corporate email client with ActiveSync support, MOTONAV navigation app, barcode scanner, and document viewer.

That’s what we have for you on the Motorola Opus One at this time. Not the most mind-blowing Android device, but with it being an iDEN device and all, we’ll cut it some slack and even say that it could do reasonably well at launch.

If you have either a HTC Dream or Magic (or perhaps both) from Rogers Wireless, you might want to brush up on your rooting and porting skills because it appears that both devices will not receive an official OS update past Android 1.5. Said HTC’s website (and confirmed by Rogers):

HTC is not currently planning any Android 1.6 upgrades for Rogers Dream or Magic. Android 1.6 was only made available for “Google”-branded devices such as the G1. It is not available for HTC-branded products such as the Dream or Magic, which use Android 1.5. We believe that Android 1.5 is a stable and reliable software platform that delivers a terrific user experience.

We’re not even going to bother getting into how upset some owners are, but we think it needs to be said how sad it is that a company would release a pair of devices, call it an open-sourced “Revolution” and then completely screw its customers over. it’s not like other carriers offering non-”with Google” Dreams and Magics weren’t able to dish out some new software upgrades. You’re better than this, aren’t you Rogers?

Thanks, Andrew!

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Etie

And just like that, every major Canadian wireless carrier offers at least one Android smartphone as Bell has launched the Samsung Galaxy. Currently going for $99.95 on a 3-year contract and $449.95 without, the Galaxy might prove to be a bit of a tough sell for Bell considering all three of Android handsets offered by Rogers — the HTC Dream, Magic and LG Eve — are $79.99 and under while TELUS has the ever popular HTC Hero at $99.99 with the Motorola MILESTONE all set for an early 2010 debut. Having said all of that, the Galaxy does appear to have a trump card — order now and you’ll get a free Vancouver 2010 decal. We can just hear the flood of calls to telesales now.

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As it currently stands, Bell is the only major Canadian wireless carrier that doesn’t have at least one Android handset in its line-up, but if the latest rumors are to be believed, this will only be the case for another couple days as Bell is said to be getting the Samsung Galaxy i7500 on December 10th. Because it’s received little attention Statesi… er Province-side, we think it’s worth quickly running over the specs: 3.2″ HVGA AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash, Wi-Fi, GPS, 7.2Mbps HSDPA, 528MHz processor, 8GB internal memory and it’s running Android 1.5 “Cupcake”. Pricing is still a mystery, but hey — Bell users have had plenty of time to save up.

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Motorola CLIQ owners have long had a list of complaints about their device, but Motorola is hoping that an OTA update released yesterday will fix the majority of users’ woes. The update doesn’t do anything to change the fact the device runs on Android 1.5, but it does bump up the system version to 1.1.31. What does that mean for the average Joe and Jane? Improved battery life and touchscreen sensitivity, better Bluetooth all around, accelerometer refinements and more. Go ahead and give it a while and let us know what you think, okay?

[Via TmoNews]

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Haven’t had your fill of Android handsets yet? Neither have we. T-Mobile just hit us up with a Samsung Behold II and here are some first impressions:

Physically the unit feels pretty good to hold, albeit a little cheap. The weight is good, but the choice of a glossy plastic makes it feel a little chintzy to us. The back cover has a certain depth to it and it’s pretty darn cool, but we can see it scratching really easily if you’re not careful. As far as the front of the device, the buttons are surprisingly pretty easy to press despite their intimidating layout, and the 5-way navigational circle is also pretty friendly. Now for what we don’t like…

Samsung needs to learn that it isn’t 1999 anymore, and re-skinning most of Android’s decent but not great UI elements isn’t a good idea. We literally feel like we’re in downtown Seoul when the display is on — neon blues, neon orange, neon yellow — all on a black background which really doesn’t make for the most appetizing phone interface. Additionally, you can no longer press the Menu key to unlock the display once you turn it on, you’re forced to press a dedicated unlock / lock key on the side of the phone. Awk. Ward. While the paper specs on the phone (capacitive screen, 5 megapixel camera, AWS 3G, etc.) are definitely competitive, at first glance, the user experience seems to be way too involved for the average user. It’s not friendly by any means and the price point of $199 seems borderline laughable with other devices available at this time. On and off T-Mobile.