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I hope everyone had a Merry Chrismahanukwanzakah, got to cover them all, T-Mobile is reportedly giving out more presents and starting to ship out new higher capacity batteries and a bigger back covers for the HTC G-1. Those that currently own the old version should receive an e-mail detailing the shipments and hope to get all of the batteries out within a months time. With news of the new ‘Cupcake’ upgrade and all the new features a new and more powerful battery will be needed. Unfortunately I got rid of mine due to the horrible battery life that came with it, now I kind of regret it more battery life would improve my opinions of the device.If there are any owners here that have the e-mail don’t hesitate to share it with us and we’ll share it with the other site readers.

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In the last post about Google’s ‘Cupcake’ firmware upgrade we saw that there would be a on-screen keyboard added.  Well there is now video evidence of the keyboard being used.  From the looks of the video the keyboard features the click and drag function like the iPhone, for when you touch the wrong number.  The only problem is that it looks to be pretty slow when changing letters.  The black interface goes well with the black G1, but I don’t think it will look all that good on the brown and white versions of the G1.  I guess we’ll have to see what comes of this, and hopefully more details will come about in the future!

Samsung is hard at work developing their Android powered handset, and we can’t wait to see it!  The electronics manufacturer plans to release the phone in Q2 of 2009 to the Sprint and T-Mobile networks.  Sources are saying that the phone will be similar to the Omnia, available on Verizon, and the Instinct, available with Sprint.  It will feature a touchscreen just like the other Android handsets.  There are no specific details on the hardware, but if it is like the other mentioned phones, there will be no QWERTY and there will be only a few buttons, keeping a minimal look to the phone.

I can’t wait to see what comes of this.  I have a feeling that Samsung wants to out-do the other phone makers using Google Android, so be prepared for something out of this world.

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This week many companies confirmed that they were working on new phones that support the Google Android operating system.  The two that stand out the most and have fully confirmed the devices are HTC and Sony Ericsson.  Garfield Brusewitz, spokesperson for Sony Ericsson, stated that they will be looking into producing more high-end Android phones to start but will focus on creating more mid-range phones after the release of the higher ones.  He is also quoted for giving us a ballpark figure of the phones being available in Summer 2009, which isn’t as far as it seems.  Not to be outdone HTC also leaked that they were working on more headsets for a Summer 2009 release.

Sony Ericsson has given us good phones like the Xperia, but some might think about the W350a they just released that, let’s just say, is not a very good idea. Hopefully HTC will take battery life into consideration when creating these new phones, but I know that I am super stoked to see these new phones and hope to get a review unit or two! 

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Kogan Agora

If you remember my last post about Kogan we talked about the announcement made about a new Android phone available to Aussies. In that announcement they noted a detail release before Christmas, and it looks like they achieved that goal. They have just announced two phones that are available for purchase now and shipped out January 29th, labeled the Kogan Agora Pro. Right now they are accepting pre-orders of the phone for $399AUS ($256USD), which is an unlocked phone that will be able to be used on any network in Australia. For $100 less you can get this from Kogen to be used on their network.

The phone features some pretty neat features that make it stand out from the G-1 by T-Mobile. The Agora features 3G connectivity, a 2.5mm touchscreen, physical QWERTY keyboard, GPS, Wi-Fi, 2MP Camera, bluetooth and more. These are great features that give you bang for your buck! Alternatively you can pick up the Agora that does not include the camera, GPS, or Wi-Fi connectivity, it is selling for $100 less.

We are looking forward to hearing more about the phone, and wishing for a review unit, *hint hint*, or even a reader from Australia that nabs one of these to give us a review!

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