Sony Ericsson, HTC planning Google Android phones for 2009

On Tuesday, 14 new members joined Google's Open Handset Alliance, showing their support and furthering the development of the Google Android mobile operating system. Among the fresh additions is Sony Ericsson, and it looks like the company isn't wasting any time and has hit the ground running.

According to several sources, Sony Ericsson is planning on releasing an Android handset by summer 2009 and a company spokesman has gone on to say that the first models will be on the higher end while it will release more mass-market devices at a later time.

In addition, HTC is said to be working on a whole portfolio of Android devices, also with an expected release date of summer 2009. HTC was the manufacturer of the first Android smartphone, the HTC G1, which was a little questionable in the hardware department, but now that HTC has acquired One & Co Design Inc., for its handset designs, perhaps we'll see some sleeker devices? Either way, all very exciting stuff. Summer can't get here quick enough.

Via CNET Crave, Gizmodo, Phandroid, IDG.se (translation), and Business dk (translation)

Ballmer to talk Windows 7, not ZunePhone, at CES

Microsoft will have a bunch of stuff to show at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, but a rumored ZunePhone won't be one of them, according to sources familiar with the company's plans.

Instead, much of CEO Steve Ballmer's focus will be on talking about Windows 7 from a consumer perspective. Microsoft is pushing to have Windows 7 done in time for the holiday 2009 shopping season, so that means this CES is Ballmer's best stage to tout its benefits.

While the desktop operating system will be front and center, sources say to expect Ballmer to talk about how Windows is moving beyond the PC and into a world of PC, Web, and phone, a refrain we also heard a lot from Ray Ozzie at November's Professional Developers Conference, where the world also got its first good look at Windows 7.
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iPhone app Truphone enables calls via carriers

Truphone, which has an App Store application that enables iPhone and iPod touch users to make cheap international phone calls via a Wi-Fi connection, now can be used by iPhone users to make cheap calls from anywhere.

Previously, Truphone, which launched as a free application in Apple's App Store in July, worked only when users were within Wi-Fi range. But the latest iteration of the application will allow iPhone users to make cheaper-than-usual international calls additionally via their carrier's cellular voice networks.

This means that users won't be tied to the confines of a Wi-Fi hot spot. But users should be wary of how they use the application, so as not to incur unexpected costs from their carrier. US customers, especially, should be cautious, because AT&T charges roaming fees when calls are made from AT&T phones outside the country.

Truphone works like several other VoIP services, such as Jajah and Jaxtr, that allow calling to and from regular phones. In short, it uses the local carrier network to establish a phone call, but it routes the call internationally using its own network of voice over Internet Protocol points of presence. And when the call is connected on the other end, it uses the local phone network to establish the connection.
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Skype's latest beta: A worthy Windows Mobile update

Skype for Windows Mobile 2.5 beta, released on Tuesday, essentially brings changes made to Skype's desktop VoIP client (download|review) to Windows Smartphones and Windows Pocket PCs.

The application's display is compact, intuitive, and full-featured.

The mobile version places tabs for your various actions at the bottom of the app. By switching among them, you'll be able to change your online status and see missed calls and instant messages, initiate IMs, or place a call to your contact's Skype account, mobile number, or land line if you've purchased Skype Out. There's also a dialing pad to directly dial a call using an international format.

Like Skype's desktop beta, this Windows Mobile version highlights instant messages. It supports emoticons, but file transferring is what we'd really like to see, and what competitor Fring (downloads) already offers on Symbian phones.
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Yule Log comes to the iPhone

For those without a fireplace and/or an ability to carry a tune, TV stations have for decades offered the Yule Log, an on-screen fireplace crackling as Christmas Carols play in the background.

According to "The Holiday Yule Log" book, the first televised fireplace was in 1966 on New York's WPIX-TV. With carols on in the background and no commercials, it was an instant hit and was adopted by other stations around the country.

But what if the holiday season takes you even further afield, so that you don't even have a plasma TV to keep you warm. Well, record label EMI has come up with an option--play the Yule Log on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

For US$1.99, it is offering the Virtual Yule Log application at the iTunes store, featuring holiday tunes from its catalog, which includes holiday songs from Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, and Nat King Cole.
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