Communications Technology

If you were excited for the cliq, Motorola (NYSE: MOT)’s first Android handset and introduction of their custom blur user interface/service, you might want to check out these snapshots of the Calgary before signing a T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) contract. The Calgary looks a little different than the first couple of shots we saw, but definitely recognizable, and coupled with the Droid, and possibly the HTC Desire, Verizon (NYSE: VZ) will be a good home for Android in the near future. The Calgary is packing GPS, magnetometer, 3 megapixel camera, 3.5 mm headphone jack, Wi-Fi, and, of course, a full QWERTY keyboard.

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An Android is targeting Apple’s iPhone. Verizon Wireless has begun running ads comparing the iPhone to its upcoming Droid, a Motorola-made phone based on Google’s Android 2.0 open-source operating system.

“iDon’t have a real keyboard,” the ad says, touting other “iDon’t” feature shortcomings of the iPhone. The ad, which ran on TV this past weekend, ends with what may be the Droid’s tagline: “Everything iDon’t … Droid Does.”

First Android From Verizon

The Droid, the first Android device from Verizon, is expected to be released at the end of this month. Although specifications haven’t been announced, a minimalist Droid page on the Verizon Web site indicates the new device will have a five-megapixel camera, speech recognition, video, multitasking and high resolution. In addition, Flash is supported by Android 2.0, and is not currently available for the iPhone.

By implication through the iDon’ts, the new Verizon phone may also have a real keyboard, take night shots, allow customization, use interchangeable batteries, and allow simultaneous running of applications and multitasking.

While images and prices haven’t been released, photos that purport to be the Droid have appeared on several technology sites. Boy Genius Report, for instance, said it has used one. It described the Droid as “easily the most impressive” Android device yet, calling it “the most impressive phone we’ve used since the iPhone.”

Verizon has said it will launch various Android-based feature phones, PDAs, notebooks and specialty devices in the near future as part of a partnership with Google. At least two of the phones are scheduled before Christmas.

iPhone ‘Never About Features’

As Verizon creates products and ads for Google’s open-source OS, the companies are showing new affection for each other. After Google pushed for open-access requirements for new bandwidth that the Federal Communications Commission auctioned last year, Verizon won the bid and began showing new enthusiasm for the idea of openness. Earlier this month, Google CEO Eric Schmidt complimented Verizon for its leadership on openness.

Avi Greengart, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, cautioned that Verizon may not want to “take the iPhone on, feature by feature.” This is because, he said, Apple has a strong record of fixing any missing features, as it has for many of the iPhone’s capabilities since its original release.

More important, he said, the iPhone’s success is “never about the features, but how they are implemented.” No other mobile OS platform, Greengart added, “can match Apple’s for its breadth and innovation,” for the number of applications available in one place, or for its “unique user interface.”

But the iPhone does have “points of vulnerability” that Verizon could attack, he pointed out. Greengart said “a big one” is the network, since there are many consumers who don’t feel like they get good reception using AT&T, the iPhone’s exclusive carrier in the U.S.

Additionally, he noted, there are Verizon Wireless customers who would like an iPhone — or an iPhone-like device — but aren’t prepared to switch to AT&T to get it.

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NTT DoCoMo is experimenting with using compressed wooden cases for cell phones.

The Japanese operator showed off two prototype Touch Wood handsets, including one working model, that have cypress cases at the Ceatec exhibition in Chiba, Japan.

The wood used to make the Touch Wood prototypes comes from trees that are felled in forest-thinning operations, rather than being cut for commercial use. The felled trees are then chopped into blocks, which are then cut into the desired shape. The case is then compressed in a mold, using a technology developed by Olympus. The end result is a glossy case that is waterproof and resistant to wood-eating insects and mold, DoCoMo said.

Because each wooden block has a distinctive grain pattern, no two handset cases are exactly alike.

The working Touch Wood prototype on display at Ceatec is a slider design, with a haptic touchscreen that slides up to reveal a QWERTY keyboard and a 5.2-megapixel camera. DoCoMo also showed off a mockup of another touchscreen phone with a curved body that bears a passing resemblance to Apple’s iPhone.

Whether or not these phones or other models with a wooden case ever reach the market remains to be seen. DoCoMo said no decision had yet been made on whether or not to make them into commercial products.

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