Here is where a little Google magic may make Apple’s iPhone/iPad division worry a bit, if not a lot. Google Labs is rolling out a new tool called App Inventor, which is an Android app development tool that does not require any coding.

Let me say that again – you can build applicaitons for your Android phone without knowing how to program. If you can drag and drop, you can ‘program’ apps!

App Inventor is invite-only right now, but you can watch the demo video here as well as see some of the other sample apps on the site.

Motorola is continuing its marketing push of the Droid with these fun videos of the Droid being used to perform unreal shortcuts. No, it’s not April 1st any more, but yes, these are ‘artistic creations’.

Here’s one:

You can see all 7 on YouTube.

We normally try to feature gadgets that are available right now, but this upcoming gizmo, a doozy of a smartphone is sure to make a huge impression this summer. It also helps makes the case for a Sprint that is not dead yet.

Sprint recently announced (at CTIA) its latest Android smartphone, the HTC EVO which also happens to be the world’s first 3G/4G phne. The EVO matches up really well with other Android stars – the Google-branded HTC Nexus One (on T-Mobile & others) and the Motorola Droid (on Verizon). Here’s a nice comparison of the 3.

Apart from its 4G cred, the EVO sports a 800×480 touchscreen with the Sense UI, 1GB of internal storage, an 8MP camera with video recording up to 1280×720, and get this, a front-facing camera. So now you can do some real video conferencing right from the palm of your hand.

The other noteworthy feature is the HDMI out connector. The EVO 4G is really being pushed as a video-savvy phone.

No word yet on pricing or exact availability, but you can be sure it’ll make a big splash. Pre-register for more info at http://www.sprint.com/evo.

An interesting article by Arstechnica state that 40% of Blackberry users are willing to trade in for an iPhone. Does this mean Obama’s BlackBerry endorsements are wearing off?

The more likely scenario is that RIM is unable to keep up with features consumers want more of that are incorporated in the iPhone and Android. To muddy the waters even more, Windows Mobile 7 has been rebuilt from the ground up and will become more of a threat in 2010 to BlackBerry business. In fact, I know several gigantic enterprises that have switched from RIM to Microsoft’s Mobile devices porting apps and removing all traces of RIM from the environment.

It seems current iPhone and Android users are happy with their device as 90 percent plan to stick with their current platform for their next upgrade.

In case you got tired of waiting for the iPhone to show up on Verizon, why not consider an Android phone, say perhaps the Google Nexus One, which you can currently get on T-Mobile.

HTC will be shipping these to Verizon by April. If you’re in Britain, expect Nexus Ones to show up on Vodafone too.

Meantime, enjoy the Nexus One Ninja video!

via Digitimes

Well the iPhone honeymoon at AT&T may be over, what with Android handsets coming to the network. The first one is here, the Motorola Backflip and like its name, it has a hinged design that lets the keyboard float below the screen or even to rotate all the way around.

Here are the big points:

• 3G
• 3.1″ touchscreen
• full QWERTY keyboard
• GPS
• WiFi
• 5 Megapixel camera
• micro-SD card slot
• up to 6hrs of talk time, 13.5 days of standby time

You can get the phone with a service plan for next to nothing, or buy it outright for $350 at places like Amazon.

Buy now!
Price: $349.99 (without contract)
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

You may already be immune to those Sprint commercials that keep using the term “4G”, but the reality is that they may have a 4G WiMax network in a lot of cities, but no phones! Well that’s about to change this summer with the introduction of a new 4G smartphone.

There’s a good chance too that it’ll be an HTC running Android. Sweet! [Well, if you're a Sprint customer] Here’s hoping that it’s a Pre/Droid/iPhone-class gadget.

Google decided to have some fun with the Nexus One release, and create this fun video of some ninjas ‘unwrapping’ a Nexus One box. Only a minute and a half long and pretty entertaining. Head over to YouTube if you’d like to see the video in HD.

AT&T announced that it plans to launch 5 new Android smartphones in the 1st half of this year (2010) [press release]. The phones will be from HTC, Motorola and Dell. Yes, Dell.

What does this say about AT&T relationship with Apple and its iPhone? Perhaps nothing, but perhaps that the honeymoon is over and Apple may really be taking its iPhone to other networks as well.

As we predicted, here’s another eBook reader. The eDGe from enTourage is not just an e-reader, but a netbook, notepad and A/V recorder/player. It is also unique in that it is a dual-screen device.

Includes a SD card, USB flash drive and WiFi. The eReader screen is a 9.7″ diagonal with a resolution of 1200 x 825 pixels, while the color touchscreen for the netbook is a 10.1″ diagonal 1024×600 pixel screen.

The netbook includes an audio recorder to capture lectures for later playback or sharing. It also has a video camera to record still images or movies as MP4s or 3GP files. You can plug in headphones or a microphone or use the built in speaker and recorder.

eDGe™ runs the Google Android OS with 3GB of memory and has future support for 3G using an EVDO or HSDPA mobile modem.

Available in Feb 2010 for $490.