Android-powered Huawei handsets on track for Q3 2009 release (in Australia)

by Darren Murph,

We had already heard it through the grapevine, but now Huawei has stepped in to confirm. Straight from the horse's (or spokesperson, in this instance) mouth: "Huawei can confirm that their first Android smartphone is scheduled to launch in the third quarter of 2009. Huawei's smartphones can be ordered and developed for Australian operators based on any such requests." It stands to reason that other markets outside of AU would be able to get their paws around 'em as well, though we sadly have no idea how long proliferation would take. Looks like Australia's gearing up to be a serious Android battleground -- who woulda thunk it, mate?

[Via UnwiredView]

engadget.com

China's QiJi i6 supports Android, Windows Mobile, lust in one package

For now, Android's got about as much enterprise support as a Sidekick (well okay, a little more, but not much) -- so that's got to be keeping G1s out of the hands of throngs who are too tied-down to Exchange, Notes, or some equally stuffy piece of server-side software to be able to make the switch. China's QiJi feels your pain, which is where the company's surprisingly okay-looking i6 comes into play: the handset supports both Android and Windows Mobile, although you can't dual-boot -- you've got to choose one and run with it until you decide to install the other. It packs a 624MHz processor, 256MB of ROM, 128MB of RAM, a trackball, and -- in lieu of a QWERTY slide -- an on-screen Chinese keyboard with stylus support that we haven't seen before. Android, we love ya and all, but until you go through puberty, this multi-platform support is just about the best thing we've ever heard.

engadget.com