Also announced were a couple of feature phones in the Walkman line as well as an environmentally friendly candybar device.

The XPERIA X8 would be running Android 1.6 at launch though the custom skin would feature the updated Timescape and Mediascape apps.The 3-inch capacitive touchscreen has a resolution of 320 x 480 powered by a 600MHz processor a 3.2 mega pixel camera. The phone supports 3G, Wi-Fi and A-GPS connectivity as well and would be available in a range of different colors. It is set to arrive across Europe in  Q3 2010 for 259 EUR (318 USD). There is no word on when (or if) it would be getting an Android 2.1 Eclair update like the rest of the lineup.

The Android 2.1 Eclair update to the X10 lineup would mostly bring bug and performance improvements as well as a couple of enhancements to the Timescape and Mediascape apps. The XPERIA X10 however would also receive a couple of new features including HD video recording along with TV out functionality. The updates would start rolling in Q3 2010 in select markets with further enhancements coming in Q4.

Apart from all the Android love, SE also announced a couple of feature phones (read: dumb-phones) for the budget market including a Walkman series 2.6 inch touchscreen packing Yendo whose UI looks strikingly similar to their Android skin. But don’t let the looks deceive you, because it really isn’t running on Android, though it does have a faster 720MHz CPU along with a dedicated audio chip if that’s your thing. Yendo is only 2G and would be available around late August and would cost about 99 EUR (122 USD).

The third device is a simple eco-friendly candybar with 2.2 inch screen though it packs HSDPA and integrated widgets for Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. It also has a 2MP camera which can record VGA videos up to 30 fps. At 15.5mm, its considerably thick for a device which lacks so many features that are now standard today like Wi-Fi and GPS. The Cedar would be available in Q3 2010 as well, though I couldn’t get a definitive price.

We don’t have a lot of details about the device other than the info we can glean from the photos. Apparently, its running Sony Ericsson’s custom TimeScape UI on Android (probably 1.x I believe), and has a larger screen than the X10 mini though the camera lacks any sort of flash. It has three physical buttons beneath with a dedicated camera key and volume rocker on the sides.

The device looks pretty thick judging from the photos but I can’t make any final comments until we have any official specifications available. Hit up the source link for some more shots of the device. I’ll update when more information becomes available.

The Android Community got their hands on an unlocked HTC Hero, a little earlier. Though the device would be launching pretty soon in Europe, it would take a while before finding its way around the rest of the world.

The video shows different aspects of the HTC Sense UI from the perspective of a consumer – and believe me it looks great. Just seeing the video got me asking for more, and I just can’t wait to see how the device handles multi-touch input.

Spec-wise and design-wise, it is the most decent Android Phone yet but does the do well enough to keep up? In most cases yes. The device seems pretty responsive, though not as much as the Pre but its good enough. The OS is nicely tucked away under the interface and you can actually apply different themes to it, which is a good thing.

So without further to do, here is the video via Android Community.

The idea of having Android on a netbook had really got me excited when Acer had first announced it earlier this June. Sadly though Google decided to get in the way and announced its intentions of bringing a new Google Chrome OS to the netbooks. While Chrome OS won’t be here (if it ever will be) until the second half of 2010, PC manufacturers still have the time to experiment with Google’s Android platform. What makes me wonder is weather manufacturers like Lenovo and HP would follow up to Acer’s move as they had expressed interest in making netbooks on the smartphone OS earlier.

And if this idea takes off, Chrome would have to face an even tougher world, with players like Windows XP, Windows 7, Mobilin, JoliCloud, and Google’s own Android. And if Apple also come forward with their own tablet/netbook plans by that time, Chrome OS would have to be marked with a DOA (Dead on Arrival) status on launch.

Today NVIDIA unveiled its plans to develop the Tegra platform for the Android market too, as it believes that Android may surpass WinMo by the year 2012, which may be a little far fetched given the fact that Microsoft also plans to release Windows Mobile 7 next year.

According to a couple of more rumors floating around, the new devices would be available at an exceptionally low cost: $99. Now how would NVIDIA manage to pull that off is beyond me, but it would be interesting to see how can the power of Tegra benefit the Android operating system because its UI has been a subject of criticism since the launch of the HTC G1. Tegra promises to provide a richer and more interactive interface while drastically lowering power consumption. How well NVIDIA would meet this target would be too early to say, but they have promised referenced implementations around the second half of the year meaning that we can see it slip into consumer devices as early as 2010.

To get multitouch up and running, all you need to do is head over to Luke Hutch’s blog and follow the steps explained (in a great detail) there. In short, you don’t have to recompile the kernel or anything, just change the firmware.

• Backup all your data from the phone and SD card.
• Downgrade the firmware to RC29 and run the root access exploit to get root access to your device.
• Once you have access, install the new multitouch library (explained there).
• Upgrade the phone to latest firmware (RC33 at this time) and enjoy multitouch.
• Add a couple of more fun apps that make use of it.

The steps are fairly simple even for a novice or a beginner. There is no risk of bricking your device (if you follow the instructions to the pixel) either as you wont have to modify the kernel of the OS. So if you have an Android phone, then give it a shot. I’ve left a couple more videos for you to enjoy.