Rumor Mill: Motorola, Acer headline rash of Android tidbits

News on the Android front continues to roll in at a blistering pace, and though most of today's headlines on the topic were based on rumor and speculation and therefore difficult to confirm, the buzz is clearly growing around the platform.

Perhaps the most notable Android-related item to spring up today was FCC documents that appeared to point to a forthcoming smartphone from Motorola for CDMA Rev. A networks that sports WiFi and GPS capabilities. A number of websites assumed the device is the rumored "Sholes" Android-based phone that is supposedly headed for Verizon Wireless sometime this year. However, a Motorola representative said the company does not comment on rumor and speculation.

In related Motorola Android news, the website TmoToday posted an item claiming an Oct. 19 start date for pre-orders for Motorola's previously announced Cliq Android-based phone. Motorola announced the device--the first of what the company said will be a range of Android gadgets for domestic and international carriers--earlier this month, to be sold through T-Mobile USA at some point before the holiday shopping season. A T-Mobile USA representative said the carrier does not comment on rumors or speculation. However, a new website [1] from T-Mobile does indeed indicate "pre-sale" orders for the device around Oct. 19.

But Motorola wasn't the only handset maker caught up in Android speculation. According to a number of websites, netbook maker Acer's first Android gadget, the A1, popped up on a European retailing website. According to the postings, the device sports a Qualcomm 8250 768 MHz processor along with a 3.5-inch touchscreen, 5-megapixel camera and the Android 1.6 operating system. However, links provided to the site did not pull up information on the phone, and requests to Acer for comment were not immediately returned.

Despite making a splash in the smartphone market earlier this year with a range of Windows Mobile products, Acer announced in June its intentions also to launch Android phones by the fourth quarter.

Finally, according to a Web video, electronics maker Archos unveiled a "phone tablet" that presumably runs the Android platform. According to the video, the device features a 1GHz ARM Cortex processor and a 4.3-inch touchscreen. However, Archos' website offered no details on the device, and requests for comment from the company were not immediately returned. Nonetheless, the company's involvement in Android is clear based on its announcement earlier this month of an "Internet tablet" running Android.

Despite the somewhat unsubstantiated nature of today's Android news, it does further serve to highlight the continued interest in the Google-sponsored software platform as an alternative to various competing offerings, including Microsoft's Windows Mobile OS and Symbian's effort.

For more:
- see this Boy Genious Report post [2] on Motorola's FCC filings
- see this TmoToday post [3] on Motorola's Cliq
- see this Softpedia post [4] on Acer
- see this Engadget post [5] on Archos

Related Articles:
Motorola's first Android phone, Cliq, headed for T-Mobile USA [6]
Acer: Android phone coming this year [7]
Archos, TI to release Android-based MID [8]

Article updated Sept. 29 to include new information about pre-orders for the Cliq from T-Mobile.