Someone created an application to detect metal using the Android G1. This isn’t because the G1 is so much more awesome than other smartphones. It’s done through clever use of the built-in compass. A compass detects the magnetic field of the Earth.

Sadly it won’t help you find treasure at the beach. Think of it more like the ones they use in airports. The kind that let you magically pass your hands over someone’s body to see if they are hiding metal somewhere. Which is great I guess. If you are security in the lowest budget airport ever.

T-Mobile G1 users will be like well behaved kindergarten children in that they will be rewarded a new cupcake. The Android Cupcake 1.5 update is now available. Just realize that custom ROMs will make it so that the G1 will not have the ability to receive the update notification.

Lucky for you it’s easy to remove those ROMs. Once that’s done, the official Cupcake update can be applied. With sprinkles on top.

Everybody is jumping on board the android wagon. Acer is already hard at work on several different devices using the operating system and software, and they plan to launch a smartphone using the software later this year.

Acer doesn’t want to be left in the dust, what with Samsung recently outing the I7500 and HTC pimping the Magic overseas. Gianfranco Lanci (President and CEO) says that “the entire industry is looking at Android,” and that the company “is testing Android on a lot of different solutions.”

Android is the hottest netbook OS around. All the cool kids are doing it. And today it looks like we can add another cool kid to that list. Averatec CEO Tae-Hyun Cho says that the company will ship a new netbook with a “surprise” OS.

One that combines “cell phone and PC technology”, which we should see in August or September. That’s all we know, but it looks like it will be cheap since Averatec is positioning itself to take advantage of thrifty consumers.

Skytone has just released some more info on their forthcoming Android-powered netbook. When we heard about this Android packing netbook known as the Alpha 680, it was thought that it might sell for as little as $100, but that was just wishful thinking.

According to Nixon Wu, Skytone’s co-founder, they are aiming for the $250 mark. And assuming everything goes according to their devious plan, they should have prototypes ready by June, with final products a few months later. So definitely in 2009.

While it hasn’t been officially announced, German BamS (Bild am Sonntag) has received information that Samsung will launch its first Android smartphone with O2 Germany. Like the HTC Magic, the I7500 will be a touchscreen-only smartphone, running on Android 1.5 (aka Cupcake) plus Google Mobile Services.

Some other features include a Qualcomm MSM7200A CPU at 528 MHz and a 3.2″ HVGA capacitive OLED display, 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and a standard 3.5 mm stereo headset plug. Apparently, the I7500 will support quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE and dualband UMTS/HSPA, Bluetooth, WIFI and GPS and includes 8 GB internal flash memory which can be expanded by microSD memory cards. t was previously rumored that the S8000 would be Sammy’s first foray into Android.

The T-Mobile G1, has quietly hit a milestone. It has reached over a million units sold in the US alone, which is really saying something since it’s only been six months. It’s great news for the upcoming G2-HTC Dream Android-powered handset.

Sure, that’s nothing compared to the number of Blackberrys, iPhones, and Windows Mobile devices, but you can bet they have their eye on boostig that marketshare number.

After months of just talk, we now have not just one but two Android-powered netbooks. You can’t get either just yet. This one is from Skytone. We told you about the I-Buddie earlier, but this one sports a tablet design.

Some features include a 533MHz ARM processor, a 7-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen, 128MB of RAM, 1GB of storage, an SD card slot for expansion, and optional 3G. The netbook is called the Alpha-680, and according to Skytone, it could sell for as little as $100 if it’s ever released.

We’ve talked about Android-powered netbooks before. HP wants to do it and so does Acer. But small-fry I-Buddie seems to be taking it more seriously and is actually planning to ship a product sometime soon.

That’s about all we know at the moment. According to Sascha from netbooknews, this a “prototype,” so it could change quite a bit. Still, we are interested. You can check out a Video below. Then let us know if there’s an Android powered Netbook in your future.

If you thought the Android platform was just for netbooks and cell phones, think again. This free operating system from Google just may take over the entire gadget world yet. Who would have thought it would show up in a TV set top box from KDDI of Japan.

Android is an attractive proposition for budget-conscious gadget makers due to its free and open license. Motorola is first to release its new set top box in Japan, known as the au Box. The au Box can be used to do things like rip, store and playback digital movies and audio over your TV etc.

According to the WSJ, HP is looking at what Netbooks can do running Android, the operating system that Google created for mobile phones. It’s been confirmed by HP’s VP Satjiv Chahil. Whether or not this will become an actual product, no one knows.

If HP released some netbooks running Android, it would be a whole new a new battle between the Internet giant and Microsoft.

Lenovo has re-skinned the Android OS and thrown away Google’s hand-crafted interface in favor of a more familiar look and feel. It has a suspiciously similar name and a sleek design with a single ‘Home’ button. The only real difference is the large search area at the top, a feature that some might even like for the iPhone, at least until Spotlight comes along in iPhone OS 3.0.

What’s interesting is that this illustrates just how modifiable the Android OS can be. We doubt this will sway iPhone owners to make a switch, but you never know. The Lenovo OPhone was always going to have a touch of the iPhone about it, but this may be overkill. Just how do they expect to respond to Apple’s legal department?

Have you been hoping to score a deal on the T-Mobile G1? You got it. Instead of $200 w/ contract directly through T-Mobile, you can get one from Amazon for $97! Sure there are some strings, what did you expect?

You have to be a new customer and sign up for a two-year contract. But if you really want it, it’s worth considering. Oh, no white version for you. Amazon is only offering the black version for this deal.

Vodafone has just pulled the HTC Magic out of their hat in their MWC 2009 press conference. And yes it is much sexier than T-Mobile’s G1. It features a 3.2-inch HVGA screen front and center, HDSPA, GPS, 3.2 megapixel camera (no flash), and a G1-style trackball. Details on pricing and availability will be unveiled for local Vodafone markets soon, but pricing in Spain will be from 99 to 199 Euro, depending on contract.

It will be available first in the UK, Spain, Germany, France and Italy, with more countries to follow later. Oddly, the phone has a proprietary headphone jack, but hey, it ships with a touchscreen keyboard and is running Cupcake.

General Mobile is showing off their latest Android handset called the DSTL1. The company is known for it’s dual-SIM handsets, so it’s no surprise that the DSTL1 can take two different SIM cards. It also sports a 3-inch touch screen, 5 megapixel camera, 4GB of storage, WiFi, and a 624MHz Marvell processor.

The picture above is a render, but it’s what they envision the final product looking like. The phone should be released in the third quarter of this year. An Android handset like this one with the dual-SIM feature definitely has us drooling.