Google is planning to hold a special Chrome OS event at its headquarters in Mountain View, CA this Thursday morning, we’ve just been notified. The plan is to give some technical background information as well as show off some demos, we’re told. More notably, they will be giving a “complete overview” of the new OS, which they say will launch next year.

Sundar Pichai, Google’s VP of Product Management and Matthew Papakipos, Google Engineering Director for Google Chrome OS will be speaking at the event. And there will be a Q&A session afterwards.

As we reported a few days ago, Google had been planning to release at least part of Chrome OS this week. That still may be the case at this event, but it looks for now that the more complete launch will in fact take place next year. And if they are holding this event now with a “complete overview,” progress is clearly being made, so you can probably expect that launch to be early next year.

Google first announced Chrome OS in July, but gave very few details about it. It seemed the idea there was more to drop a nuclear bomb on Microsoft, which was just about to announce its online free version of Office. In the subsequent months, interest has remained high for Chrome OS, but about all we’ve seen is what the OS’s browser may look like.

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Source: TechCrunch

There is absolutely no way I’ll be able to make this relevant to tech. But I’m posting it anyway. Our Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, vetoed a California legislative finance bill – AB 1176. The letter is terse and to the point. And the first letter of each line in paragraphs 2-3 are even terser and more to the point.

Schwarzeneggers battles with the state legislature are epic. But this just goes way beyond epic. It’s something for the history books.

I wish I had the time to do this kind of thing in my posts here on TechCrunch.

See the SF Chronicle for all the quotes and denials.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programing.

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Google CEO Eric Schmidt stated emphatically during Google’s most recent earnings call that “Android adoption is about to explode.” We agree – despite developer hiccups, Android is about to have its moment in the sun. An avalanche of new devices are hitting worldwide markets, and some of them are serious contenders.

Our bet is that the upcoming Motorola Droid will be the breakout winner from this batch of phones. But here’s the complete list of officially announced Android phones, as well as stuff that’s just rumored at this point. Bookmark this post, and keep a lookout for updates.

Here are the Android contenders:

HTC Dream/T-Mobile G1

Status: G1 launched October 22nd, 2008. Available internationally.
Touchscreen:3.2-inch/ 320 x 480 Resolution; Full HVGA TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with Horizontal Sliding FULL QWERTY Keyboard
Dimensions: 117.7mm x 55.7mm x 17.1mm; 158 grams
Camera: 3.2 Megapixels with AutoFocus
Battery: 1150 mAh Lithium-ion battery
Standby Time: 402 hours
Talk Time:5.8 Hours
Processor: Qualcomm MSM7201A, 528 MHz
Internal/External Memory:256 MB/MicroSD (up to 32GB)
Extras: HTC ExtUSB Headset Jack, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS enabled
Price: $149.99

HTC Magic/T-Mobile MyTouch 3G

Status: HTC Magic Launched May 1, 2009; MyTouch 3G launched July 8, 2009. Available through T-Mobile and Vodafone
Touchscreen:3.2″ /320 x 480 HVGA Touchscreen/TFT, TFD, LCD 262k
Dimensions: 113 x 55 x 13 mm; 118.5 grams
Camera: 3.2 Megapixels with AutoFocus (MyTouch has a 5MP camera)
Battery: 1340 mAh Lithium-ion battery
Standby Time: 420 hours
Talk Time:7.5 Hours
Processor: Qualcomm® MSM7201a™, 528 MHz
Internal/External Memory:192/288 MB (Underclocked)/ MicroSD up to 32GB
Extras: HTC ExtUSB Headset Jack, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS enabled
Price: $99.99 (T-Mobile MyTouch $149.99)

HTC Hero/T-Mobile G2 Touch/Sprint HTC Hero

Status: HTC Hero Launched July 24th for Orange UK. T-Mobile G2 Touch Launched July 29th.
Touchscreen: 3.2-inch/ 320×480 HVGA resolution; Full Touchscreen/TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen
Dimensions: 112 x 56.2 x 14.35 mm ; 135 grams
Camera: 5 Megapixels with AutoFocus
Battery: 1350 mAh Lithium-ion battery
Standby Time: Up to 750 hours for WCDMA, Up to 440 hours for GSM
Talk Time:Up to 420 minutes for WCDMA, Up to 470 minutes for GSM
Processor: Qualcomm® MSM7200A™, 528 MHz
Internal/External Memory:288MB/MicroSD 2.0
Extras: 3.5mm Headset jack, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS enabled
Price: $179.99

Huawei U8230/ Pulse

Status: Available in T-Mobile UK
Touchscreen: 3.5″/HVGA 480×320 pixel Touchscreen w/ Hardware Buttons: Trackball/HVGA LED
Dimensions: 116 x 63 x 13.5 mm; 130 grams
Camera: 3.2 Megapixels with AutoFocus
Battery: 1500 mAh Lithium-ion battery
Standby Time: 300 Hours
Talk Time: 4.5 Hours
Processor: Qualcomm 7200A 528 MHz processor
Internal/External Memory:128 MB RAM / 1 GB internal storage/ MicroSD (Up to 16 GB)
Extras: 2.5mm Headset jack, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS enabled
Price: Free with contract.

Samsung Galaxy

Status: Launched in July; Available on European Carriers
Touchscreen: 3.2 inches/320 x 480 pixels Full AMOLED Touchscreen
Dimensions: 115 x 56 x 12 mm; 114 grams
Camera: 5.0 Megapixels with AutoFocus
Battery: 1500 mAh Lithium-ion battery
Standby Time: 450 Hours
Talk Time: 6.5 Hours
Processor: 528MHz Arm11
Internal/External Memory: 8GB/microSD/microSDHC
Extras: 3.5mm Headset jack, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS enabled
Price: £240

HTC Tattoo/HTC Click

Status: Launched October 8th on Vodaphone
Touchscreen: 2.8-inch/240 x 320 pixels QVGA TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with hardware buttons
Dimensions: 106 x 55.2 x 14 mm; 108 grams
Camera: 3.2 Megapixels
Battery: 1100 mAh Li-on
Standby Time: 520 hours (WCDMA), 340 hours (GSM)
Talk Time:342 minutes (WCDMA), 390 minutes (GSM)
Processor: Qualcomm® MSM7225™, 528 MHz
Internal/External Memory: 256 MB/MicroSD up to 32GB
Extras: 3.5mm Headset jack, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS enabled
Price: Free w/ certain contracts

Motorola CLIQ

Status: Available October 19th, 2009 on T-Mobile and Orange UK
Touchscreen: 3.1-inch/320 x 480 pixel Full Capacitive Touch Screen w/ QWERTY side Slider.
Dimensions: 58 x 114 x 15.6 mm; 163 grams
Camera: 5.0 Megapixels with AutoFocus
Battery: 1420 mAh Li-ion
Standby Time: 325 Hours
Talk Time:6 Hours
Processor: Qualcomm MSM7201A, 528MHz
Internal/External Memory: 256MB/MicroSD (32GB Capacity)
Extras: 3.5mm Headset jack, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS enabled
Price: $199

Motorola Droid

Status: Rumored to be available October 31st on Verizon
Touchscreen: 3.7-inch/480×854 Full Touchscreen with Full QWERTY Slider
Dimensions: 60 x 115.8 x 13.7 mm; 169 grams
Camera: 5.0 Megapixels with AutoFocus
Battery: Li-ion 1400mAh
Standby Time: 450 Hours
Talk Time:7 Hours
Processor: OMAP3430 processor
Internal/External Memory: 512MB Flash, 256MB RAM/MicroSD (16GB capacity)
Extras: 3.5mm Headset jack, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS enabled; Android 2.0
Price: Unknown

Samsung Moment/InstinctQ

Status: Available November 1st from Sprint
Touchscreen: 3.2 inch AMOLED display (320 x 480 pixels)Touchscreen with Slideout QWERTY;16M colors
Dimensions: 117 x 59 x 16 mm; 161 grams
Camera: 3.2 megapixel camera with flash and camcorder with auto-focus
Battery: Li-ion 1440mAh
Standby Time: Unknown
Talk Time:5.5 Hours
Processor: 800 MHz Samsung S3C6410 CPU
Internal/External Memory: 256MB RAM/2 GB microSD card included (upgradeable to 32GB)
Extras: 3.5mm Headset jack, Wi-Fi, accelerometer, Bluetooth and GPS enabled.
Price: $179.99

Motorola Heron/Iron Man

Status: Rumored to be available in November from AT&T
Touchscreen: 2.8″ 240 x 320 pixels QVGA TFT Touchscreen with Vertical QWERTY slider
Dimensions: 57.5 x 104 x 15.9; 125 grams
Camera: 3.0 MP w/ fixed focus and Flash
Battery: Li-Ion
Standby Time: Unknown
Talk Time:Unknown
Processor: Qualcomm® MSM 7225 528MHz processor
Internal/External Memory: 128 MB RAM/microSD/microSDHC (up to 32G)
Extras: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS enabled.
Price: Unknown

Acer A1/Liquid

Status: Rumored to be launched in November
Touchscreen: 3.8 inch/800×480 wide VGA touchscreen
Dimensions: 118.6 x 63 x 12mm; 130 grams
Camera: 5MP w/ AutoFocus
Battery: 1350 mAh LiIon
Standby Time: Unknown
Talk Time:Unknown
Processor: 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 8250
Internal/External Memory: 256MB RAM/microSD (up to 32 GB)
Extras: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS enabled.
Price: Unknown

Samsung Behold 2

Status: Rumored to be available during Holidays 2009
Touchscreen: 3.2-inch/480 x 320 pixels AMOLED Touchscreen w/ hardware buttons
Dimensions: Unknown
Camera: 5MP w/ Flash and AutoFocus
Battery: 1000 mAh
Standby Time: Unknown
Talk Time:Unknown
Processor: Unknown
Internal/External Memory: Unknown/microSD up to 16 GB
Extras: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS enabled.
Price: Unknown

ARCHOS Phone Tablet

Status: Rumored to be available in January
Touchscreen: 4.3-inch/854 x 480 pixel full touchscreen
Dimensions: 10mm thick
Camera: Unknown
Battery: Unknown
Standby Time: Unknown
Talk Time:Unknown
Processor: 1GHz ARM processor
Internal/External Memory: Unknown
Extras: Wi-Fi
Price: Unknown

Dell mini i3

Status: Upcoming on China Mobile
Touchscreen: 3.5 Inch/640 x 360 resolution
Dimensions: 58 x 114 x 15.6 mm; 163 grams
Camera: 3.2 MP w/ Flash and AutoFocus
Battery: 950mAh Li-ion
Standby Time: Unknown
Talk Time:Unknown
Processor: Unknown
Internal/External Memory: Unknown/microSD card slot
Extras: No Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS enabled
Price: Unknown

Lenovo O1

Status: Upcoming on China Mobile
Touchscreen: Unknown
Dimensions: Unknown
Camera: 5 MP w/ Flash
Battery: Unknown
Standby Time: Unknown
Talk Time: Unknown
Processor: 624 MHz
Internal/External Memory: 8 GB / 16 GB internal storage
Extras: Wi-Fi
Price: Unknown

LG Etna

Status: Upcoming on Vodafone
Touchscreen: 3 inch 240 x 320 pixels Touchscreen with Full Slideout QWERTY
Dimensions: 101.6 x 50.8 x 16.8 mm; 108 grams
Camera: 2.0 Megapixels
Battery: 800 mAh
Standby Time: 250 Hours
Talk Time: 4 Hours
Processor: Unknown
Internal/External Memory: Unknown/microSD/microSDHC
Extras: Bluetooth, USB enabled
Price: Unknown

HTC Lancaster

Status: Rumored on AT&T (possibly canceled)
Touchscreen: 2.8″/240 x 320 pixels QVGA Touchscreen with Slideout QWERTY Keyboard
Dimensions: 109 x 54 x 17.1 mm; 110 grams
Camera: 3.0 Megapixels
Battery: 1,350 mAh
Standby Time: Unknown
Talk Time: Unknown
Processor: Unknown
Internal/External Memory: Unknown/microSD
Extras: Bluetooth enabled
Price: Unknown

Sony Ericsson Xperia X3

Status: Rumored
Touchscreen: 4-inch/800×400 Full Touchscreen
Dimensions: Uknown
Camera: 8MP w/ Flash and AutoFocus
Battery: Unknown
Standby Time: Unknown
Talk Time: Unknown
Processor: 1GHz Qualcomm Snap Dragon processor
Internal/External Memory: Unknown
Extras: Bluetooth and wi-fi enabled
Price: Unknown

Motorola Calgary

Status: Upcoming on Verizon
Touchscreen: 320 x 480 Full Touch, Horizontal Slider with Full QWERTY Keyboard, and an optical joystick
Dimensions: Unknown
Camera: 3.1 MP with Autofocus
Battery: Li-Ion
Standby Time: Unknown
Talk Time: Unknown
Processor: Unknown
Internal/External Memory: 256 MB/MicroSD
Extras: Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth Enabled w/ a 3.5mm headset jack
Price: Unknown

Philips V808

Status: Rumored
Touchscreen: Unknown
Dimensions: Unknown
Camera: Unknown
Battery: Unknown
Standby Time: Unknown
Talk Time: Unknown
Processor: Unknown
Internal/External Memory: Unknown
Extras: Unknown
Price: Unknown

Samsung Bigfoot

Status: Rumored on T-Mobile USA
Touchscreen: Full Touchscreen with Full QWERTY horizontal slider
Dimensions: Unknown
Camera: 3 MP
Battery: Unknown
Standby Time: Unknown
Talk Time: Unknown
Processor: Unknown
Internal/External Memory: Unknown
Extras: Unknown
Price: Unknown

HTC Dragon

Status: Rumored on T-Mobile USA
Touchscreen: 4.3 inch 800 x 480 pixels Touchscreen
Dimensions: Unknown
Camera: Unknown
Battery: Unknown
Standby Time: Unknown
Talk Time: Unknown
Processor: Qualcomm 1GHz Snapdragon
Internal/External Memory: Unknown
Extras: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled
Price: Unknown

Samsung Galaxy Lite/Samsung Spica

Status: Rumored
Touchscreen: 3.2 inch AMOLED 320 x 480 Touchscreen with hardware buttons
Dimensions: 115.9 x 56 x 11.9 mm; 116.7 grams
Camera: 3.2MP
Battery: 1500 mAh Li-ion Battery
Standby Time: Unknown
Talk Time: Unknown
Processor: Unknown
Internal/External Memory: 1GB
Extras: Wi-Fi, bluetooth and 3.5mm headset jack
Price: Unknown

The information regarding these devices was compiled from manufacturer websites, Phandroid, Androphones, and PhoneArena.

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Filed under: Things I found in the Interwebs by Jeremiah | No Comments »
Source: TechCrunch

Kudos to the Finnish government, which has just introduced laws guaranteeing broadband access to every person living in Finland (5.5 million people, give or take).

This is reportedly a first worldwide.

Starting July 2010, every person in Finland will have the right to a one-megabit broadband connection as an intermediate step, says the Ministry of Transport and Communications. By the end of 2015, the legal right will be extended to an impressive 100 Mb broadband connection for everyone.

According to Wikipedia, approximately 79 percent of the Finnish population use the Internet. Finland had around 1.52 million broadband Internet connections by the end of June 2007 or around 287 per 1,000 inhabitants.

(Via IntoMobile)

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