Can you hear the groans from Sprint customers? According to a Sprint employee at XDA-Developers CDMA Hero forum, Sprint has sent employees a memo outlining how to keep customers’ spirits up regarding the new update. This information has been taken as a refutation of recent rumors that the Hero and Moment would be updated on March 26th. Some key quotes can be found here:

Let your customers know we are actively working on having the Android 2.1 platform available to our Hero and Moment customers over the coming weeks. Look for more information coming in April about Android 2.1 platform for Hero and Moment.Internal Sprint Memo

The memo concludes by reminding Sprint employees that their customers use superior Android handsets and that About.com readers nominated the HTC Hero as their favorite smartphone in their 2010 Reader Choice Awards.

So, “over the coming weeks” and “information coming in April” aren’t exactly the words that Sprint customers want to hear, but some information is better than none, right? Granted, this is just a rumor from a Sprint employee, so take it with a grain of salt, a shaker, or none.

Please consider everything in this post a rumor. Each item has been corroborated by several sources, but don’t expect Motorola to confirm or deny any of this information.

Motorola Cliq

A source tells me the Cliq might be stuck with Android 1.x. Motorola has told us they were planning an update for the Motoblur-powered phone, but have not specified which version of Android it would support. Rumor has it that Motorola has not budgeted to bring up all the device drivers for Android 2.0. Google made significant changes to the kernel in Android 2.0 and it takes a lot of effort for handset makers to update their hardware drivers to be compatible.

I really hope this rumor is wrong, but it comes from a reliable source that has never let us down. Motorola could easily squash this rumor, but has chosen not to comment on Android 2.0 coming to the Cliq.

Motorola Motus

We have briefly mentioned the Motus and its “reverse flip keyboard“. Several sources have told us this device will launch in Q1 and be powered by Android 1.5. Why would Motorola release an Android phone in 2010 that is still running Android 1.5? The phone is essentially the same internals as the Cliq (Qualcomm 528 MHz CPU). If the Motus does in fact launch with Android 1.5, this would lead us to believe that the Cliq rumor above is true.

The phone is also said to be a Motoblur-powered device and is likely headed to Verizon AT&T or T-Mobile. It should also appear on another carrier since there is a GSM version in the works. Motus has support for AT&T and T-Mobile 3G bands (W-CDMA 850/900/1700/1900)/2100).

Motorola Sholes Tablet

The Sholes Tablet is a very old rumor that was recently confirmed in the leaked Motorola roadmap. The phone is essentially a Motorola Droid minus the keyboard and with an updated camera. Our sources tell us this device is headed for T-Mobile in Q1 2010 and will feature Motoblur. T-Mobile seems to be huge fans of Blur (we are not) and all their Motorola phones should feature the social service.

Have some juicy news to share? Hit up our tip line.

Sprint 4G handsets

I was speaking with a Sprint developer and I asked him how committed was Sprint to Android. He casually said “Our first 4G phone will be Android.” I didn’t specifically ask him about 4G handsets, so I thought it was odd that he offered up this information.

Samsung has been rumored to be working on a 4G device for Sprint, so maybe that will end up coming true. Sprint just lit up a dozen new 4G markets last week (including my hometown Corpus Christi) and they are expected to have a 4G handset sometime in 2010.

Eclair (Android 2.0)

We had widely expected that Android 2.0 would ship this year on Motorola’s secret phone headed to Verizon. Motorola did not announce the device last week, which made me wonder about the status of Android 2.0.

I spoke with a high level executive from Samsung who was extremely knowledgeable about Android development. When I mentioned Android 2.0 shipping this year, he looked at me kind of weird and snickered. He told me not to expect Android 2.0 until Q2 2010.

We did see some Android devices running Eclair, but they appeared far from finished. No one else was talking about Android 2.0 so I’m starting to doubt a 2009 release. (I will explore the Moto/Eclair issues further in a post later today)

INQ Mobile

We have known for awhile now that INQ Mobile would be producing an Android smartphone in 2010. I bumped into an INQ head employee and quizzed him on the new handset. He provided no specific details on the hardware, but did mention some other interesting info.

The INQ smartphone should appear on a major United States carrier in 2010. INQ will provide a highly customized UI for Android. I believe his exact words were, “We are going to pimp out Android!” Expect the device to be heavily integrated with social networks Spotify, Facebook, and Skype.

LG Android

LG recently announced their first Android phone (GW-620), but don’t expect it to show up in the United States. Instead we should see a new Android device from LG that is targeted for a major US carrier. I was told it could be awhile before LG makes the announcement. Look for more information at the next CTIA show in March, 2010.

TomTom Android

We have previously reported that TomTom might be working on an Android app, but it could be awhile before it sees the light of day. A TomTom employee said they had received many requests for their product on different smartphone platforms, but iPhone is the focus right now. From what I could gather nothing is in the works at the moment and TomTom will continue to gauge the community interest.

Google Maps 4.0

I asked every maps and GPS company I came across about the possibility of Google releasing their own navigation software. Most people had no idea what I was talking about so maybe it is time to lay this rumor to bed.

I still believe it is a natural evolution for Google Maps on mobile to provide spoken turn-by-turn directions, but it would certainly turn the GPS industry upside down. Google services are already integrated into many GPS products, so I guess Google is not ready to upset those companies by releasing their own navigation service.

Have a juicy Android rumor to report? Tip us on news.

The following information should be considered a rumor and I’ll let you judge how accurate we have been in the past.  I think our readers are pretty smart so I’ll present some public info and you can answer the following questions on your own.  This is a 3 part series I will update over the following days.

Please remember that anything is possible with Android 2.0.  Google, Motorola, and Verizon are working very hard to make this major update compete directly with the iPhone OS 3.0 and the Palm Pre WebOS.  It appears they are pulling out some major new features to ensure Android 2.0 is a huge success.

3. Is Chrome sync coming to Android 2.0?

Last week Google announced that their Chrome browser would allow users to sync their bookmarks across multiple computers.

Chrome allows you to sync your bookmarks with your Google account.

Since the Android browser is based off Chrome, what is stopping this feature from coming to Android?  Google wants to promote Chrome and Android so linking the two platforms together makes sense.  The current bookmark system of Android is very lacking and in need of an update.  The only way to backup your bookmarks is with a 3rd party app and I find that annoying.

Bookmarks are the only thing to sync right now, but image what else could be done.  Eventually we could see browser history, most visited pages, and passwords synced.

4. Is Market getting a major update with Android 2.0?

Users have been asking for an update to the Market for a long time and I have been told the wait is almost over.

A new Android Market is right around the corner.

What new features can we expect from the updated Market?  For starters, Google said they would be adding more payment options for customers.  One of those payment options allows app purchases to be billed to the carriers.  Could Verizon be the first carrier to offer this billing option when they launch the Motorola Sholes?

Other possible new features include a coupon system, a major UI refresh, and application discovery.  Coupons codes are currently supported by Google Checkout and one feature I’m really looking forward too.  Coupons could allow developers to offer limited time discounts or hand out free review copies.  The new UI could offer enhancements like support for screen shots.  This is offered in the iPhone App Store and a highly requested feature from the community.

Check back on Monday for two more features we think are coming to Android 2.0.  Missed Part 1?

The following information should be considered a rumor and I’ll let you judge how accurate we have been in the past.  I think our readers are pretty smart so I’ll present some public info and you can answer the following questions on your own.  This is a 3 part series I will update over the following days.

Please remember that anything is possible with Android 2.0.  Google, Motorola, and Verizon are working very hard to make this major update compete directly with the iPhone OS 3.0 and the Palm Pre WebOS.  It appears they are pulling out some major new features to ensure Android 2.0 is a huge success.

1.  Is Google Maps 4.0 to be launched alongside Android 2.0?

We have known Google Maps 4.0 was in beta for quite some time because we have seen it appear in aTrackDog reports.

Google Maps 4.0 beta in the wild.

What new features could Google be planning that would justify a major version update?

This week Google told us crowdsourced traffic data was now available in the native Android app.  This is a hot new feature that other dedicated GPS applications are offering, but why is Google adding it now?  Do they plan to compete directly with the likes of Waze and others?

The only feature keeping Google Maps from becoming a full fledged navigational GPS is vocal turn-by-turn directions.  And honestly, what is to keep Google from releasing their own driving software?  Donut is already reported to feature an improved speech engine.

Google will be hosting a series of webcasts for analysts that start on September 9th, the day before Motorola’s event.  The focus is on search and monetization and how to increase profits from their Android operating system.  Location based advertising is expected to be their next cash cow and Android’s success is crucial.  What better way to move a ton of add units than to launch their own GPS app with voice directions?

Call me crazy but can you imagine a free GPS software that features crowdsourced data, voice directions, and Google Street View?  It is important to note that the crowdsourced traffic data is not available on iPhone and this could be a major advantage for Android.

2.  Is official multi-touch coming to Android 2.0?

We might never know the real story behind the lack of multi-touch in Android 1.0, but it has since been offered on new phones like the HTC Hero.  This was a special addition by HTC just for the Hero, but it looks like official support from Google is not far behind.

Our favorite Android rom cooker has seen multi-touch code in recent updates.

Code drops into the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) have revealed new code that is meant for multi-touch.  To my knowledge it is not being offered in Donut, but I expect we will see it in Eclair.  I’ve reported several times that Sholes will feature multi-touch and ship with Eclair.

I guess the question would be:  Is multi-touch a Motorola specific feature or part of the official Android operating system?  Why would multi-touch code be appearing in the official AOSP tree unless it was meant for official Android builds?  I think I know the answer, but I’ll let you decide.

Conclusion of Part 1

Stay tuned for the rest of this week as we continue to preview new possible features for Android 2.0.  If you think you have an answer to any of my questions, we would love to hear your feedback.

Android 2.0 might be revealed sooner than we thought.