HTC Working on Android 2.0 Phones

It looks like Motorola aren't the only people to get a taste of that yummy Eclair - otherwise known as Android 2.0. The Android 2.0 software launch is going very oddly. Google hasn't announced the OS or SDK, but Verizon says the Motorola Droid will be running the OS. The Android 2.0 Droid will be officially announced on Oct. 28 by all accounts.

My suspicions were raised because Samsung's Moment, which came out this week, runs Android 1.5. Unlike on Motorola's CLIQ, Android on the Moment isn't highly customized. So it's a little perplexing that while Verizon and Motorola are talking Android 2.0, Sprint and Samsung still appear to be on version 1.5. Was Motorola getting preferential access to version 2?

I asked Samsung and HTC, the two other Android phone manufacturers in the US, whether they were working on Android 2.0 phones. Samsung wouldn't say, but HTC confirmed that they've had Android 2.0 in-house for a while and are working with it for future phones.

This is important because Android's status as an open OS relies on Google not playing favorites. The HTC G1, Android's proof of concept, was a special case; now, Android's strength is in part that it doesn't play favorites. If carriers and manufacturers start making exclusive deals for Android releases, that will reduce the OS's broad appeal.

Unfortunately, nobody had any word on whether existing Android phones could be upgraded to Android 2.0. We're expecting to hear an official Android 2.0 announcement this week, which could clear up some of the confusion.

source