Five columns of apps, all nice and organized. That's one more column than on the stock Nexus One ROM. Necessary? Heck, no. But that's what makes it cool. [XDA Developers]

So after some documents arose yesterday about the upcoming release of Android 2.1 for the Sprint HTC Hero and Samsung Moment, it appears as though some have gone ahead and used some internal Sprint connections to dig up a little more dirt. Several people have heard from Sprint that the release of this update is supposed to be March 26, which is slightly contrary to the April time frame previously given. Maybe Sprint is just trying to surprise everyone and release it a few days early, or maybe they just want to ensure it is rolled out before the release of the Sprint Nexus One or any of their other Android devices. Sprint users, cross your fingers, at this rate you will probably see the Android 2.1 update before the Droid does on Verizon. [via Engadget]

Thirty thousand. That’s a big number being thrown around. Thirty thousand of anything is a lot. Last June, an asteroid hit a young boy on his way to school in Essen, Germany. It was going 30,000 mph (he survived). Archeologists estimate that man has been creating art of some sort or another for 30,000 years.  And the Android Market just hit 30,000 apps. Or did it? This week let’s take a look at the apps in the Market and a great new way to make sense of them all with some help from our friends at Swiss Code Monkeys.  Follow along after the break.

What started as a rant from the less-than-Google-friendly Boy Genius Report is slowly starting to become a thing. We're talking about the screen on the latest batch of Google Nexus Ones, whose only discernible difference from the original was supposed to be that it supports AT&T's flavor of 3G.

Instead, we're seeing color variations. They're ranging from "Eh, I can barely notice" -- that's my example above, with the new phone on the left, and the original on the right -- to BGR's "What's wrong with this thing" (OK, those of you who follow the dude on Twitter know we cleaned up that line a bit) that you can see after the break. We're also throwing in a couple of shots from a post at XDA Developers.

Should we be alarmed? Probably not yet. Side by side, you can see the difference in my example. On its own? Looks fine to me. Small manufacturing fluctuations should be expected (though still unwelcome), and occasional bad apples happen. Let's not sound the alarm just yet. But anybody else out there seeing this?

Last week Vodafone Spain announced it had determined the microSD card to be the cause of some crazy activity on their HTC Magic. When this had first surfaced, Vodafone Spain said that it was an isolated incident and only affected the one device in the UK. (And we might have even scoffed a bit at Panda Security possibly crying wolf.)

But over a rather short period of time we have seen that number jump from 1 card to 3,000 cards now. While they have admitted that they are replacing these due to infection, and not just as a precaution, other details around this have been kept rather secret. Is it really just 3,000 cards, or will we be posting an update next week that it has grown to over 10,000? [Engadet via Movil Zona]

The Nexus One is Google, that's safe to say right? Wrong! Google has been denied the Nexus One trademark (of which they applied back in December) because of the "likelihood of confusion" with an existing trademark of the word 'Nexus' registered by Integra Telecom (who?) in 2008. Though we're not sure exactly how the process of trademarks work, we imagine whoever yells first (er, applies) gets the trademark. Score one to you Integra Telecom. 

So though the Nexus One will soon be available on all four major US carriers--T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, & Sprint--it won't be a trademarked brand for Google. Yet. But because Google has deep pockets and Google typically gets what Google wants, we'd imagine Integra Telecom and Google will find a way to settle this. And probably for money. Score hundreds of thousands to you Integra Telecom.

[via gizmodo]

AT&T just released a few commercials showcasing the Motorola Backflip and didn't mention Android once. Instead, they focus on taking another stab at Verizon, boasting that the AT&T network can talk and surf the web at the same time while the Verizon network can't. It's interesting how AT&T is approaching their Android devices, stripping Google search in favor of Yahoo and now advertising an Android device without mentioning Android? To each their own, we guess.

Anyway, is talking and surfing the web at the same time a big deal for you guys?

hit the jump to see the AT&T commericals about the Backflip!

The NCAA Tournament streaming on the Nexus One? A nice reminder -- in case you forgot -- that we're still awaiting Adobe Flash 10.1 on our Android phones. [via JK on the Run]

If you're interested in the Xperia X10 Mini and the X10 Mini Pro, they just received pricing for Europe. At roughly $410 (€300) for an unlocked X10 Mini and $450 (€330) for an unlocked X10 Mini Pro, they're significantly less expensive than their elusive big brother the Xperia X10 and its reported $800 pricetag. Though getting official pricing is a good start for any device looking to launch, the X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro aren't promised to hit Europe until May/June. As for a US release, remember that the Xperia X10 still hasn't released here. Fool me once...

[unwiredview]

The folks over at AndroidandMe attended the gdgt live in Austin event, where they were able to spend some quality hands on time with the HTC Desire. We have covered the HTC Desire up and down, leaking specs, hands on videos, showcasing the ROM ported to the Nexus One, speculating pricing and release dates, and more, and now we bring to you some more information. While we have seen that the Desire will launch with the Sense UI, many will be pleased to know that they will actually have the option to turn this off. Sense appeals to some users, and others chose to use the more stock Android look, and luckily HTC has made it rather simple to decide for yourself which you will utilize.  Check out a video walk through of this simple procedure after the jump. WARNING: Turn down your speakers first. It's a bit loud. [via AndroidandMe]