Let's be honest here, texting through SMS and carriers is very convenient but it's nothing short of a complete rip off. What are they charging these days? A quarter per SMS?! That's why apps like textPlus, that offer free texting through an application, can get so popular. textPlus, which has enjoyed over 3.5 million downloads on the iPhone/iPod touch platform, has decided to jump over to Android and many of us won't have to pay the carriers another cent for SMS charges.

How textPlus works is it sends the recipient (presumably, a non textPlus user) a message that details it's from your username and gives instructions on how to reply back to you. If you're texting another textPlus user, we're sure the experience can get even more seamless. What's even cooler is that textPlus allows for group texting--up to 20 of your friends can respond to one another and everyone can see it (great for planning nights out). Think of it as an e-mail chain but for texts!

Go try it out and let us know what you think.

[via mobilecrunch]

Your eyes aren't deceiving you. No, that's not a new Android phone but rather the Windows Mobile HTC Imagio running our favorite OS. A PPCGeeks forum user got Android 2.0.1 (take that non-Droid phones!) running on the Windows Mobile device and it's really for kicks and giggles than for any real functionality. The forum user, drellisdee says:

I've gotten android 2.01 to boot on Imagio based on the topaz work on xda. After changing the the startup config's I've got the touchscreen responding properly but the hardware keys arent mapped right. The latest kernel noted in post 602 on xda didnt boot but the original pkg did. PS vol down is for vol and backup key as its mapped currently and the bottom right onscreen button on the press the android to start will let you change the lang to english.

The CDMA Radio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and hardware buttons still need some work but hey, it's a start. Us Android users and Windows Mobile users can certainly live peacefully together.

But what we really want to see is that HD2 running Android..

[ppcgeeks via wmexperts]

If you're up either late at night or early in the morning (we never know which is it) in anticipation for tomorrow's Google Event for the Nexus One, there's a solid full review of the Nexus One over at Engadget for your reading pleasure. Surprisingly, unlike other pre-release reviews of the Nexus One, the Engadget guys aren't completely blown away by the device and are actually a little unsure if it's significantly better than the Droid. Here's the highlights:

• the Nexus One is nothing if not handsome. From its ultra-thin body to sleek, curved edges, the phone is absolutely lustworthy.
• we actually had some real trouble with those four dedicated buttons.
• The phone is fast, assuredly, but not so much of a leap up from the Droid that we felt it kept pace with the boost we were expecting.
• We found colors on the Nexus One, particularly in the reds and oranges, to be severely blown-out and oversaturated
• Not only has Google bumped up the speed of the camera app, but the 5 megapixel lens and flash took sharp, detailed images with none of the HTC-related issues we've seen on other models.
• Well the real story is that Android 2.1 is in no way dramatically different than the iteration of the OS which is currently running on the Motorola Droid (2.0.1). Of the notable changes, many are cosmetic 

The whole review is worth the read, at least to hold you over until the official announcement! We still can't wait to get a hold of ours and we're sure you guys are in the same boat!

We're in full Google Nexus One bat-poop-crazy mode for the next 24 hours or so. And as such we can tell you that the official support page went live for a fleeting moment. And as quickly as it appeared, it vanished, leaving us what you see above. And don't be alarmed: We're still expecting the Nexus One to launch with Android 2.1, never mind the picture. Also of note is that the "Terms of Sale" page apparently confirmed the previous pricing numbers, though it, also, has disappeared. [via TmoNews] (Thanks, Jerry!)

And be sure to join us for a meta-liveblog Tuesday as we expect the launch of the Nexus One. In the meantime, check out the N1 chatter in our forums.

AdMob, a company that serves up mobile advertising, just released some new numbers for Android, showing that data requests doubled from October to December. The bullet points:

• Requests increased 97 percent in the past three months, totaling more than 1 billion.
• In October, 98 percent of requests came from HTC devices. That droped to 56 percent in December. Last month, 39 percent of requests came from Motorola phones, and 5 percent from Samsung.
• The Motorola Droid generated 30 percent of requests last month.
• Ninety percent of AdMob's traffic was from the U.S., up from 84 percent in October.

We don't have any reason to doubt AdMob's numbers, but do remember that it recently was purchased by Google, though that deal is on hold while the FTC looks things over some more. [AdMob]

Logitech, best known for its computer peripherals, apparently has some sort of Android-powered product in the pipeline, according to a recent job posting.

They're looking for "a super-star engineer with the ability to design and implement world-class Android applications that delight customers and provide break-through functionality. As part of the Digital Home Group, the applicant will be "defining a ground-breaking new product that will give users access to a broader range of media than ever before. The applications you develop will be where the magic happens, where powerful system capabilities become entertaining user experiences."

OK. No telling, really, what it could be. But it might go nicely with your Android-powered microwave oven. [Logitech via Engadget]

Amazon.com is now offering the HTC Droid Eris for the low price of $9.99. That's not too shabby considering before the holidays Best Buy offered the same device for $49.99. Keep in mind to get the price of $9.99 a new two-year contract with Verizon is needed.

Perhaps this is a sign that there are a few new Verizon Android devices right around the corner? 

Any takers?

One of our favorite hobbies these days is to collect statistical data about Android (we also collect spores, mold and fungus), and here's an interesting specimen from ChangeWave.

A survey of 4,068 people conducted Dec. 9-14 found that 21 percent of those planning to buy a smartphone in the next 90 days would prefer Android. That's 15 percentage points higher than in September -- the largest gain among the major smartphone operating systems. (RIM was the other winner, increasing 1 percentage point over September's survey.)

Other interesting facts:

• 13 percent said they'd prefer a Motorola Android phone, compared to 9 percent for an HTC phone. (In September, it was 5 percent for HTC versus 1 percent for Motorola. (Of course, that was before the Droid line was launched on Verizon.)
• Apple, RIM and Palm all saw declines in likely future purchases.
• Android was ranked second (72 percent) among customers who said there were "very satisfied" with their current cell phone. (iPhone 77 percent; BlackBerry 41 percent; Palm OS/webOS 33 percent; Windows Mobile 25 percent)

Check out the whole breakdown from ChangeWave.

It can't be all sunshine and kittens head of Tuesday's expected Google Nexus One launch. ZDNet has published a list of how much extra those of you outside of the United States will have to pay for the Nexus One -- on top of the $530 unlocked price. All we can say is that if you're in Sweden, well, start saving up, as you're going to have to shell out an extra $218. If you're in Taiwan (home of HTC, which is manufacturing the Nexus One), it's a meager $70. Full list of who has to pay what is after the break. [ZDNet]

Forget the phones. One of our first stops at CES this week is going to have to be with Touch Revolution, whose NIM1000 drop-in module is bringing Android to microwave ovens, washer/dryers/refridgerators ... OK, "bringing" may be a bit much at this point. But being able to stream Pandora while grabbing a cold one, heating up a burrito and cleaning the stains from both? You just can't beat that. [Presser via Gizmodo]