Kinda forgot about this one over the New Year holiday, but here's how it looks when you purchase an app in the Android Market and pay for it with your T-Mobile bill. Originally this was to have been rolled out by Dec. 30. Any T-Mobile users out there not seeing this option? (Thanks, Wayne!)

OK, you wanted to know what T-Mobile's doing about 3G problems with the Nexus One. Here's the ugly truth. Above are some of the bullet points customer-service types are being given, at least as of Jan. 9.

Pretty basic troubleshooting steps here, such as making sure you're actually in a 3G-covered area, power-cycling the Nexus One, trying other 3G-enabled phones and the like. It does note that when WiFi is active, the 3G symbol won't appear, but you knew that already, right?

Otherwise, continue to stand by, folks. [via Engadget]

And we're back! The Smartphone Round Robin is officially back in motion and we're now in week 4. We have perhaps the most mysterious device in the Smartphone Round Robin this year--Nokia--and it'll definitely be exciting to see what we'll learn. Before getting time with Nokia this year, we literally knew nothing about the N900 and N97 Mini which is surprising considering the dominance Nokia has in the world market but not so surprising considering Nokia has no US footprint whatsoever. Either way, you can chalk up our hands on video with Nokia as a learning experience. Be sure you watch the video!

Because it's nearly impossible to learn everything about the powerful platform that is Nokia in one video, I'll soon be asking Nokia Users questions on Nokia Experts. I'm sure they'll be a huge help in my quest to understand how and why Nokia is so popular. On another note, PreCentral will have their hands on Android this week and we'll be sure to point you to their hands on video and accompanying thread!

Hit the jump to check out Android Central's Hands On Nokia Video !

Remember how there were a whole bunch of people on Canada's Rogers network who were upset they were going to be stuck with Android 1.5 on the HTC Dream? And remember how Rogers made everybody all warm and fuzzy by saying they could upgrade to an HTC Magic for free, and that they were working on the details?

Well, they've worked 'em out. It sounds worse than it is, however.

• You can upgrade to a Magic for free, all right, but you're going to have to renew your contract and the Canadian-standard three-year plan begins again.
• This applies for those who activated a new HTC Dream before Jan. 1, 2010.
• You must upgrade to the Magic by Jan. 26, 2010.
• The upgrades have to be done through Rogers' Customer Care (888-Rogers1).

Because most Dream customers aren't too far into their current contracts, the extension likely will only mean an extra seven months or so. Basically, the clock is reset. And when you're already signed on for 36 months, what's another half-year, huh?

Edit: Clarified the headline some. [Via MobileSyrup]

We originally helped break this news a week ago, and today Motorola took to Twitter to confirm that the Cliq will receive and upgrade to Android 2.1. (Actually, @motomobile initially said it'd be a 2.0 upgrade, but they went back and corrected themselves.)

A date for the upgrade has yet to be announced.

Update: For what it's worth, @motomobile has also confirmed the Droid will get 2.1. Which we also reported last week. lol (thanks, Chris!)

Seems like it was only yesterday when we were discussing the T-Mobile myTouch 3G Fender edition and how it's likely coming later this month, but we'd seen neither hide nor h- ... Oh, wait here it is. And speaking as a guitar fan, it sure looks purdy. Look for it Jan. 20, folks. [Engadget]

We're not sure it's news every time one OS manufacturer pokes fun at another, but here we go again anyway. During a panel on netbooks (attended and reported by LaptopMag's Mark Spoonauer) at CES, Microsoft GM of consumer products James DeBragga took a swipe at Android after it was lauded as being versatile and free. DeBragga sort of agreed, calling it "free like a puppy" in that it's cute at first but has to be trained and can be a hassle. And, yes, pee on your rug. (It really tied the room together.)

Now there may be some truth to that (erm, not the rug part), and DeBragga's point was that an open and free platform like Android doesn't have the proper muscle behind it for a proper support infastructure and is "leashed" to the Android Market. That's certainly a concern, and we're seeing results of Android's relative immaturity in the recent Nexus One launch. But we'd argue that it's not that Android (and Google) doesn't have the capability of proper support, it's just that the organization appears muddied at the moment.

Either way: It's a cute line, but probably one that has more bark than bite.

There's some great discussion going on in our forums about the Google Nexus One, including questions about using it unlocked on AT&T. And that brings us to the following poll. Let us know which way you're rocking the Nexus One, check out our Nexus One FAQ, and then join in the discussion! 

Registration just opened up for the Google IO conference May 19-20 in San Francisco. Two days of Android, Chrome, APIs, apps, robots, flying cars and just about anything else Google that you can think of.

Expected are more than 3,000 developers with 80 educational sessions and 100 demonstrations by the devs. Android-centric sessions include:

• "A beginner's guide to Android"
• "Casting a wide net: how to target all Android devices"
• "Home sweet home"
• "Writing real-time games for Android redux"

Anybody out there planning to go?

You knew this was going to end badly. Kid breaks into home. Kid steals Motorola Droid. Kid takes pictures of himself with the Droid. Droid uploads pictures. Kid caught. It's a cautionary tale.

Actually, it was a pretty scary situation for the homeowner, who got some of his stuff back thanks to the Android backup and security app Lookout.

Moral of the story: You can't always prevent your stuff from being stolen, but it's good to have backups in place, just in case.

Via SlipperyBrick and KPTV (thanks, John!)