See that picture up there? That's the surface of Mars. And apparently it doesn't look very good on the Nexus One. And now on the Motorola Droid. And quite possibly any device running Android 2.1. Why? Let's discuss, after the break.

Archos apparently is planning on rolling out its Generation 8 tablets come this summer, with six models ranging from 3- to 10-inch screens. Along with prices ranging from $100-$350 Archos is bringing the power of the internet to your hands without draining your pockets. What stands out about this tablet is that it'll have mulitouch which will be a first for Archos. Generation 8 will also be packing an ARM Cortex processor between 800MHz and 1GHz with a 3G open GL support. Said to be running Android, swapping out AppLibs for the Android Market. Hopefully there will be more talk about this tablet at Computex in June. [archoslounge via slashgear]

We're back after a couple (erm, more like a month) off, but we're back with a vengeance. And here's what we want to know: Android games are growing by leaps and bounds, as is the hardware we're playing them on. And, so, what's your favorite racing game? Head on into the forums and let us know. For your troubles, we're giving away 10 Invisible Skins from the folks at invisibleskinz.com. We'll take submissions until 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

What's your favorite Android racing game?

Plink- A U.K. based visual search app (about the same idea of Google Goggles) has been bought by Google for an undisclosed amount. PlinkArt won last December in the Android Developer Challange. PlinkArt allows you to use your camera to take pictures to identify paintings and artwork.

"The move is part of Google’s new initiative to acquire one company per month in order to improve and expand its line of services."

Why buy? Take a look back at Google Voice, which Google bought back when it was GrandCentral. Now Google's bought Gizmo5, and Google Voice reportedly is building on that platform, too. [Boy Genius Report]

Loyal reader Tom Cochrane reminded us on Twitter that Motorola has a status board for its Android 2.1 roll-out. And above is where we stand as of today. If you're rocking the Milestone, updates are either in progress or should be coming in the few months or so. Same goes in the U.S. for the Backflip, Cliq and Cliq XT. Hang in there, folks. [Motorola] (And thanks, Tom.)

For those who are bent out of shape about not being able to get Skype on their T-Mobile or AT&T Nexus One and Backflip phones to make long distance calls, Vonage has come to save the day. Vonage works to make VoIP calls over Wifi or 3G networks. You can either pay per use, or use your monthly plab to make domestic and international calls. Vonage is a free app [Market Link] [vonage]

What's black and white and red all over? The new myTouch Slide, of course! Semi-official (hey, it hasn't been announced yet) pictures have come out showing the next step in the line of T-Mobile HTC Android phones in Technicolor. By offering color options and adding some form of  HTC's Sense to the phone, it looks like they're really pushing the customization of the myTouch series of phones. Hopefully they'll drop those bubbles, though ...

So who wants what color? [CellPhone Signal]

We're not sure if we still care about mediocre Dell Android phones that are headed to China but it looks like Dell is popping off with another 'Ophone' (aka China's Android) powered device. This time it's the Dell Mini 3Ti, a dual-mode TD-SCDMA and GSM phone that has HSDPA support and a 2 megapixel camera along with another front facing camera. The design is inoffensive and nicely packed in a tight little package. Sadly, that tiny screen makes it tough to get excited for. So enjoy your mediocre Dell Android phones China, if Dell wants to make a dent in the US, they'll definitely have to step it up a notch. And no, the Dell Aero doesn't count. [engadget]

The Barnes & Noble Nook, the Android powered e-reader soon will be hitting a bigger audience. Barnes & Noble and Best Buy just announced a partnership that'll allow Best Buy to sell the Nook in their stores. Previously, the Nook was only available online or through Barnes & Noble retail stores--that sort of limited distribution severely hindered the potential growth of a rather powerful e-reader. Now with the Nook at 1,070 Best Buy stores across the nation and online at bestbuy.com, we can see if the Nook can really take off.

We haven't kept up with the Nook since its launch but we always expected it to do great things. If anything, you can root it to make it so. The Nook will be available for $259 on April 18th. Will you buy a Nook now that it's easier to get? [businesswire]

Gotta say, you guys are getting weirder and weirder. And no women want a Nexus One? C'mon! Anyhoo, second batch of contest entries (here's the first batch) is after the break for your viewing pleasure. Reminder: Comment all you want, but we're going to officially vote at a later date. And there's still time to enter. Here's what you need to know.