Verizon Wireless sold 250,000 units of its Droid by Motorola phone, according to eWEEK, which has also given the Droid a rave review. Meanwhile, the rumor of a Google-branded Android phone refuses to die, Palm's CEO trash-talks the Droid, and tomorrow Google will unveil its Linux-based Chrome OS, say various reports.

HTC dominates the Android phone market but other mobile makers are picking up the Android pace. The majority of Android-based mobile phones released to date have been made by HTC but there are also a number of other Android phones worth considering. We look at some of the alternatives to HTC if you're determined to own an Android phone.

T-Mobile launched an Eric Clapton-backed Fender Limited Edition of its Android-based MyTouch 3G phone. Meanwhile, China-based Hisense announced an HS-E90 Android phone, Motorola is launching an Android app store in China, and Taiwan's Gigabyte is rumored to be releasing an Android handset in Russia, say reports.

Verizon Wireless has signed a deal with Google to co-develop two Android smartphones, says eWEEK. In other Android developments, further rumors about a Motorola Sholes phone heading for Verizon have emerged, an HTC "Dragon" phone using Qualcomm's Snapdragon was tipped, and Google announced improved "AdSense" advertising for smartphones.

Motorola really needs to pull something exciting out of the mobile phone development bag if it is to regain any kind of meaningful position as a leader in the mobile phone innovation league table. So why is it being so d@mn secretive about the Android handset launch?

After Motorola Dext (CLIQ), one of the leading handset makers will release another Android-powered phone that is appropriately called the DROID. It is poised to become the most advanced Android device on the market with its high-end specifications and extra features.

As we've noted before, the T-Mobile G1 or "Google phone," based on Android, is doing better than expected. In 2009, many Android phones are going to be appearing, and as applications and innovative designs proliferate, they could give the iPhone a run for its money. Today, photos are appearing of Lenovo's Ophone, which is an Android phone that it has slated for delivery in China.

Android 2.0 (formerly codenamed 'Éclair') is the latest evolution of the mobile OS developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance. This version is a chunky upgrade, superceding the current Android 1.6 software (dubbed 'Donut'), which was actually considered "a minor platform release".

The delayed Android 2.1 update for the Motorola Droid is starting to tarnish the successful launch of Verizon's first smartphone to run on Google's open source mobile operating system, according to posts at Motorola's Facebook page.