Nokia claimed to be working on Android phone for unveiling later this year (updated)

Talk of a possible Android / Nokia tie-up has been ongoing since time immemorial, and the latest fuel to the fire comes from the Guardian which is sourcing "industry insiders" as saying that the world's largest phone manufacturer will reveal an Android-powered touchscreen handset at its Nokia World event this September. Though Nokia itself has never truly ruled out the possibility of working with Open Handset Alliance code, a move into Android right now would truly be an odd one -- granted, the Symbian Foundation is probably on thin ice any way you look at it, but even without S60 and its successors in the mix in the long term, Nokia still has Maemo quietly reaching platform maturity in the background with rumors of an imminent MID / superphone hybrid swirling in recent months. It seems that adopting Android (even if only for a select number of models) would be an admission on Nokia's part that it has failed to be a Maker of Standards, despite its overwhelming size and market position -- not to mention a major bet that it can continue to win customers based on the strength of its hardware alone, since it'd now be working with a common platform adopted by dozens of companies large and small. So, here's the million- (or maybe billion-) dollar question: all things being equal, can Nokia outdo HTC and Samsung on the same platform?

Samsung Omnia II and the case of the musical guided tour

Samsung's Omnia II and its gorgeous 3.7-inch AMOLED screen is still without a Verizon release date, but don't let that stop you from enjoying Italian site HDBlog's ten-minute guided tour of the device. Hard to tell exactly how crisp is from the footage, and we also couldn't help but note a good bit of interface lag, especially when using the new cube menu. We're hopeful that'll get remedied before launch, and all in all, it's looking good, and the hardware definitely has some style. Grab some popcorn, video is after the break.

Palm Pre cameo on Dutch carrier Hi's website much ado about nothing, says spokesman

Alright, move along folks, nothing to see here. Remember that Palm Pre support page that showed up on Dutch provider Hi's website? Seems like that'd indicative a possible future collaboration, but according to a spokesman for KPN (of which Hi is a part), it's all a misunderstanding. While not meant for public viewing at this time, the page in question was apparently intended to explain what settings you'd need for using a Hi SIM card, whether you got the device from them or via another provider. Still seems fishy, if you ask us. Of course, he added the company is very interested in the Pre (as if we thought otherwise), but that nothing's been announced at this time anywhere in Europe. Let's just hope that rumored UK announcement pans out this week, and maybe the rest of the continent will follow suit.

Rumored Sony Ericsson "Kiki" handset isn't a boring one

That supposedly upcoming Android XPERIA that Mobil dug up might have our minds, but it's this leaked handset (which, to be fair, looks fairly sketchily rendered), the Sony Ericsson Kiki, that has won our hearts. The screen is made of glass, with an image seemingly rear-projected onto it (teleprompter style), while the keys are, um, scarce. Mobil was able to offer few hints as to how this works or what all it does, and it seems like it falls far short of the functionality of a feature phone, but we're sure we want one whatever it is.

Sony Ericsson "Rachael" Android XPERIA handset unveiled?

Hello, beautiful. Danish phone site Mobil has uncovered "internal documents" on what appears to be Sony Ericsson's upcoming Android-based handset, an XPERIA number codenamed Rachael. Under the hood is a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, HSPA and an 8 megapixel camera. It's unclear how big the touchscreen is, and other details are scarce -- there is a 3.5mm headphone jack, so that's nice, but unless we're severely misguided, there doesn't seem to be a slide-out keyboard tucked away inside this thin chassis.