Android Market is imminent, the industry goes Symbian silly and App Store alternatives aplenty

Kia Ora!

We’ve been banging on about the Android Market going live for weeks now, and even though our American brothers and sisters are enjoying opening up their eager wallets to Google, the UK G1 owner is still waiting.

But the caged animals we keep over at the Pocket Picks zoo can feel it coming in the air. T-Mobile rolled out an RC9 firmware update during the week, which is a necessary component accessing the paid Android Market.

Coupled with rumours that T-Mobile is prepping a promotional campaign for the weekend and finalising its Google Checkout system, it sounds as though the UK Android Market really is almost with us.

But that’s not the only new way to spend money over-the-air. Users with a jailbroken iPhone will know about the free, independent alternative to the App Store known as Cydia, but the developer behind it now has plans to expand the system into a fully blown replacement for Apple’s online shop.

Apple undoubtedly won’t be happy about it - what with its recent moves to outlaw jailbreaking - but Cydia could be expanded to offer paid apps and games alongside the free ones currently available. According to Pocket Picks, there are several such systems currently in production.

Plenty of mobile operators are getting upset about the changing face of modern communication, though. Smartphones, like the iPhone, G1 and now Nokia’s N97 are rife with controversy. Nokia has upset a host of different service providers by bundling a Skype client with its new N97 device, which allows free (or cheap, at least) calls over the net.

Both O2 and Orange are demanding the software be removed, though neither complains when it gets to charge hefty amounts of cash from customers who choose to take the handset on one of their lofty tariffs.

Just like BT did when the terrestrial phone network was privatised, these conglomerates are crying into their cornflakes now the gravy train is pulling into the station. Get with the times, fellas.

The operators might be failing to keep up with changing trends, but hardware manufactures seem to be forging ahead.

The new interest that’s arisen in the Symbian OS - now it’s gone (sort of) open source - has seen a surge in applications for the Nokia-owned system.

A social location application has been ported to GPS equipped Symbian devices, called Nanonavi, which allows user to link the app to their social network favourites (like Facebook and Bebo) and allow their buddies to track their physical location.

It’s easy to imagine one or two circumstance where this could be useful, but as Pocket Picks points out, it’s also a bit scary to think that mostly random people can watch your movement from afar.

It’s all very space age, but if you really want to go Buck Rogers with your communications (or, more accurately, Dick Tracy) you should check out LG’s new video phone watch. LG has been going watch-phone crazy lately, but this one it undeniably chic.

With 3G and HSDPA connectivity, this sleek looking writs-mounted, touchscreen beauty has Bluetooth, voice recognition, full text messaging and, most impressively of all, video calling. Far out.

But the iPhone’s inspiration is still the most prevalent feature in new handset designs. The Toshiba TG01 is - from an aesthetic perspective - almost identical, though the huge 4.1” screen is perhaps a little too much for a phone (not bad for a PDA, mind you).

What’s great is that it offers a massive 480x800 resolution in a wafer thin device, though the impressive tech specs aren’t really reflected in the build quality. The buttons, surface feel and plastic countenance really don’t do such a technical beast as this enough justice, which is a real shame on Toshiba’s part.

Pocket Picks’s hot hardware pick of the week has to be Sony Ericsson’s obscurely named Idou. It also has a high resolution touchscreen (a 3.5” widescreen ratio 640x480 beauty) with a whopping 12 megapixel camera in the back. A CCD this size obviously warrants a proper flash, which is included, along with zoom buttons and a sliding cover.

It also looks as though it’s going to adopt the Symbian OS, and with full wi-fi, GPS and high speed connectivity, this could easily be the next hot device for the mobile phone technophile.

Kia Ora!