Honestly, I'm a little bit confused. Why call a phone and a series by the same name when at least two manufacturers are involved? Really, this seems like a whole marketing mess. It's hard enough to keep individual HTC models straight, and to know the difference between Motorola Cliq and Motorola Blur. Do we really need more vague and overlapping brands? Doesn't help that the Droid Desire goes by Eris at times, either. Are these phones or strippers? [gdgt]

Acer's President and CEO:

We are working on an Android solution for the smartphone, [but] I think it's too early to say if we're going to see Android on a netbook in the near future.

So they're considering it! Then, from PC World:

He said Android is "very, very good for communication and Web access and so on," but he's not sure yet if it's right for traditional PCs.

A smartphone with Android makes a lot more sense than a netbook with the OS, he said.

Oh, so he basically heard some other company talking about an Android netbook, decided to dignify the possibility with a mention just in case, but intuitively thinks—reasonably, I might add—that the whole idea is kind of dumb. Got it. [PC World]

Update 12:13PM: Eric at Information Week called up Garmin US for their comment, and apparently they were just as surprised as we are at the DigiTimes's report, saying:

Garmin media relations manager, Ted Gartner, said that, "There were many inaccuracies reported by the DigiTimes." He also said that Garmin is working on a statement to debunk most of the "facts" reported by DigiTimes.

Not an outright denial, but we'll stay tuned for the aforementioned statement.

Update 1:28PM: Annnd, here it is:

Garmin Disputes DigiTimes Report

CAYMAN ISLANDS—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, is disputing a Monday, December 22 report in the DigiTimes trade publication entitled, “Garmin expects to ship 18 million GPS PNDs in 2008.” The story contains a number of inaccuracies in both sales figures and product rollout schedules.

“Black Friday sales from our customers were what we expected and gross margins remain relatively strong,” said Kevin Rauckman, Garmin’s CFO and treasurer. “However, the December sales environment is weaker, which we attribute to our retail customers’ desire to exit the year with lower levels of inventory.”

As is customary, Garmin will update investors during its fourth quarter 2008 earnings call, scheduled for February 25, 2009.

Yep, no word at all about the Android phones specifically. The lack of a denial, plus the fact they're in the alliance means there's still a possibility.

Now, your regularly scheduled news pre-update:

You may recall that Garmin was one of the more interesting new members into the Open Handset Alliance, the fraternity of Android-friendly companies that just recently accepted a few new pledges. Whether these phones will have a worldwide release or stick to Asia only, as many of the most recent Android announcements have, remains to be seen. [DigiTimes]

We knew Lenovo was planning on bringing out one of the first Chinese Android pieces, we just didn't know it would look this nice; we've only this one shot to go on, but already I'm loving those polka dot send/end/clear buttons. And another thing worth noting is that from this single shot, it doesn't look like the OPhone includes a hardware QWERTY, meaning aside from chinese character stylus entry, the China Mobile folks may have taken some steps forward in developing a software touch keyboard for Android.

Unfortunately, importing this thing will be an impossibility, since it runs on China's own proprietary TD-SCDMA 3G network and will likely feature a customized version of Android that incorporates China Mobile's own homegrown apps and services. Still, it's a good carrot to dangle in front of HTC's nose. [ModMyGphone]

Announced by TechFaith Wireless and QIGI, two Chinese companies that very much seem to exist, the i6-Goal is a reassuringly modest accomplishment. The touchscreen phone is a relatively normal quad-band GSM phone, featuring a 2MP camera, GPS and an SD slot. The hardware actually looks quite similar to that of the HTC Touch, which perhaps not coincidentally can hackishly run Android.

Notably, the handset will be the first released in both Windows Mobile or Android flavors, so with a little creative bootloading action users may be able to dual-boot their mobile OSes. The handset will obviously be China-only, but its release will affirm that it's not that hard to get an Android phone out, albeit a sort of lame one. [EPrice via Android Community via Slashphone]

Hop-on Will Launch Its Google Android Alliance Phone at 2009 International CES

Last update: 9:40 a.m. EDT Oct. 24, 2008
IRVINE, Calif., Oct 24, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ — Hop-on (Pink Sheets: HPNN) will be launching its new open "Android Platform" device at the Consumer Electronic Show, in Las Vegas January 2009. This phone will be sold for under $200.
The Open Handset Alliance was established in November 2007, with 34 members including mobile handset makers, application developers, some mobile carriers, chip makers, and led by Google. Nokia, AT&T and Verizon Wireless are not members of the Alliance. Android, the flagship software of the Alliance, is based on an open source license and will compete against other mobile platforms developed independently for their particular handsets, now with the open platform Hop-on will reap the benefits of the source code.
The Alliance shares a common goal of fostering innovation on mobile devices and giving consumers a far better user experience than much of what is available on today's mobile platforms. By providing developers a new level of openness that enables them to work more collaboratively, Android will accelerate the pace at which new and compelling mobile services are made available to consumers.
Peter Michaels stated, "Hop-on is committed in bringing the latest technology to the market, the Android open platform makes Hop-on competitive in the high end mobile phone market. This will create market value for our shareholders."
Hop-on (HPNN-Pink Sheets) develops and markets wireless phones and accessories for emerging market and other domestic carriers and is best known for developing the world's first disposable cell phone. Currently, Hop-on is expanding into value-added services, like mobile gambling and SMS wagering. Hop-on's exclusive software will allow users to stream live interactive feed from legal jurisdictions to play poker, blackjack, roulette and baccarat on personal cell phones.
For more information, visit http://www.Hop-on.com.