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Now the pace is fast and furious.

We’re being introduced to a huge number of Android-based smart phones in a short period of time – mainly because the holiday shopping season is fast approaching.

By now you’ve read about the terrific, new Verizon Droid – and what it can do for you – as well as all of dreams and prayers for what it could do for manufacturer Motorola.

Another once-major player in the handset industry is also counting on a big boost from Android – SonyEricsson.

We’ve heard that they’re about to release a super-Android model of their own. Now we know it’s coming next week:

All we know is that SonyEricsson has been working on a phone code named Rachel – which should be dubbed the Xperia X3 in its final release form.

It’s rumored to have its own home screen “skin” – and possibly could run on Qualcomm’s super-speedy Snapdragon processor.

We’ll know soon enough.

SonyEricsson’s Website is only saying we’ll have full details next Tuesday, November 3rd.

Can’t wait.

Do you know what happens when you ask two techmology experts to give their early impressions of the hottest new smartphone of the season?

You get today’s Bottom Line video courtesy of Randall Bennett’s TechVi.com:

Enjoy!

I got one.

I received a last-minute invitation to hear about the new Android super smartphone from the experts at Verizon (the cellular carrier) and Motorola (the hardware manufacturer). Oddly, the software gurus from Google were not in attendance.

In case you haven’t experienced Verizon’s (seemingly anti-iPhone) Droid commercial:

I’ve been living with a Droid for an hour or two and I can tell you that so far this device is a winner.

First of all, hardware-wise the Droid is slick and slim. They claim it’s the thinnest smartphone-with-a-slide-out-keyboard on the market today. It has great hand feel and although it sports the longest screen on an Android phone to date the handset it is very pocket-friendly.

For those keeping track, Droid measures 2.36 by 4.56 by 0.54 inches and weighs in at hair less than 6 ounces.

Droid has a 3.7-inch (diagonal), 854 by 480 pixels, capacitive touch, WVGA screen providing 400,000 pixels to look at.

The user-replaceable, rechargeable battery pack is said to be good for as much as 6.4 hours of talk time and 11.25 days of standby.

Motorola’s Chairman Sanjay Jha told us that means your should get a full day’s use from a fully charged battery. As in the case with ALL cell phones – we’ll see.

The camera is 5 megapixels.

The included microSD memory card is 16 GB.

There’s GPS, Bluetooth (2.1) and Wi-Fi (802.11b/g). Videos play back at D1 resolution (720 by 480) MPEG-4, H.263 and H.264.

It runs on Verizon’s famously fast 3G (800/1900 MHz, CDMA/EV-DO – Rev. A) network. It also runs on what is being called the fastest processor of any Android phone: a Texas Instrument’s OMAP 3430 which reportedly can run as fast as 600 MHz.

Droid is the first Google device of any kind to be released with the new Android 2.0 operating system. There are so many new features and controls included that it’s going to take me a few days to find and play with them all.

What I can tell you so far is that the Droid seems to be very, very fast at completing tasks, scrolling refreshing its screen. It produces terrific-looking YouTube videos. Very little jumping or shaking on the screen.

And that screen… It’s nice to have a larger display on an Android device. Gives you the sense of working on a real computing device (not a small cell phone).

As for availability, Droid will be selling exclusively at Verizon Stores and online next Friday, Nov. 6, for $199.99 with a new two-year customer agreement after a $100 mail-in rebate. Customers will receive the rebate in the form of a debit card.

Verizon says that to get the most from Droid customers will need to subscribe to a voice and a data plan. Nationwide voice plans begin at $39.99 for monthly access (450 minutes) and Email and Web for Smartphone plans run $29.99.

Consider this missive the first part of a multi-part Droid review. It will take some time with the device to come up with an overall rating. I’ll have a lot more to say about Droid in the coming weeks.

By now you’ve probably seen the TV commercials – even if you weren’t exactly sure what it was all about.

Verizon has called a press conference for tomorrow morning. We’re guessing that it will be to formally announce the imminent release of the Droid phone in the very near future.

Motorola’s Droid is supposed to have a large screen – larger than anything else on the market.

It’s also rumored to have the fastest processor of any Android phone – a 1.0 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon. We’ve seen the same speedy chip in action on other smart phones and can’t wait to see what it can do with Android.

And that brings us to the third big Droid feature – the software. It is rumored to be the first smartphone to run on the next version of the Android operating system – Version 2.0 codenamed “Éclair.”

We’ll have all the official answers tomorrow. So for now we’ll just have to be satisfied with a glimpse of what Éclair can do for you next Android device.

Today’s big announcement of the Android 2.0 SDK (Software Developer’s Kit) was made just a short time ago – in advance of tomorrow’s hardware fete.

Do you Roku? I do.

I liked Roku when there was only one. Now there are three.

Roku is a clever little box which lets you stream movies, TV shows and other video items to your TV in real time from your Netflix or Amazon.com account. Those other video items include live, streaming Major League Baseball games (in season, of course).

Notice that Roku is just a delivery device. It allows you to download and stream video sources from accounts you have with Roku’s preferred Internet providers. That’s not to say the Roku box can’t do other things – but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Roku connects to the Web via your home high-speed Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection. And, Roku connects to your TV a number of different ways. The original Roku HD box I had tested connected via composite (good), S-video (very good), component (much better) and HDMI (best).

Set-up of the box takes 60-90 seconds. Add a minute to input your password-protection Wi-Fi code (if you have one) – add another minute or so to connect Roku to your online Netflix and/or Amazon accounts (via a computer) – and you’re off to the races.

In actual use Roku is fast, easy and addictive. Picture quality is way up there too. Best of all, it delivers exactly what it promises. I’ve tried Roku in a number of different locations and regardless of the other equipment involved the Roku experience was terrific.

I’m telling you all this because as of today there are three Rokus to choose from – the original Roku HD box (still $99), the new, top-of-the-line Roku HD-XR box ($129) and the new price leader, the Roku SD only $79. All three Rokus share the same little enclosure.

The new XR model is very similar to the original HD box except it now supports the brand-new, super-speedy 802.11n Wi-Fi standard. Even if you don’t have a fast, new 802.11n router Roku says their XR box will actually speed-up your current wireless Web connection. And, as we all know, faster, more solid connections mean less problems with your streaming videos.

The XR also sports a USB port. Roku is being secretive about why. All they’ll say is that it’s “for future use”.

The Roku SD is the new choice for your standard-definition, non-HD TVs. If you haven’t spent hundreds/thousands on a new flat-screen, high-definition set then this could be the Roku for you.

The SD connects to your TV via the composite (Yellow-Red-White) video (and separate audio) cables. Roku’s SD player incorporates Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) and an Ethernet port. Bottom line? With the Roku SD player customers can stream their favorite movies and TV shows to their TV at up to DVD quality.

And as for new content, Roku is hinting at more services in the near future:

Roku will launch the Roku Channel Store later this fall enabling customers to add new content channels to their Roku experience, further enhancing the value of the Roku player.

The Roku Channel Store will be delivered to all Roku customers, new and existing, as an automatic and free update.

All three Roku players are available immediately on Roku’s Website and also at Amazon.com. For a limited time, Amazon also includes free shipping.

If you like running your computer on a Microsoft Windows operating system you will like Windows 7.

If you hated Windows Vista you will like Windows 7.

And if you’re running an older version of Windows – such as XP (or earlier) you should seriously consider upgrading to Windows 7 now.

Are you catching my drift?

Windows 7 is the real deal – and Microsoft’s best operating system in years.

It’s good because they learned from their mistakes with Vista.

The bottom line is that Windows 7 just plain works – and works well.

Operating systems – however good they are – are still just operating systems. All of the best ones, Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Unix, present you with a software platform to do what you need to do. OSes give you a set of tools to complete your tasks with ease. The best of the best do their job without getting in your way.

Vista was more nuisance than helper. Windows 7 is what Vista should have been.

I’ve been testing “7″ on a number of computers for months now. It was the first time a Microsoft OS Beta worked first time, every time. It installed with ease on a number of different computer hardware configurations and is stable like tank.

I can tell you from months of experience that the new interface is crisp and clean and that the OS allows your computer to work quickly and efficiently. That’s exactly what an OS should do.

For instance, on a 2-year old Toshiba laptop/tablet, upgrading from 7 Beta to the final release version of 7 Ultimate tool just less an hour. Overall, boot-up speed is about the same as it was when the computer was running Vista – but all the programs I use open and save-to-disk faster than with Vista.

What really amazes me is the speed of my Wi-Fi connection. The Toshiba hardware used to peak at 200-300 kb/sec. downloads. Now, the same computer says I’m getting downloads between 875 kb/sec and 1.3 MB/sec. I spent an afternoon downloading programs just to see if the speeds I’m getting were for real. They are.

Windows 7 seems to give lots of hardware and software processes a big speed boost. It may not seem like much but added all together – Windows 7 seems to fly compared to older Windows software.

Not everything is new. The start menu is pretty much the same as it’s been since XP. And, if you know how to deal with a Windows computer then 7 won’t throw you for a loop. You’ll just need to get used to a cleaner home screen/interface. That’s not a hardship by any means.

Starting today, Windows 7 is available on DVD (upgrades or full installations). Expect to pay anywhere from $120 (Home Premium edition) to $220 (Ultimate edition) upgrades. Add $80-$100 for full install disks. You can check out the different versions here.

The other way to get Windows 7 is to buy a new computer with the new OS already installed. Computer manufacturers would like that a lot. I’ve seen new models from nearly every hardware manufacturer – including a super-nifty Eee PC Netbook with 2 GB of memory running a full-featured version of 7. In the past, Microsoft only allowed Win XP Netbooks to run 1 MB of memory).

Finally, if Microsoft was able to do such a good job with Windows I can’t wait to see what they have planned for the next version of Office. We’ll know soon enough.

Today is announcement day at Apple – and that means the keys are flying at fan blogs – extolling the virtues of every new piece of equipment and change/upgrade that they can find. Here too!

First, Apple is now selling new iMac all-in-one computers/monitors with 21.5-inch (1920 by 1080 pixels) or 27-inch (2560 by 1440 pixels) backlit, LED displays. 16-by-9 HD displays, of course. They all come with the new Snow Leopard OS too.

The big iMacs sport Intel 2.6 GHz or 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo processors. The smaller 21.5-inchers sport 3.06 GHz and 3.33 GHz chips. They all come with 4GHz of RAM, 500 GB hard drive for the 21.5-incher or 1 TB for the 27), wireless keyboards and mice plus Apple’s latest Snow Leopard OS. Wow!

Prices start at $1,199 for the smaller and $1,699 for the larger model.

There’s also a totally redesigned MacBook as well. The outer shell has been completely overhauled. The new design is only slightly more than an inch thick but weighs in at a still somewhat zaftig 4.7 pounds.

The screen is a 13-inch LED design; the track pad is both glass and multi-touch plus Apple now claims you can squeeze up to 7 hours from the new, built-in battery pack.

Prices start at $999 for the 2.26 GHz MacBook – and range from $1,199 (2.26 GHz, 13-inch) to $2,499 (2.8 GHz, 17-inch) for the newly redesigned MacBook Pro models.

There are upgraded Mac Minis too. Think in terms of up to 4GHz of memory, processors up to 2.66 GHz, 802.11n Wi-Fi (to go with the new, $179, 802.11n Airport Express Base Station). Prices range from $599 (2.26 GHz, 160 GB) to $799 (2.53 GHz, 320 GB).

And then, there’s the new Mac Mini server. This could be Apple’s biggest announcement of the day.

The computer is a Mac Mini without a CD/DVD optical drive. That’s because Apple have stuffed two 500 GB drives inside that little box – for a total of 1 TB of storage. An optional, external Super Drive will set you back $100.

Inside there’s a 2.53 GHz processor, 4GB of RAM. Mini server runs the new Snow Leopard Server OS software.

Apple thinks this is the perfect device for small businesses and the like. I think this could be the perfect home music/media server on the planet.

Apple has already recreated the music industry in its own image – and now, the new Mini Server could be the next step in total world domination.

Think about it. This tiny, $999 box will be able to store all of your space-saver-compressed audio and video files – or a whole bunch of not-so compressed media files in one easy-to-find, easy-to-use place. iTunes software already handles all sorts of media files – including those giant, ultimate-fidelity, super-high-bit-rate monsters that audiophiles are shouting about. That’s something that Windows Media Player only dreams of.

You know that Apple’s new server software will run like a top and be easy to master. For the record, Snow Leopard Server software, by itself, sells for $499 (unlimited licenses). $1K for the Mini Server seems to me to be a bargain.

Apple may have just defined a new market for their products – and not many people realize it yet. iPod redux!

One more item of note was announced today, the new Apple Magic Mouse. It’s a fantastic-looking, multi-touch, Bluetooth-connected device that works a lot like a touch-pad on a laptop computer. You can point and click, double click, scroll, flick, etc on the Magic Mouse’s surface. It’s available now for $69.

What a week coming up.

We’re approaching the peak of the technology industry’s announcement season leading up to the hopefully successful consumer technology holiday buying season. Companies big and small will be trying to get you to part with your hard-earned money (if you have a job).

Let’s begin with big companies. Like Microsoft.

In case you’ve been living on the South Pole, you probably know that Microsoft’s new and improved operating system, Windows 7 is on the way. Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer and company will be throwing a massive party here in NYC, this Thursday, to officially announce the software’s release.

But the larger Windows 7 story is all the hardware that is about to be announced. Also on Thursday, dozens of companies will announce dozens of new products that work with – and operate on the newly improved operating system. It could prove to be just what the computer industry has been waiting for.

Just so you know I’ve been testing Windows 7 since the first Beta was released earlier this year. I’ll have a full review on software release day but remember that in my tests – on a number of desktops, laptops and Netbooks, Windows 7 is just plain fantastic. Faster. Easier. All-around better. More later this week.

Tuesday should turn out to be Barnes & Noble day. If all the rumors are correct, B&N will be announcing a digital book reader to compete against Amazon.com’s Kindle and Sony’s eBook devices.

There are lots of rumors being floated about what the new device might look like – including some thoughts about it being a two-screen affair – one color – one black-and-white. We’ll know for sure Tuesday afternoon.

And then there’s the onslaught of Android smartphones about to reach the U.S. cellular marketplace.
We have two from T-Mobile and one from Sprint – with a whole bunch more coming before the holidays.

Motorola’s CLIQ (see review below) begins online sales today. It will appear in T-Mobile stores, nationwide, beginning next month.

Samsung’s first Android phone, The Moment, is the subject of a big press send-off on Wednesday. Moment will be Sprint’s second Android model (the terrific Hero was their first.)

But, the industry is really buzzing about what Verizon has in store for us. America’s number one cellular provider is angry that they still haven’t been able to get their hands on an iPhone of their own or a technically advanced, modern-day BlackBerry phone.

That’s why they’re going all out promoting their upcoming Android phone. All we know is that it’s called “Droid” and that they may have licensed that name from the Star Wars people.

Rumors have it that Droid will be made by Motorola and will sport a very fast processor, a lot of memory, a big-pixel camera and it could be the first Android device to run the next major version (2.0) of Google’s operating system.

All we really know about the Droid phone is that Verizon began airing a cryptic TV commercial for it during sporting events in the past few days:

And, oh yes, there’s a new and improved BlackBerry Storm coming to Verizon this fall – among other goodies.

This looks like it’s going to be lots of fun.

This new smartphone could be the beginning of the end for Motorola. Or, it might herald the dawn of a corporate rebirth.

The proud, former number one cell phone manufacturer on the planet once put a flip phone in every pocket. Who didn’t own – or want to own a StarTAC?

Then Moto failed to provide loyal users with something better. Now they’re desperately trying to make a comeback.

They’ve joined forces with Google to develop an entire line of Android-based handsets. The T-Mobile/Motorola CLIQ is the first such product to hit the marketplace.

Officially, CLIQ is the fourth Android phone to make it to the U.S. market. It’s also the third Android phone design to be sold by T-Mobile.

CLIQ has a side-slider QWERTY keyboard and shares the same Qualcomm processor (528 MHz) that nearly every other announced/real Android phones has inside. There’s only 256MB of built-in storage but thankfully, there is also a microSD card slot for the standard 2GB card (up to 32GB cards are accepted).

CLIQ is a true world phone. It will work on 3G network both here in the U.S. and overseas. It runs on the latest Android OS, version 1.5, nicknamed “Cupcake”.

Other features include a 3.1-inch (diagonal), 320 by 480 pixels, capacitive screen, a 5.0 megapixel camera, a 1,420mAh rechargeable battery pack (said to be good for up to six hours of continuous usage and 325 hours of standby), 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 (stereo), GPS and a real, honest-to-goodness 3.5mm headphone jack.

The CLIQ measures 2.28 by 4.5 by 0.62 inches and weighs more than any of the Android phones to date: 5.75 ounces. It will be sold in two colors: Titanium (dark gray) or Winter White.

The CLIQ is the first device to feature Motorola’s new interface and data back-up service which has been graced with an unfortunate name: MOTOBLUR:

“Now everything is where you want it – in one place, on tap. Your friends, pics, emails, messages and Facebook, My Space and Twitter happenings. Motorola CLIQ is the first phone to come with MOTOBLUR, the only service that can sync them all, with continuous updates and backups. There are no logins or apps to open, and your data’s always safe. Talk about socialized.”

What this actually translates to is that your texts, emails and social network messages will arrive together on MOTOBLUR’s new front-screen Messages and Happenings widgets – along with photos of your friends. You can control your MOTOBLUR accounts via the Web on your computer screen.

I have to admit; I wasn’t impressed with Moto’s description of MOTOBLUR but WAS very impressed by the actual service. Once set-up my Facebook, Twitter and e-mail accounts I was stunned. Motorola seems to have come up with the perfect way to keep up-to-date with all your online data services.

Now I see that MOTOBLUR seems to be a clever way to keep track of all your social networking feeds in one easy to access place (your home screen) all at the same time. If you’re addicted to these services you’re going to flip when you see everything constantly updating at the same time and begging for your attention.

You have to experience it for yourself – for more than a brief 20 second test – to begin understanding just how cool this really is. Motorola may have created the perfect modern-day, wireless data delivery system.

Kudos too for the slide-out keyboard. The keys are actually spaced correctly for rapid typing and they feel nearly perfect when you press them.

CLIQ pre-sales are set to begin online starting October 19th. It should be available in T-Mobile stores beginning November 2nd.

T-Mobile has priced the CLIQ at $199.99 with the industry-standard two-year service agreement. Data contract prices are the same as for other T-Mobile Android phones.

This device is way too clever to try to sum up in one story. I plan to live with the CLIQ for a few weeks and let you know if and how it might change my life.

It’s nice when someone admits a mistake – or possible error.

This one seems small compared to many others I’ve heard about – but, in the end it really annoys the man who came up with it.

That person is British computer scientist and Web guru Tim Berners-Lee an early Internet pioneer with many accomplishments. After all these years, Mr. Berners-Lee says he regrets inventing the two slashes that go between the “http:” and the “www…..” part of each and every Web address.

In a recent interview with Paul Mohr of the N.Y. Times, Mr. Berners-Lee said that was the one thing he would do differently if he had the chance – forget about all those the double-slashes.

“Look at all the paper and trees that could have been saved if people had not had to write or type out those slashes on paper over the years… not to mention the human labor and time spent typing those two keystrokes countless millions of times in browser address boxes.”

Berners-Lee also admitted to the London Times that the forward slashes were actually unnecessary.

He told the Times reporter that he could easily have designed URLs not to have the forward slashes. “There you go; it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

He now realizes that when he devised the Web nearly 30 years ago, he had no idea that the forward slashes in every web address would cause “so much hassle”.

Sir Tim (he was knighted in 2004) is the man credited with “inventing the World Wide Web.

He is currently director of the World Wide Web Consortium (also known as W3C). He has recently elected a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. He won the 2009 Webby Award for Lifetime Achievement and is working with the British government to help improve online access to government data.