This week, we learned that Android is the leader of the pack when it comes to the availability of free apps and that a huge chunk of the Android-loving public is male. I think some of that may have to do with those aggressive Droid ads. Also - and don't get me wrong here - it seems like the vast majority of phone hackers are male. I don't know why, and I can't say I know for sure that it's true. It just seems to be the case. I think that, if there were a recent study on which kind of mobile phone experienced the most tinkering, Android would hold such a great majority that all others would be lumped together as "other." Speaking of which...
Hacks & Mods
Less than a week after we mentioned the release of an early Desire ROM, I rooted my own Nexus One (right) and flashed MoDaCo's Alpha 10. I recorded the entire process on video and have created a tutorial that can be found here. However, Carlos was right on top of the continually improved releases and shot a video review of Alpha 6 before I was even rooted. Carlos is super busy and working on numerous projects right now and may not be back with ROM reviews for a while, but I'll try to squeeze some in on my own when possible. If the above doesn't quench your hacking thirst for the week, see this post on running Android on a handful of HTC WinMo devices.
Phones and Gadgets
This week saw leaks and announcements about numerous products, but I would be willing to bed that three models are responsible for the lion's share of the buzz. We've heard that the Desire is headed for AT&T and Legend to Sprint, and we saw a Verizon inventory screen listing the Incredible. Those are the most exciting items of the week to me, anyway. Almost a year-and-a-half after the launch of the first Android and HTC is still in charge, as far as I'm concerned. Rogers just announced the Magic+ as well.
Of course my respect for HTC doesn't mean that I don't lust after gear from other brands or that I don't see important work going on elsewhere. Acer's Liquid is really interesting to me, even if I think the best is yet to be cooked. Philips unleashed a monstrous display designed to showcase the custom UI they've developed for an Android 2.1 PMP, and while fun, I think a PR dude with big hands and a real device would have been more awe-inspiring.
Apps
We didn't cover a whole lot of apps this week, but two posts of note are Adobe's response to impressions of Flash leaked with cooked ROMs and Google Earth for Android.
That does it for my "7 Days" this week. I'll leave you with Alberto's second post in his series on Google's strategy: Nexus One: How Google is Laying the Groundwork.
Take care