T-Mobile G2x priced at $200, coming April 15th online and April 20th in stores

The official word has been spoken with regard the T-Mobile G2X. LG's dual-core, pure Android handset will be hitting T-Mo's online outlet on April 15th for $200, and the same price will also apply in stores when it lands on April 20th. There's a pesky $50 mail-in rebate to negotiate your way around, but after that you're looking at one of the finest and smoothest Android experiences we've laid our hands on yet.

HTC Sensation leaked by Vodafone: 4.3-inch qHD SLCD and 1.2GHz dual-core processor are go

Would you look at that, HTC's latest worst kept secret is live on Vodafone UK's website. So here's the scoop: 4.3-inch qHD (540 x 960 pixel) SLCD display, 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera augmented by an 8 megapixel shooter with dual-LED flash around back, a 1.2GHz (dual-core) processor, and 4GB of internal flash memory with an extra 8GB supplied on memory card. Stick around, we'll have hands-on with the latest Android Sensation from the HTC launch event later in the day.

Video - Nokia E6 official: a 326ppi portrait QWERTY handset optimized for business

A VGA resolution on a 2.46-inch display equals 326ppi. Talk about pixel density! Nokia's Symbian "Anna" update has found itself a delightful little carrier to market in the new E6. This business-centric device touts awesome battery life, with up to a month of standby time, features both a touchscreen and a portrait QWERTY keyboard, and will be targetting E71 / E72 upgraders, BlackBerry lovers and, evidently, pixel density enthusiasts. Shipping in Q2. Full PR, video, and specs can be found after the break.

Video - Nokia announces Symbian 'Anna' update for N8, E7, C7 and C6-01; first of a series of updates

And now it's completely official: the new and freshened up version of Symbian we saw leak out over the weekend is indeed coming to Nokia's latest batch of handsets. The N8, E7, C7 and C6-01, the phones that ran what was formerly known as Symbian^3, will all be getting it "over the coming months," while the newly announced X7 and E6 devices will ship with it preloaded. The change list includes realhomescreen scrolling, an overhauled browser, and yes, even a QWERTY onscreen keyboard in portrait orientation. There's also new iconography and heavily refreshed Ovi Maps, which now include predictive search. Nokia is resolute in its belief that Ovi Maps is the best mapping solution on the market, and Microsoft's decision to integrate it into Bing would suggest that's true.

The "Anna" Symbian update will be the first of a series and has been driven almost entirely by consumer feedback. Nokia also shared some Ovi Store stats with us. There are now five million downloads per day going on from the company's app repository, which now includes more than 40,000 apps in total. 158 developers have passed a million downloads each. Full PR and video overview of the enhanced OS after the break.

Nokia Sleeping Screen: soothing low power notification for Symbian

Nokia's cooked up a rather lovely and useful new app in its beta labs realm for all you lucky Symbian owners: Nokia Sleeping Screen. Now rather than simply seeing a blank sleeping device you'll be awash in useful info like message notifications, time and date, missed calls, and even a night clock mode that further dims the display while you rest your weary eyes. The display mode used isn't bright and instead of rendering the entire screen, all the icons are drawn using small circles -- which we assume further reduces the energy required -- and the app even goes to sleep while covered in a pocket or a bag. The only negative in the list is that apparently the phone can't be used as a flashlight while Sleeping Screen is running -- but we expect those enjoying the soothing cool hues won't mind that too much. Honestly, this seems like nothing but useful to us, and if Nokia's claim of not significantly impacting battery life is to be believed, may well be a must-have app.

HTC Pyramid to launch on April 12th under the name of HTC Sensation?

Now Pocket-lint has apparently confirmed those inklings, with word from an insider affirming the new Android smartphone's launch for that day and also adding that its retail name will be the HTC Sensation. HTC has already filed a claim to trademark that tandem of words, which lends an extra dash of credence to this revelation. Frankly, so long as all the mighty, EVO 3D-emulating specswe've been hearing about this device turn out to be true, we don't care if HTC calls it the Watermelon. Actual availability in stores is said to be expected "in the coming months," leaving a bit more waiting to be done whatever happens on April 12th. Ah well, they do say good things come to those who wait.

Video - GoPano Micro brings 360-degree video recording to the iPhone 4

We've seen still photos shot in the round, but wouldn't it be nice to snag some panoramic moving pictures every once in a while too? Well, the folks at EyeSee360 certainly think so, which is why they've given the iPhone 4 some 360-degree video recording capability with the GoPano Micro. Comprised of a plastic case for your handset, a detachable 360-degree lens, and a GoPano app, the system lets iPhone fanboys do a circular pan with the swipe of a finger. That put you in the moviemaking mood? Well, you can't get your hands on one just yet, but the venture has already reached its $20,000 funding goal, so those willing to invest $50 can head over to Kickstarter to reserve one of the first GoPano Micros off the production line. Before plunking down your hard-earned cash, however, check out all the full-circumference cinematic fun after the break. 

Google's new cloud-based Android Music app leaks out

Wondering what Google's answer to Amazon's cloud music player for Android will look like? Then it would seem you now have your answer --the Tech From 10 website somehow managed to receive a developer version of the Android Market, which allowed it to download Android Music 3.0 and try it out for themselves. That site's unfortunately down at the moment (along with the download of the app itself that it was providing), but it doesn't look like there's too many surprises to be found. Things are almost identical to the existing Android Music player in terms of appearance, while the settings menu has expectedly been augmented with various streaming-related options. Android Market itself has also apparently been tweaked slightly, and the developer version included a few other surprises as well, including new camera and desk clock apps. Unfortunately, we haven't yet been able to try it out ourselves, but you can keep an eye on the source link below for the downloads to return. Droid Life is also hosting some downloads of its own. You can find them here.

Google tightening control of Android, insisting licensees abide by 'non-fragmentation clauses'?

A storm seems to be brewing over the realm of Android development. Bloomberg's Businessweek spies have received word from "a dozen executives working at key companies in the Android ecosystem" that Google is actively working to gain control and final say over customizations of its popular mobile OS. That might not sound unreasonable, and indeed Google's public position on the matter is that it's seeking to stabilize the platform and ensure quality control, but it does mark a major shift from where Android started -- an open source OS that was also open to manufacturers and carriers to customize as they wish. Not so anymore, we're told, as apparently Mountain View is now demanding that content partnerships and OS tweaks get the blessing of Andy Rubin before proceeding. The alternative, of course, is to not be inside Google's warm and fuzzy early access program, but then, as evidenced by the company recently withholding the Honeycomb source code, you end up far behind those among your competitors who do dance to Google's pipe.

Things have gotten so heated, in fact, that complaints have apparently been made to the US Department of Justice. They may have something to do with allegations of Google holding back Verizon handsets with Microsoft's Bing on board, ostensibly in an effort to trip up its biggest search competitor. Another major dissatisfaction expressed by those working with Android code is that Google needs an advance preview of what is being done in order to give it the green light -- which, as noted by a pair of sources familiar with Facebook's Android customization efforts, isn't sitting well with people at all. Google and Facebook are direct competitors in the online space and it's easily apparent how much one stands to gain from knowing the other's plans early. As to the non-fragmentation clauses in licenses, Andy Rubin has pointed out those have been there from the start, but it's only now that Google is really seeking to use them to establish control. The future of Android, therefore, looks to be a little less open and a little more Googlish -- for better or worse. As Nokia's Stephen Elop puts it:

"The premise of a true open software platform may be where Android started, but it's not where Android is going."

Google working on a face recognition app that leads to your personal info? (update: Google says 'no')

Before we all get in a huff about this, Google has been very eager to point out that the facial recognition app it's developing will work on a strictly opt-in basis. That means if you don't want it to scan all of Facebook, Flickr and the rest of Google's vast hoards of internet knowledge to find you, identify you, and collate your name, phone number and email address into a handy data sheet, it won't. Okay? So relax now, everything's fine. Seriously though, Google's latest research venture sounds like a dashing stride into a minefield of privacy concerns as it aims to use people's faces to instantly identify them and provide any salient info about them. Project leader Hartmut Neven, whose company Neven Vision was gobbled up by Google in 2006, says the team is being very cautious in how it addresses people's rather apt apprehension, but he insists there's actually great value in having a face-recognizing and data-mining app. Great value for the app's user, perhaps, but we'd rather just stick to business cards, if you ask us.

Update: Google has reached out to clarify that there are no plans to introduce functionality of this sort yet, not without "a strong privacy model in place." More importantly, however, the linking of facial recognition to personal data is described as "inventions of the reporter" rather than something the company's actively pursuing.