Stories by: Armando Rodriguez

The Asus PadFone made an appearance last May, but we haven't heard much about it in the time since. Now, at the Barcelona-based Mobile World Congress, Asus has given us a few more details about its phone-tablet hybrid.

With its slide-out QWERTY keyboard and latest version of Android, the original Motorola Droid stood for everything the iPhone wasn't. However, Motorola's interest in QWERTY Android phones has been downplayed with each new model. The Motorola Droid 4 ($200 with a new 2-year contract on Verizon; price as of 2/13/2012) is the latest in the keyboard toting Android phones. Unfortunately, the Droid 4 lacks the same excitement the original Droid sparked-- the excellent keyboard and zippy processor is overshadowed by a blurry screen and poor camera.

Samsung's Galaxy Player 4.0 and 5.0 are the Android answer to Apple's iPod Touch, which has long been the king of portable media players. Of the two, the Galaxy Player 5.0 ($US240 as of January 4, 2012) is a particularly attractive device for anyone who wishes to remain within the realm of Android for music, video, and apps, but who doesn't want to pay for monthly services with an Android phone. Offering specs similar to its iOS rival, the Galaxy Player 5.0 makes a gallant attempt at beating the iPod Touch at its own game, but falls short in audio quality.

The HTC Rezound ($300 with a new two-year contract as of 1/3/12) is one of the more capable devices released this year. With beefy specs, including a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor and Verizon LTE 4G connectivity, the Rezound stands its own against other Verizon smartphones.

After months of waiting, the Galaxy Nexus (and by extension, Android 4.0, aka "Ice Cream Sandwich") is finally here. We've already done an extensive review of the hardware, so here we will be looking much more closely at Ice Cream Sandwich. Whether you are an Android veteran or a smartphone first-timer, this new version of Google's mobile operating system has a few things you should know about before getting started.

Google only scratched the surface with the latest improvements to its Android mobile operating system. Users have been left wanting more, and they are likely to get it in 2012.

Users of Google Music can now purchase albums and songs online, and have them sent directly to their Android phones or Google Music locker. But should you use it? We took it for a quick spin and, so far, we're impressed.

Today Lookout, best known for their mobile security apps, released a Honeycomb optimized version of their software.

From its navigation methods to fonts, Android is redesigned and refreshed in its Ice Cream Sandwich edition to meet the tastes of its users.

AT&T sneakily announced a small batch of new phones this week, one of which is the sequel to the well-received Motorola Atrix--the Atrix 2.